The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 9
Liam Baker and Jack Graham left Richmond expecting the club to go through a long, painful rebuild – but have the Tigers already overtaken home West Coast? Jay Clark thinks so.
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An enthralling Saturday peaked with a classic Showdown, but the week of footy already had its biggest story with the fallout from Willie Rioli’s eventual one-week suspension for threats towards opponents.
But how did it come to this?
Jay Clark gives his likes and dislikes from round 9.
DISLIKES
1. UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH ABOUT RIOLI SAGA
Port Adelaide was prepared to point out the uncomfortable truth.
Over the next fortnight, the magnificent contribution Indigenous players have made to our game will rightly be put on a pedestal to celebrate Sir Doug Nicholls round.
But the beautiful jumper designs and highlights of our heroes such as Lance Franklin and Andrew McLeod shouldn’t cover the cracks of what has been a horrid week in the AFL’s top offices dealing with the Willie Rioli threats of violence and suspension flip-flop.
An apologetic and distressed Rioli has done the wrong thing threatening opponents multiple times and was suspended for it.
But how has it got to this?
Over the weekend, Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies painted a distressing picture when he lifted the lid on Rioli’s experience in the AFL and the frequent racial abuse he cops not only online and in the community, but also on the field.
And what Port Adelaide wants the game’s leadership and players to consider deeply this week is – what kind of remarks and experiences have triggered Rioli’s outbursts over his football life?
In particular, it’s the on-field jibes about Rioli’s weight, his cultural diet, and alleged marijuana use, which Port believe all have racist undertones.
These comments are the things which hurt him, and should now be clearly off-limits to the former Eagle.
More broadly, where the line should be drawn between what is a racist remark and a standard football sledge will ignite debate all week.
But, in the end, it’s the AFL’s senior players who will be the ones who decide on what levels of respect they want to show their peers moving forward.
And as the president of the AFL Players’ Association, Collingwood superstar Darcy Moore will need to be asked if we need some of these verbal barbs in our brutal game anymore?
It can be played hard without the ‘turtle’ insults, surely.
Rioli must accept responsibility for his actions and has done so.
But what Port has made clear is that even in modern times, Rioli is a man who has been pushed to the brink, in part, because of the colour of his skin.
And now, the brilliant forward could be lost to the game at any moment, perhaps just like Cyril Rioli and a broken-hearted Adam Goodes.
Back in 2015, the game turned its head to the booing of Goodes, and shamefully so.
But the Rioli saga might be another important crossroad.
Why is he playing so angry, as champion forwards Garry Lyon and Matthew Lloyd have both noted in Rioli’s game this year?
That is the conversation Port wants to have this week.
The burden he carries is part of the reason why he has stepped over the line, they say.
And the need for more education has never been more crucial as clubs sound the alarm over the falling number of Indigenous players being drafted into the AFL.
Davies said it was time to have “the entire conversation and not just part of a conversation at a time that suits us” as the curtain comes up on Sir Doug Nicholls round.
“If someone has been abused throughout their life as overweight and part of that conversation has included what they’re eating as part of their cultural diet,” Davies said on 3AW.
“Would you expect the next time someone is called overweight (on the field) they would in some way link that back to what they have received in an endemic sort of nature across their life?
“The marijuana use.
“Would you consider a conversation that says go and smoke drugs with your mates – is that something that when it has been prevalent in a community – that might have more significance for the person that is hearing it?”
For Rioli, the answer is most certainly yes.
2. ALLEN KEY
Oscar Allen’s departure is looking like the deal of a lifetime for West Coast.
For all the acrimony over his meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, the reality is the Eagles should have chauffeured him there.
After the loss to Richmond, the Eagles are favourite to finish last and receive pick two as free agency compensation which is simply an unmissable opportunity for the rebuilding Eagles.
Allen missed the loss to Richmond with a fresh problem in his “good” knee.
The tricky part is when, if Allen is set to join either Brisbane or Hawthorn as expected, does he pull the pin on the season?
That part is made harder by his co-captaincy as the club will want him to dig in until the end most likely.
But he could also do a Bailey Smith and pull the pin early on the year and set himself for next season. At a new club. Which is a win for both parties.
3. CLAYTON’S NEXT STOP?
Clayton Oliver will undoubtedly walk into Simon Goodwin’s office this week with another name circled on the opposition team sheet.
In a twist few saw coming this season, superstar Clayton Oliver was deployed as a $1.2 million tagger to help shut down Hawk Jai Newcombe on Saturday.
And this weekend without Jack Viney, it will be surely Lachie Neale who can look forward to the Oliver match-up on Sunday at the Gabba.
