The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from the preliminary finals

The umpires put the whistle away on Friday, ensuring a free-for-all end to the Pies’ win, Mark Robinson says it harmed the AFL product. Check out Robbo’s likes and dislikes from the weekend.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – August 18, 2023. AFL . Lachie Neale of the Lions fends off Scott Pendlebury of the Magpies during the round 23 match between Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Michael Klein.

It was a fantastic weekend of preliminary finals.

Mark Robinson casts an eye over the action and looks forward to a massive grand final next Saturday afternoon in this week’s edition of the Tackle.

Brisbane v Carlton

Likes

1. GATHER THE ARMIES

What wins grand finals? Talent or ticker? Brisbane has talent and then ticker, and you could argue Collingwood has ticker and then talent. It’s the streaky Lions versus the Cult of Craig McRae, the surging Lions v the street fighting Pies. There’s grit about Chris Fagan’s Lions, garnered over successive finals losses, but few would disagree that the Lion are more potent forward of the ball and they have a midfield and a bunch of back flankers who play blitz football. McRae’s Pies are stacked with grit. They’re tough alright and while self-belief is the one of the most overused cliches in football, it underpins the fabric of how the Magpies play.

The Lions and Pies will do battle on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images

The power of the mind is the power of McRae and it’s no coincidence his team wins close matches. The coach has rich talent at his ready, led by De Goey, St Nick and St Josh, the skipper, Crisp, Quaynor and the extraordinary output from Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury. Yet, it is the likes of Murphy, Maynard, McCreery, Mihocek and Cameron which adds the street fighter attitude. Stats will bombard the week as both teams are scrutinised, but stats are an autopsy. They tell us what’s happened, but not what will happen. Talent and ticker will be defining. Both will be challenged by the opposition. It’s incomprehensible that ticker is even part of a conversation, but plenty of successful teams go missing on GF day. The Swans last year. The Bulldogs the year before that. The Giants in 2019 and the Crows in 2017. Four of the past six grand finals have been blowouts. Will the talented Lions wilt under the pressure of Collingwood? Or will the slight advantage of talent rise above? Let’s hope it’s a cracker game.

Harris Andrews stood up in defence for the Lions. Picture: Lachie Millard

2. THE CO-CAPTAIN

Yes, Kiddy Coleman’s left foot was pure and the Blues would probably like their time again when deciding to push a forward to the stoppage and allowing Coleman to patrol the back flank, sometimes without an opponent. You can bet your last dollar Beau McCreery won’t give him so much time and space and easy ball this weekend. Yes, Coleman was good in defence, but teammate Harris Andrews was immense. He had 46 ranking points in the first quarter, yet it felt like he had 100 points, as he set about stopping the Carlton horde. He looms large this week and if the Pies go like for like and replace Dan McStay (knee) with Billy Frampton, Frampton’s ability to engage Harris will play an important factor. Can they really go without a tall and start Jack Ginnivan and play another small as sub? Mick Malthouse says no. The coaching great says you can’t change your structure in finals. So, it looks like Frampton, who was playing SANFL last year, is this year’s Mr Lucky selection.

Jordan De Goey is likely to be Josh Dunkley’s next target. Picture: Lachie Millard

Dislikes

1. PATTY WHACKED

We’ll find out soon enough exactly how damaged Patrick Cripps’ ribs were. He would be disappointed, nevertheless. Josh Dunkley had his measure and all Cripps can do is wait until their next outing to make a stand. Dunkley, meanwhile, ticks off Cripps’ name and starts preparing for Jordan De Goey. The Collingwood playmaker will be a different opponent again. Curtailing a banged-up Cripps who is more power than speed, in contrast to the lightning bolt which is De Goey at stoppages will be the challenge. The Lions have beaten Collingwood twice this year – in Round 4 (33 points) and Round 23 (24 points). Dunkley missed Round 23 and teammate Hugh McCluggage had the De Goey responsibility in Round 4. It’s logical that will change. De Goey needs attention at the stoppage and Dunkley’s discipline to defend first and create after that makes him the ideal midfield cooler. Mind you, De Goey is deceptively strong so it just makes sense that he gets Dunkley. And McCluggage is a free-wheeler anyway.

Charlie Curnow had a disappointing finals series. Picture: Getty Images

2. THE BAR ALWAYS RISES

Colleague Scott Gullan described Charlie Curnow’s final series more “fizzle than sizzle’’ and that was polite. A first Coleman Medal was fantastic for Charlie and two Coleman Medals put his name on the leaderboard for best player in the competition. A third Coleman Medal next year wouldn’t be derided, but Curnow now has a monkey on his back. He is a finals flop by his standards and our high expectations, and not until he is a strong contributor in September will he be considered among the game’s great players. It could be a blessing for him. He is a super talent and has incredible athleticism, but does he have a sufficient killer instinct? He flies with the angels, but he also needs to fight on the ground with the scavengers. Disappointment and individual failure can be a fierce motivator and Curnow needs to use that to get back to September and make is mark. Until then, he has a “but’’ beside his name. He’s good, but he couldn’t get it done in three finals.

