The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 12
Isolation has tested us all and provided more negative moments than highlights for most. But Carlton’s incredible after-the-siren victory was worth celebrating and had Blues fans around the country in raptures. Here’s what Mark Robinson thought.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The 2020 AFL season is now entering the business end with teams fighting to secure a spot in the finals.
One team unlikely to be featuring in the finals is Essendon after a poor performance against St Kilda, while Collingwood has injury issues but it’s clear the Magpies have much bigger problems than star players being sidelined.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
On the other end of the spectrum there’s Carlton and the Blues’ stunning after-the-siren win that provided a genuine highlight in what has been a tough year for everyone, while Cam Guthrie is producing his best ever AFL season.
Mark Robinson reveals his likes and dislikes from Round 12.
DISLIKES
1. Who are the Bombers?
It’s not a trick question. They are inoffensive, unproductive and devoid of an obvious game style. The midfield mucks around with the ball and the forward group lacks talent. On Sunday the Bombers had 43 inside 50s compared to St Kilda’s 37 and had nine more disposals than the Saints. And they still lost by 35 points. Essendon would lose in years gone by and hang their hats on the fact they moved the ball quickly and they could threaten the opposition. And they would occasionally produce a blitzkrieg performance. Nowadays, they are boring losers. They are a rabble. Down by six goals at half time they had the opportunity to reset, to do something to get back into the game. Instead of firing a shot they retreated. They’re not playing finals. Dare we say it, but stay patient Bombers fans.
2. Collingwood is kaput
The Pies are missing Jordan De Goey, Jeremy Howe and Adam Treloar. Other teams are missing important players, too, so let’s park the excuses. It doesn’t help, but at the same time, it doesn’t kill the game plan coach Nathan Buckley has built. Buckley said his team was “off’’. It looks worse than that, it looks broken. The best defensive team early in the season has given up 100 points in two of its past five matches and the performance against Melbourne was a season low-point. Players are out of form, the team is out of form and Buckley is under pressure. Not to keep his job, but to turn around a season which has collapsed. Missing the finals was unthinkable not so long ago, but now it’s a reality. And now because of injuries to the brave Brody Mihocek and the unlucky Ben Reid, big man Mason Cox looks set to get another opportunity. That will be the headline, but the bigger headline should be Collingwood’s all-round defence.
3. The silly Swan
Elijah Taylor’s suspension for sneaking his girlfriend into the hub hotel room for a night of revelry, plus the $50k fine for the Swans, is ample punishment. He was selfish and stupid, which comes with being young. He’s bloody lucky his rendezvous did not bring the Swans and the competition to its knees. The AFL was furious, as was Sydney, because it’s incomprehensible that a player would deliberately break protocols for a night with his girlfriend. The Swans are on notice. And so is the AFL. The AFL apologised to the WA premier on Sunday and the premier responded with a headmaster-type clip for the AFL. They wouldn’t like that, the AFL, who is yet to decide where finals and the GF will be played.
4. A quiet Charlie means a quiet Port Adelaide
Predictability is double edged. With Charlie Dixon the target, Port’s smalls know where to be. But so does the opposition. Geelong’s Harry Taylor was Dixon’s direct opponent on Friday night, but Taylor’s teammates also ravaged the Port spearhead because they knew where the ball was going. The concern is Port could be a one-trick pony in the forward 50m. Dixon was goalless against Taylor. In the Round 5 loss against Brisbane Lions he was goalless. In the Round 8 loss to St Kilda, he kicked one goal. Predictability is why Richmond coach Damien Hardwick once said he didn’t want Jack Riewoldt to be the sole focus in the forward line. It’s why Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson moved Lance Franklin out of the goalsquare when Buddy was at Hawthorn. The theory was to be unpredictable and create more threats. Hinkley can’t allow the result to be Dixon or bust. Dixon can take contested marks, but it’s difficult for him when he is up against three opponents.
5. Problems galore with key forwards
Jeremy Cameron is on the cusp of re-signing at the Giants and it’s intriguing what money he has agreed to. The Giants, if it’s not too late, could well ask him to take a haircut. He won the Coleman Medal last year with 76 goals. This year he has kicked 18 goals in 11 matches. It’s simply not good enough for his talent. Yes he is a roaming key forward more than a contested-mark, but he has to start getting his hands dirty. He used to crash packs and opponents and sometimes that aggression attracted MRP wrath. He’s over corrected that aggression. He’s playing too nice. He’s not the only million-dollar player at the Giants who needs a readjustment, either. Midfielder Josh Kelly is kicking like a hack which contributes to the Giants’ hack football.
6. And then there’s the Crows
We accept they are rebuilding and, at times, we see talent with the kids, but the Crows can’t allow what happened on Sunday to happen again. They were bamboozled by the Bulldogs. Coaches like to talk about backing their systems, but surely fundamentals at the Crows have to be prioritised. The overlap running by the Dogs, the space given to the Dogs to run, and their clearance domination (the Dogs outscored the Crows by 56 points at stoppage) exposed the lack of a defensive system. Coach Matthew Nicks could do worse than implement an old system — one-on-one football and accountability. Make his players scrap for six weeks and then work on the system over summer. Because Sunday was putrid.
7. One step forward, two steps back.
Am trying not to pile on the umpires/AFL about holding the ball, but we — the fans — can’t allow what’s unfolding to go through to the keeper. A nomination for the worst free kick of the year — and the podium is chockers already — goes to a decision paid against Levi Casboult in the final quarter on Saturday night. Casboult ran at a bouncing ball, was tackled in the moment by Luke Ryan, was pinned, taken to ground and the umpire called holding the ball. Said last week and will say it again, you might as well turf prior opportunity out of the rule book. It’s more than a joke now, it’s insulting to the sport. And please, AFL, don’t say the players and the fans will adapt. You are the custodians of the game and you are slaughtering the ball winners. How did prior opportunity get to this?
