Mick McGuane: Round 1’s biggest losers analysed and how they can hit back in Round 2
The return of Charlie Curnow won’t fix all of Carlton’s problems. MICK McGUANE pinpoints the moves round 1’s biggest losers must make to avoid another disaster this weekend.
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Early-season debacles can happen, but they can also be quickly put behind you.
Collingwood showed that last week by thumping Port Adelaide, a week after a woeful opening round performance against Greater Western Sydney.
Coaches have to be careful not to overcorrect after one poor performance, but some changes do need to be made for some of last week’s biggest losers.
Here’s how Carlton, Port Adelaide, St Kilda and Fremantle can turn things around in round 2.
CARLTON
They’re one game in, but it’s already time for the Blues to spin the magnets.
Carlton’s starting backline against Richmond last week was too tall and cumbersome and was badly exposed as the game played out against an undermanned and inexperienced opposition.
The Blues started Jacob Weitering, Mitch McGovern, Nick Haynes, Jack Silvagni, Lachlan Cowan, and Adam Saad against the Tigers, with Ollie Hollands starting on the bench.
That group of seven won’t cut it against Hawthorn’s fleet-of-foot forwards this week, especially given Carlton is inept at defending transition.
Coach Michael Voss needs to bite the bullet and make some major changes for this game.
Haynes looked like a player who only featured in eight senior games last year and shouldn’t be in the 22 just yet.
But the Blues have backed him in for the clash with the Hawks, so Voss will be hoping for a better effort from the former Giant.
I’d be starting Hollands on the ground in defence and recalling Zac Williams from the forward line to play as a small lockdown defender on Jack Ginnivan or Nick Watson.
Midfielder Adam Cerra should also be considered as a left-field option to fill a role as a high halfback running defender.
Effective ball use exiting defensive 50 is so important in the modern game, but the Blues are prone to poor decisions and turnovers in that area of the ground.
They coughed up 36 points from defensive half turnovers in the second half against the Tigers — their fifth-most conceded in 10 years.
To make matters worse, Carlton allowed Richmond to score from 60 per cent of its inside-50s in the same period of time. That’s not acceptable.
Silvagni trained as a defender all summer, but I would be using him in a forward and relief-ruck role this week.
Having Patrick Cripps play the relief ruck role last week did not work and saw Carlton lose a lot of its strength around the ball as the game progressed.
In the first 45 minutes against Richmond, Carlton scored 31 points from clearances.
In the 85 minutes after that, it scored just four points from the score source.
The return of spearhead Charlie Curnow will help, but only if the Blues use the ball better going forward.
You can’t aimlessly bomb the footy inside-50 like they did last week and expect to win games.
Carlton recorded a scores per inside-50 rate of just 31 per cent in the second half against Richmond.
Without a different method and providing better ball use against Hawthorn this week, Tom Barrass, Josh Battle and James Sicily will dine out.
PORT ADELAIDE
History says that the Power tend to respond after poor performances.
A 79-point loss to Brisbane in round 15 last season was followed by a two-point triumph over St Kilda and an 84-point loss to Geelong in the qualifying final was backed up by a thrilling three-point semi-final victory over Hawthorn.
I’m expecting Ken Hinkley’s team to similarly respond from last week’s 91-point belting at the hands of Collingwood — but they can’t just think it is going to happen against a young Tigers’ team who have their tails up.
An under-fire Hinkley has said that his side is trying to offer up a different game style and the coaching group would have spent the week reflecting on what went wrong in that adjustment.
Port was outrun, out-muscled and out-marked against the Magpies and couldn’t handle the pressure applied on them to kick anything close to a winning score.
The post-Charlie Dixon era is clearly a work in progress, with the forward line looking all at sea last week with Mitch Georgiades and Jack Lukosius as the key targets.
I’d bring in Esava Ratugolea as another tall forward target against an undersized Richmond defence this week, who can offer the added benefit of providing relief ruck assistance for Jordan Sweet.
Small Jed McEntee would be another good addition to a forward line which registered just six forward 50 tackles against the Magpies.
The Power have traditionally built their game style around pressure in the front half and aggressively setting up the ground to cover all outlets.
The lack of that last week showed as they allowed Collingwood to score a whopping 63 points from its defensive half.
