The Tackle: Mark Robinson reveals his likes and dislikes from Round 4 of the 2021 AFL season

Recent rule changes has footy back to its best, but there’s one area umpires need to relax on, writes Mark Robinson. Check out Robbo’s likes and dislikes.

Max Gawn had the better of Mark Blicavs and the Cats on Sunday. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Demons tamed the Cats, the Power downed the reigning premiers, and the Bulldogs retained their spot atop the ladder, while the Pies slipped further into the mire.

Round 4 of the AFL season produced so many talking points, and chief footy writer Mark Robinson has listed his biggest likes and dislikes — including why there’s a silver lining in North Melbourne’s heavy loss to the Crows.

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Christian Petracca was dominant against Geelong. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

LIKES

1. The real deal

Melbourne is delivering what they promised in the off-season and that’s better defence and less selfishness. They are the second-best defensive team in the competition, behind the Western Bulldogs. No coincidence, those two teams sit one and two on the ladder. It also helps, of course, when Christian Petracca has 36 touches and kicks two goals and Clayton Oliver breaks the tag of Mark O’Connor and finishes with 34 and a game-high 10 score involvements. The win over Geelong was achieved without the injured Steven May as well. All up the Demons have a winning midfield, a stern defence, a willingness to pressure all over the ground and a forward line which hasn’t seen Ben Brown and Sam Weideman yet. Not sure both of them get back into the team to be honest.

2. On a wing and a prayer

Two of Adelaide’s best players played in a position not really recognised by All Australian selectors: the wing. Lachie Sholl and Paul Seedsman – wouldn’t he be handy at the Pies right now – cut up North Melbourne on the outside. Sholl had 31 and 596m gained and Seedsman 25 and 611m gained. Along with Rory Laird’s 31 touches and 11 clearances, they helped overpower North Melbourne in the final 30 minutes on Sunday. Not sure there is a player with a better combination of left and right-foot kick than Sholl, which makes his projection lofty.

The Saints marched home strongly against the Eagles. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

3. Weights slowed Phar Lap

And pressure stopped the Eagles. St Kilda’s five top pressure players were, in order, Brad Crouch, Jack Higgins, Jack Steele, Dan Butler and Jack Lonie. After Round 2, the three small forwards – Higgins, Butler and Lonie – were singled out for having little to no impact offensively and defensively. Pressure, or lack thereof, is a mindset and is contagious. Up until the 17th minute of the third quarter, St Kilda’s pressure was 174 and the Eagles controlled the scoreboard. As the Saints kicked the next eight goals to secure a memorable victory, the Saints’ pressure zoomed to 211. Effort always underpins strategy and without it, strategy can be pointless. What an inspiring choice as captain Steele was.

4. Freo making definite inroads

They’re not kids anymore. Fremantle was in a dog fight against the Hawks and how stepped up the final quarter? Two 21-year-olds and a 20-year-old. Adam Cerra, Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong combined for 24 disposals in the midfield. Brayshaw had six in the first three quarters being tagged and responded with nine in the final. He and Cerra did the outside work, while Serong had four contested possessions and three clearances. Others were influential, of course, but on a weekend where youth drew headlines, the Dockers’ trio plus Frederick, Chapman, Watson and Sturt proved the Dockers are as well placed as any team going forward.

5. Who would you have?

Lion Harris Andrews or Pie Darcy Moore? Both are All-Australians and the pomp that comes with playing for Collingwood far outweighs the recognition of playing for Lions. Moore is electric, while Andrews is a monster. Josh Bruce kicked one goal on him on Saturday and Tim English two, but with the Doggies having a commanding 61-44 inside-50 difference, Andrews probably stopped another 10 goals being kicked. He had 14 intercept possessions and took 12 marks in defence to be clearly Brisbane’s highest-ranked player. Harris will stay in defence, but who knows if Moore is destined to do the same.

Underrated Taylor Duryea has been impressive for the Dogs down back this season. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

6. Taylor Duryea

Yep, English, Macrae, Treloar, Dunkley, Bontempelli and Naughton will figure prominently in the highlights reel from Ballarat on Saturday, but quietly, coach Luke Beveridge would be thrilled with Duryea, the forgotten Bulldogs defender. He played only three games in 2020 because of injury – including the elimination final – but has reclaimed his spot on a back flank. He took Charlie Cameron on Saturday and kept him to zero goals. In Round 2 against the Eagles, he did the same to Liam Ryan. He’s an all-types player, Duryea. He can stand an opponent, he can run and rebound and his kicking efficiency this year is at a career-high 85 per cent. His disposals are at a career-high 20 as well.

