Carlton coach Michael Voss says battle between twin brothers Harry and Ben McKay just byplay

Michael Voss knows what it’s like to go up against a brother and says the battle at the MCG on Sunday between the McKay twins is only a sideshow to a bigger picture.

Ben and Harry McKay are going head-to-head. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Carlton coach Michael Voss is confident star forward Harry McKay won’t get lost in the “personal” battle with his twin brother, Essendon defender Ben, as they confront each other for the first the time at AFL level on Sunday, declaring his teammates are the only brothers that matter.

The twin towers were drafted to different clubs in 2015 and a variety of issues have conspired to prevent them playing against, or on each other, in the eight seasons since.

Harry has declared he “knows for sure” that Ben will spend time on him on Sunday and Voss, who battled against his own brother, Brett, who played for St Kilda, said it would provide a nice “byplay” for the blockbuster clash between two teams eyeing a top-four finish.

“They’ve stepped into it and embraced it, there’s been a lot of chat over that period of time,” Voss said on Thursday.

“It was hard not to take it a little personal (when he played his own brother), but you start to learn it’s not about that. It’s about your teammates beside you and you’ve got to make sure the brothers you’ve got are the ones that are beside you.

Harry and Ben McKay will clash for the first time. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“You’ve got to deal with Mum afterwards, but if you can get through that on Monday, then you can generally get out the other side OK.”

The brothers discussed their likely match-up on the podcast they do together this week, with Harry baiting his brother that he wouldn’t be able to manage the other Carlton spearhead, Charlie Curnow, and they would end up on each other.

“You wouldn’t be able to play on Charlie. He’s too agile, moves too well … you couldn’t do it,” Harry said.

“Rids (Jordan Ridley) will play on Charlie or (Jayden) Laverde … I’d put my house on it.

“You obviously are (going to play on me).”

Hi Harry, hi Ben!

Big fan of the show. Long-time listener, first-time caller.

Just wanted to ask a quick question regarding Sunday night's game.

Regards,
M̵i̵c̵h̵a̵e̵l̵ ̵V̵o̵s̵s̵ Mike from Carlton North pic.twitter.com/4Hp9OQod26

— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) June 4, 2024

Voss said ruckman Marc Pittonet was only “50-50” to take on the Bombers in front of 90,000 people at the MCG as he battles a finger issue.

The Blues have had a lengthy break since breaking their Adelaide Oval hoodoo with a win over Port Adelaide last Thursday amid what Voss called a “pretty challenging” draw through the first half of the season.

He said he and his team had a chance to “take a breath” and plot a path of improvement needed for ultimate success this season.

“Some of the pieces have fallen a bit closer together in the last couple of weeks, and we’ve certainly had the stability in the side to go with it,” he said.

“We feel like we’re well placed.”

Originally published as Carlton coach Michael Voss says battle between twin brothers Harry and Ben McKay just byplay