Coach Simon Goodwin said in the pre-season his midfielders would be used in different roles this season to help build-out and increase the versatility of its engine room.
But surely this will be Viney’s role more permanently when he returns from a concussion, rather than the future for Oliver in red and blue.
Viney is also on a hefty wage after staving off interest from North Melbourne last year and the Demons can’t have $2 million of taggers in the team each week.
Goodwin defended Oliver and his happiness at Melbourne strongly this week but the reality is rival clubs are aware the hard nut and four-time best-and-fairest winner is up for grabs.
Melbourne has Harvey Langford blossoming as a future onball superstar and the club’s priority is to try and secure a prime forward after missing out on Jake Waterman and Tom Hawkins in recent years.
Melbourne has changed up its game plan, its assistant coaching staff and its administration considerably over the past year.
The list rejig is next.
4. ROOS LET IT SLIP
It was the fumbled handball that will haunt North Melbourne. With three minutes remaining, ruckman Tristan Xerri had Jy Simpkin and George Wardlaw flying past down the wing with targets open in attack.
There for the taking was a watershed win for the Roos.
But the Xerri handpass was a fraction behind Simpkin.
Coach Alastair Clarkson understandably went spare in the box.
Only minutes earlier Jacob Konstanty ignored a free-running Dylan Stephens at half forward and another golden chance went begging at the death for a club still stuck on one win.
This will hurt the Kangas, but for the second-straight week North has blown its chance to win it after the Finnbar Maley play-on disaster against Essendon.
They have put themselves in a position to win games, the Kangas. But the Roos still lack the kill switch.
Roos’ fans will say two points is better than none against the reigning premier, but this was a win which went begging.
LIKES
1. THEY’RE ALIVE
The Tigers are alive and so is the chase down tackle.
In a thrilling finish to a seesawing battle between the cellar dwellers, Tiger Tom Brown turned on the afterburners to run down Eagle Tom Gross streaming through the forward half in the final minute.
The third win of the season means the Tigers are now playing with house money for the rest of the season as some thought Adem Yze’s men would struggle to win one game after the great trade-off in last year’s exchange period.
But the tackle was also a significant moment for the game as Brown executed the perfect technique running Gross down from behind with a catch and release the arms method the AFL is calling for.
North Melbourne’s Paul Curtis was suspended for three matches a fortnight ago for his slam down tackle on Port Adelaide’ Josh Sinn which prompted fears about the future of the chase down tackle in the game.
But the Tigers’ speedster came from nowhere to save the four points in a win which further validates the Tigers’ direction and some of the hard calls which were made last season on some big-name players.
It would have been tough for Liam Baker and Jack Graham, who are two of those departed premiership stars, who crossed to West Coast but it is clear Richmond is well ahead of the Eagles in the rebuild stakes.
Sam Banks bounced off half back, two-goal livewire Seth Campbell continued to cause headaches, Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper muscled up in the middle and Toby Nankervis and Tom Lynch led manfully.
On a frustrating day for the Eagles, who came so close to their first win of the season without co-captain Oscar Allen, tempers flared briefly between Lynch and Eagle Harley Reid in a terse exchange at three quarter time.
Reid has been unafraid to mix it with rivals verbally and physically this year but his form is back on the rise after a slow start to the year.
His long running goal shows the power and confidence has returned to his game with 19 touches and six score involvements.
Feel for West Coast coach Andrew McQualter who looked as if he wanted to put his fist through the wall of the coaches box watching the game-winning tackle unfold as if in slow motion.
2. JESSE’S DOMINATION
It was the biggest hole a player has ripped in the Geelong back line in 12 years.
Jesse Hogan’s bag of seven majors to pip the Cats was the greatest individual haul against Geelong since Port Adelaide’s Angus Monfries in 2013.
But what will concern coach Chris Scott more is the alarm bells which are once again ringing about the Cats’ defence without Tom Stewart and Jack Henry.
GWS had 25 scoring shots from 46 entries which is as flimsy as Geelong has been down the back end in recent memory.
The Cats still had the chance to win it but superstar Patty Dangerfield missed a kick in the forward half late and Mark Blicavs fluffed a set shot at the death.
Blicavs had to ruck, removing him from the defence as well, and Hogan took full advantage after Jake Stringer went down with another hamstring injury.
The Cats recently said they would love Carlton’s Tom De Koning at Catland but his brother, Sam, had an off day against GWS as the central defensive pillar.
This was a remarkable victory for the Giants and their fifth-straight at GMHBA Stadium, breathing new life into their season.
3. HEROICS UP BOTH ENDS FOR THE CROWS
Collingwood thought it had Mark Keane late last season.
The Magpies had a plan to bring the Irishman back to Collingwood to fill a key defensive role but he remained at Adelaide after receiving a beefed-up three-year contract offer.
