Champion Data rates Max Gawn the no.1 player in the AFL after seven rounds

Carlton’s horrible Sunday got a little worse with the AFL wanting the Blues coach to explain himself. Plus, the surprising no.1 player in the game.

Blues coach Brendon Bolton is seen during the Round 7 AFL match between the Carlton Blues and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Pic: AAP

Carlton’s horrible Sunday just keeps getting worse.

The fallout from the disappointing loss to North Melbourne continued yesterday with the AFL issuing a “please explain” over the tardiness of Brendon Bolton’s arrival at the post-match press conference.

Normally the losing coach is given 40 minutes to compose themselves and then front the press.

Brendon Bolton was late to his press conference. Pic: AAP

Bolton was a no-show an hour after the siren with the excuse given to the waiting media pack that he was caught up in a celebration.

This certainly raised eyebrows given the performance but apparently Ed Curnow’s 150th game deserved a post-game official presentation.

The AFL were certainly bemused by the series of events with the Blues told they faced the risk of being fined should it happen again.

It was a strange day at Marvel Stadium with Fox Footy viewers left wondering exactly what happened to Carlton defender Liam Jones.

The network made a decision not to replay the brutal incident which saw Jones knocked out over fears about what may have happened.

They were concerned about the trauma surrounding the incident with commentators explaining the decision to censor the coverage.

When it was made clear that Jones had regained consciousness, Fox showed the replay of the sickening head clash between Jones and North’s Cam Zurhaar.

Max Gawn’s Round 1 shocker is in the rearview mirror. Pic: Getty Images

BIG MAX SETTING THE PACE

According to Champion Data Max Gawn is the No.1 player in the game over the first seven rounds.

This revelation makes his horror Round 1 performance against Port Adelaide even more intriguing.

The Melbourne ruckman has finally opened up on his bizarre lead-up into the season opener which included emergency surgery to remove a boil on his leg.

“I had a ‘Susan Boyle’ on my leg, which was causing a bit of an issue,” Gawn said on Triple M.

“I got rushed into emergency which was quite embarrassing because there were people being taken in there in the back of an ambulance.

“I was there with a boil on my leg and I got put in front of them, (because) our docs have got some high-up contacts at the Epworth Hospital.”

Gawn was able to train later in the week but with the mercury hitting 30 degrees during the game he found himself “cooked” from the events of the lead-up.

BOMBER BERRY BACKS THE BEES

Hats off to young Essendon VFL player Wilson Berry who made sure his day out on the MCG was a memorable one.

The Bombers and Geelong held a traditional reserves curtain-raiser on Sunday as part of the annual Country Game.

Berry ensured he made the highlights reel after a bizarre goal celebration where he put his hands to his head and imitated a bee as he danced around.

It turns out the former Western Jets co-captain was keeping up with the theme of the day.

“(It’s) country round and I heard the bees are dying, so it was a bit of a salute to the bumble bee,” Berry said.

For those who aren’t up with the bee issue, scientists around the globe are sounding alarm bells over the decline of bees and pollinators who are crucial to the growth of crops.

Majak Daw is slowly making his way back to football. Pic: AAP

THE WHISPER

The Majak Daw interview is the hottest media ticket in town and we hear one journo hasn’t won any favours down at Arden St. After being told to cool their jets, we hear a letter was penned and sent to the club’s hierarchy outlining why she should get the gig.