Today’s post is probably going to be one of the most straightforward in 2024.
North Melbourne’s loss to Brisbane came largely because of their inability to stop the Lions’ midfield from doing as they pleased.
On one level it’s to be expected that Brisbane have an edge over North. The likes of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and co are all seasoned bodies with plenty of experience. For all intents and purposes this was week four of North’s current mix.
But it was still a little disappointing to see how easily Brisbane were able to move North’s midfield around and manipulate space in the first half before easing up after the main break.
That’s what this post will be about, but focusing purely on the first quarter. Otherwise it’ll end up being 4,000 words with 25 videos. After that, to finish off down the bottom, odds and ends on Colby McKercher, Bailey Scott, and Charlie Comben. Or Comden, according to some.
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While the North Melbourne match analyses are – and always will be – free for all, for those who want a little bit extra the Patreon continues to run. There are three tiers available in 2024:
$2.50 – Debutant – To show support for the site without receiving any extra features
$5 – Rising Star – The first level where there are extra features and early access for certain things
$10 – Brownlow – First access to everything and anything set up for Patrons
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Much like last year’s Gather Round encounter, everything started from the midfield and North’s inability to stop Brisbane’s movers from doing whatever they wanted. Or to be more accurate, the inability to stop Lachie Neale from having a training session:
– Neale in 2023: 37 disposals (17 contested), 13 clearances, 12 score involvements, 6 inside 50s
– Neale’s first half in 2024: 23 disposals (12 contested), 5 clearances, 6 score involvements, 5 inside 50s
Afforded more room than any midfielder should have at any time, let alone someone of Neale’s calibre, it all started right from the outset. This was Neale at a Brisbane forward 50 stoppage just 30 seconds into the game:
Then there was overcompensation a couple of minutes later. Brisbane pushing an extra player into the stoppage caught North unaware, leading to desperate scrambling, two players heading to Neale, but too late as he was able to brush it off:
This is the part where we take a brief detour – not related to the above clip, to be clear – and talk about effort.
It’s a cop out to say there’s a lack of effort. It’s lazy and simply not true at this level of competition. There’s a difference between a lack of effort and being second best.
When the latter happens, it’s a domino effect, ticking all boxes down the page:
– Second best = people becoming reactive
– Reactive = not playing on instinct
– Not playing on instinct = second guessing
– Second guessing = looking slow
– Looking slow = sitting duck for the opposition to go around or through you
When a team is in control as opposed to being second best, we see what we saw for the first quarter and a half against Fremantle. The ‘effort’ levels at Marvel Stadium were exactly the same as the first half against Brisbane. The difference was two levels of opposition.
Nevertheless, back to clips. There’ll be a touch more on Colby McKercher a little later, but this example is a standard illustration of a lack of experience, compounded by miscommunication from his teammates.
Brisbane have brought their winger – in this case Callum Ah Chee – right into the stoppage to create an extra. While Darcy Tucker remains in a normal wing position just outside of play on the defensive side, it means an extra Lions number inside play. North can’t get organised in time, positioning is off once the ball is thrown up, and weight of numbers tells:
It looks bad, doesn’t it? But it’s a simple situation of an experienced team playing one whose movements aren’t second nature to each other yet.
The next passage is an invaluable lesson for George Wardlaw. Watch as Neale, owning the dangerous space at all time, basically forces Wardlaw into the contest and wheels away as a result. It’s subtle, but high-level work:
A couple of minutes later, it’s all about recognising the scenario for Wardlaw. Late in the first quarter, with Brisbane rampant, the mindset needs to be defend first, then work from there.
Instead the starting position gifts Neale too much space and once McCluggage wins possession, it’s curtains for North.
Wardlaw’s tended to be very good at this in the early stages of his career, which means this instance isn’t a matter of alarm bells but rather a case of an off day and a reminder there is no margin for error when playing the best midfielders in the league.
In the first half, Brisbane were +9 in clearances (28-19) yet +27 on scoring from those (39-12). Add in the funky nature of the ground and how much more valuable territory gains were than normal and that was the game right there.
