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ABC News
29-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
How St Kilda's use of a tagger against Melbourne sparked the AFL's greatest comeback
The tagger is one of the most talked-about roles in footy. Each week, speculation abounds about whether teams will deploy a tagger on the stars of the competition. On Sunday, the tagger was out in force. For the first three quarters, Saint Marcus Windhager toiled after Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett. In the fourth, the most remarkable comeback in AFL history was completed. For that last quarter, the Saints largely abandoned the tag and focused on attack. A 46-point deficit was wiped off the scoreboard in an instant. That doesn't mean that tagging doesn't work — but it does speak to the situational value of the role. Defining a tagger is tough and working out whether they are effective is even harder. ABC Sport has talked to a range of AFL coaches over the course of the season to try to work out what a tagger is in 2025, and whether they are effective in the modern game. The traditional image of the tag is pretty simple. It is a player standing directly next to a star on-baller, pushing, poking and niggling them prior to a ball-up. The traditional tagger doesn't just stop there — the tagger follows their prey around the ground with indifference to winning the ball themselves. No eyes for the ball, just their target. These days, balance is required between stopping a player and contributing positively as well. These run-with players are deployed situationally by most teams and are expected to contribute on both sides of the ball. Sydney coach Dean Cox has praised the way Swans tagger James Jordon can combine accountability with his own impact on the ball. "The great thing about James is the balance that he does have between 'OK, I need to restrict' but also 'I need to impact when I get the chance as well,'" Cox said. "He's done that numerous times when he's played on an opponent, to be able to try to have shots at goal, or to impact not only by quelling someone's influence." There's a fine line — if there's too much attacking intent, it can open up the defence. GWS regularly deploys Toby Bedford in a variety of roles, including as a tagger. Part of his strength is his ability to counterattack. "It's a hard balance to have — because the more he [Bedford] attacks, chances are his opponent has got a big gap on him and then it's hard to defend," GWS coach Adam Kingsley said earlier this year. The orthodoxy of who to tag has also shifted over the years. While Ron Barassi was once called too creative to tag, these days it's the creative players who draw the most focus. Often, the belief is that if the ball is in the contest, there's little that can be done to prevent first access by the best in the game. Instead, it's the more open ball and work down-field that merits restriction. A player like Pickett — with the ability to break lines when winning the ball on the inside and to do damage with ball in hand — is a prime target of opposition stoppers. In last week's match, this played out to form. For the first three quarters, Pickett was able to win the ball at the contest but had his ability to rack up easy football limited. Despite this, when the tag was broken in the last quarter and St Kilda focused more on winning the ball, Pickett's supply of harder ball dried up. Pickett compiled just one knock-on and three handball receives for the quarter, while the freed Windhager managed five ground-ball gets and four score involvements. There were other major reasons for the comeback, including moving Max Hall into the middle and being more proactive with their ball movement. The total result was a massive turnaround in all facets of the game. It's often hard to work out when a player is being tagged from the outside. Match-up data is patchy at league level and doesn't distinguish between a common match-up, a soft tag or a hard tag. As a result, it's hard to know exactly when players are being tagged without intensive research or unless coaches or players across the league disclose the use of the tactic. Take Brad Scott's explanation after Essendon's loss to GWS in round 19. To most watching the game, a tag was not easily discernible. It also didn't appear to have any impact on Tom Green's monster game, with the Canberran racking up 30 disposals, including 17 contested possessions and 16 clearances. It's tough to assign causation to one player, but when their teams have lost this season, some of the top midfielders in the competition have struggled. Players like Nick Daicos, Caleb Serong, Hugh McCluggage and Jason Horne-Francis have seen their inside 50s drop by a third and their metres gained by about a quarter in losses against wins. Geelong coach Chris Scott explained the idea on Fox Footy earlier this year. "There is a cost to tagging. Very few teams play one-on-one where they think they are