AFL Early Tackle: Scott Gullan’s likes and dislikes from round 4

There’s been enough time to see a system, a change in mindset and significant progression under Alastair Clarkson. On what the Roos served up against the Swans, none of that is happening, writes SCOTT GULLAN.

Carlton’s worries are mounting, pressure is rising on Simon Goodwin and Adelaide and Gold Coast’s early-season blockbuster (yes, you read right) lived up to the billing.

Scott Gullan names his likes and dislikes from round 4.

DISLIKES

SAME OLD STORY

This was the night when the real North Melbourne was going to be revealed.

The opening three games hadn’t provided a clear picture of Alastair Clarkson’s team for what is supposed to be a dramatically improved season.

A decent effort in Rd 1 against the Western Bulldogs was acceptable and then the Rd 2 smashing of Melbourne gave renewed hope that the turnaround was happening.

In Rd 3 a six-goal loss to the Crows in Adelaide could be forgiven because they won’t be the only team getting touched up over there this year.

Alastair Clarkson during Saturday night’s loss. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

So a Sydney team who haven’t looked anything like last year’s grand finalists, with a few players missing, under the roof at Marvel Stadium had big-time scalp written all over it for the Kangaroos.

This was a statement game.

And it certainly turned out to be one but not the type the Roos had been hoping. All they managed to tell everyone is that they’re still a pretty ordinary outfit.

They had no answer to the Swans’ pressure and six goals midway through the final quarter is just rubbish.

All the hype about the Kangaroos young dynamic midfielder and Nick Larkey being a Coleman Medallist waiting to happen was quickly diffused.

Larkey kicked two goals in the final two minutes when the game was shot, his side-kick Jack Darling didn’t bother the scorers while the amount of skill errors from North players when executing short kicks or handballs became a joke.

If they didn’t have Harry Sheezel who had another 30 plus touches then they would have lost by 20 goals.

This is Clarkson’s third season and that’s enough time to see a system, a change in mindset and significant progression. On what they served up against the Swans, none of that is happening.

The pressure is mounting on Michael Voss and Carlton.

TOUGH CALL

Michael Voss has a lot on his plate this week but one of the trickier issues he faces is what to do with Sam Docherty.

While there have been plenty of Blues lowering their colours in the 0-4 start, the much-loved veteran – who started as the sub in Round 1 – has been well below his best.

There have been several forgettable moments over the past month which Docherty would prefer to have again as he struggles to get back into the swing of the modern game after just two games last year – the first of the season and then the last – because of a knee injury.

Maintaining selection integrity can be difficult when a side is struggling, particularly when you’re dealing with one of the most popular players at the club.

Michael Voss could face a huge call on whether to drop Sam Docherty.

While 27 touches on the wing against Collingwood on Thursday night looks good on the stats sheet, Docherty’s impact was again minimal.

The problem for Voss is that there doesn’t seem to be many players pushing up from below with his team’s depth being exposed during the horror start to the season.

Although young son-of-a-gun Lucas Camporeale showed a bit for the first two matches before surprisingly getting dropped.

It’s a tough spot for Voss but time is running out on the season so some big decisions need to be made.

NO HOME GROUND ADVANTAGE? RUBBISH

Since the passing of time umpires had put their hand on their heart and said they’re not influenced by home crowds.

Since the passing of time we all know that is rubbish.

The new Gold Coast Suns fortress of People First Stadium is the unlikely latest venue that seems to be having an influence on the men in lycra.

There never used to be enough Suns fans to cause enough noise for the umpires to notice but that changed on Saturday afternoon.

In what was the game of the season so far the Adelaide Crows could mount an argument that the home team certainly had the rub of the green.

The overall free-kick count was 25-14 to the Suns but it was the lack of calls in the final frantic couple of minutes which raised eyebrows.

