The Early Tackle: All the major talking points in AFL Round 5
Does Trent Cotchin have anything to worry about after an incident with Tex Walker? Check out all the likes and dislikes in the Early Tackle.
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It’s been another huge week of early talking points in footy — from Cody Weightman getting non-Bulldogs fans offside to the new box office big boys who will pull fans through the turnstiles for the next decade.
Scott Gullan names his highs and lows of Round 5 in part one of The Tackle.
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The new kings
Strap yourselves footy fans as you’re in for a treat over the next decade.
Aaron Naughton and Max King are box office and will in time provide the same excitement that ‘The King’ Wayne Carey did in the 90s.
We’re not saying they will be as good as the North Melbourne champion but when Carey was at his peak you’d just go to games to watch him.
Already you can’t take your eyes off Naughton and King. Any time the ball is in their area things happen.
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Naughton kicked better on Friday (5.3 goals) and toyed with North. King wasn’t as destructive as previous weeks (3.2 goals) against the Suns but he still does things which makes the jaw drop.
Carlton pair Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow will also provide plenty of fun so get the popcorn ready, a special decade is upon us.
Heeney or Neale?
Isaac Heeney’s elevation into the elite category this year has raised the old debate about impact versus possessions.
The Sydney young gun is averaging less than 20 disposals per game this year as the Swans’ swingman, spending the majority of time forward with bursts through the midfield.
He has kicked 14 goals in five games and on Friday night showed why the recent trend favouring the weight of disposals is out of whack.
Heeney had 16 disposals which included 12 kicks, six tackles, 10 score involvements, three clearances, two goal assists and 3.2 goals.
In a Swans smashing of a disappointing West Coast, he was one of the most influential players on the ground.
So where does he now fit in the pecking order of the competition’s best players?
At the moment the top end has to include Melbourne pair Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps probably above them before last week’s injury.
Then you get to Heeney and Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale with the likes of Jordan De Goey, Marcus Bontempelli and Shai Bolton floating not too far below while Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw has been the surprise packet in the opening fourth rounds.
If you were in the schoolyard picking teams, who would you rather have — Heeney or Neale?
Against Collingwood on Thursday night, Neale was held to just four touches in the first quarter before finishing with 33 possessions and a goal to be among the best players on the ground.
The Lions star is averaging 32 touches a game and has kicked three goals for the season.
Neale has been influencing games for years, Heeney is now starting to win them. That gets my vote.
Surprise Jack
Jack Higgins was a good little player at Richmond in a team full of good little players who perfected a system — with the help of a handful of superstars — and won premierships.
Unfortunately he missed out on a flag in his 43 games at Punt Rd before heading to St Kilda for more opportunities.
What the Saints wouldn’t have been expecting is for Higgins to become one of their top five most valuable players.
St Kilda are at their best when they’re pressuring the ball and going fast, buzzing up and down Marvel Stadium and the player who does that to perfection is Higgins.
Against the Suns he kicked a career-high five goals and every time the Saints were on a fast break there was Higgins running his guts out to get in space.
Max King and Rowan Marschall are probably the two most important players at St Kilda but Higgins is in the group below along with Jade Gresham, who was a star against the Suns, and captain Jack Steele.
Dead-eye Max
Max Gawn has to be giving heart to errant forwards all around the competition. (And there are plenty of them).
It wasn’t that long ago that the Demons skipper was a basket case in front of goal.
That seems a lifetime ago now with Gawn almost automatic from 50m on set shots as he continues to build his forward prowess.
He has now kicked goals in four of the five games this year — he got two against the Giants - and if you’re coaching Aaron Naughton or Joe Daniher you could do worse than highlight the Gawn turnaround.
DISLIKES
Bye bye, Easter bunny
David Noble showed more fight in his post-match press conference than his players did against the Western Bulldogs.
He was passionate about how the Roos deserved to keep the marquee Good Friday fixture, saying how proud the club was to be supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital.
The Roos have been magnificent behind the scenes in promoting the day but there comes a time when actions on the field have to take over.
“It’s not just about the game,” Noble said.
Sorry Nobes, yes it is. Your team was rubbish again apart from a mini-surge in the second quarter and they have now lost four of the five Good Friday games by an average of 64 points.
There is nothing memorable about any of these games and that’s what the fans want, moments to remember, moments to celebrate.
The Roos aren’t good enough to provide them at the moment so the league has to act.
St Kilda got a brief look-in on Good Friday (they lost to North by 52 points in 2018) but the AFL cracked it when they were seen not to be doing enough in promotion.
The Saints are a significantly better team than North and still will be next year so the AFL should push them back into the slot against the Bulldogs with North given the opportunity to return in coming years should their improvement warrant it.
Which big picture?
You can’t help but feel for West Coast coach Adam Simpson.
His season is shot and a lot of the reason for that has been taken out of his hands.
Injuries and Covid have decimated his team but his selection ahead of Friday night’s home game against Sydney raised many eyebrows.
On paper the ins were impressive with captain Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly but there was nothing impressive about them when the ball was bounced.
The trio looked badly underdone and at halftime had just 18 touches between them with Sydney 58 points up and the game gone.
Simpson said he was playing the long game with them and was forced just to get miles into their legs in the AFL, rather than the WAFL, to get them ready for the second half of the season.
Was it the wrong big picture? The three youngsters who were dropped for the big names, missing out on valuable experience, would probably say it was.
Cody pile on
Every club would love to have Cody Weightman.
He’s in your face, he’s annoying, he’s a young upstart, he’s also a very good player.
Weightman has become the No. 1 enemy of non-Bulldogs fans who say he has become the new Joel Selwood in his ability to win a free-kick.
Does he exaggerate contact from time to time? Of course he does, just like dozens of others in the competition.
Selwood laughed his way through the pile-on about his ability to earn around the above-the-shoulder free-kicks, we’re tipping Weightman will also have the last laugh.
Swinging boot upsets Walker
Trent Cotchin has enough on his plate dealing with his own form fluctuations and the rapid decline of his team.
And he can add a sleepless night worrying about what match review officer Michael Christian’s view will be of his swinging boot which connected with Adelaide’s Taylor Walker.
Fox Footy commentator Garry Lyon said it was “hardly a kick”, the action of Cotchin striking out with his foot when lying on ground and making contact with Walker who was falling over him.
The Crows veteran certainly wasn’t happy and instantly went back to remonstrate with Cotchin.
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said “there is a little bit there” which is most likely at worst going to be a fine from the match review panel given the impact was so minor.
The biggest surprise was that Adelaide didn’t get a free-kick from the incident given the home side again enjoyed a remarkable run from the umpires.
On Saturday night the free-kick count was 33-13 the Crows’ way.
In Round 1 at the Adelaide Oval against Fremantle it was 32-16 while in the Showdown it was 28-23 Adelaide’s way.
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Originally published as The Early Tackle: All the major talking points in AFL Round 5
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