The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 24
The season doesn’t need to be extended, writes MARK ROBINSON in The Tackle. Can you imagine if we had another round this weekend following the shambolic results on Saturday?
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The home-and-away season has come to a close, and now the best month of the year beckons, September.
Mark Robinson gives his likes and dislikes from the final round of the AFL season.
DISLIKES
1. SAAD LOST HIM
Every player makes a mistake in a two-point loss. Some big. Some small. Some inconsequential. Brodie Kemp’s miss with 2.17 to play, which if a goal would’ve given the Blues a 10-point lead, would’ve meant Kemp had trouble sleeping on Sunday night. He wouldn’t be alone. How St Kilda’s Jack Higgins was able to find himself front and square and alone with less than a minute to play is a question that has many answers.
Higgins and Saad contested the pack mark and when the small spilt, Saad opted to cover the defensive side of the spillage while Higgins shuffled towards the front. In the madness of the few seconds, no other Carlton player ran towards Higgins, which meant the close-checking Lachie Cowan had to leave his opponent, Mitch Owens, to try to smother the Higgins kick. He just missed. It was a gut-wrenching loss for a team which refused to yield. Social media on Sunday night was dancing to the beat of non-Carlton supporters, but that’s the shoddy world we live in. The fact is the Blues played the past two weeks like their lives depended on the results, and without several top liners. They beat West Coast and got beat by a couple of millimetres at Marvel on Sunday. It’s little consolation, but these Blues have ticker.
2. COGS’ WORST GAME EVER?
Stephen Coniglio had a dirty day to rival his team’s dirty day, beaten by six goals to the Western Bulldogs at Ballarat. Coniglio, the former skipper who is on a massive multimillion-dollar deal, had 19 disposal but went at zero per cent by foot. Eight of the 19 disposals were kicks and none of them were effective. He also had zero score involvements and did not lay tackle. It was the first time in his 215 matches when Coniglio had zero kicking efficiency and his 31 ranking points was the fifth worst return for his career.
In his second game back from a shoulder injury, it’s clear he’s not 100 per cent recovered and he will welcome the week break. The Giants had a better pressure rating than the Dogs – 196-195 – but couldn’t quite get their transition game rolling. The fact they lost clearance by 26 and inside 50s by 24 made it even harder to transition the ball against the wind. What also didn’t help was missing the zip of the injured Brent Daniels, while Toby Bedford wasn’t there either to take probably Ed Richards. Darcy Jones was down, Harvey Thomas was down and Xavier O’Halloran was quiet, so the Giants’ ground ball game was awry.
3. MUCH OF A MUCHNESS
Jake Stringer has kicked 42.25 from 23 games this year and Mick Malthouse believes the Bombers should flick him. Too inconsistent, Malthouse said. Shai Bolton has kicked 34.26 this year from 22 games and if he officially asks for a trade to Fremantle, Richmond will ask for two first-rounders. It’s out of whack for two players who play forward-mid. Bolton is a better player than Stringer, and certainly has a better highlight reel, but he also lacks consistency and impact. Two first-rounders for him are way overs and Fremantle point blank should baulk at that asking price. Bolton is no Jeremy Cameron. To get him, the Cats sent a first rounder, two future first round picks and a future fourth rounder to the Giants. Coming back, they got Cameron and two future second round selections. Bolton is 25 and contracted until the end of 2028, so Richmond apparently holds the cards. But do they really? Every man and his dog says the Tigers need to purge and rebuild, so granting Bolton’s wishes would be wise. But not sure the Dockers giving away the farm for Bolton is equally as wise. A first and second rounder should be the max offer – take it or leave it. If the Tigers baulk, no worries, keep him, and good luck with the rebuild. Bolton is simply not worth two first-rounders.
5. KEEPINGS OFF
For three quarters, the Brisbane-Essendon clash resembled a game of Chinese checkers. Kick, mark, kick, mark. It again raised the query whether the short-ball can survive in September when the pressure ratings go up. At half-time on Saturday night, Brisbane had taken 64 marks and kicked 51 points. Essendon had taken 61 marks and kicked 23 points. Earlier in the day, Hawthorn took 64 marks and kicked 170 points. It was against a pathetic North Melbourne, but the point is chaos footy easily won out. Indeed, Hawthorn’s chaos footy makes them one of the form teams of the competition. Essendon’s chip, chip style clearly is a work in progress, or at least will be assessed over the off-season. The Lions also are chip, chip team and they were almost run down by a more chaotic Essendon in the final quarter. The Bombers still took 29 marks, but their mark-play-on rate went from 25 per cent in the first three quarters to 35 per cent in the final quarter.
