AFL Round 6 St Kilda defeats Carlton: Carlton defends gameplan after two straight losses
Carlton is well aware of areas it needs to address after two straight losses. But the club believes there is no issue with their methodical gameplan.
Carlton has strongly backed its methodical game style and vowed to find the necessary polish to turn its season around despite Sunday’s dispiriting loss to St Kilda.
Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd told the Herald Sun the Blues were well aware of the specific areas of the game they needed to fix despite successive losses to Adelaide and the Saints.
The Blues believe the game style they have practised across summer – which includes strong contested ball numbers and calculated ball movement to key forwards – stacks up across the competition.
Fox Footy analyst David King said on Monday coach Michael Voss needed to make “significant structural changes” to maximise the club’s star assets in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow.
But Lloyd said the club backed in its system and with a 3-1-2 record was searching for improvement ahead of Friday’s flight to Perth to take on West Coast.
Adam Saad will be tested during the week after a slight hamstring strain, while Tom De Koning is firmly in the selection picture after being managed with illness and some soreness last week.
Carlton’s fans hit the airways of talkback radio to bemoan the loss to last year’s struggler St Kilda but Lloyd’s message was that the Blues know exactly where they are at.
“We haven’t quite played the complete game we would like across the last couple of weeks but we have had different challenges,” he said.
“Last week was more of the challenge in the contest and this week we were more challenged around ball movement. But we are really strong on where we are headed. We have just got to work on those areas and put it all together.
“There is no doubt some of the players (sidelined) are good ball movers in (Sam) Docherty, (Adam) Saad and Zach Williams and it was good to see Jordan Boyd come back through the VFL but at the same time we are really confident in the team we are putting out there each week. It is a strong side out there every week and we just need to get better.
“It is just an execution thing. Some of it was a little bit of skill level at times, some of it wasn’t executing in the moment. But we think our game style stacks up. It is just execution in some of those moments which was the difference.”
Coach Michael Voss conceded on Sunday star forward Harry McKay might have to tweak aspects of his goalkicking routine given his early-season struggles.
Coleman Medallist McKay has averaged nine marks a game but this year has kicked only 9.8 from 23 total shots — with six complete misses.
Former St Kilda goalkicking coach Ben Dixon told the Herald Sun on Monday McKay’s long-range snap shots were destroying his confidence as he urged the Carlton star to recommit to an improved set shot routine.
He has the eighth-worst accuracy in the competition of the top 50 shots, having kicked 6.7 from his set shots with four complete misses.
But Lloyd said the Blues would back him in to keep improving as he worked with forwards coach Ash Hansen and Voss on his routine.
“No one works harder on it than Harry. He is in communication with Vossy, he works closely with Ash Hansen on that. He is a real pro at his trade, so they will continue that conversation with the coaches. They are working on things and tweaking things but they are absolute professionals,” he said.
AFL sharpshooter Dixon said McKay had the skill set to be an elite goalkicker but looked confused and hesitant because he was never sure which type of kick to attempt from different angles and ranges.
“He has totally lost his decision-making in his goal kicking. He is confused around whether to take a set shot or whether to snap and which one to do from how far out. He is like a golfer who doesn’t have a caddy. I can’t believe how much confidence he has lost and his level of uncertainty,” he said.
“When you have lost confidence it’s a horrible thing. You are terrified, like a golfer with the yips. He marks the ball and walks back to the mark and then you start your clock. You need to be consistent the whole time. Harry doesn’t have that routine at all. He has 30 seconds to get his composure and sometimes he kicks a drop punt from 45m, sometimes he snaps and hits the belly of the ball. He should have a reference at the club – whether it’s a tape or a coach — that he can go back to and realise what he has done wrong.”
Voss’ admission on McKay after snap shocker
— Ronny Lerner
Carlton coach Michael Voss admitted that star forward Harry McKay might “possibly” have to re-evaluate how far out from goal he employs his preferred snap kick when lining up for a set shot.
With his team trailing by eight points midway through the third quarter of their tense arm wrestle against St Kilda, McKay twice had the chance to cut the deficit in the space of two minutes, but from 45m out on a sharp angle, he opted against the traditional drop punt on both occasions.
The first attempt hit the post, while the second was a shocker which went straight up into the air, going nowhere near the goal face.
“Possibly,” Voss said post-match when asked if McKay should only use the snap shot when closer to goal.
“But that’s for us to review and that’ll be feedback that he needs to evaluate, and we need to get better in that area.”
The Blues kicked themselves out of the game and despite only having two fewer scoring shots than the Saints, lost by 22 points.
McKay missed three sets shots, but was far from the sole culprit, with Jack Silvagni (two), Patrick Cripps (two) and Charlie Curnow also wasting chances.
“I don’t think that that’s just for Harry, that’s for us as a footy team,” Voss said.
“Our front-half game and our efficiency around our front-half game needs to improve.
“We can acknowledge that the efficiency part of the game had a pretty significant say on the end result.”
Voss had no problem with McKay continuing to opt for the snap kick as his first preference for set shots, but trusted him to be honest if he ever felt he needed to do extra work on it at training.
