The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 16 of the 2022 AFL season
Oft-injured, not fit enough a times, when Jake Stringer stands up like he did on the weekend, the footy world swoons. Mark Robinson on footy’s greatest tease. LIKES AND DISLIKES
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It is a torrid time at North Melbourne.
After Geoff Walsh entered the club to undertake a review the Roos produced a 100-point loss to the Cats. Mark Robinson believes it’s time for change.
The finals picture is beginning to take shape and the Bombers mounted a challenge after being called irrelevant.
See all Robbo’s likes and dislikes from round 16 below.
DISLIKES
1. And then there were 10
Gold Coast and Port Adelaide are two games out and are behind on percentage and with seven games to play, that’s a big ask. They can play finals, but they won’t, and the danger is teams can drop their bundle. Stuart Dew is surely safe at the Suns, but can’t say I have the same confidence about Hinkley at Port Adelaide, notwithstanding a terrific comeback effort against the Dockers on Sunday night. Hinkley is contracted and perhaps the next seven weeks will help the club and even Hinkley decide if he’s the man to coach the club going forward. Port plays GWS, Melbourne, Geelong, Collingwood, Richmond, Essendon and Adelaide in the Showdown. Gee, they were close to beating the Dockers and unbelievably it was their two most accurate kicks — Robbie Grey and Todd Marshall — who missed shots at goal at the end.
2. North Melbourne’s on the boil
The last thing David Noble needed with the advisor/assassin in the coaches box with him was a 100-point thrashing. Now, it would seem, and despite the hellish situation Noble inherited, the Kangas will start looking at solutions – if they haven’t already. Unfortunately for Noble, who might be a good coach under different circumstances, he is unable to generate morale, competitiveness and vigour into his team. Football is about faith, AFL great Leigh Matthews always says, and the Kangas’ faith in Noble must be testing. Clearly, Noble needs a miracle – and they do exist – but Roos also need a circuit breaker. Part of Geoff Walsh’s four-week review should include talking to current and past staff involved in the football program. Some of them will tell him Noble is a ferocious competitor, a my-way-or-the-highway kind of guy who is trying to set standards. Others will tell him that Noble doesn’t take everyone working in football along for the ride, that his determined and hellbent approach can be divisive. I had three telephone conversations in 24 hours, so goodness knows how many Walsh is having and what he’s discovering.
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3. So, who’s reviewing Ben Amarfio?
The issue is never just the coach and because Geoff Walsh is only reviewing the football department, it’s obligatory on the board to determine the success of Amarfio’s appointment. Already, the board must doubt his football knowledge because, after all, they brought in Walsh to do the football review and not give it to Amarfio. And if the working environment at the Kangas is as bad as the on-field performance, the Kangaroos might be forced to make two major changes. Former board member Mark Brayshaw missed the CEO’s job, which was given to Amarfio, and while Brayshaw is slaying it in the medical marijuana business, he could be tempted to return to footy if the Kangas wanted him. It wouldn’t be lost on anyone at North Melbourne that Brayshaw is close to best buddies with Alastair Clarkson, who just happens to want to coach next year and not wait for the Tasmania team to arrive. It’s only a thought, and probably a far-fetched one, but what about In: Clarkson, Brayshaw. Out: Noble, Amarfio. Of course, that depends on the review and what Walsh learns about the coach, which is exactly what after a 112-point loss? That his coaching is below standard, or he can’t communicate as he should, or he hasn’t got enough talent?
4. That’s better, West Coast … But …
We will always ask, why did it take to the bye before they got their game together? Injuries killed them early, but it was the lack of effort in games which was the stinger. That’s why Sunday’s performance was so refreshing. The Eagles were without Sheed, Allen, Kennedy, McGovern and then Yeo in the second half, yet challenged the Tigers all over the ground and through all of the match. It was a fantastic performance by Adam Simpson’s team and after the past couple of weeks, Simpson would be buoyed by the future. They’ve found Jamaine Jones, Brady Hough and Zaine Trew among others and they will have to find some more no doubt. On Sunday, they were the third oldest team of the round, and that can’t be happening when you’re second bottom.
