The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 14
As the Blues bounced back from a shocking run of form, perhaps their return to the winners list was embodied by a maligned Blue fighting for his future.
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Are the Blues back?
Things are certainly looking a lot brighter at Ikon Park after Carlton’s first win since April.
And Tiger fans will be daring to dream of September after a third win in a row under Andrew McQualter.
Meanwhile, list managers are getting to work as trade talk starts to heat up.
Check out Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 14.
LIKES
1. Corridor Carlton
Carlton has copped a lot for playing slow and wide over the first half of the season, but the club has clearly made a big adjustment.
The Blues have attacked the corridor much more in recent weeks and they blew the Suns off the park with a blistering second term on Sunday at the MCG.
Former Fremantle midfielder Adam Cerra was outstanding and the onball operation returned to full power, kicking eight goals from centre clearances.
But the way they are attacking through the guts is the big one, after going wide early in 2023.
Over the past fortnight, the Blues have become the No.1 team in the competition for going up the corridor. Clearly, there’s more appetite for risk.
And will it become something that is more central in the planning over the pre-season as the Blues try and make finals next year.
September looks beyond the Blues this season and there will be change of some description in the footy department at season’s end, it seems.
They were so much better against Gold Coast on Sunday, but the knockers will wonder where this was earlier in the season when it was all on the line?
They have the bye this week and will take on Hawthorn at the MCG the following Sunday.
2. Blue performs with future on the line
Mitch McGovern played one of his best games for the club for Carlton as he fights for his future.
The intercepting defender played a commanding role for the Blues helping the club rebound off half back in a must-win game against Gold Coast.
McGovern, 28, had a torrid run with form, injury and fitness over the life of his mega five-year contract at Ikon Park.
But the club looks unlikely to rush into a contract extension until season’s end when it can assess his form and injury status.
Adelaide let him go in the first place because it would not pay him the big bucks and perhaps Carlton will take a similar stand if, as expected, it offers him a significantly reduced deal to stay beyond this season.
The Blues are under salary cap pressure to keep all of their stars and with whispers in recruiting circles linking Michael Voss’s men to St Kilda’s Jade Gresham, the club will have to save some money somewhere.
McGovern will know every game is important from here and on Sunday the Blues would have been thrilled with his contribution and efforts, with Jacob Weitering helping keep Ben King to one goal only for the game.
3. Cody taking off
Cody Weightman is making ground on Kysaiah Pickett as the most lethal small forward from the 2019 national draft.
The star Western Bulldogs’ goalkicker put on a show at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, taking a hanger on Griffin Logue in the third term to spearhead the Western Bulldogs’ win over North Melbourne.
And it looked like Weightman enjoyed the moment as he bounced back up to his feet with a big smile when he was congratulated by Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
He plays with electricity, Weightman, and can weave magic in the air and at ground level in way that will drag fans through the turnstiles for the next decade.
And inside the locker room his infectious personality makes him one of the most popular Bulldogs.
While the Western Australian clubs are chasing Aaron Naughton, it’s the Batman-Robin partnership with Weightman which will be one of the reasons to stay at the kennel.
Going back to the 2019 super draft, Melbourne took Pickett at pick 12, and have loved what he has produced in his short career so far.
But the man who was selected at pick 15, Weightman, is closing fast on the star Demon after another exhilarating six-goal performance in the win over the Roos.
Weightman has clean hands, a brilliant leap and energy on the defensive front which makes him a constant threat.
Pickett has been inconsistent at times this year and he copped a rocket from Garry Lyon on SEN last week, with the Melbourne great saying Pickett was playing like a millionaire.
4. Timely Tigers
All the focus has been on Tim Taranto’s excellent form but Shai Bolton is also back to his best under stand-in coach Andrew McQualter.
Over the past month Bolton is the seventh-highest-rated player in the competition, according to Champion Data after another three goals, 10 contested possessions and seven clearances in the win over St Kilda.
He can be electric, Bolton, and re-signed on a bumper five-year contract extension last year.
And after a quiet-ish start to the season he is firing under McQualter as the Tigers try and bash down the finals door on the run home.
Even without spearhead Tom Lynch and inside midfielder Jacob Hopper – who looks set to return from a calf injury after the bye – the Tigers have flashed their teeth in the front half for McQualter.
Since Damien Hardwick stepped aside, the Tigers are third for scores per inside 50m.
That is a huge improvement on the first 10 rounds when the Tigers were ranked last in the competition in the same category.
But the forward connection – which saw Hardwick pull his hair out – has improved sharply.
Hopper is in line to be back for the clash against Brisbane Lions on Thursday week along with Marlion Pickett who is facing alleged burglary charges.
After the clash against Brisbane the Tigers’ draw opens up against Sydney Swans, West Coast and Hawthorn.
5. Good for footy
Melbourne’s clash against GWS Giants in Alice Springs in a fortnight will go ahead after the AFL brokered a peace deal with local council over community footy.
There were fears the clash would have to be moved to another venue after the local council banned community footy involving teams from regional areas from playing in Alice Springs on Sundays.
But AFL game development boss Rob Auld fixed the issue with a revamped community fixture, helping address some of the social problems concerning the council around transport and venues.
It was a pleasing result for the league as it means the Demons will host the Giants as planned in the Red Centre on Sunday, July 2.
