The Tackle: Robbo’s round 11 likes, dislikes, Carlton board turmoil, Michael Voss

Amid a string of upsets one storyline hasn’t changed – Carlton can’t find a way to score, and the heat on Michael Voss is getting hotter by the week.

Here are Robbo’s likes and dislikes from a huge weekend.

DISLIKES

1. The storm at Carlton

There are rumblings in the boardroom at the Blues, which tells us the frustration dripping off everything that is Carlton has made its way to the top. It’s possible there will be a resignation this week as division rises over the direction and performance of the football department. It’s understood at least one director is considering his position as concerns grow about list management, player spending, player development and, of course, coaching appointments. It’s common knowledge some people on the board wanted Ross Lyon to coach, including president Luke Sayers. Lyon abruptly told them no and Michael Voss won the job. Sayers won’t go back on his declaration that Voss will coach all of the 2023 season even if the flailing season gets worse. They’re in the trenches together, which is what it should be, but we all know football and football clubs. If the Blues, for example, win only two games for the remainder of the season, the pressure on Voss and Sayers will be extreme. And already the boardroom is divided.

2. The anger is everywhere

The Blues army is furious. A mate sent a photo of his membership card cut into pieces and with words of advice for the Blues, which began, “they can get .…’’. Blues fans on the rampage is nothing new, but their expectations were high this season and they are now in the gutter. Put it this way, Hawthorn has won one fewer game than Carlton. The bevy of observers, working in the game and moaning in the stands, can’t work out exactly what’s gone wrong. Statistically, they just can’t score. They are ranked 15th for scores and Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow have to accept responsibility for that, as do the small forwards who are young, but never kick a bag of four or five. Patrick Cripps is in a hole. He won the Brownlow last year because he won a lot of ball and had an impact forward of centre. He’s kicked one goal this year, which came in the rout against West Coast. In the past month, he’s averaged only four score involvements per game. He’s not the only player struggling, but leaders need to lead.

3. Zorko the not so great

There’s uproar around flopping in the game and even a suggestion players should be suspended if they are guilty. So, what’s a suspension for an alleged eye gouge? Dayne Zorko’s fingers found their way into the eyes of Luke Pedlar and Zorko has explaining to do, either at the tribunal or in a public statement. He has to get the benefit of the doubt, but if it was intentional, he needs to sit for at least a month. The Lions were out-hunted by the Crows, and they will be disappointed with their third quarter, which they dominated in territory but could only muster 1.9 to Adelaide’s 3.1. That was the game.

4. Talent search is afoot

Richmond’s effort is never the query. We know they need talent to restock and the older blokes have their best footy behind them. But that’s no excuse for Sunday’s final quarter. While Butters and Co. went to work, two of Richmond’s game breakers, Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton, disappeared. Bolton had two possessions and Martin one in the last, and although Port had the territory, the two Tigers couldn’t inject themselves into the game. They were pretty good for three quarters, particularly Bolton, but they also finished with 3.6 between them. Not for the first time, they were the difference, and this time in a losing team.

5. Query on the Cats

Coach Chris Scott is not panicking, but after Saturday, even the unflappable master coach knows something extraordinary will have to occur if the Cats are to win this flag. Last year, their premiership year, they were 5-4 at round 9 and won 16 consecutive games and hoisted the cup. This year, they are 5-6 at round 11, having lost to Richmond, Fremantle and the Giants in the past three weeks. It would be a football miracle to win it from here. Apparently, the plan is to ride this storm, get players back and match fit by, say round 17, and make a run for it from the bottom of the eight. That plan, while sound, doesn’t leave a lot of margin for error. No disrespect, but losing to the Giants at home? Injuries certainly hurt, especially when one is Patrick Dangerfield, but isn’t “system’’ devised to cover for injuries? It depends on the depth of injuries. Defensively, they are ranked 12th for points conceded and 14th for opposition scores per entry. They are numbers not generally associated with the Cats, but it happens when you have injuries in the back half. The midfield minus Dangerfield, Holmes, Cam Guthrie and Mitch Duncan meant the core midfield on Saturday was Atkins, O’Connor, Blicavs and Bruhn. They lost clearance by eight and conceded seven goals from stoppage. The Cats have issues and it would be an incredible coaching performance if Scott and Co. are to stand on the podium at the end of September.

