The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 4 of the AFL season
The Saints could be about to speed past rivals on the rebuild ladder, writes Jay Clark. It’s no longer just the money that might entice Tom De Koning anymore, it’s the prospect of finals.
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The reviews were rave for the Kangaroos after destroying the Demons in round 3, but back-to-back clips by the Crows and Swans have Alastair Clarkson’s men facing the heat yet again.
Check out Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 4 of the AFL season.
DISLIKES
1. BAD AS BURNT TOAST
The blowtorch is on North Melbourne’s ball movement.
A team stacked with so many gun youngsters and top draft picks clearly should have the ability and weaponry to move the Sherrin fluently.
But Kangaroos fans would have lost their minds at the terrible turnovers and cough-ups, especially in the back half in the awful loss to the Swans on Saturday night.
In particular, Caleb Daniel burnt the ball more than a black bit of toast for the second week in a row under the lid at Marvel Stadium.
But who else can use the ball well back there if not for a wayward Daniel and Harry Sheezel?
This comparison will hurt a little given the history.
But North would love some of the pattern and flow Hawthorn have in the back end under Sam Mitchell, not the garbage the Roos served up against the Swans.
For a team in its third-year under Alastair Clarkson, North’s performance was such a big step backwards it would have to be one of the most gut-wrenching performances they have produced in this awful era.
We thought we saw sunlight on the horizon after the big win over Melbourne, but it could be a mirage.
It was strange to watch Clarkson offer up as many excuses in the press conference on Saturday night, talking about how good the Swans were and the gap between the two sides.
It wasn’t what North fans wanted and needed to hear.
Really, with as many as six of the Swans’ best players out, and Warner in and out of the sick bay, North probably could have started favourite.
These are games North should be winning, let alone be competitive in.
In reality, the blowout loss to Sydney was an uncompetitive train wreck for a group of men who maybe are just used to losing.
Even with star youngster Sheezel back to form in a half back role, North’s ball use in the defensive end was deplorable.
And that will deservedly be the main line of query this week at Arden St.
Forget veteran recruit Jack Darling who only had six touches in a forward role.
Clarkson will have to sort out a system that can make the most of the talent available and glut of high picks because no one at North can say they don’t have the offensive skills.
The modern game is taking the ball off the line with precise short kicks until the game opens up into space with power and line-breaking run.
To be any good, team must be able to control and score on the counter attack.
Meanwhile, North can’t hit the side of a barn door and the pain would have been real for Luke Parker who would have felt embarrassed by his new team’s performance against his old mob.
Dean Cox’s side was effectively a man down, too, as Warner, was sick on the day and had only 10 touches going half rat power before he was subbed off.
You could sense the hurt in Jy Simpkin’s voice after the match when he said it was the old North. Surely, they have turned this corner by now.
This is, after all, a man who has never won a game from eight outings on the MCG.
Clarkson said it was just a player’s emotion coming to the fore, and Simpkin (ankle) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (hip) will need light weeks on the track to overcome sore spots.
But on the evidence presented across the weekend, the Kangas will get destroyed by Gold Coast this weekend if they torch the ball again.
2. BANGED-UP, BLUE
Patrick Cripps had a rare quiet one, but there might be more to it.
The inspirational Carlton captain looked sore on Friday night in the loss to Collingwood gathering only 16 touches and two clearances in the loss to Collingwood.
The drop-offs in the second half are a real problem for the Blues, and in particular in the pressure stakes.
Carlton’s one wood used to be its clearance and contest game.
But it’s on the outside their execution is costing them.
Surely, they can’t lose to West Coast, otherwise it will be an emergency.
It’s a must-win to breathe some life into the season and the captain will know it.
Problem is Cripps has played sore a lot through his career, and it wouldn’t surprise if he was once again under duress.
3. DEES PULL WRONG REIN
Tom Stewart is playing on one leg but Melbourne needed to pay him more attention.
There were times when the gun defender looked like he was barely able to walk after a PCL injury a fortnight ago.
He’d be playing in pain, and it might be the most gutsy effort of the early part of the season.
But as the hobbled backman said after the match, that’s his lot now in 2025.