5. Dan McLeaving
Brisbane Lions forward Dan McStay is playing like a bloke who’s forgotten how to play the game. You’d have to think he’s being mentally weighed down by his decision to leave the Lions at the end of the season, if you believe all the media reports that in fact he is going. If it’s true, McStay needs to clear the head. He should today walk into Chris Fagan’s office and tell the coach he’s leaving to go to Collingwood at the end of the season. He should then tell all of his teammates. At the same time, he should absolutely tell them that he will give every inch of himself to help them win the flag this year. It would be OK, because McStay, Fagan and the players are big boys. The reality is McStay, who has been offered 5 x $600,000 by the Pies and others, needs to do something to reconnect with the season. He’s kicked four goals in six matches and is averaging four marks a game. Always, the truth will set you free and maybe McStay has to tell Fagan he’s McLeaving and then, maybe, hopefully, he can get on with playing good footy.
6. Being a broken record
Why, why, why do coaches not tag. Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver will look back at this era and count his lucky stars that taggers are out of fashion. They’ll come back, like mullets and moustaches have reappeared, and when that happens Oliver won’t get it so easy. He had 36 against the Crows and Christian Petracca 33 and three goals. It’s thinking aloud, but would the result have been different if one of those players was subdued. Coaches always say coolers don’t fit into systems, but they never really go to great depths to explain the team advantages of not tagging. The likes of Ling, Cornes, Libba Snr, Crowley and De Boer are as dead as a ruckman resting in the back pocket – at least for the time being.
LIKES
1. Familiar Tigers
No Cotchin and Prestia and Martin played a half, and the Tigers were slaughtered at stoppage and contested ball and lost the inside 50 count. Yet they win by 35 points kicking away. There’s numbers and then there’s performance. The Tigers are playing their high octane football when they win the ball. It’s win it, share it, run in numbers and although Dan Rioli is mentioned elsewhere in today’s column, he is Richmond’s most improved weapon this season. On Sunday, had 28 disposals and nine score involvements, which is phenomenal. Nine is a great day for a forward or a midfielder, let alone for a back flanker, which is probably not even a recognised position in today’s football. Richmond did what Richmond does: They scored 79 points on turnovers and 52 of them came from forward half turnover. They win. They move on.
2. Giants spike
Opinions will ramp up on the merits of Mark McVeigh being appointed the senior coach, and after three wins from six games, it is a worthy discussion. Unquestionably, McVeigh has injected spirit into the squad, and on Sunday at least, is getting a better team performance. They had 14 players with more than 90 ranking points in a game decided by 20 points. That’s pushing records, that. The irony of that is Toby Greene wasn’t one of them. So, does McVeigh get the job? We’ve become accustomed to giving the role to the interim coach - without great results - and that might be a factor for the Giants decision makers. And they have only beaten North Melbourne, West Coast and Hawthorn after all. They won on Sunday because Jesse Hogan decided to remind the footy world he could play and an Irishman in his fourth game, Callum Brown, played the wet like it was the dry and kicked four goals. They play Port Adelaide on Saturday where we will get a better line of sight on McVeigh’s chances for the top job.
3. What’s Rory Lobb worth again?
Colleague Jon Ralph revealed last week that Lobb was on about $750,000 a season and will leave the Dockers and sign a three-year deal at $500,000 a season, and most likely at the Bulldogs. Anyone else think that’s a surprise? He’s been well-paid for a player who hasn’t kicked more than 29 goals in a season, although it has to be said he does share the ruck role. He kicked five goals yesterday and soon enough the Dockers and Dogs will start talking a fair trade. That’s when it will get interesting. The Dockers need draft picks to help secure Luke Jackson, that’s if the big Demon wants to go home. So, the Dockers get a second rounder for Lobb, maybe a second rounder for Griffin Logue and they will have their own late first-round selection as well. Still, 1x2x2 won’t be enough to secure Jackson. As for Lobb, he’s been fortunate to have earned the cash he has.
