The Buck Stops Here: A message to Franklin hecklers, Carlton's key issue and young stars emerging
Round 8 of the 2023 AFL season has played out and Nathan Buckley has put together his five takeaways in The Buck Stops Here.
Carlton’s game style, young stars, Port Adelaide’s confidence and the booing of Lance Franklin were on Buckley’s mind after Round 8 on SEN Breakfast.
Read his thoughts below:
Carlton needs to learn to take their opposition’s strengths away
“Number one is the Carlton Football Club and the trouble that they're going through at the moment after their most recent loss to the Brisbane Lions.
“The problem with Carton at the moment is that they've got a lot of stars or perceived stars on their list in their team and they're underperforming against expectations.
“So, we understand that the two particular matchups that I thought worked so well for Brisbane and exposed Carlton's weaknesses at the moment were (Josh) Dunkley on (Patrick) Cripps and Young (Jack) Payne on (Charlie) Curnow.
“He (Payne) was awesome, he's been coming for a while too with his intercept marking since Marcus Adams hasn't played as often.
“Dunkley is a great get for Brisbane, he played on Cripps and then worked off him and Patty Cripps looks like he's not quite at 100 per cent fitness.
“But you the balance of the pressure they had on Carlton's ball user and the intercept marking, I thought Payne was first-class.
“If you look at them statistically, they're up in contested ball differential, their clearances are ok, they're defending turnover ok.
“Their ball movement is very similar to St Kilda. They try and build from the back and then they try and go when they get their opportunity, and they actually finish better inside 50.
“So, there's a lot of things to actually to drill down and look at it, it doesn't give you the full picture.
“The picture is that Carlton's game is taken away from them too easily by the opposition and Carlton don't spend enough time taking the opposition's game away from them.
“They think they're going to win it on talent, they think they're going to win it on ability, and they've got every right to given what they've got at their disposal and they are handling some loss of personnel at the moment, but they don't work hard enough at taking the opposition's game away.
“That is more than half the game of footy … all of these little things add up.
“I think tactically Carlton need to drill their game down to contest and pressure, and they need to work out how they're going to take the opposition's game off them more readily because that brings your strengths to light rather than just thinking that you're going to match people and then just trade blows until you see who wins.
“That's one way to go about it, but I think the best teams take the, take the game away from the opposition.”
Emerging stars begin to stamp themselves
“Number two is just emerging stars.
“These three players, Noah Anderson, Will Day and Tom Green all played in losing games on the weekend, they’re 22, 21 and 22 years old respectively.
“They all had brilliant performances in losing teams, but it's not just the touches they get, it's the attitude that I reckon they bring to their footy that is going to make them stars of the future.
“So, Noah Anderson had 37 touches, six tackles, and clearances galore but had key moments when the game needed it.
“Now they (Gold Coast) only just lost that game against a highly-rated opponent in Melbourne.
“But Noah Anderson's putting together a sneaky CV like underneath the Nick Daicos and the Harry Sheezel types.
“I'm not talking about the players who are in their first or second year, these are guys that are third or fourth years and they're starting to really come through.
“Will Day, I saw him accelerate to a chase down tackle, like he's still skin and bones that kid, he'll fill out eventually.
“But he's probably going to look like for past generations, a Robbie Flower for the rest of his career.
“But he's just got some real grunt underneath under that bonnet and in that chassis and he's super talented. You can see that capacity in him (the leadership), he's a ripper.
“Tom Green admitted to getting the wake-up call from Mark McVeigh when he was dropped late last year and then Adam Kingsley has come in (and he’s flourished).
“But he looks like he's stripped down, and if there's a next Clayton Oliver, Tom Green's it.
“The way that he gets around the field, he covers territory, gets to contests, 38 touches, nine tackles and kicks three goals.
“He actually impacts and hits the scoreboard as well.
“So those three boys are amazing.”
Port Adelaide are building confidence with last quarter efforts
“Number three is Port Adelaide the capacity that they have to be able to get the job done winning close games.
“They did it again against Essendon on the weekend.
“It's not so much that they're playing blistering footy that is overwhelming the opposition.
“But five weeks ago, after the Showdown when they got flogged and whipped and their coach was under extreme pressure, and they were under huge scrutiny, they were able to come back late in the game against Sydney to win up at the SCG the next week, they've put on a really strong last quarter against the Western Bulldogs at home to win by 14 points.
“They had West Coast and did what they needed to do there.
“Then they've beaten the Saints by seven points and Essendon by five points with really strong last-quarter performances.
“So, Collingwood last year had 14 games decided by less than two goals.
“They were 11-3, with two of those three being close finals losses.
“But Port's last quarter performances can become a thing and I think they already know it.
“It's not so much that they're overwhelming with momentum, but they're just doing enough of the right things at the right time to win the close games.
“You don't need any more validation than that. There are a lot of young players that are standing up and playing important roles there.
“So, it's, it's a wait and see and a watch there.
“You get in a close tussle with Port Adelaide in the next four, five, six weeks, you want to be pretty good to knock them over because they've got some confidence going on.”
Surely we can have a fixture without overlapping games
“Number four is just a quick one but timetabling on Sunday games (is poor).
“This is an administrative Buck Stops here, not an on-field one but I reckon I'm late to the party on this one.
“I was doing the North v St Kilda game, I missed the end of the Port v Essendon game and I missed a lot of the Collingwood v Sydney game.
“I didn't want to miss those games, I had to go and catch up on them later.
“Gerard Whateley said that this is one of the first things that Andrew Dillon needs to look after on his agenda, and that is to make sure there's no overlaps in games and I agree.
“Thursday night has to be something that's kept in the schedule as well.”
A message to Collingwood fans that booed Lance Franklin
“The last one is a statement.
“On booing Buddy (Franklin), it’s just a no from me.
“I love the Collingwood faithful, but I got a message for them.
“Your team is the toast of the town and they're handling themselves on and off the field with class and poise.
“So, let's try and fall in the line on the other side of the fence.
“At best, it was a begrudging acknowledgement of the sustained brilliance Franklin has brought against Collingwood and at worst, it's ignorance and bigotry.
“If we get another chance. I hope Collingwood fans that aren't ignorant and that aren't bigots - because there will be some booing - stand up and applaud every time he gets a touch and try and drown that (booing) out.
“That's exactly what the stars of the game and (someone with) his status in the game deserve.
“So, we were gifted an opportunity to celebrate this undisputed champion and a section of the faithful chose to denigrate and I don't think that we took the opportunity to do the right thing and take the higher ground.”
Listen to The Buck Stops Here below: