Robbo: Luke Hodge goes into bat for Port Adelaide young gun Jason Horne-Francis amid niggling
Jason Horne-Francis gave away more free kicks than any other player in 2023. He’s ranked No. 19 this season. MARK ROBINSON unpacks if the Hornet is still an easy target for opposition.
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The positive is Jason Horne-Francis is improving his attitude.
In 2023, he gave away the most free kicks of any player in the competition. In 2024, he is ranked No. 19, although a bunch of ruckmen have pushed him down the pecking order.
In an alarming spike because of the change of interpretation, which allowed ruckmen to use straight-arm blocks while contesting the ball, the big men have swamped the top end of the free-kick-against category.
Western Bulldog Tim English was the only ruckman in the top 10 in 2023, and this season that number has swelled to five in the top 10 and six ahead of the tempestuous Horne-Francis.
That unintended consequence is a deeper dive for another day, as is the surge in “chicken wing” tackles, which are claiming the ball-winner, sometimes without prior opportunity, and at the same time putting them in a vulnerable position.
That’s not ideal for footy on both fronts.
Also not ideal for Port Adelaide was Horne-Francis giving away free kicks for retaliatory acts against Gold Coast on Sunday, which drew the ire from football commentators and denounced by Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
“We won’t accept that it is OK,’’ Hinkley said.
But Luke Hodge, another No. 1 draft with a negative free kick count, said he’d prefer a player with “spunk” rather than be pushed around.
“I’d prefer for him stand up for himself than be walked over,” Hodge said.
“He’s got the confidence to go back at them. As long as he doesn’t give away free kicks and goals, which he did on Sunday … they hurt your team.
“But he’s young, he’s 21, and he’ll learn and maybe he might go and speak to his leaders Rozee, Butters, Boak and Wines to get some advice on how to better deal with the attention.”
Hinkley said as much in the post-match.
“He’s learned a lot, but he still has a lot more to learn and that’s clear when you’ve got a young player who is developing,” Hinkley said.
“He’s an aggressive player who seeks out body contact and once the (opposition) get a look at it they tend to come after you a little bit more.”
Prior to the previous two matches, Port Adelaide would’ve argued the No. 1 draft pick had better control of his emotions on the field.
But six frees against versus St Kilda and four frees against versus the Suns has suddenly helped shape the belief Horne-Francis can be “got at” by opposition players.
During one heated exchange between Horne-Francis and the Suns, Hinkley summoned his player to the bench for a chat.
“He let them get inside his head,’’ Fox Footy’s Jack Riewoldt said of Horne-Francis on Sunday.
David King agreed: “They’ve (Port Adelaide) got a problem that they haven’t really wanted to talk about for a little while. Everyone defends Jason, he’s a wonderful player, he’s an extreme talent — but he’s gettable now
“You can get under his skin, you can draw 50m penalties, and you can draw goals.
“He spends a lot of time talking to the coach, and why wouldn’t you talk to him? You’ve got to get the player back on track, I understand that, but at some point, he needs to take this situation by the horns himself and just, emotionally, remain in check.’’
One of the free kicks on Sunday was accompanied by a 50m, which resulted in a goal to Sam Flanders. But it was only his second 50m penalty of the season _ the other was in Round 7 _ and well below the league leaders Sam Darcy with six, Harry McKay five, and Shai Bolton, Willie Rioli and Tom Hawkins with four.
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Originally published as Robbo: Luke Hodge goes into bat for Port Adelaide young gun Jason Horne-Francis amid niggling
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