The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 11, 2016

IF JACOB Weitering doesn’t win the Rising Star the AFL should order an investigation, says Mark Robinson.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and assistant Robert Harvey.

BULLDOGS ball magnet Lachie Hunter continues his brilliant season, Bernie Vince outplays the Hawks and Al Clarkson talks perfect sense on head-high contact.

But the spiritless Bombers, Collingwood’s leaky defence and North Melbourne bunny Brandon Ellis are in the firing line.

Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson names his likes and dislikes for Round 11.

LIKES

1. The Bulldogs

They did it again, the Dogs. Not only clamped the opposition ruckman, this time Nic Nat, they also clamped Josh Kennedy. Two big scalps on the day they lost yet another half-back in Easton Wood. Tom Campbell and Jordan Roughead took care of Nic Nat and Marcus Adams shut down Kennedy. All the time, the Bulldogs midfield, which runs about 14 deep, applied incredible pressure. Hunter, Biggs, Boyd, Libba, Suckling and Bontempelli were among the most influential and Dale Morris played yet another game which surely attracts the attention of the All-Australian selectors.

Lachie Hunter fights for one of his 38 disposals against West Coast.

2. Back to Hunter

Lachie Hunter is 21, has played 47 games and has accumulated 30-plus possessions from seven of his 11 games this season. On Sunday it was 38 in the heat of Etihad. Clearly, Hunter has terrific game awareness, a wonderful fitness base, and a reliable left foot. Thirty-two of his 38 possessions were uncontested so either he’s not rated by the opposition, or he’s too smart for them.

3. Bernie Vince

Has the ability to shut down opponents and rack up huge numbers. Has got Scott Pendlebury before. On Saturday, added Sam Mitchell to the account. Thrived in the wet with a simple philosophy: Put the body in and move the ball forward any way possible. Vince and Mitchell were head-to-head for 98 minutes. It was 32-24 in disposals, 14-6 contested ball and 10-4 clearances — all Vince’s way and he clearly was best afield, ahead of Dom Tyson.

4. Zac Smith

Amazingly, did not get in the votes by some commentators. Early on Saturday it was said Smith had been intimidated by Shane Mumford in previous outings and the insinuation was Smith was soft. He proved the critics wrong. They were opposed for more than half the game and Smith beat Mumford in every major category. He finished with 19 disposals, 31 hitouts, 10 clearances and seven one-percenters and played every minute in the slog. Coach Chris Scott was thrilled. “We were really proud of him,” Scott said. “We thought he was great.” Indeed, he was.

Zac Smith gets the upper hand against Shane Mumford.

5. Contested Cats

Dominated around the ball, winning the contested footy by 30, which was the Giants’ worst result this season. It was helped, of course, by a vintage final quarter from Joel Selwood. The numbers aid the evidence, but numbers don’t do justice to the willpower of the skipper at certain contests. He had 12 disposals, eight contested disposals, 287m gained, three clearances, five score involvements and a goal. Henderson, Smith, Mackie, Dangerfield, Bartel and Guthrie were all important, but this day belonged to the captain.

7. Al Clarkson

The debate about head-high tackles was raging for a week and then the best coach in the game joined the fray. Let’s not be mistaken here, Clarkson’s opinion carries more weight than other coaches. That’s how it is when you’re the longest-serving coach and have won the past three premierships. It helps that he’s right. Even the AFL became more involved in the debate, led by football boss Mark Evans. “If we can find balance that discourages poor tackling but equally also discourages people from drawing head-high contact, that’s the answer,’’ Evans said. Take that as, yes, changes will be made at the end of the season, if not sooner.

8. Micky Barlow

Couldn’t get a game a couple back and on Saturday night embarrassed David Zaharakis. The Essendon midfielder has been outstanding this season, but just 11 touches at a miserable 45 per cent efficiency meant when he found the ball, he did nothing with it. Not so Barlow. He had 21, four clearances and six tackles and was among the best — behind Lachie Neale, of course. Neale could break the record for the most one votes in the Brownlow Medal.

Hawks pounce on Demon Jayden Hunt.

