Snake_Baker
The one true King of the North
- Apr 24, 2013
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Brendon Goddard says Kangaroos’ spearhead Ben Brown must stop staging for free kicks
JAY CLARK, Herald Sun
7 minutes ago
Brendon Goddard has urged North Melbourne spearhead Ben Brown to stop staging for free kicks as statistics show he is the most league’s rewarded key forward.
Since Round 1 last season Brown has been paid 58 free kicks, nine more than any other key forward in the competition.
While North Melbourne has strongly backed Brown’s attack on the ball, the spearhead has come under fire for accentuating some contact from Adelaide ruckman Reilly O’Brien in a ruck contest on Saturday night.
Goddard said Brown, 26, had shown a tendency to play for free kicks in recent seasons and should stop the tactics because they were unlikely to be paid in finals time.
“There were two instances before that (free kick) which I thought were a bit iffy and playing against him, watching footy, being a past player, I’ve seen it happen before,” Goddard said on the Don’t Argue podcast.
“He’s got form. A bit of that is he is hard match-up because he’s an elite forward, so I’m not questioning his ability as a player.
“I just think in big moments, particularly in finals if that was actually to happen, I don’t think umpires are paying those free kicks.”
North Melbourne champion Wayne Carey agreed.
“He’s starting to do it far too consistently. It’s something he would like to take out of his game.”
Ben Brown celebrates a goal against Adelaide.
Brown, who will face Essendon stoppers Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley in the Good Friday clash, returned to form in the win on Saturday night, snagging four goals.
The sharpshooter defended his playing style after the victory as the Roos prepare to notch their third-straight win over the Bombers.
“I try not to pay too much attention to what’s said around me,” Brown said.
“I think if we all did that (listen to criticism) we’d all get sad pretty quickly.
“I know that if I trust the way that I play … the ball will fall my way eventually.”
Goddard, who played 334 games at St Kilda and Essendon, said Brown’s teammates would want him to be strong in the contest.
“From a teammates’ point of view, it’s like, ‘Ben we need a contest from you, here’,” Goddard said.
“In the long term I don’t think it’s the right way to go about it.
“He has lacked some form and I understand a little bit how they try and play keepings off and it’s slow.
“In desperate times we tend to do desperate things.”
Ben Brown under pressure in a marking contest.
Goddard said he made the mistake of staging for a free kick earlier in his career in a game against Carlton.
“Mitch Robinson might have just pushed me in the chest or something and I staged or flopped and the umpire at the time said, ‘BJ don’t do that’.
“They were all getting stuck into me and I saw it post game and I was embarrassed, and I said I’m not doing that again.
“Rightly so, people at the time in the media had a go at me.”
GOLDEN RUN
2018-2019 (Frees for key forwards)
Ben Brown (NM) 58
Justin Westhoff (PA) 49
Mason Cox (COLL) 45
Jesse Hogan (FRE) 38
Hi Rob - traditionally the club has had a clip of Join in the Chorus up soon after past wins.
Of course it's possible to watch on the replay but it's a great thing to be able to watch straight away for fans heading home after the game. Would be good to have this practice back in action, hopefully every week for the remainder of the season.
Thanks for posting on here, you and Heath specifically do some very watchable content on camera.
He timed that well.
He was there last week too.
I think you do a great jobThanks for the message.
Certainly not going into hiding - it's all about catering the message to the current mood/sentiment.
After three straight losses, a lot of fans understandably don't want to see a player interview talking about how we can improve etc. - we don't want to force content that members and supporters don't want to see and cause further frustration in a tough time.
Likewise when things are going well, we want to share as much content as we can so you can enjoy it.
Thanks for your understanding and support.
He said he only did it once.'Staging for a free kick early in his career..'
Early?
It was a consistent theme.
******* seagull.
The next part was mainly about the former players doing an apprenticeship in the media before going after their former brethren.It cuts off when it gets interesting...!
Scotts picked up on the ‘man’ comment
NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott has again jumped to the defence of his spearhead Ben Brown after a former star accused him of "flopping" for free kicks and not playing "like a man" during the Kangaroos' win over Adelaide on Saturday.In a nut shell, Scott said that the Adelaide rucks like engaging in body contact so it was a ploy to use BBB as someone who likes to run and jump. The umps had told the clubs that an arm out fending off would be a free kick. Credit where it's due, that was a good bit of coaching.