The Tackle: Why Carlton, Geelong aren’t afraid of losing clearance battles during games
The Blues and Cats are sitting 17th and 18th in clearance numbers across the league, but there’s one factor which shows it doesn’t matter. MARK ROBINSON names his likes and dislikes from Gather Round.
The AFL world landed in Adelaide this weekend for a festival of footy, with mammoth crowds and plenty of talking points coming from the full nine games.
Mark Robinson names his likes and dislikes from Gather Round.
LIKES
1. Defence is king
It’s now a trend at Carlton. The Blues have lost the clearance battle in every game this year. They are the 17th worst team in clearance differential. And Geelong is 18th in clearance differential. Yet, those teams are 4-0 and have a brand that many consider to be top four worthy. While those numbers are an issue, their point of difference at Carlton and Geelong is their defence. Geelong and Carlton are No. 1 and No. 2 for defending turnover, which means that when they lose the ball they are able to defend it strongly. Coaches often tell us the turnover game is the most important factor, and to further that point, all 10 of the past premiers have been ranked in top six for points conceded from turnover. The Blues and Cats are the standouts in that profile.
2. Heroic Hawks … for a half
It was almost for Hawthorn. And it was typical of Collingwood in a close game. In the final 10 minutes, there were 13 stoppages as Collingwood deployed its stacks-on mentality and Hawthorn scrounged for ground balls. When the ball did squirt forward, the Pies had numbers galore in the back half. Coach Craig McRae would be pleased when he was so close to being displeased, and have a heap of scrutiny poured on his team. The bye comes at a great time for them, for this team needs reflection and projection in what is proving to be a difficult season. On Sunday, their pressure in the final quarter was 184 compared to Hawthorn’s 209. Were they lucky to hold on? Probably, but there no was no luck about them being 38 points in front at half-time. Still, the Pies kicked 2.7 against 8.4 in the second half and were essentially beaten in all the KPIs, which is the worry. The Hawks were brave in their fightback, which was led by Blake Hardwick’s four goals and a host of improved individual efforts, but brave doesn’t win you the four points. Where was the bravery to compete in the first half?
3, Old time footy
Suspect St Kilda coach Ross Lyon put on his ‘grumpy Ross’ hat at half-time and he needed to. He got the response after his team kicked 1.5 in the first half. It was horrid footy, all disjointed and reactive. Their first half pressure was 171 compared to 189 in the second half. Starkly, they were also -13 in contested ball and -6 in clearance. That all changed in the second half when they went +14 in clearance and +9 in clearance. There’s the game. The Saints had three key big men – Marshall in the ruck, Wilkie in defence and King in front of goal – who controlled the game the longer it went. Plus, the Jacks – Sinclair and Steele – lifted their output. The worry is the footy which delivered only 1.5 in the first half. That scoring is not going to win many games. The Saints are on watch. They play GWS, Bulldogs and Port Adelaide in the next three games and we’ll have a better handle at the end of that stretch.
4. Who has the best midfield?
On Friday night, it was proclaimed that it was Port’s Rozee, Butters and Horne-Francis, and Wines didn’t play. One the same day, it was Neale, Dunkley and McCluggage at Brisbane. On Saturday, it was Heeney, Warner and Gulden. And Bontempelli, Liberatore and Treloar. On Sunday it was Briggs, Coniglio, Green and Kelly versus Witts, Rowell, Anderson and Miller. And, of course, there is Melbourne with Gawn, Petracca, Oliver and Viney. The point is there’s never a No. 1 midfield group because it’s a rotating door every week, if not from game to game. The midfield battle on Sunday between GWS and the Suns was top shelf. The Giants won contested possession and clearance and smacked them in scores from stoppages – six goals all up. The Suns’ midfielders won plenty of the ball, but that was only one aspect of the game. The Giants had 69 entries, which is the fault of everyone. They work hard, these Giants, but we know that already. When Toby Greene kicks five goals and Jesse Hogan four, they are to beat. For what it’s worth, I’d rank the midfield as 1) Melbourne. 2) Giants. 3). Port Adelaide and 4) Sydney. The first three teams get you at stoppage, while the Swans flourish in transition.
