The Early Tackle: Round 3 AFL and AFLW preliminary final talking points
Friday night double-headers that overlap should be binned, but playing AFLW games before or after men’s matches is a different case altogether, writes Glenn McFarlane.
It’s been another huge week of early talking points in footy — from AFLW finally gracing the MCG to a questionable Friday night double header.
There was Jordan Dawson’s dagger to Port Adelaide after the siren, Essendon’s midfield being exposed and then there’s the big issue footy clubs don’t want to talk about.
Glenn McFarlane names his highs and lows of Round 3 in part one of The Tackle.
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LIKES
DEES’ SECRET WEAPON IN THE RACE TO KEEP JACKSON
Melbourne forward coach Greg Stafford hosted the players’ campfire on his Mornington Peninsula farm in the 2021 preseason credited with playing a role in the Demons’ drought-breaking premiership.
And Stafford might yet prove a secret weapon in the Demons’ bid to retain Jackson, with last year’s Rising Star set to come out of contract at season’s end.
Demons insiders believe Jackson’s close relationship with Stafford - it’s actually a three-way brotherhood including Max Gawn - will play a role in the West Australian native staying put.
He could command close to $1 million if he chose to leave for West Coast or elsewhere and while the offers will come, Melbourne is convinced it has the money to keep him happy.
The Demons have had big recent re-signings including Gawn, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver. But while each inked long-term deals, they left a little fire in the chamber to ensure the club had enough to recontract key players Jackson and Angus Brayshaw.
And while we are at it, well done to Sam Weideman for stepping in with four goals and some clunking marks in Ben Brown’s absence.
Let’s hope he gets a clean run at it from here.
DAISY INTO THE GF, DOUBLEHEADERS ON THE CARDS
Daisy Pearce will finally get the chance to play in an AFLW grand final next week after Melbourne fought off Brisbane in the history-making first women’s competition game at the MCG on Saturday.
Pearce, 33, has kept her AFLW flag dream alive through a few near misses, a serious knee injury and the birth of twins Sylvie and Roy three years ago.
It would be some sort of story if the AFLW Demons can follow on from the men’s team who won the AFL flag last September.
It comes as Melbourne pushes to play more women’s matches at the MCG next season - including some double-headers before or after the men’s team - after the success of Saturday’s game.
There has been no formal approach to the AFL yet, but Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert said preliminary discussions had already taken place about potential double-headers next season.
“We were really excited to play at the MCG which we feel is the home of the Melbourne Football Club and we have a real DNA connection with, ” Pert said.
“I would love there to be a time as soon as possible where the AFLW girls are playing at the MCG either before or after AFL games.
“The more people exposed to the AFLW game and the more people who can see how talented the girls are, and how exciting the matches are, can only help to build the overall support for the game.”
IS THIS THE BIGGEST RIVALRY IN FOOTY RIGHT NOW?
Kane Cornes doesn’t mind causing a stir, but few would argue against his postgame observation that the Showdown rivalry is up there with the best in footy right now.
Sixteen of the 51 Showdowns played out between Adelaide and Port Adelaide have been decided by nine or fewer points - a reminder that anything can and often will happen.
Somehow it keeps raising the bar almost every time these two teams lorn horns.
This year was no exception.
A free kick against Sam Mayes went to Lachie Murphy, who was unable to take it, and in keeping with the script Jordan Dawson had the ball in his hands as the siren sounded.
Best rivalry in the AFL
— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) April 1, 2022
IT’S MARRA TIME
That’s the baseline Jamarra Ugle-Hagan needs to not only keep his spot in the Bulldogs’ team, but to give his side the best possible chance of upsetting Melbourne next time.
It can’t be Aaron Naughton or bust anymore. As good as he is, Naughton needs help.
While the Demons have a few forward selection dilemmas - good ones in trying to see if Sam Weideman (four goals) can keep his spot - the Bulldogs need to persist with Ugle-Hagen.
His pressure numbers were off the charts at stages of Thursday night’s game. He brought the ball to ground, took a few nice grabs and kicked an early goal, even if he missed a few.
He just needs to believe in himself and his coach will back him to tag team with Naughton.