6. Bubble burst at the Saints?

It was a terrible performance against the happy handballing Hawks. Their defensive system fell apart, and, as coach Ross Lyon conceded, they should’ve lost by four or five goals. They were slaughtered, in fact. They lost uncontested ball by 76 and contested ball by 13, so they lost it at the source and were carved up on the outside. Hence, they lost inside-50s by 15. The Saints are in a curious position. They have the bye and then play Sydney away, Richmond at the MCG and Brisbane at Marvel over the next month. As quick as we lauded the Saints this season, they could be flailing outside the eight in a month’s time.

7. Tippa’s not fit

The fairytale return of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti is over and he will be lucky to play another game this season. He’s not fit enough, his spark has evaporated, his once-renowned pressure is below average and he can’t find the ball. It’s hardly the CV of a player deserving of regular league football. He’s averaged just eight disposals a game this year. There’s a squeeze on in the Essendon midfield and there’s a lot of options for Tippa’s spot – Jye Menzie, Alwyn Davey Jr, Will Snelling, to name a few. If McDonald-Tipungwuti is to figure in coach Brad Scott’s plans towards September, he needs another mini pre-season to get him up to scratch.

8. And for what it’s worth

1) Hate how players push in the back in marking contests. It happens in every game and if you had a dollar for every time a player pleads with the umpire and thrusts his hands out to indicate he had been infringed you’d almost afford to buy a beer at the footy – they are $10.50. 2) Players who receive the ball, are tackled and lie on the ground flapping like a fish out of water, and make no effort to get rid of the ball. Melbourne’s Jake Lever is the flapping king. He shakes furiously, but holds on to the ball and the umpires fall for it every single time. 3) Flopping.

LIKES

1. The Rs in Adelaide

Josh Rachele was pick 6 and Rankine pick 3 in their national drafts and together they outshone the rich talent in the Lions’ forward 50. As much as the Daicos boys are compared to the famous Krakouer brothers for their “waxing’’ on the field, the Rachele-Rankine combo in the Adelaide forward line is the better comparison. Oooh, they ooze magic and both have contenders for goal of the year. On the back of a fierce attack on the ball, led by Rory Laird’s 16 tackles, the dynamic duo were keys to Sunday’s win. Rankine has skill and attitude. He kicked two goals and was involved in 13 score involvements. Rachele kicked one goal and had seven score involvements and three goal assists. They will encourage recruiters to use their early picks on small forwards, and not just gun midfielders. In comparison, Carlton’s small forwards are Owies (category B rookie), Corey Durdin (pick 37) and Jesse Motlop (pick 27). The Crows pair are miles ahead on performance.

2. Competitive Kangaroos

The Pies won, De Goey was best, Nick and Josh starred, Darcy Moore was a giant, blah, blah, blah. That seems to be the narrative in most Collingwood games and the four of them, barring injury, will be All-Australian. But Sunday was a lot about the Kangaroos. They lost narrowly to last year’s grand finalists last week and lost by six goals to the Pies, so their hopelessness has disappeared for two weeks at least. King of the kids, Hugh Greenwood, went head to head with De Goey for a fair chunk of the game. De Goey was brilliant and Greenwood was hardly disgraced. The kids to shine included Will Phillips, the No.3 draft pick who has missed so much footy because of glandular fever. Against the best midfield in the comp, he had a career-high 29 disposals, five clearances and five score involvements. With Sheezel and Wardlaw finding their feet in the game and Phillips developing at a rapid rate, the Kangas have more green shoots than a Vietnamese rice paddy.

3. Buttering up again

Think you’re an umpire at the MCG on Sunday. It was a big transition game early and turned into a scrappy match as the rain fell, and while all 44 players on the ground were having a dip, there was one bloke seemingly having more of a dip. So, how do you not give Brownlow Medal votes to Zak Butters? Richmond’s Tim Taranto kicked four and had 30-plus and Aliir Aliir was supreme in defence, but the little fella, that tough little prick as Ken Hinkley labelled him, was something else. The match was there to be won in the final quarter and Butters had 13 disposals, seven contested, two clearances and four intercept possessions, that last number enormous for a midfielder. Umpires don’t look at stats, but they see effort and Butters’ effort surely won’t be overlooked. He should now be second-favourite in the Brownlow to Nick Daicos.

