The AFL tagger is back. And one AFL legend is bemused as to why it’s taken so long.
The likes of Carlton’s Alex Cincotta, Sydney’s James Jordon and St Kilda’s Marcus Windhager have been used in negating roles in recent weeks to great effect, having taken some huge scalps of opposition stars.
It was arguably most effective over the long weekend as several big guns fell victim to the bold tactic.
Watch every game of every round this Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
Starting with Brisbane’s stirring win over the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, Jarrod Berry closely followed Marcus Bontempelli, who combated it by moving forward and kicking three goals.
Windhager shut down Touk Miller (14 disposals) in St Kilda’s victory over Gold Coast, while Cincotta nullified Zach Merrett’s influence (21 touches) as Carlton downed Essendon.
Mediocre drafting exposes ‘boys club’ | 02:35
And despite Collingwood defeating Melbourne in Monday’s King’s Birthday clash, Alex Neal-Bullen held Nick Daicos to just 15 disposals before the Magpies superstar was subbed out of the game in the fourth quarter with a corked shin.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s On the Couch, Demons legend Garry Lyon, who’s long endorsed the use of a tagger, questioned why coaches have only recently reintroduced tagging given it’s success.
“My question from the weekend … why has it taken so long to tag?,” Lyon posed.
“It’s back and it was back over the weekend. Over the last month or so it’s come back into vogue.
“I thought Neal-Bullen stuck to his task (on Daicos) beautifully. I watched the off the ball stuff, he wasn’t going outside the boundaries.
“This one (Windhager on Miller) pushed the boundaries every now and then, which is OK … Windhager had an influence on the result.
“Cincotta goes to Merrett, Merrett was still influential.
“And this (Berry on Bontempelli) on Friday night, which was a really big win (to Brisbane). And because Bontempelli is a generational player, he goes forward and kicks three goals.
Lyon later flippantly added: “Same weekend Bontempelli and Daicos both get tagged. Almost brought a tear to my eye.”
Trac injured in Demons’ defeat to Pies | 02:15
One view on why tagging has become phased it is because it disrupts team defence, however Saints coach Ross Lyon said it was “mythical” you can’t execute both.
Forward tagging is also becoming more common.
Star Geelong defender Tom Stewart has received constant attention this season including Jordon locking down on the five-time All-Australian in Sydney’s 30-point win at the SCG.
It’s clear opposition clubs have identified Stewart as the key instigator for Geelong with his intercept marking out of defence, with the now 8-5 Cats having struggled when he’s negated.
“Years later, five All-Australians later, they won’t let Tom Stewart play on his terms – to sit and half back, in a hole and be arguably the most influential player on the ground,” Lyon added.
“Now Tom Stewart has to play more honestly and can’t come off and help out in a marking contest.
“All these things have into play because the half back flankers have had it their own way for so long. Now they’re made to defend and it’s really influencing the way Geelong is playing.”
Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley highlighted that forward tagging “has happened” in the past, but is going through a “purple patch” right now due to the amount of damaging defenders.
“We have seen it periodically. Half backs have become so dominant, the playmaker or quarterback … those players who intercept so well,” he said on Fox Footy.
“We saw Billy Frampton play on Harris Andrews (in the 2023 Grand Final) and last week Jack Gunston play on Sam Taylor.
“One of the reasons forwards might not be getting as many votes, forwards get tagged every week. You know you’ve got a defender who plays on you.
“So Tom Stewart has to think about an opponent before he goes to the ball, (not having to is) a luxury he’s had his entire his career.”