Bryce Gibbs, Seb Ross, Jake Stringer and Lindsay Thomas among likes and dislikes

RICHMOND v Carlton at the MCG makes for a blockbuster with all the trimmings. Bryce Gibbs gets the thumbs up from Robbo, but the Tigers failings are a big thumbs down. REPLAY LIVE CHAT.

Bryce Gibbs fires off a handball in the win over Gold Coast.

THERE may have only been six games but there were plenty of highlights and lowlights in Round 13.

Mark Robinson discusses his highs and lows, including Bryce Gibbs, Seb Ross, Jake Stringer and Alex Rance.

SCROLL DOWN TO REPLAY ROBBO’S LIVE CHAT

BIG WIN: ARE DEMONS HEADING FOR NEXT FAIRYTALE FINISH?

BLOCKBUSTER: BLUES LOOKING TO TURN TABLES ON TIGERS

LETHAL ADVICE: BEVO’S “DANGEROUS CHOICE OF WORDS”

DANGERFIELD: BUDDY WOULD HAVE KICKED 2000 GOALS

WHAT I LIKE

1. BLOCKBUSTERS

Next Sunday, 3.20pm, MCG, Richmond v Carlton will be the biggest game between these two teams since the 2013 elimination final. For those who have forgotten, that was the day Chris Judd put on the Superman cape after halftime. Judd lent it to Bryce Gibbs on Saturday night. Gibbs is the first player in history to have 40-plus disposals, 10-plus tackles and kick two goals in a match — the goals coming in a tense final quarter. He had 43 disposals, 809m gained, 28 uncontested possessions, seven inside-50s, and eight score involvements in the best game of his career. The questions now are: Does Gibbs like what he sees at Carlton and plan to stay or has his trade value gone up even further after his form this season?

Tomas Bugg and Jack Watts on Instagram.

Easton Wood throws Tomas Bugg to the ground.

2. TOMAS BUGG

He will be accused of being disrespectful, although pre-game banter is more accurate. His social media photograph having a crack at Jason Johannisen added to the event and if you didn’t like the feisty first half then you don’t like football. Melbourne’s pressure once again was supreme, Bugg and Watts were a handful in the front half, Oscar McDonald is coming along nicely in the back half, Michael Hibberd is a star and Cam Pedersen will be bloody unlucky if he has to make way for Max Gawn. In a season which hasn’t settled, the Demons are as good a chance as anyone to go deep in September.

3. NIC NEWMAN

The moment was the near the end of the game when Newman and Dan Rioli hunted the ball on the wing. Rioli was bumped and lost his feet. Newman stayed on his, won the ball and the Tigers lost any momentum they had. Newman’s performances continue to be first rate. When the Swans began their comeback, Newman was as influential as any player. From the 13 minute mark of the second quarter, he won a game-high 19 disposals and gained a game-high 444 metres.

4. SEB ROSS

It was a win for the Saints and coach Alan Richardson doesn’t care if it was ugly. What’s not ugly is Seb Ross. He’s had 30-plus disposals in every game since Round 4 and is rated elite for disposals and uncontested possessions, and above average for metres gained and clearances. That puts him in the top bunch of midfielders by numbers. Aged 24 and with 70 games played, he will get better. Boy, the match was ugly, but at least the Saints’ ball movement was back to what it was in Rounds 1-8. They scored eight of their 12 goals from chains starting in the defensive half, helped somewhat by North Melbourne’s poor disposal.

Seb Ross fires off a handball under pressure from Shaun Higgins.

5. NATHAN VARDY

Geelong coach Chris Scott would have been shaking his head. He would be pleased for Vardy but not overly thrilled the big man finally produced the best game of his career against his former team. He had 125 ranking points (a career-high) and dominated Zac Smith in the ruck (eight hit-outs-to-advantage to Smith’s four). More importantly he got involved around the ground, winning 10 contested possessions and six clearances. Actually, take that back, Scott wouldn’t be pleased at all.

6. WHERE’S THAT BEEN, WEST COAST?

Before Thursday’s match, West Coast had applied the least amount of pressure in the competition — an average 173 pressure points per game. Against Geelong the Eagles had a pressure factor of 203, their second most amount of pressure applied in a game under Adam Simpson. Pressure doesn’t decide games solely, but very rarely does a team win a game with half-hearted intent. It was also a breakout game for Dom Sheed, who had a career-high 127 ranking points.

7. ERIC HIPWOOD

Brisbane lost, but this kid won even more admirers. He is a mix of Lance Franklin and Joe Daniher, a big, galloping, confident key forward who is dangerous around the 50m line. Just 10 kicks and four marks, but his two goals were special.

8. DARCY BYRNE-JONES

Another breakout game from a young man who has terrific football nous. Career-high 25 disposals and he may be required to play more of a role in the midfield after Jared Polec’s hamstring injury. Into the top four for Port and despite the loss to Essendon, it is well placed after the bye breaks.

