Early Tackle: Sam Landsberger names his likes and dislikes from AFL round 10
The Crows have absolutely been dudded before by the AFL in tight finishes, but that does not mean they have a case in regards to Izak Rankine, writes SAM LANDSBERGER.
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Sydney has stamped itself as the team to beat after dismantling Carlton on Friday night.
The Swans conjured a 78-point turnaround after trailing by 36 points as a Chad Warner masterclass put the rest of the AFL on notice.
It came after Gold Coast mastered the tricky conditions in Darwin to demolish Geelong by 64 points.
The Cats rested a host of stars, but the Suns were the big story as they surged into the top eight.
It’s a moving weekend for several finals contenders, with the Blues set to fall out of the top eight and reigning premier Collingwood on the charge.
See Sam Landsberger’s likes and dislikes in this week’s Early Tackle.
DISLIKES
ROSS’S ENGINE ROOM
St Kilda almost had Jordan De Goey and is now chasing free agents Hugh McCluggage (2024) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (2025). Blind Freddie can see why. The midfield match-ups against Fremantle looked alarming pre-game on paper and looked downright ugly on grass after halftime. It was Jack Steele, Marcus Windhager, Paddy Dow and Mattaes Phillipou up against Caleb Serong, Nat Fyfe, Andrew Brayshaw and Hayden Young. The Dockers won 42-24 clearances around the ground, which gave them field position and control of the match. Phillipou (four disposals) might have a high ceiling, but he still has a lot of abseiling to do. Phillipou is yet to register 20 disposals in an AFL match, but reached that number in his maiden VFL match last week to go with nine tackles. So should Ross Lyon give him an extended spell in the twos to build confidence? Or would improvement come quicker from simply rubbing shoulders with the best while battling to find the ball? The annoying part for the Saints is that a chunk of the chasm in onball talent from Saturday night was self-inflicted. In 2019 they had pick No.6, which the club’s previous regime split in order to get trades done for Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder and Bradley Hill. Pick 6 could’ve got them their Serong (30 disposals and nine clearances) or Young (27 disposals, five clearances, eight tackles).
ACCIDENTAL CONCUSSIONS
Thought Brad Scott made a lot of sense last month when he accused the AFL of determining suspensions on outcomes and not actions. “You can find so many examples where there are collisions with players with their eyes on the ball – but if one player gets concussed, the AFL holds someone liable for it in almost all cases now.” Scott was understandably frustrated that Peter Wright and Toby Greene committed similar actions, yet Wright was suspended for four matches and Greene was suspended for one. So what does the AFL do with Jimmy Webster after he – like Wright – left an opponent concussed on Saturday night? Sadly, Michael Fredericks will effectively miss two games at a minimum given how early the collision with Webster occurred. The good news was Fredericks was feeling OK at halftime. All hell broke loose when Webster took out Jy Simpkin in a practice match, but the fact that Fremantle players chose not to remonstrate indicated they thought Webster had eyes only for the ball and it was an unfortunate accident. Nobody could predict an MRO verdict with confidence, but suspect Webster will be OK.
OOZING SYMPATHY
It was said that Adam Simpson was coaching with his hands tied behind his back last season due to West Coast’s injury crisis. Simpson was a premiership coach with 10 seasons of experience to fall back on. Does that mean that Adem Yze is handcuffed and blindfolded 10 games into his coaching career? The Tigers – barely able to name a 26-man squad at the moment – will lose two more troops next week after Mykelti Lefau and Rhyan Mansell were concussed in what was a total knockout performance by Brisbane Lions. Richmond’s injury curse has also hit the club’s VFL and VFLW teams and the fact that Mansell was taken out by friendly fire in the form of 105kg ruckman Toby Nankervis summed up the rotten luck. But the microscope still needs to go on some senior players. Marlion Pickett is 12 games shy of what would be a remarkable effort to reach 100 games. Will he get there? Pickett registered two kicks and gave away five free kicks against the Lions. In 2020 Jayden Short won Richmond’s best-and-fairest in a premiership year. But on form would Short – a vice-captain of the club – still be an automatic selection if not for the ambulance ward of an injury list? Last week the Tigers gave up a whopping 77 entries against the wasteful Western Bulldogs. On Saturday night they conceded only 60 … but that was all the Lions required to equal their biggest score since 2007 (163 points). The Tigers percentage has dropped below 60 and into North Melbourne territory. Irrelevance is an ugly word in football and the Tigers will command eyeballs for next week’s Dreamtime celebration and next month’s celebration of Dustin Martin when he hits 300 games. If this continues you fear for what the final two months will hold and you feel for Yze.
