Early Tackle: Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes from round 14
While Cam Rayner can look a million bucks at times, his inconsistency is still an issue. SCOTT GULLAN says you could argue there’s 15 players ahead of him from the 2017 draft in the Early Tackle.
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With six teams having a bye, round 14 shaped as the perfect opportunity for a host of finals contenders to make their move.
Brisbane Lions stayed in touch with the top eight by disposing of St Kilda on Friday, but not without a scare.
Marcus Bontempelli lifted himself from his sick bed to inspire Western Bulldogs in a crucial game on Saturday against Fremantle, before attention turned to the round’s centrepiece — Dustin Martin’s 300th game.
Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes in the Early Tackle.
DISLIKES
WHIZ FIZZ
It’s becoming hard to watch for the poor old Wizard.
When you have a nickname like that and a persona to match even before you’ve played a game, it’s a big burden to carry.
Unfortunately for young Hawk Nick Watson his inaccuracy in front of goal is becoming a significant weight on his shoulders which is increasing by the week.
He has clearly been told to just go with whatever he thinks works for him and has adopted a Gryan Miers-like style for set shots where he darts out to his right before then kicking across his body.
It backfired horribly a couple of times against Richmond although thankfully he did manage to execute a left-foot snap in the third quarter which he celebrated by provocatively putting a finger to his lips in a “be quiet” signal to Tigers fans.
Imagine what he’s going to be like when he starts nailing set shots.
The sum of the 19-year-old’s work against the Tigers was 1.4 goals which takes his season’s tally to five goals and 15 behinds.
There’s no doubt this has already cost him a couple of games in the seniors and the No.5 draft pick needs to find a goal-kicking whisperer quick smart.
AFL’S BIGGEST TEASE?
Seeing Cam Rayner take Hunter Clark out off the ball with a solid bump on Friday night was a poignant moment.
Not for the result of the match but more from a historical point of view.
The pair have been closely associated since they were both taken at the top end of the 2017 draft. Brisbane took Rayner at No. 1 while Clark was taken at No. 7 as part of St Kilda’s infamous double-pick (Nick Coffield went at No. 8).
Six seasons on those selections haven’t stood the test of time.
Rayner has to be in the conversation for the biggest tease in football while Clark has had injury issues but certainly hasn’t delivered anything near first-round pick output.
You could argue Rayner and Clark wouldn’t be in the top 15 players if you re-did the draft today. Would you have them ahead of the following?:
Andrew Brayshaw (taken at No. 2), Luke Davies-Uniacke (4), Adam Cerra (5), Aaron Naughton (9), Ed Richards (16), Oscar Allen (21), Tim Kelly (24), Noah Balta (25), Liam Ryan (26), Sam Taylor (28), Tom De Koning (30), Bayley Fritsch (31), James Worpel (45), Gryan Miers (57) and Dylan Moore (67).
It’s almost like we still don’t know after 126 games what Rayner actually is.
For his first few seasons he was a dynamic half-forward who flashed in and out, doing some exceptional things from time-to-time. The problem is not much has changed even though there has been an attempt to turn him into a big-bodied impact midfielder.
A lack of tank has been an issue although there were signs of improvement in that area this year but on Friday night Rayner’s return was 13 touches and one goal.
He has only had over 20 possessions in a game twice this year and only did it twice for the entire 2023 season.
Last year’s qualifying final against Port Adelaide was typical Rayner. He broke the game open early kicking three first-half goals and looked a million dollars.
But then in the preliminary final he had just nine touches and in the Grand Final he was unsighted with 11 possessions, on both occasions not threatening the scoreboard.
The Lions will say he plays his role and given Brisbane has been an elite team for several years that’s all they need. But is it really enough for a No. 1 draft pick?
GAME SENSE
It’s almost become a weekly occurrence and we know the AFL will tick it off by the letter of the law but once again an inappropriate 50m penalty has to be called out.
At a crucial time in what had suddenly become an exciting final term on Friday night, the men in fluoro decided to put themselves into the game unnecessarily.
The Saints had kicked six of the first seven goals of the term and were flying at Brisbane when young Lion Logan Morris marked in the middle of the Gabba.
A costly 50m penalty against St Kilda awards Brisbane an easy goal.
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 14, 2024
📺 Watch #AFLLionsSaints on ch. 504 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/c5VwhmeFbG
âœï¸ BLOG https://t.co/aJSFMcX6zW
🔢 MATCH CENTREhttps://t.co/ULiolFTym7pic.twitter.com/A9HAgyp5GD
St Kilda midfielder Marcus Windhager was ahead of the play and then stepped in to take the mark. Technically he may have been a fraction of a second late and possibly from the wrong direction but at no time did it impact on what Morris was doing.
There was no attempt to waste time, to hold up Brisbane and his actions in now way were benefiting St Kilda, Windhager was just standing the mark.
Yet the umpire thought it was such a bad act, so detrimental to the game that the action warranted a 50m penalty.
Dale Thomas in the Ch 7 commentary box summed it up perfectly: “You would love the umpire to have a little bit more game sense.”
He didn’t and instead killed off what was looming as an exciting finish with Morris’ easy goal courtesy of the 50m penalty taking the air out of St Kilda’s tyres.