7. Ed Curnow

When it’s all over for Ed, he will be known as fastidious and accomplished lockdown midfielder. But he’s more than that. With his workrate and want for the contest, the humid and slippery conditions at the Gold Coast on Saturday night were ideal. Unshackled from a specific defensive role, Curnow hunted the ball and, being on the deck 95 per cent of the game, he was prolific. He had team-high clearances, the second-most score involvements, second-most contested possessions and a team-high ranking points. With Sam Walsh down on productivity, Curnow stepped up – and not for the first time in his 186-game career. His 200th game will be well celebrated late this year.

Ebony Marinoff hugs Anne Hatchard after making it through to the AFLW grand final. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

8. Disposal Queen

Adelaide midfielder Ebony Marinoff had 35 touches in Saturday’s preliminary final, the equal-most with teammate Anne Hatchard in the history of the AFLW. She also had a season-high 13 tackles, a season-high 18 contested season and 659m gained, which was third-most on record in the competition behind Ellie Blackburn (727m in 2017) and Hannah Scott (707m, also in 2017). To produce a performance like that in any preliminary final is worthy of widespread accolades. The downside to Adelaide’s win over Melbourne was the concussion suffered by skipper Chelsea Randall, which puts her out of the Grand Final. With Randall out and perhaps a cooler on Marinoff, the plucky Lions could get it done on the road.

9. Lion-hearted ruck win

Brisbane’s Tahlia Hickie was in tears after the game and was prolific in the final quarter against Collingwood. Opposed to last year’s All-Australian ruck Sharni Norder, Hickie denied the Pies any advantage in the centre square. In the final term, Hickie won 10 hit-outs to Norder’s two. In a robust final 10 minutes, with the Lions clinging to the lead, Hickie had six hit-outs – two to advantage – compared to Norder’s solitary hitout. Hickie continuously gave her team momentum in a game that swung several times on momentum.

Shane Mumford’s work on the deck was impressive against the Pies. Picture: Michael Klein

10. Mummy does it again

Brodie Grundy’s indifferent form as a tap ruckman/midfielder was highlighted again on Saturday night. Shane Mumford took the points in the one area – as a ground-ball ruckman – where Grundy is supposedly more accomplished than his actual ruckwork. Coach Nathan Buckley said as much last week. But Mumford got him on the ground. He had a game-high eight clearances, was top-six for pressure for the Giants and was the second-highest ranked player on the ground. Grundy was much better in the second half. He finished with 92 ranking points, 64 of them coming in the second half against an exhausted Mumford.

DISLIKES

1. Pies at the crossroads

Everything is on the table at Collingwood, preparation, personnel, game style, as noted by coach Nathan Buckley. And so is positional. The midfield needs tweaks and, not for the first time, the forward group is under pressure. It has to change because it’s not working. It’s why Darcy Moore needs to go forward. The Pies’ back six is not the problem, but as the team continues to lose, why continue with the same set-up? Adding Moore to the F50 would ease pressure on Mason Cox, Brody Mihocek and Jordan de Goey and could give the team a point of difference. Jack Madgen could go back to aid Jeremy Howe and Jordan Roughead. Moore is Collingwood’s best player and imagine if he remained the best player as a forward. The Bulldogs play Aaron Naughton forward when plenty others argue he could be an All-Australian defender. Perhaps, it’s about attitude: Defend at all costs or try to kick a winning score? They need something because the scores this year are 53, 106, 72 and 60, well below the AFL average. What have they got to lose when they are losing anyhow?

Where to next for Joel Selwood and his Cats? Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

2. Cats without Pat

The Cats remain careful with the ball and remain competitive without a functioning forward line. At times, it seems like it’s Tom Hawkins or bust and while Jack Henry is giving his all, they are without a combination of Ratugolea, Rohan, Cameron and Dangerfield. Every team relies on its best players to perform and without Dangerfield, the Cats are without their matchwinning bull. It’s telling in a sluggish game like yesterday’s. The Cats were smashed in contested ball (168-148) and lost clearances (46-36). Combined, those numbers are a hiding. Dangerfield returns next week and those sorts of numbers can be rectified somewhat. The next issue is the forward group, but fixing that will be take longer.

3. Drama at the Demons

It’s an odd occasion when a club president steps down only four weeks into the season. Sources say it wasn’t entirely Glen Bartlett’s decision to relinquish the role, some with fellow board members not convinced Bartlett should lead the club into 2022. He was the quiet president who got the job done, the debt reduction under his watch a major tick for what he and his board accomplished. Melbourne vice-president Kate Roffey will become the new president, with an announcement expected in the coming days.