Suns defender Sam Collins’ late push/tackle on Izak Rankine as he took a chest mark will be discussed for days. It was either a mark (he seemed to have it long enough) or a free as being tackled in a marking contest usually warrants the whistle to be blown.

Rankine would have had a shot to win the game from 40m out in the forward pocket and given his skill set, there’s every chance he would have kicked the goal.

Then in the last 30 seconds Suns defender Mac Andrew’s leg appeared to make contact with Riley Thilthorpe’s head as he was on the ground but again play-on.

Putting the whistle away late in the games is also not something new but in such a cracking spectacle the fact the umpires will be the major talking point is disappointing.

“That’s a mark and/or a free kick. You can’t tackle a guy while he’s marking the ball. You can’t drive into the middle of his back,” Fox Footy’s David King said about the Rankine call.

“The umpire froze, let’s be honest, he didn’t want to pay the decision. It’s a mark or a free kick, there’s no doubt about that.

“The fact they (the Suns) get the last four or five free kicks, I think the Crows will feel a little hard done by.”

Izak Rankine in action on Saturday. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

He was on the money because within half-an-hour of the game finished the Crows had already declared they would be asking the AFL umpiring department for a please explain.

Another incident in the spotlight came earlier in the game when Suns forward Jed Walter clearly played on in the goal square after a mark but then stopped when two Crows defenders converged yet he was allowed to go back and take the set shot.

Suns officials are expecting the noise factor to become a bigger issue in weeks to come.

There were only 16,200 in attendance – it was a record home crowd against Adelaide – with the 12.20pm starting time given as a reason because it clashed with a lot of local sport.

TUNNEL TIME

It took a month for the AFL to crack down on the dangerous act of players being pushed into marking contests.

A close relation of that is tunnelling which seems to be sneaking back into the game with Melbourne’s Bayley Fritsch in the spotlight after his ugly effort on Geelong’s Tom Stewart on Friday night.

Fritsch made contact with Stewart’s legs as he was in mid-air forcing the Cats star to full flat on his back. He wasn’t happy and immediately remonstrated with the Demons forward.

As were some former greats of the game led by Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt.

“It is the most vulnerable position to be in, when you have your legs taken from under you. And you could tell from the reaction of the player, Tom Stewart was filthy, he was filthy about this,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.

“For me, two to three weeks for that — that is so dangerous, and this is the chance for the AFL to get onto something early, before it festers into someone knocking themselves out from coming down on their neck.”

Fritsch is more likely to get a fine like Essendon’s Mason Redman copped a $1,000 whack for a tunnelling act against Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe.

They all agreed the MRO should move to stamp out the issue before a serious injury occurs.

LIKES

BICE MANIA

Country footballers and those who may have missed a couple of drafts, don’t worry you could be the next Riley Bice.

Eighteen months ago Bice was running around for Albury in the Ovens and Murray League. He was then lured down to Werribee where he played in the club’s drought-breaking premiership and made the VFL Team of the Year.

Riley Bice was the star for Sydney. Picture: Michael Klein

Two months later at the national draft, Sydney selected the wingman at No.41. It was a dream come true for a kid who’d barracked for the Swans all his life.

On Saturday night in just his third game the 24-year-old was the standout in his role as an intercepting half-back flanker with a lethal left-foot.

He finished with 26 possessions, 15 marks – the most intercept marks for the night – and 433 metres gained which was second-highest for the game behind teammate Isaac Heeney.

Bice has certainly found one big fan with former Melbourne champion Garry Lyon in raptures over the mature-aged recruit.

“He looks like he’s played 100 games,” Lyon said on Fox Footy.

He then went on to declare Bice best-on-ground and an early contender for feel-good story of the year.

MCG MAN

Will Ashcroft is doing his best to get himself a statue at the MCG.

He played the game of his life last year at the ground in the Grand Final and walked off with a Norm Smith Medal around his neck.

Now he’s kicked the goal of his life and that’s a big statement given he did win the 2023 Goal of the Year

Late in the third quarter against Richmond, Ashcroft received a handball on the boundary line, 20m from goal.

