Early Tackle: Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes from round 7
As Fremantle surged to victory, Western Bulldogs’ best player watched on from the bench. As SCOTT GULLAN writes, it was a diabolical error from the Bulldogs which could be season-defining.
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The Saints are struggling, Willem Drew is surging and the blowtorch is being turned on St Kilda’s youngsters after a poor start.
North Melbourne’s leaders are also under the microscope after the club’s winless start rolled on in Tasmania.
The spotlight is also back on the Western Bulldogs after falling to Fremantle, while Geelong has confirmed itself as premiership favourites.
Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes from round 7.
DISLIKES
BENCHED BONT
The Western Bulldogs are getting good at holding reviews so they will know the process required to figure out how Marcus Bontempelli was on the bench for seven minutes late in the final quarter.
It’s a diabolical error which the Dogs will most likely look back on in four months time and think that Freo late game stuff-up is what has cost us a finals berth.
We know rotations are part of the modern game and the Bont definitely needs a breather at some point in a quarter but how you can have him not being a part of the most important 10 minutes of the year is a shocking error.
Who cares if the prearranged swap with one of his fellow midfielders wasn’t eventuating, go to Plan B and yank off anybody to ensure your best player is on the ground when it matters most.
Too often clubs are getting caught out by being governed by their set routine, sometimes you have to throw an audible and the Dogs inability to figure that out has cost them dearly.
The review will throw up a few other things, namely a shocking kicking for goal night with Bont having to own up to one of the worst – an easy shot from 12m out on a slight angle late in the third quarter.
You don’t win games kicking 2.7 goals in the third quarter.
And you don’t win games by allowing the opposition’s three prime movers in the midfield to have 104 possessions – Caleb Serong (17 clearances) and Nat Fyfe 37 each, Andrew Brayshaw 30.
THE ROSS SPIN
Ross Lyon is a genius, that’s the reputation he holds in the football world and it seems like his time in the Triple M commentary box has served him well.
His openness when he has a microphone in front of him now is compelling and has commentators all warm and fuzzy given his honesty and the way he talks about the game.
As a result of being so open and honest, it’s human nature to then be more reticent to not go as hard with criticism as you might with someone else (ie Luke Beveridge).
Lyon’s spin is that he’s running a dual narrative, getting games into the kids while trying to maintain a side capable of playing finals like they did in his first season last year.
Right now, that plan isn’t working. Yes you can hide behind some close finishes and as many stats as you like but the Saints look a lot more like a battling August side than an aspiring September outfit.
The playing the kids mantra is admirable although a couple of them, namely Mattaes Phillipou and Mitch Owens, have hit a rough patch while Max King, who didn’t play against the Power, is still yet to really announce himself in the competition.
Then when you put the microscope to the rest of it, there are holes everywhere. The midfield can look pedestrian at times with captain Jack Steele, Seb Ross and the new face in there, Marcus Windhager, unlikely to win the Stawell Gift any time soon.
Take Rowan Marshall out of the equation and the big man stocks are light-on. Zaine Cordy and Josh Battle try hard, Dougal Howard has been a bust while at the other end Tim Membrey is struggling, Anthony Caminiti is hot and cold and Cooper Sharman is an honest battler.
We’ll know a lot more about St Kilda over the next month or so with some very winnable games – (North at Marvel, Hawthorn in Tassie, Fremantle at Marvel, Melbourne at MCG and West Coast in Perth) – in the schedule.
After that, what is Ross spin and what are facts will be a lot clearer.
LEADERS . . . PLEASE
When you’re a young developing team, the reliance on your senior players to show up week in week out is bigger than ever.
Unfortunately for Alastair Clarkson he has a real issue with the impact his leaders are having at the moment.
Co-captains Jy Simpkin and Luke McDonald struggled for 14 and 11 possessions respectively while Bailey Scott, who is a member of the leadership group, only had 12 touches.
Simpkin was thrown into the middle of the ground early to try and spark something but he’s a shadow of the player he was a couple of years ago.
McDonald missed the start of the season through injury and is finding his way back but the Roos look rudderless so early in games at the moment that it quickly becomes turn the TV off sort of stuff.