On Saturday night, it was clear why there was such a fight for his signature.
The 25-year-old was the hero of the Crows’ showdown win pulling off one of the most courageous marks of recent times running back with the flight in the final minute to defy the Power.
Only moments earlier he thought he was the villain after watching on as his man Jeremy Finlayson toe-poked a clever goal from an angle to pull the Power within reach of a miraculous comeback win.
But then came the best moment of Keane’s career as he ran bravely into oncoming traffic and held on to the Sherrin in the match-deciding moment.
Port had dominated the clearances so the Crows’ defenders were under the pump all game.
But it was Riley Thilthorpe who was jibbed of the Showdown Medal after bagging three goals, five contested marks and 10 score involvements.
Throughout the first half, the powerhouse Crows’ forward looked as unstoppable as Wayne Carey as he stamps a reputation as one of the most dominant and capable players in the game.
While Western Bulldogs’ Sam Darcy has the reach and beautiful skill on both sides, Thilthorpe has the sheer strength.
And the pair’s emergence will herald a new golden age of centre half forwards, fuelling hopes the 100-goal season from a forward is not a dead concept.
The Showdown Medal went to Connor Rozee and Zak Butters was also excellent but this was another case of a midfielder’s medal.
In an age where key position players are judged too harshly, Thilthorpe was the man.
4 DONS’ UNSUNG HERO PREPARES FOR TOUGHEST TEST YET
He is one of the unsung heroes of Essendon’s resurgence this season.
Amid all the focus on Zach Reid’s brilliance down back, Zach Merrett’s career-best form and Nate Caddy’s young Charlie Curnow moves, Will Setterfield is getting the job done in a pair of Bunnings overalls.
The man whose career has looked borderline over several times across three clubs had one of his best games gathering 29 touches and eight tackles in his shutdown job on superstar Swan Isaac Heeney on Saturday.
And it’s the grunt work on the inside as the kind of big body the Bombers have missed which has allowed Merrett to go to another level this season.
On Saturday night, the man who lobbed at Tullamarine in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick will go head-to-head against one of the top-two players in the game, Western Bulldogs’ superstar Marcus Bontempelli.
It’s Essendon’s toughest test of the season so far.
Weighing in Essendon’s favour is that teams often struggle the week after they play in Darwin and the Dogs’ fought hard to the line in sapping conditions in the narrow loss to Gold Coast on Saturday night.
Essendon’s defence in particular has done a remarkable job recovering from its horrific loss to Adelaide in Round 2 when it conceded 161 points
And the AFL would be ecstatic it has the option to play the postponed Essendon- Gold Coast game as the thrilling final match of the home and away season as part of a potential top-eight playoff.
But the Bombers’ spot inside the eight on Saturday night before the Geelong GWS game flattered the club a touch, and the injury to its tall stocks after losing first-gamer Lewis Hayes to a season-ending ACL injury is another devastating blow.
Those injuries, including Sam Draper’s and Jordan Ridley’s in particular, will bite at some stage.
Sydney played in last year’s Grand Final last year but Dean Cox’s men are nowhere near the same side and are in no danger of making the eight this year.
Essendon has a percentage of 90.8 per cent and the wins over its opponents have come over the Swans, Demons, Kangaroos, Eagles and Power, who all sit outside the eight.
When Essendon beat them, those sides had won a combined total of only five of their 31 matches.
Todd Goldstein aside, the Bombers, who had seven players under 20 games on Saturday, aren’t dissimilar to North Melbourne, West Coast and Richmond.
Essendon’s 15 players under 100 games was more than the Tigers, Eagles and Kangas this round, and with four picks in the mid-season draft to fill some key holes including the ruck, list manager Matt Rosa might be the busiest man in football.
He also has two first-round picks in the first round of the national draft at season’s end after swapping in Melbourne’s last year.
The Bombers have a tough run over the next six weeks, and they’ll almost certainly come back to the pack. It would be a slide in the second half of the season fans have seen before.
But after the horror round 2 effort, they have been competitive in every other match and still chasing the wins hard, despite the youthful profile, especially down back.
The Bombers could have played Jayden Laverde in the seniors on Saturday night but instead opted for two more debutants.
And the back line held up conceding only 63 points from the Swans’ 61 inside 50s under the roof.
Fox Footy analyst David King said vice-captain Andrew McGrath played the best game of his 166-game career against the Swans with a career high 35 touches and 745 metres gained.
The growth and the upside is clear to see and as coach Brad Scott has said, with a stable leadership at the club, they will be sticking it out.
But it won’t only be a Caddy and Kako show.
Originally published as The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 9
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