Mick McGuane zeroes in on the AFL players and coaches who must lift after the first month
He was the fifth rated key forward last year; now he has slumped to 44th. Tom McDonald’s fall from grace has been nothing short of alarming for the Demons. MICK MCGUANE singles out the players, teams and coaches who need to lift.
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Collingwood champion Mick McGuane has run his rule over the first four months of the AFL season — and he’s found plenty of clubs, players, coaches — and even officialdom — that needs to lift.
Here’s his take on the disappointments and frustrations of the first month of footy.
LYNCH: HOW I CHEATED MY WAY INTO PIES GAME
DERM: WHO’S BETTER THAN AFL’S BIG FOUR?
MORE MICK: HOW TO FIX ‘DEE-MUDA TRIANGLE’
MORE MICK: THE PLAYERS KEY TO PIES’ NEXT FLAG
DEES’ DNA TESTED
Melbourne’s game was dysfunctional in the first three weeks.
Pressure and contest was part of the Demons’ DNA last year, but that contested footy has vanished.
Last year they lost the contested footy count on TWO occasions; this year they have only won it ONCE from four games (+20 v Swans).
Their mids aren’t winning enough of the ball — ranked 17th for disposal/uncontested possession differentials. That’s a huge difference to last year.
There are massive forward line issues. They have scored from 33 per cent of inside 50s, ranked 18th (compared to 5th last year) — a strength has become a weakness.
That comes on the back of their ball movement from the back half. The Demons recovered this a little against the Swans, but the first month has seen them ranked 17th for going from defensive 50m to inside 50s, a massive concern, given they were ranked No. 1 in 2018.
Goodwin will welcome Neville Jetta back, Michael Hibberd needs to take the game on more, and Jayden Hunt should go behind the ball to provide run and bounce.
T-MAC UNDER MICROSCOPE
Tom McDonald’s fall from grace has been alarming since Jesse Hogan’s departure, given he now gets the opposition’s best defender. He was the 5th rated key forward last year; now he has slumped to 44th.
He has only two goals from four games, and isn’t finding the ball, averaging 11.5 disposals per game, averaging the lowest mark tally of his career (3.5) and with scoring involvements down to 4.3 per game.
Braydon Preuss can change deep with Max Gawn, allowing McDonald and Sam Weideman to play further up the field, which will help.
CLIPPED CROWS
Don Pyke MUST release the shackles to recapture Adelaide’s 2017 brand — not the 12-10 win-loss from last year, or 1-3 start to 2019.
The players look confused, so let them play with freedom and spirit.
At the moment the Crows look like they are playing with a fear of failure.
Their back half ball movement is slow and uncertain.
It used to be a strength, with Rory Laird, Brodie Smith and others bouncing out of defensive 50 with energy and precision, as the Crows scored seven goals from defensive chains in 2017. That figure has now crashed to 22 points per game.
Adelaide has lost its turnover game, scoring the fewest points from turnovers in the AFL. They have been outscored from turnover by 62 points — ranked 18th.
Their forward line ball use has been deplorable. Kicking efficiency in the forward 50m sees them ranked 17th, and 18th in accuracy.
They’ve kicked 37.55 this year. Not good enough!
TWIN TOWERS, NO INFLUENCE
Josh Jenkins should be playing in the SANFL this weekend.
He is devoid of confidence, is second guessing himself in marking contests and is not competing strongly enough.
Maybe young Darcy Fogarty is a better option at the moment.
Since 2012, Jenkins has had the fewest marks inside 50m (1.5 per game), fewest goals (1 per game) and fewest scoring involvements (4.8 per game).
His forward pressure is also the lowest it has been since 2016.
Taylor Walker, as captain, needs to step up. He must be prepared to get himself into more marking contests in more dangerous areas of the ground.
He has taken 19 marks this year; tellingly only one has come inside 50m off the back of being a target 24 times.
His one inside 50m mark to Jeremy Cameron’s 20 shows where he is at, so it is time to step up to the plate and turn the fortunes of his team around.
AFL’S WARNING JOKE
The AFL’s plan to retain the warning to clubs over any 6-6-6 infringements at least until the of the 2019 season is ludicrous and is being exploited.
Change it now!
If professional players can’t get back to starting positions in a 40-second time frame after a goal, they should be penalised.
My solution — no warning, an immediate free kick to the opposition ruckman if a team transgresses, and if it happens again, a free kick and 50m penalty.
Once it starts costing teams goals, coaches won’t allow it.
WHERE’S THE POINT OF DIFFERENCE?
Coaches seem obsessed with a less effective mimicking of West Coast’s style from last year, with their kick-mark game.
So who’s the team going to be daring enough to introduce more risk with a free-flowing, high-octane, counter-attack style from their defensive end.
It might win you a flag!
In the defensive half of the ground, we have seen the highest kick-to-handball ratio since 2006, the most marks in nine years, the most uncontested marks since 2008, and the lowest play-on percentage since Champion Data started in 1999.
You don’t play like sheep to kill a wolf. Let’s hope some coach has a point of difference, goes in for the kill and catches the rest of the competition unawares.
These current trends MUST be challenged, or fans will turn away.
PLAY TO CHARLIE’S STRENGTHS
Brendon Bolton needs to make Charlie Curnow his deepest forward, because using him as a high half forward isn’t working.
They have fallen into the trap of thinking he has a great tank, but he isn’t smart enough to play that role yet.
For a key forward to succeed up the ground, he must see the game as the AFL’s best mids do. That takes 360 awareness, which he hasn’t got now.
Bolton should look at the way Geelong, North Melbourne and West Coast use Tom Hawkins, Ben Brown and Josh Kennedy. They are their team’s deepest anchors.
Making that move might turn Carlton’s barren attack around, given it hasn’t kicked a scoreline of 100 points in almost 1050 days.
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