McKay poised to make his comeback with Carlton’s main team
Andrew Wu
Carlton forward Harry McKay is expected to fly to Adelaide and make his return to the Blues team for their Gather Round clash with West Coast.
A reliable informant privy to this information, requesting confidentiality, has disclosed that the Blues intend for McKay to join the squad on Thursday and will include him in the roster of 23 players for Saturday's match at Adelaide Oval scheduled in the afternoon.
It will mark the 2021 Coleman Medallist's first senior match since they took personal leave following the Blues' unexpected defeat against Richmond in Round One.
Last week McKay made his return to play, however, he didn’t have sufficient time to get match-ready for the clash with Collingwood on Thursday evening. Consequently, he took part in a VFL match just two days after, accumulating adequate playing time to ensure he’s fit for this upcoming weekend’s game.
If McKay takes his place in the lineup, it would mark the first occasion where the Blues have fielded both McKay and Charlie Curnow together since Round 22 of the previous year.
The Blues have emerged as one of the biggest letdowns during the initial part of the season, suffering defeats in all four matches and finding themselves stuck at the lower end of the standings. Prior to the start of round one, chief executive Brian Cook had openly expressed the team’s aim to secure a spot within the top four.
Soldiers Sam Docherty, Nick Haynes, and Mitch McGovern face potential removal from the team following comments made by coach Michael Voss, who openly criticized the standards and resilience of multiple Blues athletes post-defeat against the Magpies.
The Blues have already announced that newcomer Matt Carroll, who has been a lifelong Carlton supporter since he was young, will be making his AFL debut this week. Meanwhile, Matt Cottrell finished training on Wednesday and appears likely to return to the 23-player squad, assuming nothing goes wrong at the last minute.
AFL coaches feel 'marginalized,' cautions Brad Scott.
Brad Scott, the Essendon coach, has delivered a stark message about the direction of the AFL’s coaching landscape, stating that present-day players do not view becoming coaches as an achievable next step after they retire from play.
With fervent appeal, Scott implored the AFL to hear out the coaches instead of dismissing their concerns as "rubbish."
Scott, who previously held the position of football boss at the AFL, says he has never witnessed the coaching community so "disheartened."
Following his retirement in 2006, Scott promptly began working as an assistant coach for Collingwood. He then held the position of head coach at North Melbourne from 2010 onwards, staying there for ten years.
The two-time Brisbane Lions premier champion senses that Essendon is being closely watched by the AFL, though he thinks this scrutiny isn’t shared among others.
"In my experience in football, I've never witnessed a coaching staff more frustrated with numerous issues," Scott stated on Wednesday.
That has nothing to do with umpiring; it’s also unrelated to the relationship between the AFL.
It’s more about how coaches are viewed within the AFL.
I've never come across a coaching group that feels more disillusioned with their overall treatment.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns that led to the suspension and subsequent reduction of the 2020 season, the AFL cut down the soft cap for football personnel.
However, almost four years after the final COVID-19 lockdown ended, the soft cap remains far below pre-pandemic levels.
In the years 2025 through 2027, the AFL raised the soft-cap limit from $7.275 million to $7.675 million.
"While the sport is thriving and everything seems to be going well, the AFL has made it clear where their priorities lie – unfortunately, supporting coaching staff and football departments isn’t high on that list," Scott stated.
He believes the AFL will struggle to retain or bring in new coaches unless this problem is tackled promptly.
"We won't just miss out on gaining them; we'll also fail to attract them from the start," Scott stated.
Speak with the AFL Players' Association regarding career paths for athletes transitioning into coaching roles, and you'll get clear feedback—they aren't interested in pursuing this path.
What the coaches are doing is not what they want to do.
They recognize the advantages for their careers in coaching compared to the obstacles it presents, and as a result, they're opting out and deciding against pursuing it.
For the first time that I can recall in football history, this is occurring, and although it has been discussed, the AFL dismisses it as absurd.
“It’s occurring now. This will keep continuing.”
Craig McRae, the Collingwood premiership coach, concurred with Scott.
"The soft cap has hit its limit when it comes to our staffing," McRae stated.
And it's not only the coaches; it's also our support team.
And at this moment, there are many noisy voices. There’s a lot of shouting, with people asking, 'What’s happening?'
There are many employees putting in long hours, and they deserve recognition for their efforts.
The AFL chief Andrew Dillon stood up for the league's strategy.
"There have been significant increases to the soft cap over the past few years, following COVID-19, returning to the 2019 levels," Dillon stated in Adelaide.
Ultimately, it comes down to the clubs deciding how they allocate the soft cap between their head coach, assistant coaches, high-performance staff, list managers, and operational personnel.
Following Scott's appeal, his twin brother, Geelong coach Chris, criticized the AFL on Tuesday for "selectively choosing" instances where they explain umpiring calls.
Recently, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge criticized the AFL for the confusion surrounding tackles.
AAP
“I see no reason to talk to them”: Hinkley’s stance on the Hawks rivalry
Ken Hinkley is preparing Port Adelaide for an intensified clash as they face off against Hawthorn in the eagerly awaited Gather Round grudge match this Sunday.
The Power coach has played a crucial part in the preparations following his significant involvement in the contentious aftermath of last season's semi-final match.
