Early Tackle: Sam Landsberger’s likes and dislikes from AFL round 11, Essendon, Bailey Humphrey

But there was a lot to like about their conqueror Sydney on Friday night, who were led by the dashing Nick Blakey.

Sam Lansdberger looks at the issues facing the Blues and what it means for their immediate future and names his likes and dislikes in the Round 11 Early Tackle.

DISLIKES

HEAT ON BLUES AT THE TOP

Carlton president Luke Sayers can’t sack Michael Voss. Firstly, because Sayers said six days ago Voss was safe until the end of 2024. Secondly, because this was a Sayers appointment. If the Blues were to turn on their coach then the blowtorch would turn on Sayers and his board, which kept the faith in football boss Brad Lloyd after the 2021 football review and installed Voss when Ross Lyon wanted the job. The Blues have won eight and a half games out of their past 23, ranked 14th with multiple fewer wins than Gold Coast and Essendon. They have lost six of their past seven – a rotten run David Teague never endured inside a season. The winless month of May was probably the club’s darkest since Brendon Bolton was coach, who was sacked three years ago to the round. Sayers said this three weeks ago: “We take on three of the last four grand finalists (Western Bulldogs, Sydney and Melbourne next week) as well as the current ladder-leader (Collingwood). Pressure makes diamonds and it will be these moments that our character is hardened and our path towards our vision gains clarity”. Diamonds …

GOALKICKING NOTHING NEW

Harry McKay has kicked 14 goals from 41 shots this season. That includes 16 behinds and 11 no scores. It was hard to watch McKay on Friday night and after a similar slump last year his mum, Tracey, told Harry he wasn’t himself and so he went and saw a sports psychologist. Some have suggested McKay should play VFL against Frankston next week but that seems highly unlikely. If you park the West Coast rout these have been Carlton’s recent scores – 62, 60, 74, 59, 57, 51 and they’ve lost every game. The kicking skills are below AFL average all over the field, not just in front of the sticks. The Blues kicked six goals from 59 entries on Friday night and one goal from 29 entries in the first half against the Western Bulldogs. Poor finishing combined with poor entries has been a hard watch.

WHAT ABOUT TDK?

The Tom De Koning situation is fast resembling Ollie Henry last year. Henry was dropped to the VFL as he watched brother Jack play in a runaway premiership for Geelong. Tom was dropped late last as brother Sam played in that Cats flag and again this season. Tom wants to be a No.1 ruckman and the Cats can offer that with Rhys Stanley and Jon Ceglar both turning 33 before next season. TDK’s potential is blinding and some talent experts suspect he could be an All-Australian in the right set up. There’s a long way to go – the Blues have not yet formally lodged a contract offer – but right now the word is Tom’s most likely home will be down the highway in 2024.

MAGNET MOVES

Jack Silvagni – Carlton’s Jack of all trades – is now being reprogrammed as a backman after spending the season as a third forward and second ruck. They believe he knows their defensive system inside out and is a tidy kick. Thought Zac Fisher was clearly best-afield in the VFL on Friday and with George Hewett (concussion), Nic Newman (hamstring), Ollie Hollands (shoulder) and Adam Cerra (likely suspension) set to miss, along with a potential ankle injury to Cripps, the Blues are bracing for as many as five forced changes. If Paddy Dow isn’t picked for the first time this season then goodness knows what is going on behind the scenes. Dow wasn’t even in the 26-man squad last week but is averaging 31 disposals, eight clearances, five tackles and 121 ranking points in nine VFL games. The Blues have enjoyed their best injury run in years this season but that is now about to be tested. There are suggestions fitness guru Andrew Russell, the man Alastair Clarkson raved about during Hawthorn’s flag three-peat, won’t be at Ikon Park next year. Suspect he would be a wanted man elsewhere.

UNRECOGNISABLE CATS

The Cats are unrecognisable from last year – none more so than Sam De Koning on Saturday, who started forward wearing a black NBA-style protective mask on return from facial injuries. The Giants recorded 43 more uncontested disposals in the second term. Gryan Miers and Bradley Close ran hard as always, but some teammates looked like they were running on sand comparatively. The past three losses have mirrored the flat first three losses and at 5-6 the question shouldn’t be whether they can finish top four or win the flag – it should be can they make the top eight?

DULL MID-SEASON DRAFT

Clubs suspect the AFL relaxed nomination rules for Wednesday’s mid-season draft because it was looming as a bit of a non-event. There’s not a whole lot of talent exciting recruiters, although West Coast should get a nice player if they take Ryan Maric at No.1 as expected. The third tall forward whose got speed and can mark it has trimmed down from 107kg to 83kg while the mail is Hawthorn will go for Ethan Stanley, who Hawks’ head of development Andy Collins rates. Geelong is likely to recruit ex-Swans ruckman Sam Naismith while Ben Jepson has interest from the Eagles if they take a second player and possibly Essendon earlier. But the Bombers are hard to get a read on. Did they speak to Dreamtime hero Sam Durham before taking him two years ago? Richmond VFL player Mutaz El Nour might be one Western Bulldogs consider, too. Smart clubs search for players they would take in November’s national draft rather than a player to pad their reserves because they doubt a part-time footballer can be a sugar hit in an AFL program at the pointy end of the season. Marlion Pickett, at the age of 28, was really the only exception to that rule.