going to take out a certain player," Chris Scott said. "Every team prioritises their structures and their set-ups first, but what I will say — no team plays Collingwood and puts no time or effort into stopping Nick Daicos. It all happens on a spectrum." This is exactly why teams tag. Limiting an opposition's best player can have massive impacts on game results. But usually it's hard to work out whether it was the tag or whether the player in question was having an off day. No tactic in football comes without a cost. To get something, clubs have to give something. A tag can also hand over initiative to the opponent, with Craig McRae saying two weeks ago that "you can manipulate the tag a lot". This manipulation of the tag can take several forms. Clubs copping a midfield tag have free rein to decide where the opposing player will be positioned and what parts of the ground they'll be taken to. Often, they'll be moved forward for patches, hoping for a hand-off or a mismatch in the forward line. Against the Saints, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge shifted Bontempelli to the back line to influence the game there. "Marcus played a really selfless game tonight. It meant teammates capitalised on that." Beveridge explained after that Saints game. "He went to half back briefly, he played forward, so that means they have to move their chess pieces around a bit and it can be a bit destabilising" Of course, forcing a star player into a secondary role can often be the victory the tagging club is after. Moving Nick Daicos away from the ball could be the difference in a game. There are also some more direct tactics that can be employed. Teams can also use space at contests to create more space for the other midfielders in a side. This can turn a 3v3 contest at centre bounce into a 2v2 and will allow an easier exit if executed correctly. If a side still wants to focus on getting the tagged player the ball, they can execute blocks to physically force the tagger to switch opponents. This often only works for a matter of seconds, but that can be enough to get the separation required to get the ball headed goalwards. The practical elements of the game aren't the only reasons to tag. In a tough sport where group mentality is one of the great intangibles, some clubs also believe tagging can bring the risk of instilling a negative mindset or distracting players. "Sometimes when you have too many of those things going on, it sends the wrong message to your team," noted Brisbane coach Chris Fagan after they declined to tag in their win over Geelong. "We just came out to play, and that was more because I wanted our players to have a positive mindset." The Lions chose to take a different path around the ball, working positionally to make Cats opponents like Bailey Smith accountable for their own stars. Flipping this accountability on its head is also one of the ways some of the best taggers mitigate many of the drawbacks associated with the tactic. There's also the need to be flexible in-game when applying a tagging role. For GWS, Kingsley often switches up tags mid-game. Other sides move away from tags when they don't look like working. Fremantle's coach explained the idea after the Dockers' landmark comeback victory over the Pies in round 19. "Well, we tried [to tag Daicos]. He [started] at half-back. We actually played better when we dropped the tag. That can happen sometimes. You get caught up in that and it creates a bit of confusion." St Kilda coach Ross Lyon didn't place much focus on the dropping of the tag in the wake of their win. "I think it's a part of giving you a different mix. There's no doubt about that. When you're coming from behind, as an old coach taught me, you've got to do everything right and you've got to take your opportunities. Clearly, we did that, didn't we?" Like all things in football, the tagger isn't a golden bullet. But it also isn't likely to disappear fully any time soon.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Since Adam was a boy': Lyon defends Windhager
Ross Lyon has derided the focus on his tagger Marcus Windhager, saying star AFL midfielders have had close attention "since Adam was a boy". The St Kilda coach was unimpressed that the AFL Tribunal upheld Windhager's fine for striking Collingwood opponent Nick Daicos, predicting a surge in penalties as a result. Lyon and his Collingwood counterpart Craig McRae have been vocal about the Windhager-Daicos duel, which highlighted last Saturday night's clash. Marcus Windhager has been offered a striking fine ($1500 down to $1000 with an early plea) for this incident with Nick Daicos. @FOXFOOTY — David Zita (@DavidZita1) June 22, 2025 "Just to be clear, what are the tactics? I don't understand," Lyon asked at a Friday morning pre-training media conference. "Sorry for going out and competing. I thought you were allowed to compete in AFL - I never knew playing on someone was a tactic, manning up at stoppage. "Since Adam was