LIBBA AND THE DESPERATE DOGS
The use of Tom Liberatore has perplexed pundits on the small sample provided in 2022, but hopefully his last few centre clearances on Thursday night were a turning point.
Last year’s No. 1 clearance player has had limited opportunities in his familiar role this season. But when granted the chance late, he shone a light on why he needs to be in there.
Libba attended only five centre bounces against the Swans. Critically, he won three centre clearances from those five, including his fourth which proved crucial for the Dogs.
The Dogs’ manic pressure was back on Friday night and you only had to hear assistant coach Rohan Smith’s pre-game interview on 3AW to figure out what was coming next.
They were back to their desperate best and while it wasn’t pretty, their desperation was rewarded with the four points.
TAGGING TOUK
Touk Miller’s 25-game streak of 20 or more possessions in a game is over after an orchestrated double-pronged tag devised by Giants coach Leon Cameron.
Cameron opted to apply a tag to the damaging Suns midfielder, with Lachie Ash and Matt de Boer helping to limit his impact.
That denied the Giants their best offensive weapon and it might end up being a template rival clubs choose to use when taking on Miller.
Miller has been one of the most consistent midfielders in the AFL over the past 12 months.
He tried hard against the odds on Saturday, but his 17 disposals turned out to be his lowest return since Round 16, 2020.
It was a good night for Cameron, despite a few cheap late goals to the Suns that reduced the margin late.
The Giants coach was so incensed with the lack of defensive intent against Richmond last week that he let his players have it during the week.
The Giants delivered for their coach, going from 42 tackles last week to a telling 75 on Saturday.
WELCOME TO BRIS-VEGAS!
Jason Dunstall declared ‘Welcome to Brisvegas’ as the Brisbane Lions issued a warning to Melbourne - and rival flag fancies - of their 2022 intentions.
The Lions have largely sailed under the radar so far this year with wins over an injury-hit Port Adelaide and a stuttering Essendon, but this total dismantling of North Melbourne was something else.
At the same time as Geelong was storming home to knock off the plucky Pies, Brisbane was staking an early claim as the team most likely to challenge the reigning premier Demons.
It sets up an intriguing contest against the Cats down at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
Lincoln McCarthy kicked a career-best five goals, Dayne Zorko continued his “rehab on the run”, Zac Bailey booted four majors and Charlie Cameron even tried out a new goal celebration.
It was showtime from start to finish, kicking 23 goals, including 9.5 in the last term.
DISLIKES
THE KICK THAT MAY HAVE CURSED KENNY
Port Adelaide believed their cross-town rivals paid overs to secure former Swan Jordan Dawson in the last trade period, but it might end up costing the Power even more.
Dawson’s spectacular after-the-siren goal to give Adelaide a shock Showdown win over Port Adelaide means last year’s preliminary finalist has started the season 0-3.
With key games to come against Melbourne on Thursday night and a resurgent Carlton, it could conceivably be 0-5 which would almost be the point of no return in 2022.
So what would that mean for Power coach Ken Hinkley, who has a contract in place until the end of next season?
Hinkley has been great for Port Adelaide for a long time. But he is three rounds into his 10th AFL season as coach, and is yet to win a premiership or win a Grand Final berth.
That time frame has been the tipping point for other long-term coaches without a flag.
Nathan Buckley, who came so close to a flag at Collinwood in 2018, was moved on during last season after 10 seasons.
The same thing happened to Neale Daniher at Melbourne and Brad Scott at North Melbourne, despite making big impacts at their clubs.
Hinkley hasn’t given up the faith, saying he still believed his team could rebound quickly.
“Absolutely you believe in that, but we understand it gets challenging,” he said.
Hinkley almost has a 60 per cent winning record and deserves to be cut some slack, but we know he has had a sometimes testy relationship with chairman David Koch.
Kochie could be compelling viewing in the coming weeks - and not just on Sunrise.
ROO’D AWAKENING
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King summed it up for frustrated North Melbourne fans when he labelled the club’s embarrassing loss to Brisbane as “unacceptable”.
He was particularly referencing the last quarter procession that saw the Lions extend their three-quarter-time from 56 points to the final margin of 108 points.
The Kangaroos conceded 78 inside 50s, putting their defence under extreme duress, made only worse by an injury suffered by key defender Ben McKay.