4. Tough Bombers
Yes, you read that right – tough Bombers. The numbers are there to look at it, but you didn’t need numbers to appreciate the workload the players heaped on the very disappointing Swans, especially in the final quarter. For what it’s worth, the Bombers won contested ball and clearance by 16 all up and their ball movement from the back half was alive and well. There was so much to like in a good team performance, like old Heppell on a wing, young Hobbs on ball and Redman again at halfback, who must be a chance to win the B&F. But as usual, a couple of goals in big moments from Jake Stringer drew the plaudits. He had 17 and two goals on Saturday, and in his eight games this year has kicked 14 goals. What a package he is: He’s injured too much – he’s missed 16 games in the past three seasons – he’s not fit enough at times and when he does stand up, the footy world swoons all over him. He’s footy’s greatest tease, Jake, and this summer it should be head down and bum up like never before. He’s now 28 and Saturday’s performance simply has to be more commonplace from here on in. Most of all, Essendon needs him to be.
5. Guthrie the quiet achiever
The Cats are juggling their team this year. Mitch Duncan’s played halfback, Blicavs plays everywhere, Tom Atkins went from halfback to inside mid five weeks ago and at about the same time, Cam Guthrie changed his midfield role. It appears Guthrie played as an outside midfielder in the first nine rounds of the season. His contested ball v uncontested ball was 74-134. Since then, the numbers are 78-102. Overall, his form in the past six weeks is equivalent to best and fairest season in 2020. He’s averaging 30 disposals and his tackle numbers have improved from 4.5 to seven. The point is Guthrie is back at the absolute coalface and winning contested ball and has Atkins as his beastly mate, which eases the workload on Selwood and Dangerfield. To this point of the season, it’s working well.
5. Nick Daicos needs tagging
In trying to work out the wonder of Nick Daicos, the most obvious conclusion is he needs tagging on a back flank. It’s incredible when you think about it. A first-year player who dominates games behind the ball needs a cooler not 15 games into his career. Sam De Koning plays in a more demanding position than Daicos, yet Daicos has emerged as a potential All Australian squad defender. It’s always tough picking the All Australian team and this year’s defensive mid-sized group could well be the toughest group to decide on. In no order, there’s Tom Stewart, Sam Docherty, Jordan Dawson, Nick Vlastuin, Dan Rioli, Jack Sinclair, Angus Brayshaw, Adam Saad, Daicos, Brayden Maynard, Scott Pendlebury and Bailey Dale. Daicos will miss out, yet his season will be savoured as one of the best in modern times from a first-year player.
6. Touk Miller
The Suns lost the game, yet the coaches’ votes will be interesting reading on Monday. Touk Miller was easily the best player afield, notwithstanding Daicos’ smooth collection and delivery of the ball off a back flank. There’s doing it in space and with an attacking mindset like Daicos, and there’s doing it at the coalface time after time like Miller did. We get that Miller is a running machine – and commentators love to talk about his work rate – but similar to Sam Walsh, he’s much more than a super fit footballer. Miller was extraordinary on Saturday. He had 31 disposals, 10 tackles, 10 clearances, seven score involvements and seven inside 50s. This guy keeps winning the ball at stoppage – he’s second to Clayton Oliver in clearances – and his hands are so sharp. My God he’s a player and a half.
7. Brett Ratten signs
The Saints could hardly announce the contact extension after the whimpering performance against Sydney the previous week and this week is much better timing. Knocking over Carlton with limitations on the bench at a packed Blues’ venue was the type of response Ratten and the Saints needed. So, Ratten is safe and Ben Rutten has the backing of the board, so he’s probably safe. So, where does Clarkson coach again?
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