9. Tackling

Hawks still lost the contested ball, which is not a surprise, but can’t fault their endeavour when they didn’t have the ball. The Hawks recorded 109 tackles, their most since 1999, the year when stats identification became what we know. Hawks lost contested ball 170-147, lost the possession count by three (367-364), and won tackles 109-68, led by Poppy, Burgoyne, Rioli and Shiels all in double figures and newbies Howe and Stewart with nine each.

10. Jacob Weitering

Betting houses went into panic mode when the little fella on AFL360 suggested Callum Mills was worth a punt for the Rising Star. The excitement lasted three days. Mills, who went from 18s to 9s overnight, didn’t play and Weitering took 14 marks and had 23 disposals in yet another Carlton victory. The Blues big man is as exciting a prospect we’ve seen in a first season of football and if doesn’t win the rising star, the AFL should order an investigation.

Jacob Weitering strengthened his Rising Star claims with a superb game against Brisbane.

DISLIKES

1. Not tanking, just no good

Effort doesn’t require talent for activation and the Bombers should be ashamed with that output against a team which had not won a game this season. Lacked everything, even comradeship. Despite it being towards the end of the game, Will Hams and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti both kicked the first goals of their careers and, judging from the TV, their teammates couldn’t be bothered with any congratulations. Poor all round.

2. Richmond

Spend their lives living in the dislikes and it helps explain why they are in 14th position with a 4-7 record. Have had some poor performances this season, but Friday night against North Melbourne was the pick of the bunch. Forget the injuries, the Tigers were cooked before that. Tigers fans must be disconsolate because turnovers came back to kill them. North’s pressure is ranked No.1 — their average pressure factor is 187 — and the Tigers crumbled underneath it. They gave up 82 points from turnovers. Last year against North at the same ground it was 92 points. Two aspects here: Don’t pick Tigers to be beat North, and Tigers, get out of the Hobart schedule as quick as you can.

3. Brandon Ellis

He’d wake up with cold sweats thinking about Sam Gibson. Clearly, he is Ellis’s bogeyman. On Friday night, Gibson had Ellis for 87 minutes and kept him to seven possessions. In the elimination final last year, it was 88 minutes and 10 disposals. Gibson’s strategy is simple; no easy switch possessions for Ellis, who likes to get loose on the other side of the ground. Ellis’s problem is compounded because he doesn’t change his game and become a ball hunter.

Brandon Ellis can’t break Sam Gibson’s shackles. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

4. Leaky Pies

The Pies kicked the first two goals of the game and then had their defence dismantled when Port kicked six of the next seven, several coming when Port forwards found themselves free of an opponent inside 50m. By halftime, they had kicked four goals from inside the goalsquare. It tightened up more in the second half, but to avail as Port surged ahead. The upshot is Port is alive in the finals hunt and the Pies are cooked.

5. Running out of excuses

Troubles up the other end as well. It is team defence again, but surely there had to be some ownership for Port’s runners, Jarman Impey and Jasper Pittard. Impey possibly played his best game and gained 667m, while Pittard gained 769m. Collingwood’s effort again was solid, winning the tackle count by 11, but Port’s run shredded them and their defence. Is it lack of forward pressure or lack of midfield pressure? More than likely both.

6. Tom Lynch

Finally a report for a stomach punch. Rodney Eade called it “totally undisciplined’’ from a leader and you got the impression Rocket gave it to his emerging superstar in the post-match. It was the sour note in what was a pretty solid effort from the Suns in the slosh against the one of the best contested-ball teams in the competition. The Lynch outcome will be interesting. The MRP has dished out fines for similar incidents this season, so Lynch surely can expect the same. The stomach punch is an issue, though. The AFL loves a memo and there should be one at the end of the season telling all clubs there will be crackdown, that’s if it doesn’t come sooner.

7. Lions support

The skipper returned and had 48 disposals, 13 clearances and nine tackles. Please, Brisbane, how about you follow Tom Rockliff’s lead? Another poor performance from the Lions, this time the skill level being the glaring problem. The effort was pretty good, but it’s tough kicking goals when you find it difficult kicking it from Player A to Player B. The Lions have Fremantle at home this weekend.

8. Out of order

Would argue West Coast’s Sam Butler tried to keep the ball alive, instead of taking it over the boundary line, when he handballed down the line. But the umpire said no. He was pinged for deliberate and Jake Stringer kicked the curling goal. Cats coach Chris Scott is right, the deliberate rule is great for the game, but it continues to have teething problems. Skill errors are mistakes and not deliberate actions.