a boy, people have played and the great midfielders get tighter attention, that's just the way it is." In reference to Windhager's fine, Lyon said: "It set a high standard for contact, hasn't it? It's really interesting. "There are going to be a lot of fines in the AFL." Lyon would not confirm Windhager's assignment for the game in Perth on Sunday against Fremantle. But on Thursday, gun Dockers midfielder Caleb Serong said he and teammate Andrew Brayshaw would "embrace" the match-up. "Terrific - well done Caleb," was Lyon's reply. The Saints coach said the umpiring department had visited the club during the week and had discussed several issues, including how Windhager can let the umpires know when opponents try to disrupt his tagging role. This will be the first time Lyon coaches against his old club in Perth. He coached the Dockers from 2012-19, taking them to the 2013 grand final. "That's not something I've thought about ... it's a decade ago. It's part of my history, I'm proud of what we achieved there," Lyon said. "I walk back in comfortably." He also said there was no succession plan in place for senior assistant coach Corey Enright, following media speculation this week. "He can have it today if he wants - I don't know if I really (want to) go over to Perth," Lyon said, as a joke. "We'll just continue to grow him. There's nothing anywhere in writing or any agreement. "Clearly I have less summers in front of me than I've seen, right? So it probably applies to my football coaching as well. "It's above my station in life at the club. It's certainly not something that's present or front of mind ... (but) it's a nice theory, we like it." Lyon and football boss Dave Misson also spoke about key forward Max King, who will not play at all this season because of an ongoing knee problem. "We feel like we've identified the problem, the meniscus repair. We feel like his knee is in good shape," Lyon said. "We wish we had gotten to it earlier, but we didn't, for a whole bunch of reasons that I can't explain." Misson said they are "pretty confident" after King's latest surgery in the past few days that when he resumes running in three months, there will be no more problems. King went to Adelaide and had a special ultrasound to work out why his knee kept having "clunking" episodes when he was running
Daily Telegraph
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
AFL 2025: Ross Lyon doubles down on Marcus Windhager defence
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has again defended tagger Marcus Windhager after his highly documented role on Collingwood star Nick Daicos. Windhager was issued a $1500 fine for his shove to the chest of Daicos in the opening 10 seconds of their entertaining battle last Saturday night. Lyon post-game asked whether there were two sets of rules for certain players and said he would seek clarification from the AFL on two early free kicks. He gave little away about the umpire explanation on those free kicks but said the league was poised to make a windfall after setting the benchmark for fineable contact. 'It's set a high standard for contact, hasn't it? It's really interesting. That's interesting in itself, there's going to be a lot of fines in the AFL,' he said. All eyes were on the Daicos-Windhager battle on Saturday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images 'Marcus was in the rules, I think the umpires just tried to stamp stuff early, there's a lot of noise. 'Collingwood come and supported, Marcus was physically grabbed and dragged off, he gets some clarity, put your hands in the air so it's easy to see you're getting tackled without the ball in the stoppage.' Windhager was critiqued for parts of his coverage of Daicos, specifically the apparent knee to the back of the Magpie's hamstring. Lyon bristled when asked if Windhager would use those 'tactics' this Sunday against any of Fremantle's midfielders. 'Just to be clear, what are the tactics? I don't quite understand … sorry for going out and competing, I thought you were allowed to compete in the AFL,' he said. 'I never knew playing on someone was a tactic, manning up at the stoppage; since Adam was a boy people have played and great midfielders get tighter attention.' Windhager kept close tabs on Daicos. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images Fremantle ball-winner Caleb Serong said he would 'embrace' the company of Windhager if he was St Kilda's target. 'If it's really challenging, then you to go to the levers you can pull around stoppage and the team things that we'll work on,' Serong said on Thursday. 'But first and foremost, you've got to embrace it and stick to your guns.' Lyon responded to Serong's comments in trademark fashion. 'Terrific. Well done, Caleb,' he said. Originally published as AFL 2025: St Kilda coach Ross Lyon doubles down on Marcus Windhager defence
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: St Kilda coach Ross Lyon doubles down on Marcus Windhager defence