Tigers defender Tom Brown was closing in on him from the front but for the Lions budding superstar that just added to the degree of difficulty which clearly made it more fun.

Will Ashcroft starred at the MCG again. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

To avoid Brown he had to kick the ball underneath his outstretched arm which he did brilliantly but expertly also had enough power on the kick that the ball accelerated on the bounce and took off straight through the goal.

It was right out of the Peter Daicos playbook and was part of another brilliant afternoon for the older Ashcroft at the MCG.

Younger brother Levi showed he also didn’t mind the big stage, kicking a nice goal and seeing plenty of it against the hapless Tigers.

Importantly for Lions coach Chris Fagan his team ticked off another hoodoo. They hadn’t beaten Richmond at the MCG since 2009. losing seven straight against the Tigers at the venue.

Patrick Dangerfield starred as a forward on Friday night.

BACK FOR THE FUTURE

While the old would have made Geelong fans warm and fuzzy, a snapshot of the new should have them more excited.

Patrick Dangerfield in game No. 341 put on a classic in his new role of a part-time centre half-forward but it was up the other end where there was something special brewing.

While it took a late withdrawal (Mark Blicavs) and an injury (Jack Henry) to see Sam De Koning return to full-back it provided a welcome return to the form of the 2022 premiership year.

Dangerfield POUNCED on that 🐱#AFLCatsDeespic.twitter.com/tcUQuBRli7

— AFL (@AFL) April 4, 2025

That was more a relief for the Cats given the 24-year-old had lost his way a bit last year but the excitement came from the teenager next to him.

Connor O’Sullivan was playing his fifth game but looked like he was playing his 105th. The 19-year-old showed why the Cats took him at No.11 in the 2023 national draft with his intercept marking a stand-out.

He finished with 23 possessions and 13 marks to send a warning to Richmond’s No.1 pick Sam Lalor that the Rising Star Award won’t be a one-act affair this year.

LAND OF THE GIANTS

Adelaide’s three-headed forward monster has been lauded in recent weeks as the Crows have shown they’re the real deal this year.

The combination of Darcy Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe and Taylor Walker was on song on the Gold Coast’s fast deck and showed why many defenders will be having sleepless nights before facing the Crows.

Twelve of Adelaide’s 14 goals came from the trio – they also took 16 marks – with the bearded Thilthorpe the standout (5.2 goals). His battle with Suns gun Mac Andrew was enthralling and just as entertaining after the siren when they continued to trade barbs.

Interestingly at the other end of the field Damien Hardwick was unveiling his own younger version of the three-headed monster.

Ben King, Jed Walter and Ethan Read combined for six goals and at times looked just as menacing as the Crows outfit.

The performance of Walter in his 16th game – and just his second for this season – was telling. There has been a lot of hype about the 195cm forward and he showed why with a career best 3.2 goals.

COACH’S PET

Matt Rowell would have to be up there and he’s likened Bailey Humphrey’s to Dustin Martin so he would have to be a chance but we have another nomination for Damien Hardwick’s favourite.

Bodhi Uwland is the type of player Hardwick loves and has a lot of Richmond premiership star Nick Vlaustin about him.

His willingness to come off his man to help teammates is brilliant, he has the right amount of courage and aggression and is cool under pressure.

Hardwick did show his hand about Uwland in last year’s best and fairest where he became the least experienced player in Suns history to make the dais.

Playing just his second season as a product of the Suns Academy, he was dropped to the reserves in Round 8. He returned the following week and proceeded to earn the most votes of any player for the rest of the season to finish second in the count behind fellow defender Sam Collins.

On Saturday he was playing just his 27th game but looked every bit a player who would thrive in September which for the first time the Suns now legitimately look like having a team capable of playing finals.

Originally published as AFL Early Tackle: Scott Gullan’s likes and dislikes from round 4