Carlton’s Michael Voss era distils to 12 great months bookended by confusion, inertia and disappointment.
Carlton under Voss had a great 12 months from the middle of 2023 to the middle of last year. Since then, they have lost 15 of their past 23 games. Put another way, they have won only eight of their past 23 games, and those wins have included North twice – last year and the first time this year – and have now been belted by even that very team.
Michael Voss tries to lift his Carlton players on Saturday.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Blues were humiliated by a side that has been bottom two for the past five years, so forget the last quarter and North’s fumbling effort to play like grown-ups and kill the game – this result was a transition moment for both teams. There is clarity about them from this game: one has a certain trajectory, the other is Carlton.
The Blues are unlikely to sack Michael Voss mid-season for, while that has been old Carlton’s way, it has not been Graham Wright’s way. The CEO-in-waiting is a man whose importance to what happens next grows by the day at Carlton.
Wright will approach his first year as Carlton CEO much the way Craig Vozzo took over Essendon, as a de facto head of football and spending the overwhelming amount of time fixing football matters while the business of the club – mercifully in a good position – rumbles along. Fixing football is the biggest priority at Carlton.
While it is doubtful the club will move on Voss now, it would take something extraordinary for him to be leading the club by round one next year.
The problems at Carlton are far from contained to coaching. But having backed him once in a dire period, it would be a test of resilience to do so again.
Old Carlton would have sacked Michael Voss by the time the board had reached the rooms after the game on Saturday. But that was a time when they could buy players and coaches.
The last time Carlton were facing this sort of challenge was mid-2023, and the Blues were spiralling. That time, the Blues stuck firm and, in a rare moment of maturity, ignored the noise.
Then-president Luke Sayers was aware his presidency was intrinsically linked to Voss’ appointment and backed his man.
A softening of the draw arrived opportunely, giving the Blues belief, and they rolled into September, not just feeling good but with momentum and playing decent footy. They won their first final, Melbourne (9.17) self-destructed in the next and they made a preliminary final.
But that was then. Now, they have tried all of that, and it has in the end got them nowhere. Now they will feel they have wasted the prime years of Jacob Weitering, Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Sam Walsh and Harry McKay. Making the preliminary final suggested their premiership window was open, but it proved only a peek through the curtains.
Two years ago, Carlton was defensively a mess. Their ground defence was confused, and they were easily picked through.
They fixed that part of their game, but have left gaps in other parts. The modern game is now predicated on transition – how you win the ball back, how you move it up the ground and how you set up behind the ball to defend, if and when the other team intercepts. Carlton is not a good transition team.
Carlton forward Charlie Curnow.Credit: AFL Photos
Carlton plays to its strengths of stoppage and clearance, but those strengths alone don’t play to the important elements that now win games of football.
Intercept possessions and transition are what win the overwhelming number of games of football. Carlton are good at the one facet of the game that wins you the least number of games of football.
The question will be asked – as it is at every club in this situation – to what degree is it the coach, the development, the recruiter, the footy manager, the doctor or the physio who’s to blame?
They will all get heat.
The list has overrated and lop-sided. Some curious decisions were made, Zac Williams, for instance, is on a seven-figure salary this year and next. That is Carlton’s doing, not his.
Yet, they still need run, run and a little bit more run. They need to try to winkle out one of the myriad small forwards GWS has stockpiled in recent drafts. They need running rebound defenders, speed and ideally players who kick it to teammates.
They can’t and won’t match Tom De Koning’s St Kilda offer. If he stays, yay, he’ll get about $1 million a year, and the ruck will be one part of their list they won’t need to fix. If he goes? Meh, they’ll get salary cap room and a first round draft pick, which they will try to trade for a good player to a club seeking points for the plethora of academy or father-son picks to be snapped up in the draft.
Ordinarily, the fact Carlton last year traded its top pick at this draft – to get Jagga Smith in last year’s draft – would be a problem. But it’s not this year because this draft, by consensus of AFL recruiters, is a stinker.
Even allowing for the Chicken Little tendencies of recruiters, the strong view among the scouts is that this year is to drafts what Meat Loaf was to half-time entertainment. It is the Meat Loaf of drafts. Which is not ideal if you are Carlton and want to do surgery on your list. Carlton still has enough talent that its fix needn’t take a North Melbourne or Essendon timeframe, but neither will it be quick.
How to police taggers
Nick Daicos is not the only player tagged, scragged and mauled – look at the key forwards.
The tagging of Daicos is an issue now because it can be. Because it is Daicos. Because it has worked. Because he is one of the best players in the game, in the top team/biggest club and being watched by the largest audiences.
Nick Daicos breaks free of the tag to kick a goal.Credit: AFL Photos
And people don’t like what they see. So, no this isn’t a Daicos issue, but it is an issue because it is Daicos. How we got here, the role and methods of taggers are the chief concern.
The first couple of frees to Daicos on Saturday night, which Ross Lyon suggested were iffy, appeared tantamount to a recognition from the AFL football department that they reviewed the King’s Birthday match and decided “we don’t like that. We missed frees for holding, and we want to let the players play”.
Ed Langdon’s forklift – stand behind Daicos with straight arms to stop him moving in either direction – and hanging on and blocking was largely allowed on the public holiday. He won the day. There was less latitude on Saturday night. And more intent from Collingwood not to leave Daicos on his own.
The kneeing to the back of the legs? And the blocks and hits? They are like the hits forwards used to cop from behind that were once commonplace.
If the umpires pay some frees – even if coaches consider them iffy – they will quickly stop.
Weird day for the umpires
Mac Andrew heard the call to play on and took off. He was standing the mark, Jesse Hogan lining up for goal and the play-on call was clearly heard. Andrew surged over the mark.
Problem was, it wasn’t the umpire who called play on. Reportedly, it was a teammate of Andrew’s trying to panic Hogan’s kick. Instead, their call panicked Andrew into giving away a 50-metre penalty and an easy goal.
Points to the player for cheek and invention.
Sunday’s game in western Sydney was a weird one for umpiring. Callum Brown was allowed to run around on the mark while being loudly (there was very little crowd, so every word was clear) called three times to stand. He kept moving, but no 50-metre penalty was forthcoming.
Later, Sam Clohesy speared a kick to Sam Flanders, who marked a ball clearly touched off the boot and was tackled. Umpire Robert Findlay paid the mark, then pleasingly issued a rare about-face and overturned his own decision after being corrected by a colleague and ordered a ball-up. Good umpiring.
Sam Darcy was too tall and too good for Richmond’s defenders on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
Dogs have more to prove
The Bulldogs predictably dismissed Richmond, as they have most non-contenders this year. There were excuses for their competitive losses to finals contenders earlier in the year when Sam Darcy and Marcus Bontempelli only briefly played together.
Next, they face Sydney at the SCG – who are not the team they were in the first half the season. It’s a chance for the Dogs to consolidate their top-eight spot, and mount a realistic tilt at the top four.
Their scope to get better is in Aaron Naughton. He’s doing his job after an interrupted pre-season, but can do so much more than the eight touches and a goal he produced on Sunday.
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