“I ask the players to be able to look at their technique and how they finish and keep evaluating it but have enough humility to know that if it’s not working and what do you need to adjust ... but then go to work on it,” Voss said.
“Don’t just think that something’s going to work and then you don’t practice it.”
Carlton enjoyed massive discrepancies in disposals (446-360) and contested possessions (140-120), but couldn’t translate that onto the scoreboard.
While Voss was happy with the method in which they moved the ball, he was less impressed by his players’ overall execution, and admitted their “total game is not quite together yet”.
“Some of the decisions that we made were actually quite sound, so you can’t take that off them but our ability to execute and go after it needs maybe a little bit of work,” Voss said.
“We had actually moments to hit the scoreboard and be able to finish our plays and they were incomplete, so there’s still some work to go on that.
“We’re looking for the total game here, we’re not looking for one phase to be able to fix it – there’s clearly things we need to make some progression in, and it might take a couple of weeks to get after it to the level that we need to.”
Meanwhile, Voss explained that ruckman Tom De Koning wasn’t selected to play against St Kilda because he was sore and ill during the week, which prevented him from training earlier in the week.
Saints make wasteful Blues pay as Ross resurgence continues
St Kilda’s spectacular resurgence under returning coach Ross Lyon continued on Sunday as they ran over the top of Carlton in the second half to win by 22 points at Marvel Stadium.
The match was a tense arm wrestle up until early in the third quarter, by which time the game had seen 10 lead changes and two instances of tied scores.
Stung by their mauling in contested possessions by Adelaide last week, Carlton kept themselves in the contest in the first half thanks largely to their massive lead in that category (80-53).
But their lead never exceeded eight points, and the Saints made them pay for their inability to make the most of their domination of the ball, as they broke the shackles, kicking the last four goals of the third quarter to open up a 21-point lead at the final change.
St Kilda turned the tide in contested ball and forced Carlton into costly turnovers, and it proved to be a game-deciding momentum shift as the season 2023 surprise packets ran out 12.10 (82) to 8.12 (60) winners to maintain their grip on top spot on the ladder.
Carlton absolutely dominated the disposals (446-360) and contested possessions (140-120) but the Saints once again stood up superbly in defence, denying the Blues the ability to translate those huge leads onto the scoreboard.
The Saints produced a very even effort across the board with Rowan Marshall (17 touches, 10 contested possessions, 21 hitouts and a goal) winning his battle against Marc Pittonet in the ruck and Dan Butler kicking three goals, while Mason Wood, Jack Sinclair and Hunter Clark were all valuable contributors too.
The Blues had the top six ball winners on the ground, with Sam Walsh (38), Adam Cerra (39), Blake Acres (36) and Patrick Cripps (34) combining for 147 touches, but their efforts were in vain.
BATTLE MAKES RIGHT CALL
Early in the third quarter with the contest as hot as ever, and Carlton leading by just four points, St Kilda defender Josh Battle made the courageous decision to leave Charlie Curnow by himself in the goal square and run towards an advancing Jesse Motlop 15m out from goal. It turned out to be a critical decision as Battle effected a strong tackle and prevented Motlop from scoring or passing it to the unattended Curnow. The Saints proceeded to kick the next four goals, and Battle’s action was ultimately a game-winning play.
Cerra in game 💯#AFLBluesSaintspic.twitter.com/z57C85KmP6
— AFL (@AFL) April 23, 2023
CARLTON RADAR OFF
At the 10-minute mark of the third quarter with the Saints leading by just two points, Jack Silvagni took a mark in the centre square and earned a 50m penalty after having the ball knocked out of his hands. However, from 25m out directly in front, Silvagni missed to the left, and seconds later, Zaine Cordy rubbed salt into Carlton’s wound by splitting the big sticks. Carlton’s set-shot goalkicking was ordinary all day as Harry McKay (three), Silvagni (two), Cripps (two) and Charlie Curnow all squandered opportunities.
OWENS LONG BOMB ENDS GAME
Silvagni gave the Blues a glimmer of hope when he made amends 40 seconds into the final quarter with a lovely converted set shot from a sharp angle, but Mitch Owens responded three minutes later with a spectacular 65m bomb on the run from the half-forward flank to shut the door on the Blues.
SCOREBOARD
BLUES 3.4, 6.7, 7.10, 8.12 (60)
SAINTS 3.2, 6.3, 11.7, 12.10 (82)
LERNER’S BEST
Blues: Walsh, McKay, Cerra, Newman, Acres, Cripps, C.Curnow.
Saints: Marshall, Butler, Wood, Sinclair, Clark, Battle, Ross.
GOALS
Blues: C.Curnow 3, Silvagni 2, McKay, C.Durdin, Cerra.
Saints: Butler 3, Owens 2, Clark, Marshall, Wood, Membrey, Gresham, Cordy, Higgins.
UMPIRES Whetton, Meredith, Williamson, Toner
VENUE Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 Sam Walsh (Carl)
2 Rowan Marshall (StK)
1 Dan Butler (StK)
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