GIVE THE KID A REST
Harley Reid is at the peak of his powers but West Coast decided this week to rest their emerging superstar.
Rather than travel over the other side of the country to play the Gold Coast, the No.1 pick will spend some bonding time with his family in Victoria.
That is smart management. Look at that philosophy and compare it to how St Kilda is handling its own rising star Mattaes Phillipou.
The youngest player in the competition last year has played every game over the past two seasons since he made his debut in Round 1, 2023.
Friday night’s clash against Port Adelaide was Phillipou’s 31st game in a row and rather than looking like a kid who is going to be the next Marcus Bontempelli, he looks like a teenager who needs a rest.
Over the last three weeks he’s averaged just 10 touches and kicked one goal. Yes he plays in a tough position at half-forward with brief stints up the ground but there is no zip, urgency or excitement about him at the moment.
There are enough people at St Kilda who will tell you he will make the grade as a top-liner but that is down the track, right now they need to go to the supermarket and find some cotton wool.
MR PEDANTIC
Harry McKay and Patrick Cripps weren’t trying to get an advantage, they weren’t using any elaborate tactics to slow down the Cats.
At worst they were confused.
McKay had been hurt in the contest and was getting himself orientated, while he was doing that Cripps took the mark. The only problem was a pedantic field umpire had it in his head that McKay was on the mark and had been told to stand.
So when the Blues full-forward started to wander off — again he was in no way impacting what Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron was going to do – the umpire blew his whistle and paid a 50m penalty.
The AFL will most likely justify it on Monday in the review but when they talk about feel for the game, this was not an incident worth a 50m penalty.
And of course it was crucial to the outcome, coming at the 15-minute mark of a gripping final quarter with Cameron’s subsequent goal after the penalty giving the Cats a 21-point lead.
LIKES
DO AS DAD SAYS
Luke Darcy found himself in the unusual position of commentating on his son Sam in the Channel 7 experts chair.
Given he is also a Western Bulldogs board member, there would be some who would be up in arms that he was behind the microphone.
Thankfully we seem to have moved on from losing sleep over such scenarios – remember the rage when Eddie McGuire commentated on Collingwood games as president – and Darcy handled himself very well.
But in the third quarter he couldn’t help himself when Sam missed a relatively easy set shot with his Dad pointing out he had a habit of getting too close to the man on the mark.
Later in the term, Sam got another big mark – (the kid is going to be a star) – and as he went back to line up for goal, some fatherly advice was offered.
“Can someone tell him to go back two more steps,” Luke said.
This time Sam took notice of his Dad and nailed the crucial shot which brought the Dogs back within five points.
FRENCH IS THE WORD
No wonder Patrick Cripps made it known he wanted Marc Pittonet in the Carlton side.
The big Frenchman was missing at the start of the season as the Blues went with one main ruckman in Tom De Koning but the word out of Ikon Park was that the skipper wanted the two ruck model.
On Saturday 87,775 fans at the MCG saw why.
Pittonet became John Nicholls for a couple of hours as he dominated the centre square providing Cripps and his partner in crime, Sam Walsh, first use of the ball with ridiculous regularity.
The Blues led all the key statistical groups around the midfield — hit-outs, clearances, centre clearances and stoppage clearances — mainly because of Pittonet’s dominance.
Pittonet finished with 19 possessions, 28-hit-outs and a career-high 11 clearances to completely embarrass Cats ruckman Rhys Stanley.
Stanley’s disappointing effort should push Geelong coach Chris Scott’s hand and see him turn to promising youngster Toby Conway for the immediate future.
Conway was excellent against Brisbane a week earlier but the Cats are keen to handle him gently so he was managed out against the Blues.
But given what Pittonet did to the Cats, Scott should throw the ruck keys to the 21-year-old and temper his blind faith in Stanley.
FEEL GOOD FILL-UP
A combination of Adelaide showing a pulse and Port Adelaide being rocked by injury means Thursday night’s primetime TV Showdown will be even more intriguing than usual.
The Crows had the wood on the Power last year and they will at least run onto the Adelaide Oval feeling a lot better about themselves after a cruisy trip to Tasmania.
