Chris Fagan Praises Will Ashcroft’s Performance in Brisbane’s AFL Victory
Chris Fagan has praised the tagging of Will Ashcroft during Brisbane’s hard-fought AFL victory, describing it as a valuable learning experience for the two-time North Smith Medallist. The win came against North Melbourne in challenging weather conditions at Barossa, with the Lions securing a 26-point victory in the Gather Round.
Ashcroft faced a tough outing in the match, as Jy Simpkin restricted him to fewer than 20 possessions for the first time since last season. This marked a significant challenge for the premiers, who managed to pull away from North Melbourne in the final stages of the game.
The match started with some aggression from Simpkin, setting the tone for a physically demanding afternoon. Ultimately, the Lions capitalized on North Melbourne’s numerous turnovers, especially in the third term, and kicked the last three goals of the game to secure a 13.14 (92) to 9.12 (66) victory.
Fagan acknowledged that Lachie Neale or Hugh McLuggage are typically the ones tagged, but he noted that Ashcroft’s strong form made the attention unsurprising. He emphasized that while the tag was necessary, it would provide Ashcroft with valuable lessons.
“He deserves a tag, but what will happen is he will get a lot of learnings out of that,” Fagan said. “It was something that, in a way, needed to happen to him. We’ll go to work during the week on ways we can help him deal with that in a more positive way. He stuck his job, though. He was still trying his backside off for most of the game.”
Fagan also highlighted that Ashcroft’s tagging allowed Lachie Neale to play freely, resulting in 30 possessions and a game-high 10 clearances.
After two wins, this game served as a test for the Kangaroos against the AFL’s benchmark, and they lost no friends. Well into the last quarter, they were within two goals of the lead.
Luke Parker excelled in defense, Harry Sheezel was dominant in the midfield, and Cooper Trembath, a Rising Star nominee, delivered a candidate for the mark of the year with a spectacular pack mark at the end of the third term.
Despite their efforts, coach Alastair Clarkson expressed frustration over the lopsided inside 50 count of 44-58 and the team’s inability to control the game consistently.
“When you’re playing the reigning premiers, irrespective of the errors they might have made in front of goal, you just have to capitalise on your chances,” Clarkson said. “We must have left five goals in the bank, I reckon. The dam wall is going to break at different stages. Despite being valiant, we just couldn’t get the game on our terms consistently enough.”
Just as Trembath soared for his third-quarter mark, Brisbane forward Lincoln McCarthy scored a stunning goal from the boundary when the game was in the balance in the final quarter.
Fagan was furious at quarter time after North had kicked four consecutive goals, later stating that his players had strayed from their discipline around clearances.
Veteran defender Dayne Zorko gave away a dumb 50m penalty at the end of the term, hitting Paul Curtis in the midriff and gifting him a goal. While Zorko will face match review scrutiny, it is likely irrelevant due to his injury, which ended his game in the second quarter.