Port was ill-prepared for what Dan Houston and Josh Daicos were going to throw up across halfback and paid the price.
They’ll need to ensure that the Tigers’ pairing of Nick Vlastuin and Jayden Short similarly don’t get off the leash this week.
ST KILDA
There’s some talent missing from the St Kilda team, but that doesn’t mean the Saints can’t still bring a manic ‘at-the-ball’ pressure intent.
That’s where it all starts and stops — and it was non-existent against Adelaide last week.
You don’t have to be experienced to play with a desperate, defensive attitude.
St Kilda’s pressure rating against the Crows was just 166 — well below the AFL average of 181 — and it recorded only 52 tackles for the match.
Without that at-source pressure, Adelaide’s ball-winners were able to leapfrog the Saints and easily move the ball from inside to outside the contest.
That consequently left St Kilda’s defenders in two minds about whether to retreat or press up, opening up pockets of space for the Crows to work into and give them easy looks going inside forward 50.
The Saints’ team structure was completely dismantled — which doesn’t often happen to Ross Lyon-coached sides.
Ball use and decision making coming out of St Kilda’s defensive 50 were also an issue, with Adelaide scoring 47 points from forward-half intercepts.
Against a Geelong team which is certain to apply manic forward-half pressure, the Saints can’t be sloppy like that again.
The expected return of competitive forward Mitch Owens should allow Rowan Marshall to spend more time in the ruck against the Cats.
As much as Harry Boyd has some upside, the Saints were hurt by not having Marshall in the thick of the action at stages last week as he spent 70 per cent of his game time as a key forward.
The two themes for the Saints this week should be: bring a defensive-first mentality and be prepared to absorb the heat that will come from Geelong. Their ball security must not succumb to the Cats’ tackle pressure.
There won’t be an acceptance again of what St Kilda displayed defensively last week.
If a clear response doesn’t come, maybe we can determine that Lyon has become too ‘cuddly’, as opposed to the tough but logical coach I greatly admire.
FREMANTLE
“We weren’t tough enough”
When a coach says such words at a post-match press conference like Justin Longmuir did last week, it signals to me that a turnaround should come quickly in the contested side of the game.
Fremantle had more disposals than Geelong last week but recorded just 43 inside-50s, lost the contested possession count by 14 and lost the tackle count 59-89.
The Dockers almost recorded more handballs than kicks — which I’m certain was not by design but rather due to their inability to handle the manic pressure that the Cats applied.
They couldn’t win the ball back off Geelong or defend uncontested marks on a skinny ground at GMHBA Stadium, either, due to the Cats’ pure ball movement. The lack of pressure was noticeable.
It’s time for redemption.
I’d start by making a couple of positional shifts.
As much as the Dockers like Luke Jackson as a forward, it might be time to tell him that he is the primary ruckman while Sean Darcy is still injured.
Liam Reidy didn’t look ready for that role last week and I believe Jackson plays his best footy when the responsibility is on him as the No. 1 ruckman.
Key forward Patrick Voss is one option who could take Reidy’s spot in the side and replace Jackson in attack, providing support for Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss.
Alternatively, if Longmuir thinks Voss is not the answer, why not roll the dice and throw Brennan Cox forward?
Fremantle has done that before and Cox can also act as a relief ruckman when Jackson needs a spell.
Against a undermanned Sydney defence this week, a three-tall forward line looks the way to go. Lewis Melican is out injured and it would force Swans coach Dean Cox to play Tom McCartin back where he belongs.
There’s huge responsibility on the mainstay midfielders of Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Nathan O’Driscoll in the absence of Hayden Young.
The Dockers’ clearance game wasn’t a concern against the Cats — but not competing strongly enough in crucial 50-50 contests and not handling the pressure applied by Geelong was.
Fremantle showed in the third quarter last week that it is a capable team at its best, winning the inside-50s 16-7 and kicking 6.5 (41) to 1.2 (8) away from home against a clear top-eight opponent.
But to see the Dockers then surrender as the Cats piled on 10 last-quarter goals was unacceptable and it was like the white flag was hoisted.
The message this week: Compete and defend. On the back of that, the offence will look after itself.
If Fremantle want to be a genuine finals contender this year, it needs be a consistent four-quarter performer.
Originally published as Mick McGuane: Round 1’s biggest losers analysed and how they can hit back in Round 2
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