The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 6 of the 2020 AFL season
A recruit who the Blues scored for nothing has been one of the finds of the year. And a feature of Jack Martin’s stellar performance against the Bulldogs had flashes of Cyril Rioli about it, writes Mark Robinson.
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It was an ugly weekend for Hawthorn and St Kilda.
The Hawks embarrassed coach Alastair Clarkson, setting a record for futility, while the Saints carved out a six-goal lead, then went to sleep against the Dockers.
As Darcy Moore stamps his reputation as one of the best key defenders in the game, a new face emerges on the Gold Coast.
See all Robbo’s likes and dislikes in his Round 6 The Tackle below.
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DISLIKES
1 NOT WORTH A HILL OF BEANS
Saints coach Brett Ratten was on point after the match.
“We’ve brought a full squad up here, so we’ll play players who are in form. If you’re not in form and your form’s tapering, you might be in a bit of trouble,’’ he said.
So, where does that leave Bradley Hill? He’s on a bundle of money and is playing like a first-year player — tentative and lacklustre.
If Ratten wants to make a statement at selection then Hill is his man.
His past two weeks have been ordinary. The gap between his best and worst is unacceptable for a player of his talent.
His average ranking points this season (57) is the lowest since 2012, tackles (1.3) the lowest since 2012, metres gained (315) the lowest since 2013, and disposals (19.6) the lowest since 2016.
On Saturday he was the lowest-ranked St Kilda player.
2 ATTITUDE A BIT TOO SAINTLY
The Saints are building a team of weapons — speed, midfield depth and youth — yet are missing an ingredient synonymous with good teams.
They lack a killer attitude, the desire to put teams to the sword.
It might be simplistic to describe their losses to the Kangaroos (Round 1) and the Dockers (Round 6) as attitudinal, but in both they gave up big leads.
Once is bad enough, twice in six games is a trend. If there is a cue-in-the-rack mentality, and Ratten will know more than anyone if that’s true or not, the Saints won’t win this premiership.
Downhill skiers don’t stand on podiums in September.
Their pressure rating across the four quarters on Saturday was 199, 158, 190 (still beaten up around the ball) and 160. Their pressure simply wavers too much.
3 HAW-FUL SPECTACLE
The “dreadful’’ footy Alastair Clarkson was talking about two weeks ago has proven to be a synopsis of his own game.
The Hawks are hard to watch, and for Collingwood on Friday night they were easy to play against.
What’s happened to the team former great Dermott Brereton savaged on Fox Footy on Saturday?
“They just died a slow death … for an old Hawk it was dreadful to watch,” he said.
It’s rare for a Clarkson team to be so lacking in flair.
In the first five rounds, Hawthorn was the No.1 mark/play-on team in the competition at 31 per cent.
Against Collingwood that dropped to 23 per cent.
And their average kick distance was 22m, compared to Collingwood’s 29m.
It’s just too stagnant.
4 MID STRENGTH THE PROBLEM
The Hawks are being belted in the midfield. In that area they are ranked 18th for contested ball differential, 17th for ground balls, and 16th for clearance differential.
With those numbers, every other part of your game has to be A1.
Tom Mitchell’s ability to win his own ball is a given, but Jaeger O’Meara, James Worpel, Tom Scully, Liam Shiels and Ricky Henderson are struggling to degrees.
The decline of Worpel and Henderson on last year to this is worrying.
The Hawks play Melbourne this week, another test because the Demons have one aspect of their game going OK — their midfield, led by Max Gawn, Jack Viney and Christian Petracca.
5 DOWNWARD DOGS
It’s the same old problem for the Bulldogs.
The ghost of a complicated forward line has floated back through the doors of the kennel. They had 53 inside 50s for 7.9, opposed to Carlton’s 41 inside 50s for 16.7.
They Lacked composure in front of goal and contribution from their talls — Josh Schache and Josh Bruce.
Bailey Dale couldn’t find it. Schache and Bruce took two marks between them, or should say Bruce took two marks.