9. Steve Morris’s knee

A career sliding was saved by solid performances in the past month and now Morris will sit out for 12 months after rupturing his ACL. He’s one of those players loved his teammates and liked and disliked by Tigers fans. He might not get plenty of the ball and can make errors with it. But his effort is supreme. Even after his knee popped on Friday night, he still managed to play the ball. Awesome effort.

Thank you to everyone for the messages of support. It's very much appreciated 👍🏻

— Steve Morris (@stevemorris38) June 5, 2016

10. More road woes

St Kilda can’t get it right. That’s four interstate games for four losses this year and Sunday’s was as poor as the 100-point loss to West Coast in Round 8. Poor first half meant the momentum the Saints had garnered in their previous two victories was left at Melbourne airport. We see performances like the Round 4 game against Hawthorn and the Round 7 against North Melbourne and then you see Sunday night’s game and shake your head at the gap between their best and worst.

BEST TWEETS

@thetravtruter: andrew swallow leads the roos so well with his inside work and tackling. Under-rated captain needs more credit

@podes17: Weitering is a certainty for the Rising Star???? Open your eyes.. Parish, Petracca, Hopper & Daniel far better

@pauljricci: L- Freo crowd applauding Crowley. DL -Bombers tanking. The red flag you spoke about should be waving at AFLHQ

@Maxpower806: dislike RFC & Cotchin talked up revenge from elimination loss on the big stage & again showed no guts & no game

‏@breenos: D: Pies on field leaders. Useless if half are playing VFL. Time for others to step up - and make every man accountable.

@alanoakley3: swans tackling. Taken to a new level. Seriously risked drowning at times

@davidsffs: like: even tho Melbourne lost, physically matched the Hawks for the first time in a long time, without Viney 2

@nigelvennell: Like Stringer’s break away speed dislike his consistent throwing out of arms for a free kick

@TheStatMann: Like: Bontempelli youngest ever captain to win a game in AFL history! Also 30 possessions and led from front.

@IanGageinperth: like...the opportunity to give @ryanmcrowley a proper send off at subi... Proper goose bump time #freo

@Tim_symons23: like Impey, Nead, Wingard and Krakour not a bad indigenous quartet.

@LeethalR: Like: Lachie Hunter keeps getting it done. Dislike: Essendon Hawthorn next week is a waste of a Friday night

@PaulZauch: the effort of @Jacksontrengove. The contests he’s provided over the last 5 weeks have sparked our season.

@Roundy1981: Sam Kerridge, ripping pick up by SOS

@1joekirby: LIKE not much at the moment DISLIKE the fact I chose the Tigers all those years ago, stops me liking footy now

@OLoughlinSteve: Dislike: How can ball go into Ports F50 and they have +1 ? It’s Pies unwillingness to run hard.

@michsherr: Likes: Melb cheer squad’s banner msg for Roughy. Respect and class all the way.

@bdawg1515: dislike.. players still clearly ducking being rewarded #blight

@Hulkbusters_MC: dislike: Justin Leppitsch and his post match press conference. Same pathetic crap every week. Move him on

@norlanian: Like - mason cox finally getting a holding the man free kick. Dislike - Everything else about the pies

@cmrnjkrkp: Dislike Richmond. I can’t keep barracking

@Dekka4040: Night footy in Tassie. Although the match didn’t reach classic status, the fans turned up and made it a winner.

@jungies_luke: loved seeing the umpire who paid the high free kick to debutante Kade Stewart admit that he made a mistake

@whydoesadog: Majak Daw is learning, and now displaying, his craft. Only played 18 games and must be on the radar for others.

@Skabbatello: Like- SOS slotting 4 sausage rolls in the magoos, DISLIKE- $5.40 for a rock hard ice-cream at Etihad (rort)

@Crowey13: Neale Daniher for Australian of the Year, we can make it happen!

‏@riffwithbiff: Like : Charlie Dixon : best 0 goal game from a full forward you will see. Dislike : I gotta be honest, not much

@paulsimos: dislike hawthorns deliberate ducking. When first gamers do it, it’s clearly ingrained in their system!