Collingwood v GWS

The Giants’ mids were found wanting. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Dislikes

1. NO MORE BACKSLAPPING.

The Giants midfield was lauded after the Port Adelaide win as being the best in the league, but a week later, that reputation took a hammering. Coaches like to say you either win or learn, but this time it was learn and lose. The clearance differential was +18 to Collingwood, which was the second worst result this year for the Giants. They picked the wrong occasion to be brutalised. Jordan De Goey was breathtaking and his opponents, Tom Green and Stephen Coniglio, will play scenario after scenario in the heads as to how De Goey was able to latch on to so much easy ball, which included five centre-square clearances among his 13 clearances. Green is already a special talent, but he won’t forget Friday – or De Goey – quickly. In a high-pressure game, the Giants were not composed. Josh Kelly went at 34 per cent by foot, Tom Green at 47 per cent, Coniglio at 43, and while Lachie Whitfield had 26 disposals, he turned the ball over, including two kicks straight to the opposition in the final quarter. The Fab Four lowered their collective colours.

Harry Himmelberg argues with a field umpire. Picture: Getty Images

2. IF YA DON’T MIND, UMPIRE

Legendary radio caller Jack Dyer would’ve been a tiz over the umpiring decisions on Friday night. They were ugly and it prompted AFL heavyweights Leigh Matthews, Dermott Brereton and Luke Hodge among others to launch scathing assessments. The Giants aren’t happy and they will contact the AFL wanting “clarity’’ – whatever that means. What they really want is an admission that mistakes were made, not that crying over spilt milk will get them anywhere. Matthews called it appalling, Hodge used the word “pathetic’’ and Brereton labelled it a “free for all’’. The AFL sends out a gazillion emails trumpeting crowd sizes, membership records and sponsor renewals, but the core business product is football. There were no emails about the poor umpiring. The product was harmed on Friday night. Toby Greene swerved and didn’t duck and although commentator James Brayshaw called it a great tackle from Nick Daicos, only Collingwood fans would agree with Brayshaw. The protection of the ball winner/carrier seems to have morphed into the protection of the tackler, which is against the essence of the sport. We might as well get rid of prior opportunity and make it the free-for-all which disgusted Brereton and co. on Friday night. All up, Collingwood and the Giants received 12 free kicks apiece on Friday night, well below the match average which is 35.

Craig McRae has his Magpies shutting down games brilliantly at the death. Picture: Getty Images

Likes

1. THE PERFECT EXECUTION

Collingwood coach Crag McRae likes to say “we train for this scenario’’ and the final 10 minutes on Friday night was Exhibit A on how to close down and control a football game. It was shoebox football. While the Giants wanted the ball on the outside, the Pies wanted to keep it on the inside. They had numbers around the ball, plenty of pressure and tackling, second and third bodies on top of the ball, tap outs at the drop, move the ball without taking it, and the kick by Jamie Elliott to go lateral rather than forward, where the Giants would’ve had spares, was part of the plan and it worked because Josh Daicos kept some width. It’s pressure football because one mistake can open up the play. Scott Pendlebury was enormous. He got crunched a couple of times in the final quarter, but his intelligence to play out the scenario was supreme. As was Tom Mitchell. In the final 10 minutes, there were 12 stoppages. Collingwood’s pressure was 194 and Giants pressure was a whopping 230. Tackles were four to Collingwood and 12 to the GWS. Marks were 10 Collingwood and four to GWS. Short kicks were eight to Collingwood and one to GWS. It was the perfect execution.

Nathan Murphy had a big say on the result last Friday night. Picture: Getty Images

2. NATHAN MURPHY

The amount of one per cent highlights from the Pies would be in the hundreds and close to the top of the pops would be Nathan Murphy’s spoil on Lachie Keeffe moments before Toby Greene’s banana attempt from the boundary line. A lunging Murphy got a fist to the ball as Keeffe was about to wrap a chest mark in the pocket. If he marked the ball, a shot at goal was to be had. He’s a thrillseeker, Murphy. He’s slightly leaner than Richmond champion Nick Vlastuin, and is slightly taller, but he possesses the same bravery and aggression as the Tigers defender. His straight-line attack on the ball is never in question, and there’s not mark that he believes he can’t take. He had Jake Riccardi and Jesse Hogan on Friday night and conceded the one goal to Hogan. He’s likely to get Eric Hipwood in the GF – he played on him in Round 23 when Hipwood kicked two goals – although he did stand Cameron Rayner in their Round 4 encounter. His teammates would love him.