We know North Melbourne is still very much a work in progress but King explained there are no excuses for what they served up against the Lions on Saturday night.
David Noble will be left with plenty of head scratching as he faces yet another significant interstate challenge against Sydney at the SCG next weekend.
OPERATION MIDFIELD BULL
Essendon must launch ‘Operation Midfield Bull’ in search of a big-bodied, hard-nosed midfielder who can add a bit of old-fashioned mongrel to the team.
Having failed to land Bulldog Josh Dunkley two trade periods ago, Bombers list and recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro needs to have another crack at luring him to the Hangar.
It will almost certainly fail, given Dunkley’s Dogs’ rejuvenation and his bromance with Adam Treloar, but regardless they need to chase the next best alternative.
Andrew McGrath did his best to “cool” Christian Petracca’s influence on Friday night, but that just allowed Clayton Oliver to get off the chain.
Essendon’s 2022 mids are mostly lightly-framed who have the talent and skills needed - as we have seen - but they desperately need the addition of a tough, aggressive, in-your-face power mid.
HAWK MESS
It’s heartbreaking to hear that Cyril Rioli doesn’t want to return to Hawthorn … or at least not until president Jeff Kennett departs.
The Hawks issued an apology to their four-time premiership hero and his wife Shannyn on Saturday over a series of events.
Rioli told Nine Media Kennett’s comments to his wife about her ripped jeans in Launceston in 2017 had caused significant offence and were the last straw after a series of issues he had at the club.
The Hawks For Change group has called on Jeff Kennett to immediately stand down.
Whatever happens from here, the Hawks must do all they can to welcome Rioli back into the fold.
He retired prematurely in 2018, but hopefully he still has plenty left to give to the club and to the code off the field.
THAT STAT THE SWANS NEED TO ADDRESS
In the last 10 years every premiership team has ranked top six for inside 50s differential.
So far the Swans are -27 for inside 50ms in three games this season - +1 against the Giants, -18 against Geelong and -10 against the Bulldogs.
Unless they work out a way to go inside on more occasions, or unless they can buck the premiership model of the past decade, they are unlikely to win this year’s flag.
That’s a midfield concern for the Swans, evidenced by the Dogs’ mid dominance at stages on Thursday night, leaving Sydney’s forwards without the necessary supply.
The Swans are efficient once the ball goes inside 50m; they just need it in there more.
OVERLAPPING GAMES
Friday night double-headers are fine; Friday night double-headers that overlap are not.
The AFL fixture team rightly gave some clear air to AFLW this weekend - it was originally meant to be Grand Final week — but the Friday night scheduling hurt the eyeballs on a classic Showdown.
The Adelaide-Port Adelaide rivalry has been crying out for Friday night blockbuster status.
It should have either been a standalone game, or the Dees-Dons clash should have started earlier and the Showdown could have followed straight after.
If we are going to have two Friday night games, let’s adjust the start times accordingly.
COVID FATIGUE
You won’t get clubs speaking on the record about this, but all are treading a delicate balancing act with Covid fatigue from their players.
Privately, they will tell you it is a big issue.
The players are dealing with state government rules (like the rest of us), on top of AFL protocols, and as an added layer club requests for extra cautions.
It’s not at breaking point yet, but a little pushback from the players is starting to creep in, especially at those clubs who have told players to stay away from events with big crowds.
Watch this space!
SAME OLD SUNS, SAME OLD STADIUM WOES
Stuart Dew has every right to be livid after yet another Giants Stadium debacle for the Suns.
It’s becoming predictable.
The Suns have never won at the Giants’ home ground in six attempts - their average losing margin there is almost 12 goals.
This time plenty thought it could be different. Sadly, it wasn’t.
Saturday’s losing margin was 26 points, but that flattered the Suns as they were never in the hunt against the Giants this time around.
Gold Coast’s lack of defensive pressure and modest intent at the contest even had Dermott Brereton labelling one unchallenged Giants goal “embarrassing”.
Dew is fighting for his coaching life with the spectre of Clarko or Bucks or other coaching aspirants looming as talking points.
So when his team dishes up lame efforts such as this one, he has every right to give his players a good old-fashioned spray.
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