Charlie Cameron has continued his slow start to season 2021. Picture: Michael Klein

4. Two flighty forwards

Charlie Cameron and Joe Daniher will give coach Chris Fagan plenty of joy, but also plenty of frustration. Cameron’s in a rut. One argument is he’s struggling for identity beside Daniher and Eric Hipwood and it sort of makes sense. Another argument is he simply needs to adapt to the new set-up and do it quickly because that’s what good players do. In the four games he’s played this season, his ranking points are 42, 62, 49 and 39. Fox Footy’s Dermott Brereton wondered if Charlie had the “sooks“ at the end of the Round 1 and not sure Derm would’ve changed his mind three weeks later. As for Daniher, when he’s good he’s great, but when he’s bad, he looks awkward and some of his marking attempts are outrageously difficult.

5. Paddy under the pump

Hopes of a renaissance season for Carlton midfielder/forward Paddy Dow are not being realised and his position in the team has to be a discussion at selection this week. A ground-ball player, he couldn’t find it in the ground-ball game against the Suns on Saturday night. He had eight disposals, only 24m gained, zero clearances, one score involvement and played the lowest number of minutes of the starting 44. Once confident Dow could impact this season, the Blues are now hoping, and maybe yet another turn in the VFL is required.

Adam Treloar remonstrates with umpire Hayden Gavine on the weekend. Picture: Michael Klein

6. Ease up on the play on

Channel Seven commentator Brian Taylor noted in Round 2 the umpires were quick to call “play on” to the player who had taken the mark. It remains an issue. OK, the game is faster and the umpires want to keep the ball moving, but the player with the ball — and who has not gone off his line — surely needs a reasonable amount of time to assess his options. On Saturday night at the MCG, Josh Daicos took a mark at half-forward in the second quarter and while he was enthusiastic in assessing his options — without going off his line — the umpire called play on and Daicos hurried his kick. Dare we say it with umpiring decisions, consistency is needed.

7. X and the X-factor

The injuries to Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters, who are looking six weeks out, is a considerable dent for Port Adelaide. The creative Butters at high half-forward will be considered the greater loss, but Duursma in the wing position is equally as damaging. The man with the arrow is an elite runner and incredibly courageous, and it’s little wonder he took Brad Ebert’s jumper number, No. 7, at the start of this season. At the 11th minute of the fourth quarter, and with Richmond surging, Duursma’s courage to take a mark as the off-side wingman was one of the reasons why Port prevailed. He launched into a contest between Jack Riewoldt and Aliir Aliir inside 50m and took the chest mark, denying the Tigers an opportunity to score. The courage of wingmen to gut run and be the seventh defender when required surely has to be recognised by the All-Australian selectors at season’s end.

Nic Naitanui and makeshift ruckman Jake Carlisle do battle. Picture: Mike Owen/Getty Images

8. Midfield blues for Eagles

Luke Shuey’s absence was emphatically on show as the Eagles crumbled in the final 45 minutes. Not only through that period but for the whole game. The Saints went to school on Nic Naitanui. For example, very part-time ruck Jake Carlisle was opposed to Naitanui for three ruck contests, where hit-outs to advantage were nine for Naitanui and four for Carlisle, but five of Nic Nat’s were won by the Saints. Overall, the Saints won clearance 45-30 and 17-10 in the centre square. Carlisle is not in St Kilda’s best 22 and with Patrick Ryder expected to play this weekend, Carlisle might even be axed. This coming after a decent match-up against the best tap ruckman in a generation.

9. A step forward for the Kangas

The final quarter was a wipe-out and if we were to be harsh in our criticism, North Melbourne put up the flag in the face of Adelaide’s eight-goal onslaught. Do we walk away being overly critical or highlight the positives across the first three quarters? Whack them for a quarter or pat them on the back for three? Coach David Noble surely will stress the positives. They included Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tim Powell’s 19 touches, Nick Larkey’s three goals, Ben McKay’s game-high 11 intercept possessions and Aaron Hall’s cleaner ball use. The last quarter was unacceptable, however, and that’s the reality with this young team. Four-quarter efforts have to be found.

10. Clear air for every match works

Why the overlap of matches? The end of Thursday night games mean more overlap matches over the weekend. That’s not good for the footy lover. Take Sunday. North Melbourne v Adelaide overlapped Melbourne v Geelong, which overlapped Fremantle v Hawthorn. It’s stupid scheduling. Why does the AFL decree this when they don’t have to? Last year, there was no overlap and viewers got to see more of the teams. This is not a network decision, this is an AFL decision.

Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson reveals his likes and dislikes from Round 4 of the 2021 AFL season