It’s time The Enigma Steven Motlop shows us what’s real and what’s fiction, David King says
GEELONG’S fortunes against the Greater Western Sydney on Saturday will be dictated by star factor, DAVID KING writes.
Geelong
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GEELONG’S fortunes against the Greater Western Sydney on Saturday will be dictated by star factor.
The Giants’ elite talent such as Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel, Jeremy Cameron and Heath Shaw squares off against the reliable Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Corey Enright, just to name a few.
Playmakers on every line for both teams, yet the AFL’s greatest barometer will dictate who wins on Saturday afternoon and he is in the blue and white hoops.
It’s not Selwood. Tagging Selwood is futile as his ability to win contested ball is impossible to stifle.
Like a cage fight, two of the AFL’s toughest hombres, Ward and Selwood, will stare each other down in a head-to-head battle, but it won’t be a tag.
While Dangerfield’s impact on Geelong has been profound he also relies more heavily on contested football as opposed to uncontested touches.
Dangerfield wins 51.5 per cent of his possessions in high-traffic areas, the stoppages or drop of ball crumbing situations where physical contact and poor disposal efficiency are almost guaranteed.
Just like Selwood, you can’t tag Dangerfield out of the game as his 30 disposal average for 2016 authenticates.
Steven Motlop is the AFL’s greatest barometer. In many ways he’s an enigma.
It’s almost impossible to understand why his performances week to week scale such heights and plummet to unimaginably desperate lows.
In Geelong’s wins Motlop averages 23 disposals, the bulk of which others win for him and with his extreme skill and class he assists in scoring on average nine times.
In the losses these numbers fall dramatically to an average of 15 disposals and only four scoring involvements.
Motlop can be tagged out of games through minimising his uncontested possessions. He can throw in the white towel and quite often you can see that he’s had enough through his demeanour and body language.
Want to stop Geelong? Stop Motlop from working his magic forward of centre.
Motlop is all duck or no dinner. Seldom does he play a “nice” game. Only five of his past 25 matches have secured between 80-100 SuperCoach points.
And as you can see, the extremes of Motlop’s returns are stark. Ten times over 133 points yet the other 10, 70 or below.
When Motlop is in full flight, press record. He will try things most players would fear.
The torpedo, a baulk, a game-breaking 60m run or simply finish a goal others would find too difficult.
He’s an entertainer with all the assets an AFL player wishes for and he should be a regular conversation for All-Australian honours, but due to his inconsistency and volatility he remains unmentioned.
Motlop should resent that fact and for Geelong’s sake do something about it.
Geelong has enjoyed some uniquely talented stars over the past two decades from Gary Ablett Sr
to Stevie J, Gary Jr to Paul Chapman and so on, but right now the most pure ball user in the blue and white hoops is “Mots”.
The aforementioned stars all have their quirky issues and so too does Motlop.
He lacks emotional control and the opposition are now targeting him physically and verbally, all within the confines of the rules, to get inside his head.
Unfortunately for Motlop, this tactic has worked almost every time therefore committing him to further attention.
Motlop is the perfect “in the gun” or “team target” player given his record. It’s days like Saturday where he can remedy that slur.
Last week Carlton made it personal against Motlop and he succumbed to the extra heat by giving away five free kicks and a petulant 50m penalty.
If you can infiltrate Motlop’s focus on the game you’ll reap the rewards.
I’d expect the Giants to go after Motlop in a big way as the incentive is simply too great.
Geelong versus the Giants promises to be a high speed, explosive game out of clearances or high traffic areas.
It’s made for a Motlop masterclass as he’s a gut runner when involved and he possesses a desire to embarrass those who oppose him. A wonderful trait that all superstars exhibit.
Only Tom Hawkins has more goals than him for the Cats but Motlop plays a part in one in every four scores, which endorses his importance.
Coach Chris Scott is challenged with the role of getting the best out of Motlop, not only this weekend but season long as this man could just be the premiership key now that the Cats midfield has the depth to leave Motlop forward of centre.
If Motlop was an ASX listed company he’d be a trader’s dream but as an AFL commodity he flirts a fine line between a tease and a freakish talent.
At 25 it’s time for “The Enigma” — Steven Motlop — to show which is real and which is fiction.
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