Mick McGuane names positives and negatives from every Victorian club’s Round 1 match
A Tigers premiership ruckman and Bulldogs midfielders put under some heat but Mick McGuane admits he might have got it wrong about Gary Ablett. His analysis of every Victorian club’s Round 1 match.
Mick McGuane
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A Richmond premiership ruckman and Bulldogs midfielders have been put under some heat after Round 1 but Mick McGuane admits he might have got it wrong about Gary Ablett.
The Herald Sun’s footy analyst has cast his eyes over Round 1, naming the positives and negatives from every Victorian club’s matches.
Read his analysis below.
CARLTON
TICK
Jack Martin brings competitiveness and excitement. His four goals in the third term justified his recruitment.
Jacob Weitering kept Tom Lynch goalless, proving the importance of a strong pre-season.
Sam Docherty's return was seamless, while Levi Casboult had five hit-outs to advantage when taking over from the injured Matthew Kreuzer.
Take out that first quarter, and the Blues "won" 68 to 61 after quarter-time with an inside 50 differential 46 to 30 in that time.
Put Charlie Curnow, Eddie Betts and Harry McKay in the forward line and the Blues are a different proposition.
CROSS
Carlton's kicking efficiency and set-shot conversion must improve. The Blues booted 2.4 to Richmond's 5.2 from forward 50 marks.
Their forward 50 pressure needs to lift. To allow Richmond to score 58 points from defensive half chains was not good enough.
Was the comeback Richmond shutting up shop or the Blues storming home?
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COLLINGWOOD
TICK
Their midfield dominance was evident, winning clearances by 13 and contested possessions by 31.
The Magpies' defensive structure allowed the Bulldogs only two inside 50s midway through the second quarter and five goals for the game.
Brodie Grundy was huge. So much for those who thought Tim English was ready to challenge him.
The Pies’ ruthless start sucked the life out of the Bulldogs early.
CROSS
The slight concern for Nathan Buckley was that despite winning the centre clearances by 10, the Pies managed to score only two behinds from those centre bounce clearances. More goals from there, please.
ESSENDON
TICK
One of the stories of Round 1 was Jacob Townsend. His fast start mirrored that of his new team.
He kicked two goals in the first quarter before with three majors from four kicks.
Dylan Shiel was superb. Better still, his field kicking was more polished. Adam Saad continues to elevate his game.
The Bombers’ game style was impressive.
They scored 40 points from forward half chains – ranked 17th last year. There had been question marks on the Bombers being a back half scoring team, but last Saturday showed they can also be a strong front half team.
The Richmond brand – the Ben Rutten and Blake Caracella influence – was evident. Their handball metres gained differential was +246, third in the AFL in Round 1.
CROSS
The fade out almost cost them the game. Just two goals came after half time and they were outscored by 20 points in the last term. How did this happen?
Losing contested possession by nine and being outscored by eight points from turnover doesn’t help.
GEELONG
TICK
Many of us feared Gary Ablett might have played on for one year too many – not anymore.
He had 24 disposals (10 contested), just under 500 metres gained and eight scoring involvements. The query on his forward half pressure was answered in week one. He had 22 forward half pressure points.
Mitch Duncan's return of three goals off a limited preparation was positive.
The Cats controlled periods of the game, but were up against a team with sublime skills.
CROSS
The Cats conceded 49 points from stoppages, the fourth highest in that statistic in the past three years.
Patrick Dangerfield had Matt De Boer as his shadow while Joel Selwood was underprepared after a limited pre-season. Youngster Quinton Narkle will learn from the experience.
HAWTHORN
TICK
The Hawks matched the Lions at their own game – in contested ball and stoppages.
They outscored the Lions by 10 points from their turnover game. Importantly they were also able to be even with the clearances against a good stoppage team. Call it the Tom Mitchell factor – he had nine.
In that area, the Hawks lost by about seven a game last year — ranked 18th — which shows it was a focus to get hands dirty around clearances and congestion.
