"For me, that just becomes a bit embarrassing for the Richmond football club."
Hirdy & the panel were full of praise for Harry Sheezel – but perplexed at the Tigers' decision to not tag the young gun.
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Richmond's decision not to tag Harry Sheezel in record-equalling performance labelled 'embarrassing'Emily Patterson
Nine
August 18, 2025 There has been plenty of praise for Harry Sheezel after he equalled the AFL/ VFL record for the most disposals in a game, but some pundits have questioned the Tigers' "embarrassing" decision not to tag the young gun.
Sheezel led the Kangaroos to a 48-point win over the Tigers at Bellerive Oval on Sunday, equalling the all-time disposals record of 54. The record was first set by Tom Mitchell in 2018 while playing for the Hawks.
The mark also broke North Melbourne's previous possession record of 44.
With Richmond allowing Sheezel to run free, Essendon great James Hird criticised the team for not applying a tagger or run-with player.
"After he had 28 [disposals] in the first half and 26 in the second half for a total of 54, I think someone needs to go near him, or even just a tag at stoppages," he told Nine's Footy Furnace.
"Start on him around stoppages and around the ball, because for me, I think that becomes a bit embarrassing for the Richmond football club that someone is able to get that many possessions.
"Fifty-four shows that Richmond was going one way and North Melbourne was going the other way, and they were definitely not coming together."
Speaking post-match, Richmond coach Adam Yze defended the team's decision not to tag Sheezel.
"At half time I think [Sheezel] had 20-odd [disposals] and the game was in the balance," he told media.
"The third quarter, I didn't see that as being a big issue, especially early.
"He did go forward and kick a couple of goals, so Jack Ross went to him for a little bit.
"Obviously, he's good enough to just go and change positions...
"I think he ended up with 12 or 13 in the last quarter; we kicked six goals. So, you're always looking at those numbers, but he obviously had a great game, and he's a terrific kid."
Also finishing the match with two goals, Sheezel's performance highlighted his dual threat as both a high-possession player and a goal scorer when moved forward.
Geelong legend Jimmy Bartel argued that Richmond needed to send someone to Sheezel as a "teaching moment" despite the game being a dead rubber.
"I know he's going to be too good, and I think that's the point Yze was making, like we're just playing footy out there," he said.
"But it didn't really matter in the end if Richmond won or lost this game, because they own North Melbourne's pick."
With a pre-existing pick swap agreement in place between the two clubs, even if they were to swap positions on the ladder, Richmond would still get the pick that is higher in the draft order.
The Tigers also chose not to tag Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in their game against St Kilda the week before, allowing the defender to tally 33 disposals.
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/news-2025-harry-sheezel-north-melbourne-kangaroos-equals-disposals-record-reaction-richmond-tigers-criticism-20250818-p5mnr6.html
