Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has been questioned in “damning” film vision from St Kilda’s 13-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.
Wanganeen-Milera, who played a considerable portion of the game in the forward half, was given licence to “drive” wherever he wanted while being draped by young Demon irritant Koltyn Tholstrup.
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But four-time premiership star Jordan Lewis believes Wanganeen-Milera’s movements left the Saints “skinny” defensively as they were ultimately outclassed in the fourth quarter at the MCG.
“I left the game (on Sunday) … and I just left thinking ‘Is it system? Or is it selfishness?’ In terms of the way that he plays,” Lewis began on Fox Footy’s On the Couch.
“There are a lot of sides that cover for centre-forward players, I get that … So then I had to confirm in my own head today what I was seeing, and it was pretty damning, if I’m honest, to watch him run around and suffer in silence.”
Lewis dissected several film examples on Sunday of Wanganeen-Milera roaming wherever he wanted on the MCG turf.
The first piece of vision showed Wanganeen-Milera – playing as a midfielder – drift forward to become a seventh attacker.
“I haven’t seen that system with any other team, in terms of where they play,” Lewis said.
The second example depicted ‘Nas’ having a “lapse in concentration” as his opponent – and tagger – Koltyn Tholstrup spread into space.
“Melbourne (were) out – that could have been stopped inside their (the Saints’) forward 50. Once again, not paying attention to a certain part of the game that doesn’t benefit him,” Lewis said.
The next clip showed him allowing Tholstrup space to mark virtually uncontested inside 50.
The last piece of vision was particularly glaring, with Wanganeen-Milera taking out his frustration on teammate Sam Flanders for not giving him the ball – before Tholstrup again got free for a cheap possession in transition.
“This one was quite damning … he was clearly frustrated, calling for the ball, he’s got a tagger right on his backside, he turns around to spray his midfielder (Flanders),” Lewis said.
“And I can tell you, there were about seven or eight more clips that we left on the table … I think he’s clearly a great player with ball in hand, but he’s a player that goes hard forward and stays forward. He doesn’t re-engage on defence.
“For me, I think he’s suffering in silence at the moment. His communication is nonexistent, which doesn’t tell everyone else what he’s doing, and that happens in general play and at stoppages as well.”
When asked about the conversation that may have to be had, Lewis added: “A lot of times, when we go through reviews, it isn’t about what you do with ball in hand – it’s what you’re doing without the ball. And he can become such a more influential player for this team when he doesn’t have the ball.”
Fox Footy analyst and Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley said Wanganeen-Milera was likely doing simply what his coach asked of him.
“I think there’s a very real possibility that he’s just following instructions on what part of the field his coach wants him,” Buckley said.
“I also think that there’s a very real possibility that he’s struggling to deal with the attention – both off field and on field.”
Saints coach Ross Lyon was scrutinised post-match on Sunday for his use of ‘Nas’ in the final term, with the superstar stuck on the bench for six minutes after spending the first half of the quarter playing deep forward.
The 23-year-old, who booted three goals from 18 disposals for the match, attended just one of seven centre-square stoppages in the last period as St Kilda fell short.
“It was really simple — (Wanganeen-Milera) had a licence to go anywhere. He was getting tagged, so you just put (pressure) on a tag and you open up your forward line,” Lyon said after the game.
“I said, ‘mate, you can go and take a kick-in, you can go behind the ball, you can go to the stoppage or you can go (to the bench).
“Sometimes you’ve got to let them drive the car … but it’s a steep learning curve … I wouldn’t have thought he’s walked off distraught. He’s got 15 (disposals) and three goals.”
Originally published as ‘System or selfishness?’ Damning vision exposes $2m Saints star’s selfishness