SICK BT

Channel 7 viewers were left disappointed when Sydney’s win wasn’t celebrated with a Roaming Brian encore in the rooms. The unscripted television has become a must-watch segment on the free-to-air broadcast but instead James Brayshaw, Matthew Richardson and Luke Hodge conducted the post-game interviews in traditional style. Apparently there was a late change of plans because BT was feeling unwell. Rest up, BT. Hopefully it’s back at the MCG next week.

WHY IS JACK STILL IN THE BOX?

This was Collingwood’s inaugural AFLW coach Wayne Siekman’s reaction to Jack Higgins’ brain fade in the final quarter: “Should be dropped for thinking about himself and not the team when he dropped the mark in the square as he was thinking about his celebration”. Wonder what Jack Billings’ reaction was if he was watching while preparing for his fifth consecutive game for Sandringham? Don’t have all the facts, but from the outside the non-selection of Billings this season – he wasn’t even in Saturday’s 26-man squad – has been mystifying. He’s been off the injury list for over a month and has won between 22-24 disposals in every VFL game, where he has played on the wing. Mason Wood has been a revelation in that role, but is there really no room in any position for Billings in a Saints team that has been ordinary twice now in the past month? If match fitness is still a concern, would he have been a wiser choice as substitute than Cooper Sharman on Saturday, who had an OK third quarter but was let down by his kicking at times? Billings is 27 and probably on around $600,000 to play for the Zebras. Odd.

AFL UNFAIRLY HUNTS LACHIE

Lachie Hunter’s technique two weeks ago was unorthodox. He ran at Hawk Josh Weddle from the interchange bench and was fined $1500 for ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour.’ It was a ludicrous penalty when Hunter had not broken an AFL rule (he didn’t enter a banned area) and a warning for a first-time offence would’ve sufficed. Hunter’s technique last week was perfect. He stood over the ball, kept his feet and Connor Rozee cannoned into him headfirst.

Brownlow Medallist and former Match Review Panel officer Jimmy Bartel said: “There’s a big difference between bracing and bumping and this is bracing for contact … don’t lead with your face” … yet Hunter was suspended. On Saturday coach Simon Goodwin lamented the inefficiency with the ball. Boy, Hunter’s neat left foot would’ve been handy delivering inside 50m. Reckon Hunter was hard done by twice by the AFL and that might’ve cost the Demons against the Dockers.

LIKES

WHAT A DAY

It was the AFL’s ‘Any Given Sunday’ … on Saturday, as a quadruple of upsets flung the finals race wide open. One win separates Geelong (9th) and GWS (14th) as Essendon, Fremantle, Sydney and Gold Coast made their moves. After Melbourne, St Kilda and the Cats faltered it was the Western Bulldogs who ended the night as the big loser. Knowing a win would soar them a game safe in the top-four they led the Suns 20-0 before the Sherrin became a cake of sweaty soap. Then, they were brought unstuck by their superpower – handballing. At Marvel Stadium it is intoxicating. In Darwin it invited trouble and they flicked it around 150 times to Gold Coast’s 85. No idea how Sun Bailey Humphrey is $67 for the Rising Star (he should be closer to $5) because his money kick inside 50m is golden. Five days after Damien Hardwick’s resignation created talk about Stuart Dew’s future, it was silenced by Matthew Rowell. He recorded career-highs in clearances (16) and contested possessions (23) and his last-quarter goal followed a clearing kick in the backline. Charlie Ballard blanketed Aaron Naughton as a towering Dogs forward line was aerially ineffective. The top three clubs – Collingwood, Brisbane and Port Adelaide – all play on Sunday, knowing a win will give them a two-game buffer in the top four.

CRIPPLED BY A MAKESHIFT MID

Isaac Heeney sat down with assistant coach Dean Cox and Luke Parker late in the week for a crash course on stopping Patrick Cripps. Heeney went toe-to-toe with the Brownlow Medallist and won six clearances to Cripps’ five and laid 10 tackles to his six. In 165 games Heeney has had more clearances just four times and more tackles only three times. It was a super night for John Longmire with Adam Saad also shutdown and the Swans’ undermanned defence – their line-up was missing seven talls – absorbing so much territory without the scoreboard cracking. The Swans were staring at 3-7 before North’s interchange breach and are now 5-6 with a bye to refresh before Buddy’s 350th.