Geelong next week presents some similar challenges to Brisbane – the ground dimensions and key forwards for starters – but it’s not disrespectful to say the Cats midfield is a step or two below the Lions’. It should provide the canvas to highlight whether North’s group learned from a humbling experience at Norwood.
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At the conclusion of Round 4, the regular stats updates – and new features – will kick into gear. For those who don’t know who they are:
$5 + $10 Tiers: Stat Suite: Where there’ll be weekly updates on quarter by quarter records, expected score for each team + trends, along with the five pronged stat standings I use as a basic overview for a team: contested possession differential (inside game), uncontested possession differential (outside game + control), inside 50 differential (territory game), scoring shots per inside 50% (offensive efficiency), and scoring shots conceded per inside 50% (defensive efficiency).
$10 Tier: Minutes Played By Age: A returning feature, refreshed for 2024 with more information on which players make up each year group.
And the new feature to be launched next Tuesday, with the initial piece free for everyone but exclusive to the $10 tier after that…
This breakdown for every team, updated fortnightly. It provides a hell of a lot of interesting information for me; hopefully it does the same for everyone else. I’m hoping it becomes a big collaborative discussion, but more on that next week as formats are finetuned.
To find out more details and sign up, head here for the Patreon page.
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Odds & Ends
– It was Colby McKercher’s first game as part of the midfield rotations. Calling it a baptism of fire is probably an understatement, but the theory behind the move made perfect sense: A bit more pace and another good ball user in that unit.
In practice, it probably took more away from the back half than it gave to the midfielders. It was noticeable how little North were able to create when trying to rebound; an area where McKercher had been key over the first three weeks.
To be fair, when Brisbane get play locked in their forward half, much better teams than North have the same struggle in rebounding. Look at Collingwood’s second quarter last week as an example.
But even allowing for that and the bowling lane North were playing on, there was such a difference in what they were able to create compared to the first three weeks. Although a one-week change hasn’t been Alastair Clarkson’s MO so far, this might have to be one of those times.
– A month in, it feels like time to get Bailey Scott back on to the wing where he’s best placed to influence a game.
It’s not as if Scott has played badly in the back half. He’s been perfectly serviceable. It’s more that his skill set isn’t best utilised as a half back*, which speaks to the difference between that role and the wing.
(*Which isn’t even mentioning all of McKercher/Harry Sheezel/Zac Fisher/Scott in the same backline was never set up to be the long-term solution anyway)
Scott has most influence on a game playing as a link man – normally the second or third key step of a possession chain – charging up and down a wing all day.
More often than not, half backs are asked to create – the first key step of a possession chain. It’s a subtle difference but highlights why Scott has been merely okay through the first month at half as opposed to times over the last two years where he was one of North’s best on a wing.
– If Charlie Comben continues to improve as quickly as he did between the first and fourth quarters, he’ll be prime Matthew Scarlett and Stephen Silvagni by the end of the month.
But in all seriousness, although Comben still has a long, long way to go, there were raw tools on display we didn’t see in North’s backline at any time over the first three weeks.
Largely set up to play as North’s deepest key defender regardless of opponent, the longer the game went, the more Comben tried to assert himself and play proactively. It’s exactly what you want a defender in that position to do.
The play that stood out to me in a positive light was actually one that ended up in Brisbane’s simplest goal of the day. Here Comben is actually a fraction of a second late in pressing up and it ends in Joe Daniher from the goal line…
…but the fact Comben, in his first AFL game as a key defender learning on the run, recognised the right play and tried to make it – willingly opening up the possibility of his opponent kicking an easy goal to try and help the team – is a really promising sign. Team first instead of protecting himself.
If he manages to stay on the park and put a solid block of games together with the same attacking mindset, these type of rookie errors should – should – fade away with time, especially if helped by greater pressure further up the field.
At the risk of going eons too early, there might be a key defensive mix developing. We’ll check back on it in a month or so if things go the way I feel they could.
Thank you. Some perspective is pretty handy right now