Leaders Ben Stratton, Liam Shiels and Isaac Smith all stood up.
CROSS
They must improve their ground-ball hunt. They lost the count by 11 against the Lions, and by an average of six last year, ranked 16th.
MELBOURNE
TICK
The Demons have no issue getting the ball forward and into attack. They won the time in forward half count by +9 minutes and 39 seconds and 26 forward half intercept possessions – ranking in the top four teams last weekend.
But frequency doesn't equate to finishing the job.
CROSS
There’s no use getting it in there if you can't score. The Demons scored from just 19 per cent of their forward half intercept possessions. Their forwards must rebalance quicker and become usable options for their teammates.
Also, recording 35 per cent goal accuracy is not good enough.
Melbourne can match it with good teams, but can't solve the crucial last piece of the puzzle – hitting the scoreboard.
NORTH MELBOURNE
TICK
Todd Goldstein was thrown a challenge on Paddy Ryder and Rowan Marshall – and he excelled. Against Marshall, Goldstein outpointed him in disposals, hit-outs-to-advantage, score involvements and clearances.
Youngster Jy Simpkin stood up in the big moments.
Really liked North Melbourne's perseverance.
Rhyce Shaw acknowledged at half time his team wasn't clean in the first half, with fumbles leading to opposition tackles and lost opportunities. He was right.
CROSS
They were outhunted early. At half time, they were losing the disposal count by 36, contested possession by 31 and were outscored from stoppages by three-and-a-half goals.
Their trust and belief in each other and some individual brilliance from Ben Cunnington turned it around.
RICHMOND
TICK
Good fast start, which might have been inflated by two goals from 50m penalties. The energy and sense of purpose was strong early, as was their defensive set up.
Richmond won the ball down back, often through the emerging Liam Baker. He won a team-high 10 intercept possessions. He is tough and uncompromising (in the mould of Andy Collins), winning eight ground-ball gets.
Loved the sprinkle of youth and enthusiasm of Baker, Sydney Stack and Shai Bolton.
CROSS
Where is Toby Nankervis at? Ivan Soldo looks to have leapfrogged him and was involved in more ruck contests than ‘Nank’.
If Toby wants to be a part of this Richmond juggernaut, he has some work to do to regain the No.1 ruck mantle.
ST KILDA
TICK
St Kilda's first half revolved around pressure and contest. They scored 3.3 from clearances to North Melbourne's zero – a big win given an opposition of Cunnington, Shaun Higgins, Jed Anderson, Simpkin and Jack Ziebell.
Ben Long played his first match in defence, gathering 14 disposals (10 contested), three intercept marks and 11 intercept possessions – a real positive.
St Kilda's pressure overall was outstanding, with 72 tackles – their forward 50 tackle return was huge.
CROSS
A scoreline of 7.12 tells the story of wasted opportunities. They lost their composure. Too many skill errors and poor decisions in the second half invited North back into the contest.
Their inability to win the ball on outside in the second half hurt and they lost their turnover game.
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WESTERN BULLDOGS
TICK
Bailey Smith was a diamond in the rough. Some of the big-name Bulldogs mids including Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae were not at their best, but Smith stood up.
He had a team-high 23 disposals. At least he tried to hunt the footy and win it back, laying seven tackles.
CROSS
The Bulldogs couldn't match Collingwood's intensity.
The inside 50 differential was embarrassing – 22 to 42, that's -20. Good luck being a forward.
Part of that was referred pressure, where players think there is pressure coming, when in fact they have time with the ball to execute or make a good decision. It resulted in ball-handling errors, fumbles, and poor skill execution.
English was monstered by Grundy, who beat him in all facets, notably with hit-outs-to-advantage — 12 to 1. It was like he was saying ‘if you want my mantle, you've got some serious work to do.’
Mind you, the midfield failed to adapt to Grundy’s ruck dominance. You can shark Grundy’s taps.
