Nick Daicos’ tag wasn’t anything outside of the code, according to North Melbourne champion David King.
Daicos was tagged when Collingwood played St Kilda on the weekend, with the Pies winning by 34 points to go a game and a half clear on top of the ladder.
The Saints sent Marcus Windhager to tag Daicos on Saturday night, but it arguably didn’t work with the Pie midfielder having 30 possessions and a goal in their win.
King said he rewatched the tag on the weekend, and although he had problems with Windhager kneeing Daicos’s hamstrings and other free kicks, he praised the Saints midfielder for his job.
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“I thought his application to task, Marcus Windhager, is as good as I've seen in a long time. He did not give him an inch, and he didn't do anything outside the code,” King said on SEN Breakfast.
“There was a lot of wrist grabbing, arm holding, twisting, and those sorts of things, which I think the umpires can get a bit more aggressive on (paying free kicks for), but the kneeing to the hamstring only happened on that one occasion that was caught on camera.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon talked about the tag in his post-match press conference, explaining that he pondered whether there was a set of rules for Daicos and a set for the rest of the players.
“We’ll probably go early, look at those free kicks, I’m not sure they were free kicks, but I think we’ll take that in and ask the question, are there two sets of rules going around? I’m not sure, am I allowed to say that?”
“I liked the theatre of it, there was a lot of noise, bit of theatrics, both teams supporting their player, I think it’s great for the game,” Lyon added.
AFL shock jock Kane Cornes who is King’s co-host on the program said he enjoyed Windhagers performance but questioned the outcome of the tag.
“The question is, if that's as good an application as there can be, and he still has 30 and kicks a goal, and he should get the 10 coaches' votes, then what do you do with him? That's the question,” Cornes said.
“The full team approach is probably what's required, not just leaving a tagger one out.”