And without Jack Henry for the next month at least with a hamstring injury, Stewart’s role becomes even more important for Cats’ coach Chris Scott.
Teams have shown in the past if you can minimise Stewart’s impact, you can take down Geelong.
Melbourne went down the opposite route putting a Tom Sparrow tag on Max Holmes in the midfield, but it left the Geelong back line with a spare in defence and they controlled the game across half back, taking 165 marks to 82.
That was a big win to the Geelong coach’s box as the Cats condemned the Demons to a fourth-straight loss.
Stewart will be on light duties this week and will be under the spotlight when the Crows and Cats kick off Gather Round.
Expect Adelaide to exert more pressure on the Cats’ superstar defender.
4. SELFISH SHOTS
It was the biggest barbecue of the season.
Bayley Fritsch will be the luckiest man in footy if gets a game against Essendon on Saturday night after cooking Charlie Spargo standing all alone in the pocket on Friday night.
It was midway through the last term and the Demons were half on the charge.
But Fritsch, who has booted one goal in four games, looked at Spargo, thought about the handball, then went the snap, which missed.
Imagine it will be the first bit of vision Simon Goodwin shows on Monday to help combat against the selfishness which has crept back into Melbourne’s game.
5. EAGLE ROCK
The bottom could be about to fall out at West Coast.
Spearhead and co-captain Oscar Allen looked like he was about to cry when he stood up and apologised for meeting Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell this week.
And it can’t be great for team culture as the Eagles went down by 80 points for the second time in a month to GWS on Sunday.
The biggest worry was the key defensive holes which forced the club to consider former Demon Adam Tomlinson as an 11th-hour pick-up.
It was no surprise to see Jesse Hogan fill his boots against the Eagles and he won’t be the last full forward to kick a bag in what could be a routine worry for Andrew McQualter.
Harley Reid was better coming off half back but his own game is not a big a concern as West Coast’s outlook generally.
Reid will want to see the future if he is going to stay, but rival clubs are convinced he will want out, more likely at the end of next season.
That will be brutal for the Eagles, but how many other good young players are there around him? Has it rock bottom yet or not?
That is what Reid will be wondering as the Hawks and Bombers prepare to throw the kitchen sink at him.
6. TAKE A BREATH
It was the sliding doors moment Aaron Naughton would love to have back.
The Dogs were making a charge when he took a mark in the third term and immediately played on.
The 20m shot skewed left and then Jye Amiss then went down the other end for a two-goal turnaround.
Naughton would have loved to have gone back, taken a breath, and lined up his set shot from close in.
Perhaps it was a moment of madness, or maybe it was just a sign of Naughton’s confidence.
Sam Darcy turned on a blinder again on Sunday in the narrow loss to Fremantle, justifying the massive hype surrounding his transformation into one of the best key forwards in the game.
But his co-pilot is desperately out of form.
A depleted Western Bulldogs had a genuine crack in the west but this was a game Fremantle had to win if it is going to play finals for only the second time in 10 years this season. Even with two man down on the bench.
Caleb Serong is a clearance wizard but Luke Jackson hurt his hamstring and will leave a massive void in the ruck with Sean Darcy also sidelined.
Captain Alex Pearce could miss one match for his head butt on Josh Dolan.
LIKES
1. MAGIC MOORABBIN
Jack Macrae’s career looked headed for a dismal end at the kennel.
The premiership midfielder was stuck in the twos, lacking in speed and the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook with trade interest mid last year.
But the reinvigorated St Kilda ball magnet has led the most remarkable resurrection four games into his new life at the Saints.
And can you imagine what Carlton’s Tom De Koning, GWS Giant Leek Aleer, and Port Adelaide’s Miles Bergman is thinking as they weigh up offers to join the Saints next year?
Some more top-end talent could see the Saints speed past some rivals on the rebuild ladder.
Carlton thought they were in premiership contention this year, but the uprising at the Saints will have turned De Koning’s head as Ross Lyon’s men went 3-1 with the win over Port Adelaide on Sunday.
And it’s not just the money that will entice De Koning, it’s the prospect of finals.
The Saints have been talked down as much as any club over the past couple of years and accused of flooding and offering irresponsible money for recruits who they haven’t landed.