ONE AND DONE?
Carlton and Geelong would not enjoy the simple fact that recent history suggests a club’s premiership hopes can be extinguished with a single blowout. Weekly competitiveness has been a prerequisite for the past four premiers, who survived entire seasons without getting pants. The biggest losses incurred on their paths to glory was 33 points (Collingwood, 2023), 30 points (Geelong, 1011), 20 points (Melbourne, 2021) and 32 points (Richmond, 2020). But the Cats (64 points) and Blues (52 points) are not alone as 2024 contenders to have put in a stinker. Essendon (69 points), Brisbane Lions (54), Fremantle (48), Gold Coast (53), Port Adelaide (42) and Western Bulldogs (45) have also been blown away. The Swans inflicted three of those defeats, against the Suns, Dockers and Blues.
ANOTHER CARDIAC EPISODE
“Cardiac Carlton” was the playful nickname given to the Blues as they started to master the art of pulling off heart-stopping wins. But you could argue Friday night was in fact another cardiac episode for Carlton given how quickly the Blues had the life sucked out of them. A healthy 16-point lead in the first quarter seemed to vanish in an instant as the Swans stormed out of the centre square on repeat. Before you knew it the Blues were on life support with Charlie Curnow placed behind the ball and Harry McKay on the wing and by the finish it was a 78-point scoreboard swing. Fadeouts following fast starts is starting to become an alarming trend. Last week the Blues led Melbourne 36-0 only to hold on by a point and the previous week they led Collingwood 40-21 only for Nick Daicos to break their hearts. Their five-goal head start in last year’s preliminary final was also eaten up by Brisbane Lions before halftime.
DARWIN DREAMERS
Northern Territory’s wish to become the AFL’s 20th team has the backing of a powerful voice in Alastair Clarkson. But it is fair to say those on the recruiting frontline aren’t so bullish. Plenty believe there is barely enough talent to service 18 clubs and Tasmania’s entry will expose an existing lack of depth. At least the Devils are expected to get access to Tasmanians on rival AFL lists and the venture should become a cash cow for the AFL if the $10 bumper stickers sold as inaugural memberships are anything to go by. But who are the NT boys on AFL lists the Territory consortium could entice home under a similar rule? Some in the talent game are almost laughing at the idea, saying tongue in cheek that maybe the 20th team could play Daniel Rioli at centre half-forward and ask Michael Long to make a comeback.
GIANT PROBLEMS EMERGE FOR GWS
It was almost comical to think that the 2016 preliminary final and Saturday’s drenched, dour and airless contest were produced by the same clubs, venue and timeslot.
Callan Ward’s bizarre kick the wrong way from a stoppage win that hit Rhylee West on the chest inside 50m might’ve made a speck of sense in 2016 – but only because the warrior was concussed that night.
West went back and drilled what should redefine a giveaway goal and when Ward’s team managed just six majors it was a costly loss of compass.
What is no laughing matter is the form of the Giants, who were outright premiership favourites a month ago.
You get the feeling coach Adam Kingsley is acutely aware that his team is a mile off it.
Last week Kingsley ranked Carlton, Sydney and Essendon as top 4-6 clubs and said after losing to all three his club was playing well beneath that bracket.
At halftime on Saturday Kingsley doubled-down, criticising his team’s form and its inability to play the wet conditions as well as the Bulldogs.
You can only assume Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has overtaken Aaron Naughton in the Giants’ eyes, given Sam Taylor has manned Naughton for years but was sent to Jamarra on Saturday.
It was a big win for the Bulldogs, and their first against outside Victoria in more than 12 months.
They were inaccurate but they were also in total control and that was with minimal impact from Marcus Bontempelli.