HAWKS MAKE TANK TALK LOOK LIKE WAFFLE

Hawthorn is a Harry Himmelberg fingernail and Darcy Fogarty clutch set-shot away from being 5-6 … and some are still waffling on about tanking. First, to the rejuvenated midfield. Irishman Conor Nash ranked in the top 20 AFL midfielders for disposals, contested ball, groundball gets, clearances and tackles from rounds 5-10. Alongside Will Day – who plays in Marcus Bontempelli’s mould – Jai Newcombe and James Worpel the Hawks have a young midfield loaded with poise, power and punch.

That wouldn’t be clear if Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara were still at the club. Second, to new captain James Sicily’s leadership. Sicily’s 21 intercept possessions dwarfed the previous AFL record of 16 and it fed his 43 disposals (only three came from kick-ins), 16 marks and last-quarter demolition. Sicily had 16 touches as the Hawks rattled off the last five goals. Against Adelaide he mistakenly benched himself when Fogarty pinched the game. Against the Saints he was the architect of a win that has changed the narrative for this club. The Hawks took 18 marks inside 50m against a team that started the season as the stingiest on record. So much of that was due Sicily’s counter-punching. Post-match the one-time hothead spoke with class and he then sang the song in socks after gifting a special pair of boots to a young fan. In Sicily and coach Sam Mitchell the Hawks have two rock-solid on-field pillars after a period where several other pillars at this club have crumbled.

MAN WITHOUT A PLAN

Chad Warner won the Goodes-O’Loughlin medal for another devastating display. But thought Nick Blakey was best on ground. Blakey doesn’t so much arch the back but straighten it when he sets off with a sense of adventure. He is the game’s biggest improviser – taking off without a plan and making it up as he rockets along the grass. Blakey got better as the game wore on and his seven intercept marks were critical. Last week Steele Sidebottom laughed as Carlton kept kicking it to Darcy Moore, who clunked 10 intercept marks. But this is no joke for the Blues and you wonder how many Jake Lever and Steven May will reel in if they blast it forward and high again on Friday night.

DARK HORSE FOR DIMMA’S JOB

Melbourne midfield coach Adem Yze was all the rage for a senior job last year but was pipped by Adam Kingsley (GWS) and Brad Scott (Essendon). But suspect the Demons’ backline coach and ex-Tiger Troy Chaplin is one to watch when Richmond gets to work on hunting Damien Hardwick’s replacement. Chaplin is only 37 but spent the tail of his playing career coaching at Sturt and Oakleigh Chargers and served as Hardwick’s assistant in the final months of 2016 before former teammate and former Demons football manager Josh Mahoney poached him. Chaplin was named the 2022 AFL Coaches’ Association assistant coach of the year after he was runner-up in 2021. He is highly-rated inside Richmond’s football department and Hardwick was the catalyst for Chaplin pursuing coaching. Word is another ex-Tiger, Shaun Grigg, recently purchased a house in Geelong and is impressing under Chris Scott while former captain Chris Newman coached Box Hill to the 2018 VFL flag and now oversees Hawthorn’s forward line. They could all be of interest however some sharp minds expect Chaplin – who the bookies don’t even have in their early markets – to receive a call.

YOUNG AND GRITTY GIANTS

Don’t care what the stats say – the Giants are the toughest fourth-quarter team. In round 1 they trailed Adelaide by 28 points (in the third quarter) on a scorching Sydney day with Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield and Harry Perryman injured. They won by 16. In round 7 they twice trailed Sydney by 24 points in the last quarter. Toby Greene stole victory by a point. In round 5 they trailed Hawthorn by 14 points. They won by two points. In round 8 they cut Western Bulldogs’ 34-point lead to eight points on the back of Tom Green’s brilliance. On Saturday the final five minutes was laced with monumental efforts from tough youngsters. Finn Callaghan’s 40m pass to Jake Riccardi in front of goal, Riccardi’s contested marking and finishing, Brent Daniels’ tackle on Mark O’Connor to reverse a centre clearance with the margin two points, Daniels’ stoppage goal to seal victory, Connor Idun’s clearing kick to Daniel Lloyd, Lachie Ash’s one-handed intercept mark on the wing … the list goes on. They are special moments coach Adam Kingsley will celebrate. Toby Greene has given so much to this club and in game No.200 the captain got what he deserved with a win to saviour. The 200-club is about to burst open – Lachie Whitfield, Nick Haynes, Stephen Coniglio could all join him this year.

WOEY’S WA CAMP

Brownlow Medallist Shane Woewodin helped his son, Taj, and fellow West Australians Judd McVee and Jacob van Rooyen train in Perth over summer – with outstanding results. McVee and van Rooyen have shot into the best 22 at either end while if it wasn’t for surgery on a dislocated finger Taj probably would’ve made his debut by now. Word is he’s very close to cracking coach Simon Goodwin’s team after excelling for Casey both on a wing and as an inside midfielder.

Originally published as Early Tackle: Sam Landsberger’s likes and dislikes from AFL round 11