But the first month of the new season has cast new light on a club which, under Lyon, has hammered the scoreboard piling on 89 points (against Port), 135 (Richmond) and 98 (Geelong) in the past three weeks.
We thought it was a nightmare draw to start the year but this is why the Saints think they have got the best coach in the game.
Lyon had unfinished business when he returned to Moorabbin desperate to help guide the club to a drought-breaking flag after coming so close three times.
And his new game plan all revolves around the bounce the Saints get off half back from weapons Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jack Sinclair, who slotted the match winning goal to thwart a late Port change.
It’s all suited to the way the modern game is played, and the kids continue to boom as Lance Collard looked slick at times, Darcy Wilson shows he can do it inside and outside and Marcus Windhager and Co put the clamps on Connor Rozee.
Port has one of the most talented engine rooms in the game but the Saints won the clearances by nine.
And considering they did it without Jack Steele, Max King and Mattaes Phillipou, it might be time to start talking the Saints up for their bright future for a change.
The high-flying Alex Tauru is to come.
It will be the vision Lyon will soon sell when he gets a chance to catch up with De Koning again.
But given the Oscar Allen fiasco, the next meeting is a safe bet to happen on zoom.
2. HERE COMES THE SUN
Gold Coast paid a big tax on Daniel Rioli.
Pick six and 23 for a half back flanker was widely seen as well overs last year in the deal between Richmond and the Suns.
But as much as we have lauded Matt Rowell’s start to the season, it’s the former Tiger who might have made the smartest move in recent times going from one flag behemoth to the AFL’s next superpower.
Gold Coast look like a team who can jump into the four this year, and while a premiership in their first-ever finals foray looks a stretch this season, they will be all-in on the premiership next year.
That would be a flag in 53 games from here for the AFL’s former basket case club.
And the Rioli trade will be a centrepiece of the premiership push as the Suns’ defensive transition game was the difference in a thrilling and watershed win over Adelaide on Saturday.
The Suns got smashed in clearances by 11 and when that has happened in the past ‘Dimma’s’ troops have been belted.
But it was the trampoline effect from Rioli and his new mate John Noble from half back which saw the Suns win another way with new weapons.
Hardwick made clear when he took over the Suns that run and rebound from the back half was crucial to their chances of success and the Noble-Rioli combination is an injection of running power clubs such as Melbourne and Carlton would love right now.
They want to be brave with the ball, Gold Coast.
Rioli had an interrupted summer due to a medial ligament problem in his left knee but he is humming now, after racking up 26 touches for 620m gained.
Jed Walter, who played his best game at the weekend, is going to be a powerhouse, Leo Lombard will come into the team, and they have three first-round draft picks in their pocket for this year’s draft.
Zeke Uwland, the brother of Bodhi, is a gun half-back wingman who will be the next top-10 academy star to come off the club’s conveyor belt in this year’s draft.
3. DIMMA’S LEGACY
Only two coaches in the AFL era (since 1990) have won flags at different clubs, Leigh Matthews and Michael Malthouse.
But Suns’ coach Damien Hardwick could hardly be better placed to join them after three premierships at Richmond.
Lots of water to flow under the bridge, but the Suns have the talent, clearly, and a strong and identifiable brand.
Another cup would cement his standing as one of the game’s greatest ever coaches, if he isn’t already.
4. CHOOSING WISELY
Dan Houston read the room.
When the former Port Adelaide star shot up a flare about leaving Port last year he initially set his sights on Melbourne.
But then came a backflip Simone Biles would be proud of.
Houston saw the wrinkles at the Demons and instead looked to Carlton, before settling on Collingwood.
The gun half back would be flat as a pancake about getting suspended for another two matches on Friday night for his crude bump.
Remember, he steamrolled Izak Rankine last year sparking wild scenes in the Showdown for a five-match ban, and this latest hit on Lachie Fogarty wasn’t dissimilar.
But Houston would be thrilled he appears to have made the right call on a new home as the Demons and Blues look head to Gather Round still searching for their first win of the season.
Melbourne lost its destination club status over Houston’s call last year and it’s hard to see things changing dramatically as coach Simon Goodwin attempts to dig the club out of a deep early season hole.
Originally published as The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 4 of the AFL season
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