Playing North Melbourne at the moment is all about getting a confidence boost and that’s what Matthew Nicks’ side got in what was a pretty regulation 57-point victory.
These are games you love playing in when you’ve been struggling for rhythm and three of the Crows most important operators cashed in.
Izak Rankine played like he knew his opponent’s weren’t on the same planet as he was, kicking four goals from 17 touches while Taylor Walker showed a bit of his 2023 form in the role of conductor for the day.
The big Texan decided unselfishness was the theme for the day and he had 12 score involvements in his 15 disposals, kicking two goals himself.
Veteran Rory Laird also got in on the confidence boosting with a game-high 34 possessions, six tackles and one goal.
Jeremy Cameron kicks his 600th AFL goal ðŸ‘
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JEZZA MILESTONE
It was typical Jeremy Cameron and typical Geelong.
The 600th goal of Cameron’s brilliant career came via another masterclass from Tom Hawkins in a ruck contest.
While teams know exactly what Tomahawk and Jezza are going to do in this scenario, they still can’t stop it.
Hawkins muscled his Carlton opponent, tapped it backwards to a spot where Cameron was motoring past and he then calmly snapped the goal on his left-foot.
Cameron is currently No.36 on the all-time AFL goalkicking list and needs another 274 goals to make it into the top 10.
He just turned 31 earlier this month but given the way he plays, pending a good run with injury, he could easily play for another four years.
In the 2022 premiership year he kicked 65 goals and he’s going to have to average around that to chase down Peter McKenna (874 goals) in 10th spot.
As with anything Cameron does, nothing would surprise.
DREW REWARD
It was a panadol sort of night for Ken Hinkley.
The Port coach watched his team continually blow chances at goal in the first half which kept St Kilda in the game. He then had to deal with his key defender Alir Alir coming off with concussion.
That was soon followed by one of his key weapons Sam Powell-Pepper limping off with a knee injury that finished his night (and sadly his season with confirmation now of an ACL tear) and then his skipper Connor Rozee did a hammy.
Through all of this chaos, there is one thing which would have put a smile on Hinkley’s face afterwards and that was the sight of Willem Drew being awarded the Peter Badcoe VC Medal for the player who best demonstrated the ANZAC spirit on the night.
Drew is one of the coach’s favourites and you can understand why. If Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis are the lead acts of this Broadway midfield, their red-headed mate is more a small theatre down a side street type operator.
He has understandably been shuffled more out of the midfield more this season but when his number was called on Friday night, Drew put both hands up with 23 disposals, eight tackles and three clearances.
Hinkley would also have got a smile out of who was runner-up to Drew in the medal voting (7 to 6 votes). Jase Burgoyne, in his 19th game, collected a career-high 27 touches to show the coach he was ready to make the wing his own.
BROTHERLY LOVE
We’re going out on a limb here by declaring history was made at the MCG on Saturday.
Surely in the history of the competition there hasn’t been four sets of brothers on the field at the same time.
The return of Cameron Guthrie from injury completed the family affair meaning he could join brother Zach in the Cats backline.
Geelong already had the Henry brothers – Ollie and Jack – with Carlton providing the Hollands, Ollie and Elijah.
And then there were the De Koning’s, Carlton ruckman Tom and Geelong defender Sam.
HELLO MR DARCY
More than ever, the pressure is on recruiting departments to not to stuff up early picks.
With the new Tasmanian team on the horizon, it’s not a good time to pull the wrong rein at the pointy end of the draft.
So snaring a good one outside of the obvious is a big win and the Saints look to have certainly found a serious player in Darcy Wilson.
Plenty of clubs had a chance to snare the Murray Bushrangers speedster in last year’s draft where he was snared at No.18.
While he earned his Rising Star nomination last week in the flogging to the Bulldogs, Darcy was even better against the Power collecting 21 touches.
In a great sign for the Saints recruiters two other kids from the 2023 draft were on display on Friday night with Angus Hastie (No.33) coming on as a sub and showing plenty while Hugo Garcia (No.50) found himself attending the odd centre bounce in just his third game.
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