LIKES
1. Brett Ratten doesn’t lie
The Saints coach said after the Geelong walloping that his team would respond, as it has after their four defeats this year. They did again on Sunday, although putting Essendon to bed was probably easier than putting the kids to bed at 7.30pm during daylight saving in summer. Still, you can only beat the opposition in front of you. This game was over at half time. Indeed, this game seemed over in the first 12 minutes with the Saints only two goals ahead because the Bombers were nowhere near threatening. Best we move on. The Saints play Brisbane next Sunday and, after the Cats loss, the response to another premiership contender will be worth noting.
2. The return of the young king
Aaron Naughton and the Dogs dined out on Adelaide on Sunday, with Naughton kicking six goals. They have missed him because it’s become apparent recruit Josh Bruce couldn’t deal with the No. 1 forward role. The Dogs signed Bruce to a four-year deal, believing he would be a capable second key forward beside Naughton. That means any suggestions Bruce’s career is over after what Naughton accomplished is off the mark. It would be a major recruiting blunder if it was. The Dogs went with Naughton, Sam Lloyd (one goal), Bailey Dale (one goal), Toby McLean (one goal), Ben Cavarra (two goals), Mitch Wallis (0.3). There’s one key forward in that group. Soon enough we should see Bruce back in the team beside Naughton, which was the plan back in trade week last October.
3. A joy in isolation
The theatre of the last 90 seconds in the Carlton and Fremantle game which led to Jack Newnes kicking the goal of the year will be remembered for some time. The calamity of events – the mistakes, the contests, the decisions from the umpires and the kick from the fence from Newnes was altogether glorious. Imagine a doco being made of that 90 seconds and talking to Liam Jones, Eddie Betts, Harry McKay, the umpires, Andy Brayshaw and Micky Gibbons. Splice in at the end as much footage as you could get hold of from Carlton fans at home. The Newnes goal and celebration was an isolation highlight, the various footage of Carlton fans erupting in their homes was a life highlight through these difficult times. Football this year has been ragged, sloppy, confusing and frustrating at times, but that moment and the aftermath, was so joyous. Post your footage, Blues fans, to @superfooty and we’ll put a montage together.
4. Respect on a Saturday night
The Newnes goal won Carlton the match but it was the conviction from the Blues after quarter-time which gave Newnes the opportunity to win the game. Look at these numbers.
It was a gritty performance, so when Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir was effectively asked if he felt ripped off, he answered: “No.’’ The end was freakish, but the Blues worked themselves into the position to win the game. Longmuir is a class act as coach. No whining about umpires or offering excuses. “That’s footy,’’ he said. “We cop it on the chin and move on.’’
5. Angus Brayshaw
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin was asked three weeks ago about Brayshaw’s minutes on the bench and in the midfield. “It’s a non-topic for me. It’s a subject I’m sick of talking about … he probably hasn’t quite been at his best, but we’ll get a response out of him,’’ was the response. That’s faith from the coach and Brayshaw hasn’t let him down. In the past three matches compared to his first nine matches, his centre-bounce attendances have gone from 10 to 17, his ranking points from 70 to 112, disposals one to 23 and his score involvements from three to six. The return of Jack Viney against Collingwood didn’t disrupt Brayshaw’s midfield time, either. The subtle change was switching Christian Petracca out of the centre. This season, his forward-midfield split had been 70-30. Against the Pies, it was 50-50.
6. Cam Guthrie
At a guess, six players would be vying for the lead in Geelong’s best-and-fairest: Guthrie, Tom Hawkins, Patrick Dangerfield, Mark Blicavs, Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola. It’s what you call depth in elite players and performances. Guthrie is your blue-collar, reliable midfielder and his 2020 is, to date, the best of his career. Disposals, clearances and pressure are career-best. Best of all, Guthrie rarely turns the ball over. In the cluster that footy is at present, that is midfield gold. He has averaged 7.7 disposals per turnover this season, which is the second-best rate of the top-50 ball winners across the AFL in 2020. The No. 1? It’s Western Bulldogs defender Caleb Daniel
7. The mini-Parker
The restocking of the Sydney midfield has been a three-year process and from it has emerged James Rowbottom. In his second season, he has hallmarks of his skipper Luke Parker. He’s tough and Fox Footy’s Jason Dunstall is a huge fan. “I did the GWS-Swans game. I love his work ethic … he has a crack,’’ Dunstall told the Herald Sun on Sunday. “He’s gone in to the midfield when they desperately needed him to with no Kennedy, no Heeney, no Hewitt and done the job. The more I see him the more I like him.” After 23 games, Rowbottom, who was a second-rounder in the 2018 draft from the Oakleigh Chargers, is returning similar numbers to what Parker did after he had played 23 games. See the similarities? “There’s a bit of baby-face assassin about him,’’ Dunstall said.
MORE NEWS:
AFL quarantine breach: Sydney Swan Elijah Taylor suspended for season after secret rendezvous
Western Bulldogs v Adelaide: Aaron Naughton stars with six goals as Crows slump to 0-12 this season
Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 12
Draft top 60: Special traits that define the AFL’s next superstars
Footy’s next generation is just over a month away from being drafted, but who should your club be targeting in November? CHRIS CAVANAGH and DAN BATTEN rate every prospect.
Ablett’s heartbreaking condition reveal
Jordan and Gary Ablett had been reluctant to discuss many details about their little boy’s heartbreaking condition until now.