5. Take a Bowes
Jack Bowes came in because of Patrick Dangerfield’s hamstring injury and he might not be the automatic substitute when Dangerfield returns. Bowes went head to head with Liberatore, Sanders and Treloar on Saturday night, and while those three were among the better players, in fact Libba went nuclear, Bowes’ game was influential. In first full game this year – he was the sub for the Easter Monday clash – he had 23 disposals, 500m gained, nine score involvements and kicked two goals. His nine score involvements were second behind teammate Jeremy Cameron’s 12 and Libba’s 10. It’s a big return from a replacement player. Does he keep his spot? He’s competing in the mix with Tom Atkins, Brandan Parfitt, Tanner Bruhn and Jhye Clark in Geelong’s midfield, so he will need to back it up. Atkins, meanwhile, had a role change on Saturday night. He played in defence, where he laid nine tackles. Will his time in the middle be reduced?
6. Something special
That Harley Reid will be a good player is hardly breaking news. His ability to break through and toss aside opponents, however, is something we haven’t seen before from an 18-year-old. Against the Swans, he laid seven tackles and broke seven tackles. That second stat is startling. It’s the most broken tackles by any player this year and the third most ever behind (surprise, surprise) Dustin Martin in 2017 and North Melbourne’s Luke Davies-Uniacke in 2022. Martin was eight years in the system in 2017 and Davies-Uniacke was five years into his career in 2022. Reid did it in his fourth senior match. It’s just incredible. And he’s able to do it because a) has the confidence to try it, b) the stiff arm to carry it off and c) the core strength to keep his feet and shrug off opponents. The confidence element in those contested situations separates him from other 18 year olds.
7. It’s a funny game
Clearly, George Hewett’s kick was deflected before Matt Cottrell was paid the mark and kicked the goal, yet there was no point complaining. All it got Fremantle was another free kick and the game was over. It’s quirky, though, because if Hewett’s kick was a goal it would’ve been denied. Hewett of course was not reviewed. Quirky doesn’t mean it’s wrong. In America’s NFL, everything is reviewed. A referee can throw a flag on to the field 40m behind play, which calls a review of the pass, a block or an interference, and the play can be made null and void. If that was the case in the AFL, the game would run for three days. We don’t want that. Already, frustration is immense when the goal umpires call for a review. Sunday’s game between the Suns and Giants was a goal-review bonanza which is an issue for the AFL. Please, let’s go straight to the spike and stop delaying the game.
8. Get in the queue
We’re guessing of course but surely it was another three votes for Sydney’s Isaac Heeney. He might have 3, 3, 3, some against Richmond and three votes against West Coast from Saturday. He certainly has 12 votes and depending on how the umpires viewed his performance against the Tigers it might be more. In that game, Champion Data rated him the No. 2 player on the round behind Shai Bolton, although if Nick Vlastuin doesn’t get the full votes in that game, the umpires were negligent. Heeney’s transformation from talented forward to game-breaking midfielder is one the stories of the season. His contest numbers are through the roof, he’s hitting the scoreboard, and his second efforts are prominent. He’s so watchable and at the same time so unmissable.
DISLIKES
1. Compare the pair
We see and hear the similarities between Chris and Brad Scott, but their football teams are poles apart. It’s incredible that the two coaches propagate the fundamentals of process and structure, yet one of their teams can stop a train and the other is opened up like the doors at Myers on Boxing Day. On Friday night, Port Adelaide embarrassed Essendon – again. The Bombers were -13 in centre-square clearances and lost by 69 points. On Saturday night, when Geelong played the Bulldogs, the Dogs won contested possession, clearances by nine and had more shots at goal, yet the Cast won the four points.
The Cats won because of their defensive set up and their ability to minimise the damage caused from the contest. In contrast, the Bombers were brutalised from stoppage, on turnover, and by ball movement – which is the Trifecta of Pain – and subsequently their defenders were overwhelmed. Chris Scott for a decade has made Geelong a difficult team to play against. Essendon has been vanilla for most of that time. And this year was supposed to be different. This was Brad Scott’s second season. There would be defensive improvement. There would be an ‘edge’. It was all talk when the time for talking was over. Those were Brad’s words. Not much has changed.
