During Sunday's blockbuster Opening Round clash between GWS and Collingwood, the footy world got caught up in a fiery clash between coaches Adam Kingsley and Craig McRae. The reasons for it have been discussed widely, but the underlying tactics that caused McRae's outburst and Kingsley's reaction have not.
Likewise, in the Friday night season opener between Hawthorn and Sydney, much of the conversation from the game was made around Will Day's phenomenal first half, where he racked up 20 disposals and booted 3 goals. Not much has been said about his less-impactful six-disposal second half.
The common theme in these big stories from the weekend's action is the use of the tagger. It's apparent it is making an unmissable return to the highest level of football again this season.
In 2024, the AFL saw a resurgence in clubs utilising the tag as a defensive tactic to halt the generational stars of the game. It became apparent when in Round 13 alone, Brownlow candidates Marcus Bontempelli, Touk Miller and Zach Merrett were all held to significantly less possessions by respective taggers from their opposition. Even Geelong's Tom Stewart, a key defender, had received heavy tags which were efficient in nullifying his impact on the game.
The effectiveness of the tag captivated footy fans in Brisbane's Grand Final demolition of Sydney, with Lions veteran Josh Dunkley brutally holding star Isaac Heeney to a subpar 14 disposals in the contest.
Now, the 2025 season has rolled around and it appears the trend of the tagger is going to continue into 2025, evident in the defensive approach of New South Wales' two football clubs during Opening Round.
Despite the eventual loss, Sydney's defensive approach with Hawthorn's game-changers was glaringly obvious. Sam Wicks was tasked with keeping livewire small forward Nick Watson quiet, who was coming off an exhilarating 25-goal rookie season. Wicks held Watson to four disposals and zero scoreboard impact, using his longer wingspan and extra height to keep him away from the ball in addition to drawing three free kicks for the match.
Additionally, after seeing Will Day's impact in the first half, Dean Cox called for the Swans to change gear in the midfield. He sent the physical James Jordon to Day to negate his destructive impact on the game.
This move sparked a third-quarter surge from the Swans where, with more space created, their midfield stars Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner were unleashed to their full potential.
Sydney took nine more uncontested marks than the Hawks in the third quarter,ย highlighting their midfield's excellence over Hawthorn with Day in a less comfortable position before Sam Mitchell adjusted brilliantly in the final term.
The Giants also tried to frustrate Collingwood's star midfielders with aggressive tags. While Bedford did give away a 50-metre penalty to Daicos during his time playing on the Brownlow favourite, which led to senior coach McRae's sarcastic comment as he left the field, he also held Daicos to just 61.9% disposal efficiency. That falls well below Daicos' 2024 average of 67.2%.
It can be argued that Daicos' cramps prevented the real effectiveness of the tag from being seen, but Bedford's efforts certainly played a part in slowing the Magpies midfield and allowing the Giants slingshot playstyle to shine in their 52-point victory.
The tag will be an interesting scheme to keep an eye on with Round 1 lying ahead, as several elite midfield groups will go head-to-head this weekend.
Will the Giants apply the talented tagger Bedford on Melbourne's Christian Petracca or Clayton Oliver? How will Geelong manage Fremantle's exceptional midfield who have dominated at Kardinia Park over the past couple of seasons? Perhaps a tag on an Andrew Brayshaw or Caleb Serong is the answer.
While it is still early, the success of the tagger role last season has clearly been given much thought by a lot of clubs over the off-season and tactically, it seems like a key mechanism most AFL clubs will use going forward. How the emerging midfield stars of the game, like Day and Daicos, mitigate this pressure will be an intriguing watch.