Jesse Hogan’s double-win against youngster Luke Cleary – he tackled him to the ground on the win and then outmarked him in the goalsquare – provided a rare part of the game that the Giants would’ve been happy with.
But it was far from that epic in 2016, one of the greatest games ever played.
You only had to watch Lachie Bramble run towards an open goal and shank the kick to reinforce that.
RULES FOR SOME?
Wonder what the diehard Collingwood supporter who had his membership cancelled last week was thinking when a spectator at TIO Stadium invaded the field during the second quarter on Thursday night and made contact with Jake Kolodjashnij? Or, more pertinently, what that Magpies man was thinking by Saturday when it became clearer that nothing would be done about it? This is not about trying to throw a footy fan in Darwin under the bus, but to perhaps highlight what an easy target the tattooed Collingwood bloke was for the AFL after he leaned over the Marvel Stadium fence to cheekily embrace West Coast player Harvey Johnston. The AFL’s general counsel Stephen Meade said when he banned that footy tragic: “When you overstep the clear boundaries, which is what happened on the weekend, then you will lose the privilege of being able to attend the footy”. But so far there has been tumbleweeds regarding the Top End incident. Thought the AFL could’ve let the Pies fan off with a warning and still sent a strong message. After all, Meade acknowledged the “innocuous nature” of that incident … and it was the innocuousness of Tom Hawkins using a mobile phone to check the weather radar midgame that allowed him to escape with a warning rather than a sanction for breaking integrity rules. Then again, who is it easier for the AFL to make an example of?
LIKES
GUTSY UMPIRING
Adelaide supporters were enraged last month when Sam Draper lay over the football deep in defence as the seconds ticked down against Essendon. The AFL admitted its umpires had got it wrong and should have paid a holding the ball free kick that probably would have won the Crows the match. The following week Scott Pendlebury’s final centre clearance was kicked to the boundary line in the final minute against Carlton. Pendlebury should’ve been pinged for insufficient intent, but – like with Draper – umpires baulked at paying a free kick and signalled a stoppage. On consecutive Friday nights it seemed umpires had lacked the courage to blow the whistle, even though that would’ve been the right call. Not so on Saturday when umpire Chris Donlon pinged Izak Rankine for running 24.2m without bouncing the ball. The limit is 15m and while it is true that the rule is rarely enforced, there is a simple way to ensure it can’t be – by bouncing the ball every 15m. Adelaide supporters are enraged again, but this time it is over the top. Yes, they were deadest dudded by a goal umpire’s error against Sydney late last year and that cost them a place in the finals. Yes, they were extremely stiff not to be given a shot after the siren to beat Essendon this year. Even the AFL admitted those were both mistakes and so you can make a strong argument that the Crows have been robbed of eight premiership points. But the Rankine file is far less controversial. The umpire did not make an error, and even if he had allowed play to continue there were no guarantees the Crows would’ve manufactured a goal from the next contest.
BEVO MAGNET MASTER MORE THAN MAD
Recently it seems Luke Beveridge gets piled on periodically and praised fleetingly. Perhaps the most polarising part of Beveridge’s coaching is his penchant to explore players in foreign positions. Some magnet moves simply haven’t worked, like when Easton Wood spent the entire 2017 pre-season forward in an experiment that was scratched six quarters into the season. But the strike-rate overall is superb. Beveridge turned Matthew Boyd, Caleb Daniel and Bailey Dale into All-Australian halfbacks from other positions and another masterstroke is unfolding in Ed Richards the midfielder. Richards lined up in the centre square against St Kilda in round 7 in a move no one saw coming. Now Richards is rising rapidly. Last week he registered 34 disposals and 10 tackles against Richmond and on Saturday Richards’ 10 clearances ranked No.1 on the ground as he racked up another 27 disposals and nine inside 50s. The emergence of Ed the onballer has softened the loss of Tom Liberatore significantly. Beveridge has stuck fat with Aaron Naughton the spearhead despite constant calls for him to go back. Critics say he is too stubborn to admit he is wrong. But Naughton is eighth in the Coleman Medal race and Beveridge revealed post-match that he is ranked third in the AFL for overall scoreboard influence, despite being targeted 50 per cent less than the two players above him (who Beveridge thought were Charlie Curnow and Jeremy Cameron). The Dogs knew winning was the only way they could dampen the external debate around Beveridge that has raged fiercely at times. And they have done just that, posting consecutive wins for the first time this year to square the ledger at 5-5.