Melbourne has won four of its past five games at Traeger Park..
DISLIKES
1. Will Chris poach one of Brad’s to fix midfield?
Chris Scott’s midfield headache has become a migraine as the Cats prepare to play without Patrick Dangerfield.
He showed extraordinary courage to play on against Port Adelaide with a partially collapsed lung and broken rib.
But Scott will be worried about how he can ignite the onball brigade the stop might of the Melbourne engine room this weekend.
Over the past five weeks only West Coast has conceded more points from clearance.
Mark Blicavs led the centre clearance operation in the loss to Port Adelaide, but Scott will look to Tom Atkins, Tanner Bruhn and Max Holmes to lift in that area against Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca.
The midfield malaise will likely increase the Cats’ interest in Bomber Darcy Parish who was one of the best clearance winners in the competition before he went down injured.
But Parish will wonder who is closer to the next premiership, the Cats or the Bombers?
Essendon is on the rise under Brad Scott and his brother, Chris, will try hard to keep the Cats at the top.
Would Chris try and rip one of his brother’s best players out from under his nose?
2. How do the Dogs cover for Liam Jones?
Liam Jones was central to Luke Beveridge’s plans to become a better defensive team at the kennel this year.
But his arm injury on Sunday night will pose a huge challenge to the Bulldogs if he misses a significant period in the back half of the season.
Jones was on track to be included in the All-Australian squad for his stellar defensive efforts this year and, for one of the few times since his first season, Aaron Naughton was swung into defence to cover Jones’ absence.
Former Hawk Tim O’Brien was also off with another hamstring problem, leaving a cloud over his future.
Footy greats have been calling on Beveridge to swing Naughton back and now it might have to become a more permanent move out of necessity.
Beveridge has long railed against the idea, and the coach may opt to bring back defender Ryan Gardner instead.
But what happens with Naughton will be the biggest talking point about the Dogs, and perhaps the experiment is worth an extended trial.
The Dogs have other weapons in front of goal with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Rory Lobb and Tim English able to lead the attack alongside Cody Weightman.
Not forgetting Marcus Bontempelli, who fired up forward late in the win over the Roos slotting a brilliant running goal from 50m not far from the boundary line on Sunday night.
3. Could cross-town rivalry ignite over swingman?
There was a theory among recruiters GWS Giants and the Swans wouldn’t ever take players off each other.
Shane Mumford was one who went from the Swans to the Giants for the last part of his career.
But other than big “Sausages” the two clubs have left each other alone.
Until now.
The Swans are plotting a move on GWS big man Harry Himmelberg who continues to make the Giants nervous by holding out on his contract extension.
It would certainly inflame the rivalry if Himmelberg crossed from one Sydney club to the other.
The Giants met up with his management last week, and are confident he’s a happy camper at GWS.
But the Swans desperately need some help along the spine, with Paddy McCartin facing retirement over his concussions and Lance Franklin and potentially Sam Reid about to wind up.
Harry McKay’s name has been raised, but it looks like a one-million-to-one shot. Maybe Ben McKay would be equally handy.
Sydney’s Logan McDonald has been solid in attack for the Swans, but North is ecstatic with the development of midfielder Will Phillips this year.
Phillips was taken with pick three and McDonald arrived at Sydney Swans at pick four in the 2020 national draft.
4. Gifting goals
St Kilda has surpassed all expectations so far this season, but crucial back-half giveaways cost the club dearly in the loss to Richmond on Saturday night.
Callum Wilkie and Dougal Howard both coughed it up in the back end as St Kilda committed 33 turnovers in the defensive half – their most this season.
“Cuddly” Ross Lyon will be understanding given he described the footy as a “cake of soap” in the press conference but he’d love a bit more composure from the defenders with the ball in hand.
Gifting the opposition three or four goals as the rain fell killed off their chances after a brilliant start in Trent Cotchin’s 300th match.
They worked hard through the midfield, the Saints, but the reality is there was a significant class difference between the two engine rooms and it showed at the MCG.
Skipper Jack Steele is a workhorse, Mason Wood is much-improved, Seb Ross has tried his heart out and Brad Hill has been better this year back on a wing this year, but new list boss Stephen Silvagni will be looking at ways to inject more midfield quality.
The evidence suggests Lyon will get the best out of the talent available, but there is work to do at season’s end adding more class.
5. Dismal Dockers
Fremantle has had a poor year but this was one of their worst-ever performances under Justin Longmuir.
After winning one final last year, and adding Luke Jackson in the trade period, it seemed obvious the Dockers would take another step forward this year as part of a deep run in September.
But they’re now in a fight just to make the eight and Longmuir said the club was beaten up in all parts of the game.
And the hammering in the midfield is what stands out from the 70-point loss.
Jaeger O’Meara had 15 touches and youngsters Matthew Johnson and Neil Erasmus had only 21 between them as the Giants waltzed through a Fremantle defence which was rated as one of the best in the league over the past two seasons.
GWS won the contested possessions (+24) clearances (+10), inside 50s (+24) as the Dockers conceded a whopping 84 points off turnover.
Next three games against Essendon, Western Bulldogs and Carlton will determine whether Longmuir’s men will be consigned to also-rans in 2023.
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