AFL pundits have been left surprised by North Melbourne’s decision to drop No. 1 pick Jason Horne Francis for Saturday’s clash against the Crows in Adelaide.
The Kangaroos have named three inclusions for the match against Adelaide, with star veteran Ben Cunnington to make his highly-anticipated AFL return after beating cancer. Cunnington is joined on the side by key defender Ben McKay and father-son draftee Jackson Archer.
But the Roos also made a statement with their exclusions, dropping Horne-Francis, recruit Hugh Greenwood and key defender Josh Walker, while Flynn Perez was the club’s unused medical sub against Sydney last Sunday.
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Horne-Francis also wasn’t named in the emergencies, which is made up of Walker, Greenwood Atu Bosenavulagi and Josh Goater.
The 2021 No. 1 draft pick played in 12 of North’s first 13 games this season before copping a two-match suspension and returning via the VFL. But in his past four AFL games, Horne-Francis has kicked one goal and averaged 14.3 disposals.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 Plus on Thursday night, St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt thought the call to drop Horne-Francis was “strange”.
“There’s two games to go in the year, I would think you’re trying to get games into these guys to expose them as much as you possibly can, give a potential coach like Alastair Clarkson a look at the young players and the game’s in Adelaide – that’s where all his family and friends (are). He was desperate to get back there earlier in the year, which created some issue,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King was also surprised by the decision.
“Why would you drop Horne-Francis? He’s going back to Adelaide to play in front of family and friends, why wouldn’t you give him that opportunity? I don’t understand that,” King told SEN.
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“Just put him there in front of his friends and family because he’ll want to perform.”
Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy told 3AW’s sports day that Horne-Francis’ non-selection for the Crows game was “a bookend to a pretty disappointing season”.
As well as reports Horne-Francis flew home to South Australia without the club’s awareness earlier this season, he also copped criticism for liking a ‘fake trade’ post on social media that involved him heading to Port Adelaide, while an on-field interaction with club great Todd Goldstein was also picked apart by footy commentators.
Jason Horne-Francis of the Kangaroos. Picture: Michael WillsonSource: Getty Images
There’s also been speculation around Horne-Francis’ future and talk he could return to South Australia after putting off contract talks with the Kangaroos on a new deal beyond 2023.
While dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna thought it was an “unusual” selection move, he told AFL 360 Plus “tough love can hold you in better stead in the long term”.
“I think that’s the general consensus, ‘why not just play them’, but we’ve seen with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan sometimes some tough love in the short-term can actually hold players in better stead in the long-term,” Montagna told Fox Footy.
“Maybe there are still elements in his game that we don’t know about that he’s working on or he’s not buying into some goals that they want.”
It’s crunch time for the AFL clubs in finals and flag contention – and most of them have several issues to address and fix before September.
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told Fox Footy’s On The Couch Geelong and Melbourne had “separated” themselves from the chasing pack, while Melbourne champion Garry Lyon said the way the Sydney Swans had been winning of late suggested they can be “added to the group”.
So the On The Couch panel, with the help of Champion Dataon Monday night discussed the concerns at seven clubs in the finals mix and their issues that would be “keeping coaches up at night”.
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BRISBANE LIONS
The Lions have slipped out of the top four – and now face a tough task to get back in there.
They’ve gone 5-5 from their past 10 games, while they’re 4-4 against top-10 teams across the entire season so far.
St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt pointed to several alarming Champion Data rankings around the Lions’ defensive profile.
Since Round 10, the Lions have been ranked 16th for points against, 15th for opposition scores per inside 50, 13th for points against from turnovers, 14th for points against from clearances and, of most concern, 18th for points against from defensive half.
“We know offense hasn’t been their issue of late. It’s the fact that they’re getting scored against so heavily, particularly from the defensive half,” Riewoldt told On The Couch.
“This hasn’t been a major issue for them over the last few years. Defensively they’ve been so strong, so in a year where we all thought they’ll take the next step, this was not part of the game that they could afford to drop away, which it has dramatically.”
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“It’s clearly not just the defensive half of the ground where the struggles are or the back six – it’s all over the ground. So defending ball movement and not exposing your back six.”