Carlton’s big trio, Mitch McGovern, Harry McKay and Levi Casboult, took 18 between them.
It was an extremely poor performance from a team who some thought were premiership fancies.
They aren’t after Sunday night. They are too hit and miss.
6 A GIANT CONUNDRUM
We will continue to call out racism which, sadly, at the weekend was directed towards Melbourne’s Harley Bennell.
We will also continue to call out rubbish football.
The Greater Western Sydney-Port Adelaide first half produced 4.4. to 2.5. We can ask what’s happening to our sport, but at the same time we have to wonder what’s happening at the Giants.
They beat Hawthorn with limited entries the previous week, and on Sunday it was only 33 entries for 6.10 on the scoreboard.
For such a talented group they are playing non-threatening footy. Not as bad as Hawthorn, but pedestrian.
They were smacked at clearance (25-41) and never had a foothold in this game.
What does this team stand for? Right now they’re overrated. You’re going nowhere when ranked 18th for inside-50s.
Only once have they won the contested possession count — against the Hawks who are 18th in that stat.
7 SUNDAY SNOOZE-FEST
The AFL is unfussed about the standard of footy, its only concern is whether football is played full stop.
Sunday’s game at the Gabba between Richmond and Sydney was the second-lowest scores — 34 to 26 — in a game in the AFL era. That’s 30-odd years of football.
Yes, it was wet and the undermanned Swans preferred to keep possession rather than drive it forward where the Tigers’ defenders waited, but it rivalled AFLW scoring.
Punters heap criticism on the women when they can’t kick goals, yet some gave the men an out Sunday because it was wet. Horrible to watch.
8 NORTH’S SEASON BROWN BREAD?
Ben Brown is in a horrible funk and so is North Melbourne. In six games, he’s kicked seven goals. His past three seasons have yielded 60-plus goals.
Timing and confidence appear to have deserted him. A dropped mark on the wing against the Bombers when he was metres clear was evidence this bloke is at a low ebb.
In his past three games he’s averaged seven disposals, three marks and two score involvements, which is not terrific in a contract year.
In Saturday’s Herald Sun, coach Rhyce Shaw spoke of the need for his players to “don the overalls’’. They didn’t.
9 A SLAP IN THE FACE
North Melbourne talks up its rivalry with Essendon, but in a next-level troll from a couple of Bombers, they said the rivalry was nothing special.
Andy McGrath told the ABC: “They build it up pretty big. I guess for us we’ve got a lot of rivalries … and this one probably wouldn’t be at the top of our list.”
Devon Smith on Channel 7: “It is a big rivalry for North, but for us it’s just another game.’’ Ouch!
LIKES
1 POWERFUL STATEMENT
What a day for the AFL’s newest life member.
Kenny Hinkley and his players were up at 5am, at the airport at 6am, on the field at Metricon at 1.05pm, and by 3.30pm Hinkley was in the middle of the circle of players belting out the team song.
It’s rare for a coach to join the circle, let alone be in the middle of it. Some might shake their heads, but most of the rest of the football world loved his passion.
It was a terrific win against the fickle Giants, the standout moment being a 60m goal by 21-year-old Kane Farrell in the final quarter.
It was a statement from Port, which was tougher and smarter for longer.
2 JACK OUT OF THE BOX
Blue Jack Martin is vying with Hugh Greenwood and Dan Butler as the recruit of the year and on Sunday night against the Bulldogs was the most potent player on the ground.
He was Cyril-like with his efficiency. He had 13 disposals for nine score involvements and 11 of his disposals were contested. He also had a team-high five tackles.
With Martin and Eddie Betts (four goals), and the vastly underrated Micky Gibbons, the Blues have a dangerous forward mix.
Gibbons is a beauty. He has talent and work rate and is sticking his finger up at all those recruiters who passed on him before the Blues took a punt in the pre-season draft.
