Mark Maclure tells under-siege Carlton coach Brendon Bolton to toughen up his players
CARLTON great Mark Maclure wants under-siege coach Brendon Bolton to ‘toughen up’ his players while Leigh Matthews has questioned the Blues’ ability to land any players via trade and free agency. What should the club do next?
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CARLTON great Mark Maclure wants under-siege coach Brendon Bolton to “toughen up” his players as the hapless Blues close in on their fifth wooden spoon in 17 years.
The Blues slumped to their 24th loss from their past 26 games against St Kilda on Friday night, placing Bolton and list boss Stephen Silvagni under unprecedented pressure.
The Blues fielded 13 top-15 draft picks against the Saints yet Maclure said they were “brutalised” by a team with a similar age profile.
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Since the bye Carlton has lost to Fremantle (13th) at Etihad Stadium, Brisbane (16th) and the Saints (15th) by a combined 186 points.
Bolton’s 14-46 record has overtaken Denis Pagan’s as the worst in club history, outside of caretaker coaches.
“They looked tired, they looked worn out (and) they looked like they couldn’t get over the ground,” Maclure said.
“This team doesn’t need strategy, what they need is hard work.
“They don’t need to go to meetings, they need to work out if they want to be part of this place or not.
“I want Brendon Bolton to test them and say, ‘I’m playing on you today — and I’m not going to let you go’.
“Toughen them up a bit because at this stage I don’t think he’s training them hard enough.
“Who’s shoving and pushing in this team? Who are the leaders? It’s two kids — (Charlie) Curnow and (Patrick) Cripps. That’s not right.”
The Blues have re-signed Curnow until 2023, but Cripps is yet to commit beyond 2019.
Maclure told the ABC it was time to sack the sports scientists and tell the players to “get to work”.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd said the Blues weren’t showing any improvement.
“They’ve become so far off the bottom clubs it’s not funny,” Lloyd said on 3AW.
AFL legend Leigh Matthews, also speaking on 3AW, said: “It seems like the most powerful person at that club is Silvagni. That doesn’t sound right as a principle.
“No player who has got any currency will want to go to Carlton at this point in time.”
The Blues are privately resigned to missing out on any A-grade free agents. Their recent form is also set to deter any mid-tier free agents.
The Blues have made 42 list changes in the past three years and are still reeling from years of mismanagement.
They received nothing in return for Jarrad Waite (North Melbourne), Mitch Robinson (Brisbane), Eddie Betts (Adelaide) and Billy Gowers (Western Bulldogs).
Their 2014 draft was a total wipe-out, taking Blaine Boekhorst (pick 19), Dillon Viojo-Rainbow (28), Clem Smith (60), Jayden Foster (63) and Jason Tutt (pre-season draft).
Silvagni faces a difficult call on whether to draft his middle son Ben this year, who is viewed as a rookie prospect.
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