By Andrew Wu
In today’s AFL briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- As injuries bite at Carlton, a mature-age rookie gets his chance.
- AFL issues a memo to teams clarifying dangerous tackling position.
Blues give Cincotta his chance as injuries bite
Andrew Wu
Carlton are asking debutant Alex Cincotta to fill the big void left by Adam Saad, as the Blues’ injury crisis in defence bites hard.
The club is sweating on Mitch McGovern’s fitness but is optimistic the defender will be available to face St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Just five rounds in, the Blues’ backline stocks are running low with injuries to Saad, Sam Docherty, Zac Williams and Caleb Marchbank testing their depth.
Cincotta is the beneficiary after being rewarded for his resilience and 12 months of strong form in the VFL playing as a rebounding half-back.
Alex Cincotta will make his AFL debut against the Saints on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos
A mature-age product of the Geelong Football League, Cincotta’s path to the big league has been rocky, overcoming an anterior cruciate ligament tear in 2020 to find his way to Carlton’s VFL side last year.
The Blues signed him during the supplemental selection period in February after an impressive 2022 in which he finished top three in the club’s VFL best-and-fairest count.
“A great story of persistence, resilience, and following your dreams – it’s nice to confirm that today,” Carlton’s senior assistant coach Ash Hansen said on Friday.
The Blues are confident the 26-year-old can make an instant impact.
“I think that’s why the list management committee added him when we had the opportunity earlier in the year to create depth in that position,” Hansen said.
“Like we have in the past [we’ve] called on the next soldier, and he’s certainly well-equipped through his journey and being in our system for the last two years to play that high back role and provide some really good run and maturity in the contest which will be important for us.”
McGovern, a late withdrawal against Adelaide last week due to calf tightness, must get through training on Friday to return to the 22.
“We’re optimistic that he’s going to be right, but we’re going to have full training session now, and then we’ll check off match committee this afternoon off the back of training,” Hansen said.
Saad (hamstring) and Docherty (knee) were running laps before training, while Marchbank (calf) returned to skills work this week.
Coach Michael Voss missed training due to a family matter but Hansen said he would be taking the reins on Sunday.
The Blues are smarting after a heavy loss to the Crows in which they were well beaten at the centre clearance and smacked for the contested ball.
“We spoke a lot about process, and we want to be really transparent with the guys around being honest and being consistent in that space,” Hansen said.
“I think last week certainly reflected if you’re a little bit off against a really good team on their home deck you can get jumped in that first quarter, [it] certainly wasn’t what we want to stand for. And we’re looking forward to a big reply.
“Our contest hasn’t been the level that it’s been previously and certainly last year, so that’s a key pillar of any footy side and certainly ours, so we’re looking to build on that and then that brings others into the game and helps both of the phases.”
“There’s not confusion. The AFL sent out absolute clarity again last night in terms of clarifying what constitutes a dangerous tackle and all the factors that go into that,” former AFL football boss Scott told reporters.
“But there was nothing new in that – that was clarification of what’s existing at the moment.
“But there’s a very big difference between understanding what is acceptable and what’s not, and executing that.
“I really feel for players who are trying to be aggressive in a tackle but yet show duty of care all at the same time. The players … are not clear on how to exactly execute that.
“So that’s going to be an ongoing discussion for the whole industry to address, because we all agree that we don’t want to see players getting hurt.
“But we’ve also got to put some onus on the ball carrier that they’ve got a responsibility to protect themselves.”
Scott admitted it was difficult for players to prioritise protecting themselves over maintaining possession when tackled.
“I feel for them because if you’ve got one arm pinned and you’ve got the ball in the other hand, if you get tackled your only option to protect yourself is to drop the ball and brace your fall,” he said.
“So the challenge for the players is they risk concussion if they don’t drop the ball, but they get pinged holding the ball if they do drop it.
“So that’s what I’m talking about – the execution is more difficult than the understanding of the rule.
“Everyone’s got a responsibility … the onus is on everyone, not just the tackler.”
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan understood the AFL’s intention but was sympathetic, particularly when a larger player was tackling someone smaller.
“How could our players not be aware? It’s been the case for quite a few years, the AFL is clamping down on dangerous tackles,” Fagan said.
“I feel really sorry for players. Most of the dangerous tackles that do occur are not intended, they just turn out that way.
“It’s really difficult to coach the players not to tackle with vigour … you’ve got to do that with an element of aggression.
“It’s a hard spot to be in for everyone.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