3 PILE-ON OVER THE BUMP
Just wish leading football commentators would call out racism as much as they call out bumps to the head.
That’s not picking a fight, it’s simply asking those same commentators to raise their influential voices on a major issue in the game.
A pile-on about the bump is necessary and the AFL will act accordingly. Brad Ebert is gone. Dylan Shiel is gone. Ben Long is gone.
They all chose to bump, not tackle, and not go for the ball And they all hit their opponents in the head.
They will be suspended.
4 THIS GUY IS TOP RANK
For those who didn’t see the Gold Coast game, just believe what everyone is saying about Izak Rankine.
He’s got a gift with the ball in hand, and his first goal — when he controlled the free ball, danced and snapped on his right boot — was masterful.
He kicked three goals, had six shots at goal and eight score involvements in his first game of senior footy.
He’s already being compared to a young Andrew McLeod.
Previously it had been suggested he will be the best player from the 2018 national draft, which included the King boys Max and Ben, Connor Rozee, Bailey Smith and Sam Walsh.
The young man is magic and in a sport crying out for excitement, he looks a crowd pleaser for years to come.
MORE AFL:
Essendon knock off rivals North Melbourne as Roo taunts Conor McKenna during halftime scuffle
AFL injuries: Who is hurt from your club after Round 6?
Melbourne recruit Harley Bennell has been racially abused on social media
5 PAY HIM A LOT MOORE
How much should Darcy Moore be paid if and when he signs a new contract at Collingwood — $600K, $700K, maybe $800K a season?
He’s one of the best key defenders in the game, and growing quickly in the mould of West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern in that he can defend one-on-one and intercept.
Moore plays defence like his old man, two-time Brownlow medallist Peter, played the ruck — with athleticism and an attacking mindset.
He’s yet to sign a new contract with the Pies and neither has Jordan De Goey.
Maybe some of the money Collingwood had earmarked for De Goey — North Melbourne offered him $1 million a season — should be redirected to Moore because, this season at least, Moore’s value is far greater.
6 RIDLEY ME THIS
Essendon’s top two picks at the 2016 national draft — Andy McGrath (No.1) and Jordan Ridley (No.22) — are leaving huge impressions.
McGrath into the middle is a win, but you could argue the elevation of Ridley across halfback is an even bigger one.
“Ridley’s a jet,’’ Daniel Harford enthused on 3AW.
Ridley has become the ideal interceptor alongside All-Australians Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley. He leads the club in marks (33), spoils (33) and intercept marks (12).
After growing his game on the wing in the VFL, he’s been a tremendous find.
7 JACK OF LOSING
It’s as though Jack Viney took the mountain of criticism directed at the Melbourne players and coach last week personally.
He was typically ferocious in the victory over Gold Coast and his final quarter was particularly influential in the 17-point win.
Fans must wish Viney could bring that level of football every week. He started the season in that fashion and then was so-so through rounds 2, 4 and 5. On Saturday, it was 21 disposals and eight tackles.
Melbourne is a better team with him in beast mode.
8 DOCKER OFF THE MATT
At 27, Matthew Taberner has played 77 games. Let’s hope this is the year he plays every game and gets to the level he is capable.
He’s never really had a crack at it because of injury and as a result is one of those players that carries the what-if tag.
In 2020 he ranks No.1 at Fremantle for marks (38), contested marks (13), goals (nine) and No.2 for score involvements (28).
He was among the best in the stunning win over St Kilda and is a huge threat playing a high key-forward role.
9 THE INVISIBLE CAT
Chris Scott is correct. The Cats have known Sam Menegola is good player for several years while most of the rest of us are playing catch-up on his impact in a midfield dominated by the presence of Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood.
Menegola plays forward-midfield. In 2017, he was the No.1 ranked mid-forward in the competition and was the only player in his position to rate elite for disposals, metres gained and tackles per game.
On Thursday night, he had a career-high 152 ranking points, which might get him the second-most votes from the coaches — after Dangerfield, that is.