4. The stylish Bomber

Remember Blake Caracella? He was a Bomber, Magpie and Lion as a player and a Cat, Magpie, Tiger and a now Bomber as a coach. He was a stylish wing or half-forward and, besides having a sharp footy brain, he had this knack of always finding himself alone in space. The Bombers have a Caracella replica in Nic Martin, the SSP recruit who has missed just one game since his debut in 2022. He had a career-high 29 disposals against the Eagles on Saturday night and continues to grow in that Caracella mould. He has elevated his game this year, but not as high as his teammate Mason Redman. The competition for back flank spots in the All-Australian team is a humdinger this year. Nick Daicos is one, Jack Sinclair is currently the most likely to be the other, although he plays his more dominant footy in the midfield. The third option is Port’s Dan Houston. The fourth option is Redman. He’s a star. He runs and kicks long and on Saturday night had a career-high 31 disposals. His signature on a new contract surely is only a matter of time.

5. Stuart Dew must love Jarrod Witts

He is one of the generals in the AFL. This year, the Suns lost the two games he missed with injury and are 5-4 with him in the team. On Saturday night, he beat Tim English, and recorded 19 disposals, 17 hitouts to advantage and six score involvements. English got 10 of his 17 disposals in the back half and took seven of his eight marks in the back half and had only one clearance. It was his second worst-rated performance this year. The Suns had winners everywhere. Matt Rowell did it again and his explosion from contests, thought to be the missing element in his game, has come to the fore. He’s still 21 and by 25, he will be winning a Brownlow. And then there’s Charlie Ballard, the unknown soldier at the Suns. He cleaned up Aaron Naughton and previously quelled Jack Riewoldt (round 7), Jack Darling (round 9) and Jacob van Rooyen (round 8). Over the past five weeks, he has taken 33 intercept marks, 11 clear of the next player, Liam Jones.

6. Can people push pause on the Dew talk?

Ahead of the Bulldogs game, Stuart Dew confidently declared he was the man to coach the Suns. On Saturday night, his Suns beat a team which only a week earlier were described as a premiership threat. Yes, it was in Darwin and the surface was heavy, and fumbles were prevalent, and that suits the Suns. But let’s be fair. If the Suns were beaten badly by the Bulldogs, the noise about Damien Hardwick replacing Dew would’ve exploded. Dew and his team deserve credit and with a bunch of young players flourishing together, they will be a team which consistently threaten the opposition soon enough. A win over Adelaide next week should wrap up all Hardwick speculation.

7. The ‘tanking’ Hawks

Whoever first suggested Hawthorn was tanking would now feel the fool. The Hawks baked the Eagles last week and, on Saturday, destroyed all theories they were tanking, which means Harley Reid won’t be a Hawker. That’s OK, there’ll be other talent in the draft and always remember that Joel Selwood went at Pick 7. Anyway, the Hawks ran through one of the best defensive teams in the game and kicked the last four goals of the game. Sicily was incredible, Lewis and Bruest caused all sorts of trouble and the coach, Sam Mitchell, outpointed Ross Lyon with a game style which the Saints could not combat. You’ve got to tip your hat to James Worpel. He was so far in the wilderness, he was in deep Alaska, and has turned around his career. His past five games have returned 25, 25, 26, 27 and on Saturday 24 disposals.

8. Jesse Hogan

My God, it’s been an interesting career. He’s played 128 games for three clubs – Melbourne, Fremantle and GWS – and he just might be the most mysterious figure in the game. Has he wasted a career with all that talent? Did he care about footy as much as others? He’s 28 and perhaps playing the best footy of his career. He didn’t kick a goal at the weekend, but took a season-high 10 marks, had 19 disposals, 12 contested possessions and six tackles. That’s a player invested. In fact, that’s a leader performing at one the most intimidating grounds in the competition.

Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 11