Each week of the 2024 AFL season, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points.
This week's Six Points features the declining Alastair Clarkson, Kysaiah Pickett's embarrassing style of play, why Isaac Heeney is having the best start to the year ever(!) and a celebration of Lachie Neale ahead of game 250.
1. Has Alastair Clarkson lost his fast ball?
Eighteen months ago, North Melbourne signed four-time premiership winning coach Alastair Clarkson to a lucrative long-term contract with one objective in mind: do whatever it takes to turn the club around.
Many will argue Clarkson is still in his infancy as Kangaroos coach. True, but as someone who has seemingly forever carried the 'master coach' and 'genius' tags, his contribution to North Melbourne, thus far, has been underwhelming to say the least.
It begs two questions. One, is Clarkson really the generational coach everyone believes he is? And two, even if he once was, is he still that coach today?
Clarkson's record since 2019 sits at 26 wins, two draws, and 50 losses. That lowly 33% winning record only beats out David Noble, Sam Mitchell, Stuart Dew, and Matthew Nicks -- a group of coaches who have already been shown the exit or are under extreme pressure.
In that same period, Clarkson has won the second fewest quarters (38.5%), only ahead of Noble. He's conceded 100 points the fifth-most of any coach, has an average losing margin of 31 points, and six different four-game losing streaks, including an eight-game losing run to close 2023.
These numbers are damning, and so too is the fact North Melbourne hasn't shown even slight improvement on 2023. They continue to rank bottom two in just about every statistical area and, along with the Eagles, are the furthest away from reaching Champion Data's 'premiership standard'.
For someone regarded as one of the best to ever sit in the coaching box, not to mention someone who is paid a higher salary than 99.9% of the league's players, you cannot deny it's been a disappointing start to his tenure at the Kangaroos.
2. Melbourne's response to Kysaiah Pickett's latest, ugly head-high hit was pathetic
Kysaiah Pickett is living proof the AFL community's current approach to dealing with dangerous, head-high hits remains a monumental failure.
After Round 1 last year, the AFL handed Pickett a two-week suspension for one of the ugliest hits of the modern era - a late, flying elbow to the face of Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith. Two weeks. That's it!
Of course, the reason the penalty was so meek was that Smith did not suffer a concussion (miraculously) and was able to continue playing out the game. But that focus on outcome rather than action is flatly wrong. And with such unjust penalties, it means players like Pickett aren't learning their lesson.
Last Thursday night, Pickett made the decision to bump instead of tackle Adelaide's Jake Soligo. The Dees forward collected Soligo late and high, and once again can consider himself extremely fortunate the Crow wasn't left concussed.
Kysaiah Pickett has received a one-match suspension for this incident involving Jake Soligo.
— AFL (@AFL) April 5, 2024
Details: https://t.co/lMnoJqOjwV pic.twitter.com/WCGmvXEIA0
The MRO handed Pickett a one-week suspension for his latest indiscretion, and yet again it feels likes a glorified slap on the wrist that doesn't come close to a just punishment for the action.
But what's irked me the most about this situation is the fact the Demons refused to accept the penalty and opted to challenge the decision at the Tribunal. Doing this sends the poor message that the club is happy with such actions, a sad state given Angus Brayshaw's sudden and shock retirement due to ongoing concussions just months earlier.
Melbourne, and Pickett, should have apologised and copped the one-week ban on the chin. Instead, dragging it out and refusing to take accountability might be one of the more embarrassing gaffes of the season.
3. It's official: Isaac Heeney is having the greatest start to an AFL season we've ever seen
Keen Six Points readers will remember my Isaac Heeney deep dive from a few weeks back that proved the star Swan was having a near unprecedented start to the season. If not, you can catch up on it here.
Well, Heeney's 2024 resume has only blossomed since then, particularly after his starring role against the Eagles during Gather Round, which earned him official best on ground honours and likely another three Brownlow Medal votes.
READ: ESPN's 2024 Brownlow Medal predictor
When I first looked at Heeney, after Round 2, he was averaging 25.8 Rating Points per game. Now, after five games, he's upped that Rating Points average to 26.6 per game, putting himself in a class we've literally never seen.
Through the opening five games, Heeney is averaging 28 disposals, 14 contested possessions, seven clearances, six inside 50s, five tackles, and a combined three goals and direct goal assists per game. They are remarkable numbers, but it's his ball use that's made him such a standout player in the early part of the year.
At the conclusion of Gather Round, there were 42 players in the league averaging at least 450 metres gained per game. Only four of those players -- James Aish, Lachie Whitfield, Dan Houston, and Nick Daicos -- turn the ball over at a lower rate than Heeney.
But nobody in that aforementioned group comes close to winning as much contested ball as Heeney. This season, 49% of his possessions have been contested, which makes his low turnover rate all the more remarkable given you're far more likely to turn contested ball over than uncontested ball.
The too-long-didn't-read version? Basically, Heeney is doing three of the most valuable things in footy at a higher rate than anyone else: winning the ball in 50-50 situations, gaining territory and ensuring his team retains possession.
4. Lachie Neale still doesn't get enough credit for how good he is
As one of just 16 dual Brownlow Medal winners, if Lachie Neale retired tomorrow he'd already be a no-doubt future AFL Hall of Famer.
This Thursday night, when the Lions face the Demons, Neale will play game No. 250. As he readies himself for the milestone, it's worth reminding ourselves just how great a player he has been over the journey, particularly since joining the Lions ahead of season 2019.
Since then, no player in the competition has more clearances or loose ball gets than Neale. He also ranks second for disposals, contested possessions, centre clearances, and ground ball gets.
What about overall game score? Rating Points. Only Marcus Bontempelli and Christian Petracca have amassed more Rating Points over the last six seasons than Neale.
It sounds crazy that a two-time Brownlow winner could be underrated, but where would you place him if you were ranking the best players in the league? Top three? Top five? Top 10!? Right now, at age 30, he should still be in the discussion for top spot.
5. Who are the best and worst teams late in quarters?
There's nothing more frustrating for coaches -- or fans, for that matter -- than coughing up goals late in quarters. But which teams are the biggest culprits and who are the ones cashing in during red time?
Champion Data has looked back to the start of last year and kindly provided the answers:
6. Please stop whinging about free kicks that are (or aren't) paid
Earlier in this column I slammed the AFL over its approach to head-high hits. I'm going to finish off by sticking up for the league.
Dockers fans, you need to relax. Nobody has it out for you, there's no Victorian bias, and those wacky conspiracy theories need to be put to rest. Instead, paying a mark to to Matt Cottrell in the dying stages of Saturday afternoon's epic game between Fremantle and Carlton was a simple mistake. That's it.
READ: Once in a purple moon: Calls for rules overhauls must be resisted
Sure, it sucks, but 50-50 calls, heck, even 60-40 calls, go against everyone's team. Every. Single. Week. This one has only been widely publicized because it happened late in a game, but every one of those decisions and non-decisions have just as great of an impact on the result.
Over the course of the season, these 50-50s against your team even out. We don't need a captain's challenge, a rule change or an internal review. Just cop it on the chin and move on.