STATEMENT WIN 1
It was not obvious at the time, but in Craig McRae and Adam Kingsley’s first seasons as coach their clubs motored to a mid-season win against Fremantle that they have not looked back from. They were statement wins heard only as a whisper as talent and a new system clicked. The Pies went on a 13-5 run in 2022 while the Giants went on a 12-3 run in 2023 as both clubs fell one point short of shock grand final appearances. Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick declared pre-season that he wanted to emulate the second-half surges enjoyed by McRae and Kingsley first-up. Well, the Suns have just enjoyed their statement win – only this was one voiced with a megaphone as they embarrassed Geelong in Darwin. The search for team chemistry set off more of a chemical reaction as Hardwick’s next wave of heroes rewrote several chapters in their short history book. Whether the Suns can surge all the way to a preliminary final remains to be seen, but if this does prove to be the point where Gold Coast gelled it would have occurred at an eerily similar stage as managed by Kingsley and McRae’s men.
HAIR OF THE PIES
If Collingwood started the season with a premiership hangover then the remedy has well and truly been the hair of the dog.
The Magpies spiked to third on the AFL ladder on Saturday with their third win by six points of less for the season.
Last year they won their three finals by a combined 12 points to complement a further 11 victories by a goal or less in the Craig McRae era.
It is almost as if the Magpies have mastered time travel. At 0-3 admitted his players’ fundamentals were uncharacteristically poor.
McRae mentioned a moment of hesitation between three players who should have all gone for the same ball.
Even St Kilda coach Ross Lyon referenced that the reigning premier had “clear signatures you need to deal with”.
The last-gasp win against Adelaide was a signature win autographed by Jordan De Goey, who coolly kicked the winning goal.
That moment belonged to De Goey. But Isaac Quaynor set up the attacking play with a moment of defensive brilliance in the form of a smother.
John Noble, who celebrated his 100th game, is the epitome of a hungry footballer over one who hesitates and on Friday night ferocious forward Beau McCreery will return to a forward line that has been forced into a state of fragility through unavailability.
Perhaps the best symbolism that the Collingwood of 2023 has been rediscovered is Nick Daicos.
Daicos’ 41 disposals featured 22 contested possessions, 14 clearances and the pass to De Goey as the Pies snatched their fifth win against Adelaide by less than a goal from their past six meetings.
STATEMENT WIN 2
Is John Longmire coaching the only horse in this year’s premiership race? That might sound sensational, but right now the Swans are looking unstoppable. Forget the stat that Sydney has stormed to its best start to a season since 1945 – the more relevant comparison is with recent clubs who also charged out of the gates. But with that comes a significant challenge because the round 10 heavyweight has a history of getting caught in the straight. Think Melbourne in 2022 (10-0), Geelong in 2019 (9-1), Richmond in 2018, Adelaide in 2017, Hawthorn in 2012, Collingwood in 2011, St Kilda in 2009 and Geelong in 2008. They were all found flagging as a rival who had three months to drill into their dominance rose up to pinch their flag. That said, this Swans unit might just be good enough to buck that trend. They play beautiful football – the antithesis of the “ugly ducklings” version that won the 2005 premiership – and Isaac Heeney is hurtling towards the club’s first Brownlow Medal since Adam Goodes (2006). It was often said that recruiter Simon Dalrymple deserved a statue at Whitten Oval for delivering the club’s 2016 premiership list and while the sample is smaller at the Swans selecting James Rowbottom at No. 25 and Chad Warner at No. 39 were sizeable wins. Then again the spike from last year’s sugar hit trade period – led by Brodie Grundy and James Jordon – has also exceeded expectations. Grundy, a two-time All-Australian, is arguably in career-best form while Jordon has jaded the impact of running machines Noah Anderson, Lachie Whitfield, Jordan Clark and Sam Walsh in his four weeks cast as a cooler. The fact the routinely sold-out SCG is turning away Sydney fans in the post-Buddy era is the cherry on top.
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