Asked if he would do it differently in hindsight,Clarkson said:“No,probably not.”

Midfielders George Wardlaw and Luke Davies-Uniacke deserved lots of credit for their part in North Melbourne’s outstanding first half,but late inclusion Phillips did more than his bit.

Phillips is a maligned top-five draft pick who is uncontracted beyond this year and effectively fighting for his career. He has struggled for senior opportunities this season despite the Roos being planted on the bottom,but co-captain Jy Simpkin’s hamstring issue gave him his shot.

Just as Phillips has been doing in the VFL,he was handed a tagging job. He did everything he was asked,shutting down one of the AFL’s biggest stars,but it still was not enough to keep him on the field.

Imagine the message that sends to a 22-year-old already low on confidence?

Perhaps,Phillips was fatigued,and North have more information than anyone on that. But was a 33-year-old Shiels,in almost certainly his final season,and who had only two touches in the third term,such a better option?

Daicos went back in the centre and torched Shiels for 10 of his 29 disposals,five contested possessions,four inside 50s,two clearances and four score involvements.

He ignited the Pies’ comeback and ran amok,whereas Shiels could manage only two disposals of his own. This was a missed opportunity on so many fronts.

How Amartey made it big

Joel Amartey’s junior football career is infamously remembered for his post-siren miss from the top of the goal square that cost Sandringham Dragons the 2017 TAC Cup grand final.

That heart-breaking moment will always be part of hisrecord,but Amartey is becoming known for so much more,including a career-best nine-goal haul at the Crows’ expense at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old had never kicked more than four goals in an AFL match before putting Adelaide to the sword.

Amartey did a bit of everything:pack marks between three Crows (twice),excellent body work,out-running rivals for uncontested marks,a free kick,and a superb skied snap for a goal after collecting cleanly on the bounce.

It was the latter play that provided some deja vu for Swans recruiting guru Kinnear Beatson.

“Joel missed that goal[in the TAC Cup grand final],but if you look at the replay of that game,there was a ground ball he swoops on like a cat and kicks over his shoulder,” Beatson said.

“It was similar to his[fourth] goal last night. Big blokes can’t normally do that. He had extraordinary agility and speed even back then.

“There was another game that stood out from when he was playing for Mentone Grammar,against Haileybury. The coach gave him the licence to go for his marks without worrying whether he took them or not.

“Joel launched at balls,and clunked a few,and we were like,‘Jesus,this kid has some raw athleticism’. If you look at testing results,he’s one of our quickest over 20 metres.”

So why did Amartey make it all the way to the No.28 pick in the 2017 rookie draft? Joining him as a rookie bargain from that year were Bailey Banfield,Liam Baker,Nick Holmanand Brody Mihocek.

As Beatson put it,there were only “snippets” of what Amartey might become. He was not in Vic Metro’s squad that season,and a serious personal issue made it a difficult year for him.

However,Beatson and then-national recruiting manager Mick Agresta,who switched clubs to Carlton only months later,saw enough in the key-position prospect to take a punt on him.

Sydney’s other rookie-list graduates on the current list include Harry Cunningham,Tom Papley,Dane Rampe,Robbie Fox,Lewis Melican and Jake Lloyd.

“It’s taken Joel a while,and he’s had a series of soft-tissue injuries,but they often come with being a power athlete,” Beatson said. “It’s all falling into place for him now he’s getting some continuity,and he got a bit of a reward[on Saturday] night.”

Amartey’s kicked 31 goals in 13 matches this year,putting him in the top five of the Coleman Medal race.

The first-placed Swans have five other players with at least 20 goals in 2024:Will Hayward (23),Chad Warner (22),Tom Papley and Isaac Heeney (21 each),and Logan McDonald (20).

Not-so-dangerous tackle

The bemused look on Josh Dunkley’s face may be the type of expression every footballer gives whenever there is a free kick against them,but he was right to feel aggrieved on Friday night.

Dunkley was penalised early in the second term for a tackle onSaint Marcus Windhager that admittedly looked a bit wild to begin with but for all intents and purposes was executed as safely as he could.

Windhager’s head never hit the ground,which was because of Dunkley’s actions.

The star Lion effectively rolled and guided him down at the end to avoid a significant crash to the surface and any head contact.

It is hard to imagine how Dunkley could have done more in that situation,and it was no surprise the incident did not feature in the match review findings.

The bump is already an endangered species,and the AFL needs to be careful the tackle does not head the same way,even while negotiating the increasing threat of brain injuries.

Bont rises from his sick bed

Marcus Bontempelli spent much of last week battling the flu and was mostly unsighted at training leading into the Western Bulldogs’ important clash with Fremantle.

The Bulldogs champion mustered a super-human 38 disposals,16 contested possessions,10 clearances,nine tackles and two goals against Collingwood the last time he was under the weather a fortnight earlier.

With the Dogs hunting a top-eight berth,Bontempelli was at it again,dismissing any concern about his health with a scintillating display that reminded everyone he might still be the best player in the competition.

Bontempelli’s numbers again jumped off the page – 30 disposals,13 contested possessions,seven clearances,15 score involvements and three goals – but his special moments are what separate him.

With Alex Pearce and Luke Ryan hanging off him at one stage in the second term,Bontempelli brought the Sherrin to ground,scooped it up with his left hand,wheeled around and snapped a magnificent goal to put the Dogs 21 points clear.

The effusive Dwayne Russell answered his own question in commentary immediately afterwards:“How good is the Bont?! The best of the best.”

Bontempelli transformed into a 194-centimetre crumber for his third and final goal in the fourth quarter,just to illustrate his wide arsenal.

There were three goal assists,too:a dish to Rhylee West,a perfectly weighted,long-range pass to Cody Weightman that Jonathan Brown described as “one of the best kicks of the year”,then finally a skied kick to the top of the square that Tim English gobbled up.

This was hardly the AFL’s answer to Michael Jordan’s famous flu game,but there are times we need to appreciate greatness.

It will be a travesty if Bontempelli doesn’t win a Brownlow Medal,to go with the premiership he starred in,two AFLPA player of the year honours,the coaches’ player of the year in 2019,five All-Australians,and five club champion awards.

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