“HE IS THE LEAST OF THEIR WORRIES”: JENKINS DEFENDS TARANTO'S KICKING EFFICIENCYMarcus Beeck
SEN
25 April 2023Geelong assistant coach Josh Jenkins has come out in defence of Tigers prized recruit Tim Taranto.
Taranto has been the subject of some criticism after the Tigers poor start to the year with his disposal efficiency particularly under the microscope.
However, Jenkins believes that the former Giant has had a big impact at Richmond already and was arguably best on ground in the Tigers' 18-point loss to Melbourne on Monday night.
“I won’t be copping any grief about the way Tim Taranto played the game last night,” Jenkins told SEN Breakfast.
“Sometimes in footy a narrative can build and we don’t even watch what is in front of us. We just go ‘nup, can’t kick’.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth. Did he slice the game open with his foot skills? No. He didn't cut the game open like Dustin Martin can by foot or Marcus Bontempelli can by foot, but was his kicking poor? No.
“He is the least of their (Richmond's) worries. I thought he was probably the best player on the ground and I know in the end Melbourne have won the game running away from them, but 33 disposals and 10 score involvements (for Taranto), so not just getting the footy and hacking it.
“People are getting the ball after he’s had it and scoring. 10 tackles, six clearances, six inside 50s, I thought he was Richmond’s best easily and probably the best player on the ground because Melbourne had so many even contributors.”
Taranto was sent to the Tigers at the end of last season with teammate Jacob Hopper in trades that involved the Tigers sending two first-round picks, a second-round pick and a future first-round pick to GWS for the two midfielders.
Taranto's kicking efficiency of 44.8 per cent this year has been questioned by Champion Data and Kane Cornes, but the 25-year-old has still been impactful for the Tigers as he averages 6.5 score involvements and 5.8 clearances per game.
Jenkins believes that the reason for Taranto’s low disposal efficiency is due to his contested nature.
“He’s never going to have 97 per cent disposal efficiency,” Jenkins said.
“He almost never gets to kick the ball without someone pressuring him or physically touching him.
“He’s not one of these high defenders or rebounding defenders who get to kick and mark and chip it around and have 90 per cent disposal efficiency, he’s not that type of player.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/04/25/he-is-the-least-of-their-worries-jenkins-defends-tarantos-kicking-efficiency/