WHAT I DISLIKE

1. RICHMOND

As expectations rise, so does the scrutiny and Tigers’ fans accepting gallant defeats can’t be tolerated. If they won this, and won that, and turned around the one-goal losses ... it doesn’t matter. It’s a win-loss competition and the Tigers aren’t in the top two because they keep failing. On Saturday they whipped the Swans on the outside and won the contested ball early, before the Swans roped them in and made it a game of inches, with their tackling and pressure. Guess who failed?

2. SO, WHAT HAPPENED?

At the 13th minute of the second quarter, the Tigers lead by 36 points. From that point, the Swans outscored Richmond 70 points to 25. Sydney dominated around the stoppages, scoring 43 points to seven from clearances and Sydney won the contested possession count by 17 in this period. We tend to feel sorry for Richmond when it loses the close ones, but the simple fact is the Tigers are just not good enough for quarters. It will happen with more experience and, let’s be honest, the coach would sell his house if it would land him a second key forward. Identifying the problem is one thing, correcting it is another. How much would they love a Levi Casboult type to compete in the air.

3. THE SUNS

The club put on the record they want fight this season and at quarter-time, every football official was on notice. They responded, but gee it was a debilitating first quarter. The Blues won the disposals by 53, contested possessions by 21, uncontested possessions by 33, inside-50s by 15, and pressure by 29. The Suns’ three inside-50s for the term was their fewest in a quarter. Tom Lynch has been so-so this year as the ’’best forward in the game’’, David Swallow has been worse and players such as Pearce Hanley and Aaron Hall are too inconsistent.

4. MICHAEL BARLOW’S LEG

There would be few players more liked and respected than Barlow and unfortunately Saturday night’s horrific injury will be a hurdle to overcome as his career nears the end. He’s 30 in December, is contracted for next year, and will need all of this year to rehab the leg. Hopefully he gets another shot at it next year and he probably will. A broken leg might zap speed from most players, but with Barlow it’s difficult take speed when he hasn’t got any.

5. ACTING AND POOR UMPIRING

The Alex Rance-Lance Franklin push and shove was part of the theatre on Saturday, but no one liked Rance flopping to the ground. We can laugh, but it was quite pathetic from Rance, who was clearly the most dominant player on the ground. What a player he is. What was more pathetic, however, was the umpire giving Rance a free kick. Buddy slapped Rance, Rance slapped back and Buddy slapped again. It was like two peacocks having a squabble. The umpire should have told Rance to get up and play football and not reward him with a soft free kick.

6. JAKE STRINGER

Probably unfair to single out one player in the overall demise of the Bulldogs, but there’s something not right about Stringer. Just the one great game this year and many poor games, and Sunday was as poor as any of them. He’s not alone. Easton Wood, Jason Johannisen, Tory Dickson, Marcus Bontempelli are not producing near their best. Call it hangover, call it anything you like, but the Dogs just aren’t the same side. On Sunday, they were out hunted, ball flow was scrappy and the forwards didn’t give a yelp despite almost 50 inside 50s.

Jake Stringer in action against Melbourne on Sunday. Picture: Michael Klein

7. DON’T WANT TO SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD ...

Inspiring Geelong skipper Joel Selwood has only been tagged twice this year which, according to Champion Data, is having a midfield opponent for more than 50 minutes. First it was Collingwood’s Levi Greenwood in Round 6 and Mark Hutchings last Thursday night. Greenwood kept him to 13 disposals in 79 minutes and Hutchings kept him to seven disposals in 61 minutes. For what it’s worth, don’t how Selwood’s hit on Sam Mitchell can be graded as low impact. Accept it could be argued it was careless, but it wasn’t low impact.

8. SO, WHY NOT TAG ABLETT?

Carlton’s Ed Curnow is a terrific player who never yields and who has tagged an opposition player just three times this year, one of them being on Saturday night. Gary Ablett ripped Hawthorn the previous week with 37 disposals and two goals and the Blues weren’t going to allow him such freedom again. Curnow spent 74 minutes on Ablett, who had just 17 disposals, nine contested possessions, and three clearances and 25 disposals overall. If only opposition teams put half as much time into the halfback champs at Carlton. Surely, Sam Docherty and Kade Simpson can’t be having 30-plus every second week or so because besides Carlton’s pressure, these two are Carlton’s one wood.

9. NO MORE EXCUSES

Have heard for six years how Lindsay Thomas is a good bloke and a great clubman, and he’s all of that. And he’s also a cheap-shot player. He delivered an elbow to the face of a Carlton VFL player at the weekend who was doing nothing except shaping up to tackle. Thomas will argue he was trying to fend off the tackler, but once again Thomas “missed by that much’’. Another suspension beckons and, putting further in doubt his AFL career.