However, despite embracing the increasing competition as beneficial for the sport, the 58-year-old remains committed to reviving 1-3 Port's campaign and steering their season back on course.
"We need to assess our current stance, and what that entails is doing absolutely everything possible to secure victory in this match," Hinkley stated on Wednesday.
“That’s where we’ll spend our time, and it just so happens that Hawthorn are our opponent and it’s Gather Round.
It’s quite a significant buildup, which we greatly value, however, the truth is that it impacts us more because our season needs to return to a stronger form.
The team defeated Hawthorn by only one point in Round 11 last year and followed that up with a three-point victory during the semifinal.
Following the decisive match, the Power received a $20,000 fine from the AFL. For Hinkley verbally provoking the Hawthorn team members.
Hinkley, who has been prominent with his trash talk leading up to this weekend's rematch at Adelaide Oval, hasn't communicated with anyone from the Hawks since the incident.
"I see no reason to talk with them, and I'm certain they weren't truly eager to converse with me," Hinkley stated.
Basically, my role is to contribute whatever I can to assist Port Adelaide, and that’s where I focus all my efforts.
Honestly, I stated what I mentioned at the conclusion of last year's match.
Feelings were running high; I felt let down by this situation, something I've expressed before and for which I have offered a public apology.
I believe it's time for me to progress, and I really need to concentrate on our performance this week.
The Hawthorn players obviously still remember. The manner in which Hinkley singled out young forward Jack Ginnivan after the semi-final.
A key member of the Hawks' famed "rascal pack," Ginnivan mentioned this week that he has a special "airplane" goal celebration lined up should he score in front of the supporters at Adelaide Oval.
Hinkley anticipates a highly emotional Hawthorn team will come out strong and has advised his players to stay alert right from the start of the game.
"When you finally fall short in the last game of the season by just a narrow gap, there definitely is a sharp pang," he stated.
The truth is, for us, we anticipate that it will be heading our direction.
“However, every team that has faced them has experienced their pressure, and we won’t distance ourselves from that.”
We're aware it's heading our direction, and we're excited about the challenge.
Hinkley anticipates that Port Adelaide stalwart Travis Boak will come back following his suspension for missing last week's defeat against St Kilda.
The Power are considering several alterations for Sunday’s game, as All-Australian player Darcy Byrne-Jones will be unavailable due to suspension.
AAP
McRae adopts patient approach with irritated De Goey and sidelined Houston
Roy Ward
Collingwood coach Craig McRae is taking a patient approach with Jordan De Goey’s fitness and refraining from pressuring Dan Houston not to push players too hard.
Houston is starting his second suspension within four games due to collisions and will be unavailable for the match against the 2024 Grand Finalists, Sydney and Brisbane, as he serves a two-match ban.
Houston skipped last year’s finals with Port Adelaide and the opening round match against Collingwood. owing to a suspension of five matches for an awkwardly handled nudge.
Meanwhile, De Goey is annoyed about being sidelined once more due to an injured ankle sustained post-match against Carlton. Despite this setback, he plans to join the team on their trip so he can keep working with the medical staff to recover from his injury.
When McRae was questioned about whether Houston needed to alter his gameplay, he dismissed the query with a casual shrug.
"The incident remains as it is. While some might argue he needs to alter certain aspects, I'm uncertain about this," McRae stated on Wednesday.
You'll observe these situations, but losing your key players isn't enjoyable for a coach or the team.
I see this as a chance for improvement, for him to revitalize his position, and also as a way for others to step in and showcase their talents.
McRae isn't willing to play De Goey due to him dealing with several injury issues at the end of last season. He commended the premiership-winning midfielder for his offseason efforts aimed at boosting his strength and fitness levels.
"It’s relatively small, as he only has an issue with his ankle, however, we've taken heed of what happened last year. Therefore, we won’t be putting Jordy out there because one problem could turn into two, leaving us scrambling," McRae stated.
So we made the decision earlier in the week to go ahead with the call and hopefully have him ready for Brisbane.
He showed no symptoms of this severity post-game. There were some issues before the match, so we opted to take care of him. Later, he experienced some discomfort, leading us to decide to adopt a longer-term approach.
McRae wishes for De Goey to come back for Collingwood’s match against the Lions, yet he won’t hurry his return.
"We are optimistic that Brisbane is the chosen one, but uncertainty remains," McRae stated.
That remains the plan, and we'll bring him along to Adelaide as well as Brisbane, ensuring our physio and high-performance teams can support him.
I recently had a productive conversation with him during the week, and he seemed quite annoyed. Progress has been slow with him—like taking one step ahead and then retreating two steps—but since this is only round five, we still have ample time to work with him.
He has accomplished a great deal of work to reach this point, and his physical condition is noticeably different from what it was last year.
The All-Australian defender Brayden Maynard has caught the attention of rival teams, but McRae emphasized his desire for Maynard to stay with the Magpies, as he values him greatly.
"I haven't been keeping up with anything lately and I don't catch many shows, so my understanding is limited to seeing Brayden do an exceptionally good job for our team," McRae stated.
He's greatly cherished among us and appears highly invigorated both for our team and for his personal performance.
We are extremely eager [to retain him], and I express my feelings of love and appreciation for him every day. I'll let others handle list management, and I'll allow him control over his contract. However, I ensure that he knows how valued and cherished he is.
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