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has again defended tagger Marcus Windhager after his highly documented role on Collingwood star Nick Daicos. Windhager was issued a $1500 fine for his shove to the chest of Daicos in the opening 10 seconds of their entertaining battle last Saturday night. Lyon post-game asked whether there were two sets of rules for certain players and said he would seek clarification from the AFL on two early free kicks. He gave little away about the umpire explanation on those free kicks but said the league was poised to make a windfall after setting the benchmark for fineable contact. 'It's set a high standard for contact, hasn't it? It's really interesting. That's interesting in itself, there's going to be a lot of fines in the AFL,' he said. 'Marcus was in the rules, I think the umpires just tried to stamp stuff early, there's a lot of noise. 'Collingwood come and supported, Marcus was physically grabbed and dragged off, he gets some clarity, put your hands in the air so it's easy to see you're getting tackled without the ball in the stoppage.' Windhager was critiqued for parts of his coverage of Daicos, specifically the apparent knee to the back of the Magpie's hamstring. Lyon bristled when asked if Windhager would use those 'tactics' this Sunday against any of Fremantle's midfielders. 'Just to be clear, what are the tactics? I don't quite understand … sorry for going out and competing, I thought you were allowed to compete in the AFL,' he said. 'I never knew playing on someone was a tactic, manning up at the stoppage; since Adam was a boy people have played and great midfielders get tighter attention.' Fremantle ball-winner Caleb Serong said he would 'embrace' the company of Windhager if he was St Kilda's target. 'If it's really challenging, then you to go to the levers you can pull around stoppage and the team things that we'll work on,' Serong said on Thursday. 'But first and foremost, you've got to embrace it and stick to your guns.' Lyon responded to Serong's comments in trademark fashion.
Perth Now
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
‘If someone comes after one of us, he comes after all of us'
Fremantle's Luke Ryan has sent a warning to St Kilda tagger Marcus Windhager, saying the whole team is ready to wear him down should he try to clamp down on Caleb Serong. As the Dockers look to make it six straight wins, they will be itching to gain some revenge over former mentor Ross Lyon and his Saints after they were humbled by 61 points in round eight. That game saw Serong kept to his lowest disposal total since round 17, 2020, gathering 15 touches including just four kicks. Ahead of their rematch on Sunday, Ryan said they have learnt their lessons from that defeat and can turn any potential tag into a strength for the Dockers. 'Caleb and Andrew Brayshaw are in terrific form, so they do get tagged a little bit, but we don't worry about it too much,' he said on SEN. 'We try to manipulate them. If Windhager is going to go to us, then Caleb will go to Andy's man and free him up, so sometimes we think it works in our favour. 'Those two boys are really good at fighting and working it out, and we do have a team approach for it. If someone comes after one of us, he comes after all of us, so we'll wear them down. Marcus Windhager has been Ross Lyon's cheif tagger. Credit: Michael Willson/AFL Photos / AFL Photos via Getty Images 'So I'm not sure who he'll go to, but he'll have his hands full because they're in terrific form.' The Dockers have not won six in a row since 2022, and Ryan said while they're still building the Dockers have narrowed the gap between their best and worst. 'I thought the start of the year we were pretty inconsistent, but the last five or six weeks we've been building, and we're worrying about ourselves a bit more, which is good,' he said. 'If we keep on that path, I think we'll be in a lot of games. 'We haven't really watched any vision of St Kilda until now, but it's mainly going to be about us and playing our way, cause we know our game stacks up.' One question still hanging over the Dockers is the fitness of their captain Alex Pearce, who has missed the last three games with a shin complaint and is listed as a test for this weekend. However, Ryan was confident his return to the backline was imminent. 'He looks good, he had his shirt off the other day at training, as always when it's freezing, ' he joked. 'He's one of those ones who's had a hot spot, so he'll train today and see how he pulls up tomorrow, but he's really confident, so if not this week, it will be next week. Sunday's clash will also be Fremantle's Starlight Foundation game with fans able to pledge any dollar amount for each Dockers goal which will be matched by South32 up to $50,000. 'I think we raised over $3.4 million, and you get a bit emotional when you see the families with the sick kids and the smiles on their faces, so it's an amazing day,' Ryan said.
