St Kilda coach Ross Lyon conducted an interview at half-time of the match against West Coast with the enthusiasm of a man booking in for six hours of root canal surgery. He was trending on Twitter. ‘Sack Lyon. Ross ruins footy. Saints are unwatchable.’ was the general theme. They had just given up two late goals and the lead. Harley Reid, with 17 touches and seven clearances, was torching them.
Lyon recently compared himself to a neutered dog. When he said it, he had the mournful look of a Saint Bernard that’s just had the cruellest cut. On and off the field, he can’t exert the same influence he used to. Coaching has changed so much and the frustration of men like Lyon and Clarkson is obvious.
They can’t rule like a dictator anymore – they’d lose the current generation of players within a week if they tried. And they don’t have the same levers to manipulate play during a game. The 6-6-6 rule and the restricted use of runners have quelled that.
Players like Scott Pendlebury who double as on-field coaches are worth their weight in gold. Coaches need what Mark Thompson used to call “mini versions of me” and there’s not many of those at St Kilda.
But as Lyon says, it’s easier to destruct than to create, and there’s still a place for an old-fashioned clampdown. He has a history with taggers. Clinton Jones did a job for him every week at St Kilda, and Ryan Crowley used highly unorthodox methods to drive opposition midfielders nuts for years at Fremantle.
“Reid lit ‘em up, so we’ll put time into him,” Lyon said. This was no “cooler”. Marcus Windhager parked himself in Reid’s back pocket for an hour, blanketed him, frustrated him, humbled him, and helped deliver a desperately needed four points.
Harley Reid is already a considerable presence on the football field. He throws his weight around and shows no respect for his opposition elders. “Confidence and cheek,” he calls it.
Superstar juniors often get a rude shock at the senior level. They get found out and worked over. But in less than a dozen games, Reid has been standing over and running away from champions, from North Smith medallists, and from 300 game players.
Darcy Wilson received a free kick following this Harley Reid tackle.#AFLEaglesSaints pic.twitter.com/Rhs2htAPrs
— AFL (@AFL) June 1, 2024
That confidence, that cheek, and that raw power was personified in one passage of play a fortnight ago when he streamed away, his head high, his tongue hanging out, from Melbourne midfielder Christian Petracca. The extravagance of his bouncing technique, at full speed, with one of the best footballers of his generation chasing, was quite a sight. It’s why the Eagles, who were playing park level footy not long ago, are now one of the must-watches each weekend. Whenever Reid gets the ball, the boos at Optus Stadium turn into a low-level squeal.
This is a young player who’s been feted all throughout his junior career, who has clubs offering $2m deals, and who’s been built up in the Perth press like no-one since Ben Cousins.
But he was brought down a peg or two on the weekend. He had just three touches in the second half. He gave away four free kicks, including a downfield free that gifted St Kilda the sealer. Harassed and teetering on petulant, he probably cost himself the Rising Star award when he slung Darcy Wilson to the turf.
Reid will collect far more prestigious awards. After all, both Toby Greene and Dustin Martin were ineligible for the award and they’ve turned out ok. But he has a target on his back now.
Lyon’s Saints, as always, did it the hard way. As always, the effort was there. The first quarter aside, it was an entertaining contest. They won it with Windhager’s tag, with Mason Wood’s tank, and with Jack Steele’s 15 tackles. But it threw up all the usual question marks – the lack of stars and forward potency and most glaringly, the plain midfield.
This round showcased some extraordinary midfield talent – Nick Daicos’ opening, Reid’s second term, Patrick Cripps’ five-minute burst and Marcus Bontempelli’s entire game. But Lyon doesn’t have anywhere near that level of talent. After his midfield had been trounced by GWS’s Josh Kelly, Tom Green and co in last year’s elimination final, he lamented the lack of stars. “I can’t just head to Woolworths on Glenhuntly Rd and buy one,” he said.
Lyon still has a few tricks up his sleeve, as he demonstrated at half-time. But the most important levers at a footy club are beyond a coach these days. They’re in recruiting, in list management, and in attracting free agents, areas where St Kilda has not excelled for a long time. It’s why, in interviews, Lyon oscillates between the droll, the doleful and the neutered, a man who can still win the battle, but who’s losing the war.