2. Is it 2024 or 2019?
If you watched Essendon’s capitulation to Port Adelaide you wouldn’t know if it was 2019, 2021 or 2024. It’s the repeated ability to surrender to the opposition in a manner that invites questions about what this club stands for. The fans aren’t angry, they’re just disappointed. Because there was hope. Eighteen months back, the club was blown up. There was a new president, new board, new coach, new CEO and new players. A review was done. They wanted to be tougher and edgier, at least consistent in both. But as Port Adelaide treated the Essendon players with disdain on Friday night, there was nothing new at all. So, what is it about Essendon? Good footy people are there, they have players of high caliber, they train to be defensively sound and they commit to the cause. Yet, the toes get turned up again. The coach has to find consistency or he will be under scrutiny or the coach has to find players to do the job. Nik Cox is a worry, Jye Menzie excites and then is poor, Jake Stringer is the same, Nic Martin on a back flank get the ball but is not as damaging with it as hoped, Mason Redman seems to have been affected by Martin’s new role, Darcy Parish looked heavy in the legs, and Sam Draper’s missed pre-season is obvious. This time last year, we christened Essendon the ‘next year Bombers’ because the improvement is always coming next year. Hmm.
3, Unlucky Tigers
In Adem Yze’s first season, he’s combining stars and youth and getting a return that would make him proud. If they had a marking key forward on Sunday, it could easily have been a win. Shai Bolton took his MCG form to the Adelaide Hills and was the most influential player on the ground. He was more than that, he was spectacular. Some of his goals were incredible on a ground that has skinny wings which invited plenty of contested ball. From scrappy play, Bolton emerged and he almost plucked the game for the Tigers. The positives were Tom Brown in defence, Seth Campbell at high half forward and Rhyan Mansell loved the contest again. It’s a long season, but the Tigers have shown they are up for the fight. Not sure they have the depth of talent to make a September run.
4, Keep your cool
Mac Andrew is 20-years-old and in three years, he will be Gold Coast’s best defender. And in five years, he will be considered one the best key defenders in the game. Yes, we’re that bullish about this kid. He’s had an eventful start to his career; in June last year, he was stood down for a week for failing to meet team standards and a month later was nominated for the Rising Star. This year, he missed the first three games and returned on Sunday, and had an absorbing contest with Riccardi and Cadman, and Andrew had 16 intercept possessions and took six intercept marks. He did, however, lose his cool at one point. Suns people might be chuffed that he threw Toby Greene to the ground in the third quarter, because it showed he has a competitive streak, but it did cost the Suns a goal. He’s a work in progress, but he’s also making terrific progress.
5. A tale of two draftees
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Ollie Henry were drafted No. 1 and No. 17 in the 2020 national draft. One of them, Ugle-Hagan, is expected to re-sign with the Bulldogs for two years at an estimated $1 million a season. Other clubs, it is said, are offering in the vicinity of $1.2 million over 10 years. Henry, who was traded from Collingwood to Geelong at the end of 2022, is in the second season of a three-year deal at an estimated $450,000 a season. Now, look at their numbers.
Henry is either grossly underpaid or Ugle-Hagan will be grossly overpaid. I think it’s the latter. Off the top of the head, Tom Boyd was paid $1 million a year after just nine games of footy. The Dogs once again will pay a ridiculous amount of money for potential. Ugle-Hagan has talent but so does Henry. The numbers tell us that. And it’s not how you kick goals, it’s as long as you kick goals. And Ugle-Hagan and his key forward comrade Aaron Naughton aren’t doing that. Ugle-Hagan has six goals from four games and Naughton has four goals from four games, although it must be noted Naughton is playing higher and on Saturday night had 15 disposals and took six marks. Still, it’s 10 goals from the pair. At Carlton, Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay have kicked 24 goals. At Geelong, Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron have kicked 17 goals, as have Joe Daniher and Eric Hipwood at Brisbane.
6. Trust is growing
How did Fremantle lose that game? The freakish finish killed an unlikely Dockers win, but they flew home confident in their game style. They’ve beaten Brisbane, Adelaide and North Melbourne, and narrowly lost to the Blues. To judge Fremantle it sort of depends on how you rate Carlton and Brisbane. Against the Blues, they dominated clearance (+17) and were damaging on the outside, but despite those positives they couldn’t score. Their biggest margin was only two goals. It’s a cliche, but this game was played ‘between the arcs’. To that point, there were only 93 inside 50s, which was the lowest tally in any game this year. A month or so into the season, there’s substance to the Dockers. The criticism last year was that they were boring and were bashed around contests. They’re still a touch boring, yet their contest numbers have improved significantly. They will be a dangerous team to play.
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