Brown questioned whether the Lions’ forwards were wired to prioritize hitting the scoreboard, rather than applying pressure.
“Teams are able to move the ball from the Lions’ forward half, so clearly they’re not putting enough pressure on there,” he said.
“The other thing is the five or six forwards at the Lions are thinking: ‘For me to bring value to the team, in my own mind, I need to kick two or three goals today’ – thinking about themselves. I’m not sure where the focus lies there and where the balance lies between kicking goals and putting the defensive pressure on and playing a role for the team and making my teammate better.
“I’m just seeing some little things along the way, so that’s a watch.”
FREMANTLE
Like Brisbane, the Dockers have fallen out of the top four and now face an uphill battle to earn a double chance for September.
Lyon said the Dockers looked “unimaginative” and “passive” in their most recent performance against Melbourne. They now haven’t won since Round 17.
Brown pointed out points from turnover had become “a really big problem” for the Dockers, ranking 16th in that category since Round 10.
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“The thing is they can’t move the football at the moment,” he said.
“Teams have obviously started to work them out. They’re pressing up, they’re taking away their uncontested marks.
“Their ability to move the football is a huge concern for mine.”
CARLTON
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King labeled the Blues’ loss to Adelaide as one of the most “arrogant” performances he’d seen by an AFL team in years.
Instead of cementing their spot in the top eight, the defeat has left the Blues somewhat vulnerable ahead of the final three weeks. They need one more win to guarantee a finals spot, but they have a tough run against Brisbane, Melbourne and Collingwood.
In the past six weeks, according to Champion Datathe Blues have been ranked 14th for points scored and 13th for scores per inside 50 – rankings that stunned Riewoldt because of Carlton’s personnel up forward.
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“Their scoring has dried up, which is the last thing you’d expect to happen with this group when you consider who they’ve got in the front half,” he said.
“They’re just not scoring and their efficiency when they actually get it in there to (Charlie) Curnow and (Harry) McKay and these guys is just not at the level it was at the start of the season.”
Brown added: “They were off with their contest work and competitiveness. Disappointing on the weekend.”
ST KILDA
The Saints squeezed into the top eight on the weekend, surviving an almighty comeback from a fast-finishing Hawthorn to make it two wins on the trot.
But they just haven’t been the same team since their Round 13 bye, losing five of their past eight games.
And since their bye, the Saints are ranked 15th for both points differential from turnover and points differential from clearances.
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“They’ve got two areas here … They’re well aware of this and the way they move the footy would be another one,” Lyon said.
“They’re in the eight right now and they’ve got three games to go, so it’s their spot to lose.”
RICHMOND
After three close losses and a draw, the Tigers conjured a mighty close win on Sunday against the Lions to keep their final hopes alive. It was just their second win in six games.
Those past six weeks have seen a dip in Richmond’s off-ball ability. They’re ranked 17th for contested possession – an area not seen as a strength of the Tigers’ during their premiership dynasty – but 18th for pressure – a massive strength during their premiership era.
“The concern is without the footy,” Brown said. “We say ‘without the footy’ because the contested footy hasn’t been great, but it’s been their pressure, which has been 18th in the last six weeks.
“The reason that’s important for Richmond is they were highly ranked in the 2017 to 2020 season, so they need to be doing that well to be a contender.”
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WESTERN BULLDOGS
The Dogs felt the full brunt of a brutal Geelong team last weekend, blown away during a ruthless third term.
They now sit 10th on the ladder, meaning they must win at least two of their final three games against the Dockers, Giants and Hawks if they are to feature in September.
What would help their cause would be an improvement in defending all movement – an area in which they’re ranked 14th across the 2022 season.
“There are defensive concerns,” Riewoldt said.
“When you’ve got a back six that we’ve talked about being susceptible at times, you want to be able to defend ball movement and stop it actually getting in there – and that’s not the case at the moment.
“The ball’s going from one end of the ground to the other far too easily.”
COLLINGWOOD
Lyon said it was a “bit of a stretch” to find an improvement area for a Magpies team that’s won 10 consecutive games.
But Riewoldt said the Pies could sharpen up at the coalface, although he added: “The part of their game they have to improve is probably clearance – but you can win the ball without being great in that area.”