6. DON’T EXTEND THE SEASON
The proposed wildcard weekend is nothing but a money grab, and to extend the season to 24 games is the same. It’s not needed. Can you imagine if we had another round this weekend following the shambolic results on Saturday? North Melbourne lost by 124 points, a result which created all sorts of unwanted records, West Coast lost by 93 points which probably cost Jarrad Schofield the senior coaching gig, and the Richmond-Gold Coast game was ho-hum save for the magnificent send-offs for the Tigers’ champs at the end. Up north, the Essendon-Brisbane game was boring for three quarters, and Sydney ended its game with Adelaide in the first quarter. And Friday night was a fizzer, although there was some intrigue about whether Nick Daicos would have 40, 50 or 60 disposals. The season doesn’t need to be extended. In fact, if we wanted a less compromised season – did someone say competitive balance? Each team should play each other once and the AFL could add a couple of themed rounds. We don’t need more of Saturday’s rubbish.
LIKES
1. THANKS KENNY
Carlton coach Michael Voss owes Ken Hinkley plenty. Firstly, Hinkley took on Voss as an assistant coach at Port Adelaide when Voss wanted to dip a foot back into football. They were together for seven years and Voss was always thankful. That thanks would extend to Sunday night. Port Adelaide’s win over Fremantle helped Carlton keep his position in the finals. Let’s be frank, it was an enormous win for both Port and Carlton. Port finished second on the ladder, but rarely is spoken of as a serious flag contender. They should be. From losing consecutive finals last season - the same as Melbourne - they have responded as good clubs do. It’s now a home final against Geelong who they have beaten twice in their past three games.
As stories go, the resurrection of Hinkley after he was booed by the locals is second to the story of Hawthorn’s astonishing run after losing their first five. It was a bruising, high-pressure game in Perth on Sunday night. Willie Rioli is not too smart when drug testers come calling, but there’s no doubting his football smarts. In the final quarter, he was the first player to react to a shallow cross from Zak Butters, and took the mark and kicked the goal. His second goal with five minutes to play was a dribbler from the goalsquare when all others around him struggled to keep their feet. He is a joy to watch. Fremantle was two goals not good enough for a month. They lost their last four matches by one point, 11 points, nine points and 14 points. They fumbled their season as badly as they fumbled the ball on Sunday night.
2. OLD DOGS LEARN NEW TRICKS
Jack Macrae didn’t play the first two rounds of the season and Caleb Daniel missed a block of four weeks pre-bye and four games post bye and the fear was the game had passed both of them. In the final game, where the season was on the line, the two stalwarts not only played but made strong contributions. In the windy conditions, it was case of old dogs and old tricks. Daniel played forward-wing and had 23 and kicked a goal, while Macrae also played the forward-wing role and he had 23 and laid seven tackles.
It just shows it’s never over until it’s over and the pair looks to have secured a spot in the first final, although Rhylee West (jaw) would be stiff to miss. The Bulldogs veterans – Macrae, Daniel, Bontempelli, Dale and Liberatore – were five of the highest-rated Bulldogs and handled the conditions superbly. They masterminded attacking via the grandstand wing and defending on the windswept outer wing. Their obvious issue is Liam Jones’ dump tackle. It can be a case of chook lotto, but we suspect Jones won’t get off this one. To be honest, nor should he. While there’s an argument the head didn’t crash into the turf, it was a dangerous and an aggressive tackle. Buku Khamis would likely play his first final, probably on the evergreen Jack Gunston.
3. SWINGING SAINTS
St Kilda won six of its last eight matches, which made a mockery of those teams who had put their cues in the rack. We’re talking West Coast and North Melbourne. And on Friday night Melbourne. But certainly not St Kilda. They’d want the season to continue. They are a curious mob. They can be clunky and they can be breathtaking with their ball movement and it’s why they were never really a finals contender. We’re not sure if their short kick, uncontested mark style stacks up for four quarters. They took 68 marks in the first half and kicked 37 points. In the second half, they took 34 marks and kicked 39 points.
And they looked shot in the final quarter when Carlton dialled up the pressure which too away their uncontested game. The question is: Do teams get bang for buck with short, uncontested footy? The answer is no and it’s boring anyway, not that coaches worry too much about how the footy is looking. Nevertheless, the Saints should be pleased with the last third of the season and will look towards next year with enthusiasm. They need class in the middle and look like they will lose Josh Battle to Hawthorn, so nothing is promised. Maybe Max King could train as a defender over summer. What we do know is they will not trade away their first-round pick, so the build with youth will continue.
4. HAWTHORN’S EVEN SPREAD
Most teams have a standout favourite for their best and fairest. Zach Merrett at Essendon. Patrick Cripps at Carlton. Caleb Serong at Fremantle. And Nick Daicos at Collingwood. Some teams have a couple of contenders, such as Xerri, Sheezel and LDU at North Melboune, Heeney and Gulden at Sydney, and Neale and Zorko at Brisbane. Hawthorn has upwards of eight players who could win their best and fairest. One Hawks insider said it was virtually impossible to call.
He listed Dylan Moore, Lloyd Meek, Jack Scrimshaw, Massimo D’Ambrosio, Jai Newcombe, James Worpel, Jarman Impey and Karl Amon. Not even the skipper, James Sicily, is expected to poll more votes than that mob, which showcases the depth of contribution from the Hawks players this season. A B&F to D’Ambrosio would be a fantastic example of, yes, the grass can be greener on the other side. He departed Essendon because, he said, he wanted a coach who believed in him. Another best on ground on Saturday will have the All Australian selectors either nervous or vindicated. Surely, he’s got to be in the team on the wing. He’s earned it.
5. I’M WITH THE CROWS
The popular opinion is Adelaide threw Josh Rachele under the bus by dumping him for the final round. Can’t agree. No, the Crows didn’t throw him under the bus by publicly listing all his actions and behaviours that led up to his omission which is what they could‘ve done. Always, pundits on the outside believe they know what’s best for the club and the player. Like, poor Josh, you’ve hurt his feelings. He’s 21, he’ll get over it. Just maybe after being told for the umpteenth time that its team-first and not Josh-first, the humiliation of getting dropped will make him a better player.
Rachele appeared to take his demotion better than mostly everyone. Crows coach Matthew Nicks knew the critics would pick up their pitchforks, yet he made the decision in the best interests of the team. Rachele said he was committed to the Crows, which ended media-driven trade speculation, and the Crows are committed to Rachele. Nicks said after the game on Saturday that he was “proud” of how Rachele responded in the SANFL.
MORE ON RACHELE
– Dropping Modra was a massive story … but nowhere near as big as this
– How Rachele responded in SANFL after ‘harsh’ Crows axing
– Rachele-gate shows everything wrong with Crows’ PR spin
“He played a strong game,” Nicks said. “We’re really proud of the way he knuckled down and got to work. He has complete clarity, and he and I are on the same page about what we expect from the footy club.” It was a tough decision, and more tough decisions are needed. The Crows finished 15th on the ladder which demands that changes be made. It won’t be Nicks, but if next season resembles this season, the coach will be in trouble. “It’s been a really disappointing (season) for us,” Nicks said.
6. KOSSIE’S APPEAL
Melbourne will appeal Kossie Pickett’s suspension. They have to. This was an unfortunate circumstance where both players contributed to the outcome. Pickett did not try to hit Moore in the head. It looked like he was attempting to move Moore off the ball to create space for himself to gather the ball, but that plan went haywire when Moore decided to go low for the ball. At that moment, Pickett had no chance of changing his approach. The argument that he chose to bump and not go the ball in the first place doesn’t stack up. If Pickett was able to derail Moore and get the footy and kick the goal, the play would’ve been described as the textbook use of the body. Pickett didn’t have a chance to do all that because Moore went low and, if we are talking hypotheticals, probably would’ve take Pickett’s legs out if the bump didn’t occur.
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