HEY BIG SPENDER
When things go pear-shaped for the Dockers it’s hard not to find yourself zeroing in on the Luke Jackson-Sean Darcy combination.
Given the long-term investment in the two ruckmen - and we’re talking millions of dollars and lots of salary cap room - they are one of the first areas you look at when assessing the fortunes of their side.
Against a combination of All-Australian ruckman Tim English and Rory Lobb, the Dockers pair had the edge according to the statistics.
Fremantle won the day in the following categories: +23 in hit-outs, +2 centre clearances, +3 clearances and +1 stoppage clearances. Yet on the scoreboard they were minus 67.
That doesn’t add up.
Of course there are plenty of other issues other than Jackson (19 touches, two goals) and Darcy (12 touches, 38 hit-outs) like the Dockers much-hyped young midfield offering little resistance to the wily ways of Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar.
But when English and Lobb kicked five goals between them, the questions will continue to be asked about whether Freo has another Brodie Grundy-Max Gawn situation on its hands.
BYE MYTH
There had been a lot of talk this week about the extra byes some teams had already had this season and the advantage it was providing.
The stats backed it up which was why many were thinking Fremantle were a good chance to march into Marvel Stadium and take down the Bulldogs.
Fremantle’s last game was a 92-point flogging of Melbourne in Alice Springs 13 days ago while the injury-hit Dogs, who hadn’t had a bye yet, were limping in after getting touched up by Brisbane at home a week ago.
For the opening 10 minutes the fresh Dockers were running around like maniacs, blowing the Dogs away with their leg speed … and then they stopped.
That freshness soon disappeared and was replaced by helplessness as the Bulldogs went about blowing up the bye myth for this week.
Lobb just got a foot to that 😅#AFLDogsFreopic.twitter.com/kMKDondFXa
— AFL (@AFL) June 15, 2024
LIKES
NEW IMPROVED LOOK
Maybe it was the new haircut because Rory Lobb played, not like Rory Lobb usually plays.
With the peroxide blonde hair gone and a crew cut style on display, the much maligned Bulldogs big man was simply outstanding against his former team.
Lobb looked like a man on a mission and delivered in spades in both of his roles as the second key forward and back-up to No.1 ruckman Tim English.
With Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy missing, the stakes were high and Lobb played his best game for the Bulldogs and one of the best of his 166-game career.
He kicked three goals, had 19 possessions, six marks, seven hit-outs and two clearances.
But there was more to it than that, he had presence with his contesting, often against two or three opponents, pivotal in keeping the ball in the Dogs forward line.
And it was all done with a grit that isn’t normally associated with the 207cm big man who many believe will be joining his fourth club at the end of the year.
HIs biggest supporter has been Luke Beveridge and games like this will make the Dogs coach more determined to keep him and find a way to make a combination of English, Darcy, Naughton, Lobb and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan work in the same side.
That could be a big ask but the way the Dogs moved the ball and torched Fremantle to again show they are a potential top four side, you wouldn’t back against Beveridge finding a way.
😮â€ðŸ’¨ðŸ˜®â€ðŸ’¨ pic.twitter.com/4Ad1pWIfJG
— Marcus Bontempelli Appreciation (@JustBontThings) June 15, 2024
SICK GOAL
The younger generation would have called it “fully sick” and that is probably the best way to sum up yet another highlight reel moment from Marcus Bontempelli.
It was fully sick in the sense that the goal just before half-time should be winning some sort of prize at the end of the year and sick also because that’s how the Dogs captain has been all week.
Bontempelli hasn’t trained all week because of a lurgy but showed absolutely no effects of that in an extraordinary individual performance, putting the sword to the Dockers.
The Dogs skipper had 30 touches (13 contested), eight marks, seven clearances, five tackles and three goals. One of those came in near the end of the second quarter and it will be a candidate to win the pie warmer for goal-of-the-year.
After contesting a mark near the goal square the Bont then had Dockers captain Alex Pearce and All-Australian defender Luke Ryan hanging off both arms but they couldn’t stop him.
Somehow he muscled his way off them, picked up the ball and quickly threw it on his boot with one hand as he was falling to the ground.
It was sublime and the highlight on a day of many for Bontempelli’s team and its sick captain.
FUNNY ROSS
Unfortunately the bye has come at the wrong time for St Kilda fans.
The mid-season break is likely to see coach Ross Lyon retreat to his old ways given he will have more time to ponder the Saints next game and the excitement from its highest scoring effort on Friday night will fade away.
Lyon was able to have a laugh after the loss to Brisbane where his side kicked 16.10 (106), a personal best for the season, while also considering its highest score to an opponent, 19.12 (126).
It was so unlike anything Lyon’s St Kilda side had served up during his second tenure at the club.
“I’m going to go home and light a candle, it’s fantastic, I’ll get the birthday cake out and go yippee!” Lyon said when questioned about his team’s scoring output.
The Saints have never scored 100 points in consecutive weeks under Lyon and they’ve only raised the bat at the ton four times in 38 games during his tenure.
We won’t know whether this is a one-off (if you’re a betting man you’d have the house on that) or a new direction until Sunday June 30 when St Kilda runs out next, taking on Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
Originally published as Early Tackle: Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes from round 14
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