Carlton star Harry McKay says he needs time assess the habits that have caused his poor goal kicking

Carlton star Harry McKay says he needs a “body of time” to unpick the bad habits which have plagued his goal kicking, saying it’s not just him being impacted by his poor form in front of goal.

MELBOURNE. 24/02/2023. AFL. St Kilda vs. Melbourne at Moorabbin. Umpire Ray chamberlain back in action. Pic: Michael Klein

Carlton star Harry McKay says he needs a “body of time” to unpick the bad habits which have plagued his goal kicking and cost the Blues.

McKay opened up on his yips which he said are taking a toll on him personally and affected his family as well as coaches Michael Voss and Ashley Hansen.

The spearhead misfired again in the loss to Sydney Swans on Friday night, prompting Brisbane champion Jonathan Brown to suggest the club should consider trading him to the Swans to off-set some salary cap pressure.

McKay, who has slotted 14.16 for the year, said he was thinking about his misses “a lot” but needed time to correct his technique and tweak his routine.

“There’s technical things that you need a body of time to untrain habits which I definitely will need to do,” McKay said on the Ben and Harry podcast.

McKay’s poor goalkicking has been a staple of Carlton’s poor season so far. Pic: Michael Klein

“It is more now being able to really commit to a couple of things you can consistently repeat.

“Really, at the end of the day, I’m going to miss (shots) and kick some, but it’s having something you can commit to every time and just go at it.

“It’s at a stage where if you miss, what’s going to happen? If I miss, everyone says I’m s*** still.

“There’s nearly freedom in that, I guess.

“It’s definitely challenging, and it does suck at the moment because it affects a lot of other people, not just me, which I don’t like.

“Going through these challenging stages always it’s a good thing in the long run.”

McKay said he had tried to block out the external commentary surrounding his technique, and felt bad for the impact it was having on his club and family.

The Blues are six points outside the eight ahead of Friday night’s clash against Melbourne.

McKay said it was obvious his kicking was “glaringly off”.

“On Friday night if Charlie (Curnow) and I had kicked straight, the reality is we would have won the game,” he said.

“I’m big enough and ugly enough to deal with it, but when it affects other people it sucks.

“After the game, seeing my parents. Seeing mum’s face, she wears it, dad wears it.

“Ash Hansen (forwards coach) he wears it because of what I’m doing. Michael Voss wears it.

“It definitely crosses your mind, you’d be lying if you said you are not thinking about it a lot.”

Mckay has been a reliable kick in previous seasons. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

McKay was a reliable set shot in his 2021 Coleman Medal season, slotting 58.33 and 45.31 last year as the Blues narrowly missed a finals berth.

The re-signed goal kicker said he was trying to narrow his focus despite the intense focus on his form and had largely ignored the external feedback he had received about his kicking.

“You can fall into the trap of one – trying a million different things and two – taking advice from everyone,” he said.

“Everyone comes from such a great place, you get a million messages. Everyone you see. Old players, old coaches. Players from other clubs, whatever it is.

“They all want to help and that is awesome. But listening to one million different voices is detrimental. You need clarity with it and kind of the less noise the better.”

Razor Ray: ‘Significant’ amount of flopping won’t ever be eradicated

— Glenn McFarlane

Veteran AFL umpire Ray Chamberlain says there is still a “significant” amount of staging from players in the game now, but he doesn’t want the league to introduce an on-field free kick paid against those who transgress.

Chamberlain, who has officiated in 369 games since his 2004 debut, said he hoped peer pressure from the playing fraternity might get some players to refrain from ‘flopping’, but stressed that it won’t be eradicated in his lifetime.

“I think that in terms of the players playing for things, I think there’s a significant amount of it, in different ways too,” Chamberlain said on SEN.

“We are challenged in this space with every club and (a) multitude of players. This isn’t a one-person or one-club thing. It comes in different shapes and sizes.

“They (players) are aspirational, they are competing to win. They are going to try and find whatever edge they can, and our job is to be better on what we can do.

“I would love it if players ripped in and played their guts out and we (the umpires) got to … make an honest assessment. That would make it easier, (but) it won’t happen in my lifetime.”

The veteran umpire says flopping will not be eradicated from the game in his lifetime. Pic: Michael Klein

His comments come in the wake of Kane Cornes’ call on the AFL to introduce a free kick against players who ‘flop’ in what would be a crackdown on players who accentuate the contact in contests.

It follows incidents last weekend involving Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman, St Kilda forward Max King and Adelaide forward Taylor Walker.

The AFL has the capacity to fine players for staging, but the match review panel chose not to do so in their assessments last round.

“On the basis of what was suggested or tabled from Kane … I think that from a consistency of application, (a) decision on the field is asking for trouble,” Chamberlain said.

“I think what we (need to say) is ‘You are not being rewarded for that, please stand up and take your kick’. I think that is where the water level sits best.”

Of the Weightman incident, which drew a free kick in a game he wasn’t umpiring in, Chamberlain said: “It is an error. I make several of them every week and have done for 20 years. It is not an exact science, this game. It is grey, it is fast moving and it is 360 degrees.

“We make blues. Our job is to not keep making the same ones, to make less of them and to work hard at getting better.”

Originally published as Carlton star Harry McKay says he needs time assess the habits that have caused his poor goal kicking