Journalist filthy after AFL legend’s ‘insulting’ accusation
Veteran footy commentator Caroline Wilson has been left filthy over an accusation made by Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd.
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Footy commentator Caroline Wilson has been left filthy over an accusation made by Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd.
The pair clashed on Monday night after the veteran AFL journalist defended under-siege Lions coach Chris Fagan.
The Brisbane coach was at a loss to explain his team’s lacklustre performance against the GWS Giants over the weekend where the 2023 grand finalists slipped to 2-5 for the season.
The 54-point disaster leaves the Lions with no margin for error to save their season and it is Fagan that has been left to take most of the blame.
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The former Hawthorn assistant coach was unable to give a straight answer when asked why his team fell apart in the second half against the Giants, outscored 61-15 in the final two quarters.
Fagan said his team’s second-half effort was “well below par” when speaking to reporters in his post match press conference.
He was then asked: “What did you put that down to?”
He responded with a stumped smile: “Good question. I don’t really know the answer at this point in time.”
Fagan has made headlines in recent days for his refusal to criticise his players in public with Kane Cornes among those to question Fagan’s soft approach.
Wilson and Lloyd were not on the same page when debating Fagan’s coaching actions on Monday night’s Footy Classified on Channel 9.
Wilson defended Fagan’s honesty surrounding his team’s lack of pressure, while acknowledging it is the coach’s job to know why his player’s haven’t maintained the same attitudes that got them to the grand final last year.
She said Fagan’s role in helping the Lions climb up from the bottom of the ladder when he was appointed coach in 2017 seems to have been forgotten after just a handful of bad games.
“You would imagine behind closed doors he’s trying to work that out,” she said.
“It just staggers me, you’ve got clearly no points in the bank, money in the bank, despite what you’ve done for five years. I don’t actually mind honesty from coaches at times. I think if he’s searching for answers, the players are as well. I say again, that I actually like the fact that he backed them to a degree as well.”
She also said: “I can’t understand why we’re bagging a bloke for being honest”.
Lloyd responded by implying Wilson had been spoken to by Lions officials.
“Have they got to you today, Caro? The Lions,” he said with a straight face.
Wilson responded: “I haven’t spoken to anyone from the Lions today. That’s insulting”.
Nathan Buckley earlier on Monday also asked serious questions about Fagan’s coaching methods.
“Chris Fagan has to separate himself in some shape or form with this tight connection that he has from the existing leaders,” Buckley said on SEN Breakfast.
“He has to change the language to stop talking about what they’ve done in the last five years and to start worrying about they’re doing.”
Lloyd, meanwhile, was just as scathing when analysing the performances from some of the Lions’ biggest stars.
He highlighted one particular case where Hugh McCluggage was exposed for a lack of effort.
The 46-year-old showed a montage of moments where Lions players were out-worked by Giants opposition players.
The vision showed the moment late in the second quarter where McCluggage and Giants veteran Callan Ward contested for a loose ball following a throw-in. As the ball was kicked to the far side of the ground, Ward was seen darting across to the next contest, leaving McCluggage to eat his dust.
“This one is Hugh McCluggage, who is not quite there,” he said.
“He’s up against Callan Ward, who played with an intent on the weekend that was clear. So you watch Hugh McCluggage, does he really want to defend for his life at the bottom of the stoppage? No, he’s ducking out the back hoping for his next kick.”
The Queensland derby with the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday night at the Gabba is now must-win for the Lions.
“It sounds all doom and gloom but this group has been so good for the past five years, I admire and respect them for the efforts that they’ve put in over the past five seasons,” Fagan said on Saturday.
“I’m not going to sit here and bag the team for the way they performed tonight, I’m in it with them. The way forward is together, that’s how we became a good team in the first place.
“When I first took over here, we won five games in each of my first two seasons, but we learned from our mistakes, we stuck together, and we became a good team. The way out of our situation at the moment is that exact same way.”
Originally published as Journalist filthy after AFL legend’s ‘insulting’ accusation
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