Mick Malthouse: Why Essendon and Carlton quickly need new engine room leaders to emerge

Last year the Blues fell away badly when Patrick Cripps was out. Now we find out if anything has changed. Plus, Mick Malthouse looks at Essendon’s issues.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 17: Matthew Kennedy of the Blues runs with the ball during the round one AFL match between the Richmond Tigers and the Carlton Blues at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 17, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The sky isn’t falling, despite cries of the contrary this week.

One loss to a very talented Gold Coast does not mean Carlton’s season is imploding.

Although the loss of Patrick Cripps will hurt, in more ways than one.

The Blues came off three weeks of success to face a team that had to win to stay relevant and in the race for the top eight. And the Suns ambushed them.

By limiting the effectiveness of Carlton’s midfield, Gold Coast denied Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow the ability to dominate up forward, scoring just three of the Blues’ eight goals between them.

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Missing: Zach Merrett is the Bombers leading possession getter.

Missing: Inspirational leader Patrick Cripps leaves a big hole.

The Suns put the Blues’ midfield to the torch and consequently Carlton couldn’t generate enough good football to deliver to its key forwards, which also put its backs under massive pressure.

Carlton has the opportunity on Sunday to put paid to Port’s thoughts of making the top eight.

Zip and five would almost be the death knell to Ken Hinkley’s finals prospects.

And that’s what makes Port dangerous on Sunday.

They have been hit with injuries so there will be a rush to bring players back. Aliir Aliir, Xavier Duursma, and Robbie Gray could all return, but they will miss Ollie Wines who will remain on the sidelines after a heart scare last round.

Last week’s loss will test Michael Voss’ ability to ensure the Blues don’t lose confidence in themselves or their game structure.

His biggest issue is leadership, because he will be left stranded if he can’t get players to lead on-field on Sunday.

If Port Adelaide can instil the same disciplines through the midfield as Gold Coast, the Blues could find themselves in trouble and that’s when the leaders need to stand up.

With Cripps and Wines out it almost balances the ledger, but if Wines is replaced by Robbie Gray he is a natural leader and knows how to settle his team down.

Matthew Kennedy has been in great form and, with Patrick Cripps missing, this presents a wonderful opportunity.

With Cripps out who is the next true leader at the Blues?

Too often last season when Cripps was injured or down on form, Carlton fell away badly. A lot is expected of Sam Walsh, who so often delivers, but he is only 21 and still feeling his way with leadership. George Hewett is new to the club and has had a profound effect already, but he might be unwilling to exert himself as a leader at this stage.

It is hard to direct a team from the backline, so Sam Docherty and Jacob Weitering, despite being in brilliant form, will also find it tough to fill that role.

So who is going to steady the ship if the sea gets rough? Who will install confidence and belief among the Blues?

This is a wonderful opportunity for players around the ball — like 25-year-old Matthew Kennedy — to stand up and take charge. Carlton will be the better for it, and so will its finals prospects.

In a similar vein, Essendon is after a confidence boost against an in-form Fremantle on Sunday.

Until last week the Bombers had the unenvied title of the poorest backline with scores of 138, 97 and 99 kicked against them in the first three rounds.

Devon Smith is a tackling machine and it’s high time he sets an example for his inexperienced teammates.

High scoring games are a worry for Essendon as it leaks through the corridor and around the stoppages, which in turn puts pressure on the backline which has been exposed for lack of numbers and support.

The midfield has been acting like a white-collar department instead of the blue-collar workers of the best midfields, with its inability to put pressure on or around the ball.

Fremantle had enough young players who are in form to clean up Greater Western Sydney — which is laden with talented midfielders — and that is ominous for the Bombers.

Zach Merrett hasn’t always been a great defensive player, but Essendon is missing his ball-getting ability alongside Darcy Parish.

Andrew McGrath, Jay Caldwell and Dylan Shiel simply have to do more. The Bombers need to stiffen up their defence all over the ground. I fear that it’s very much a one-way ski track at the moment.

Kennedy can set the standard through the midfield against Port Adelaide.

It can’t just be up to Dyson Heppell to set the example. Devon Smith has been around long enough — aged 28 with 178 games behind him — to take charge, too. He is renowned for his defensive work as a terrific tackling player so he could set the standard of manic tackling through the middle.

Essendon had a good spread of 11 goalkickers for 15 majors last week — which is needed in Jake Stringer’s absence — but they still allowed 15 goals to be scored against it, and that’s too many.

Stringer made the team look like an entirely different side when he was in full flight last year, and while Peter Wright has been very impressive, the Bombers need to substantially increase output from the forward line.

The Dockers are no world beaters, but they are very well coached and they are finding their feet. They destroyed the Giants in the last term last week, and had one of their best wins against West Coast the previous week, more than doubling the Eagles’ score.

Smith gave a glimpse of his ability against the Crows last week with a stunning second half.

Just as Gold Coast ambushed Carlton last week, I feel the Bombers need to do the same to Fremantle.

They cannot go in with the same game strategies as they’ve started with. They need to tighten the game style up by being meaner and disallowing big possession getters in the middle. They must fight far harder to keep the ball in their forward line, and their young backline has to be better at taking the ball out of the back 50 and not turning it over to their opponent with flippant ball use.

They must start showing why they were worthy finalists last year.

I’m leaning towards Essendon because of the home-ground advantage, but the Dockers can get under people’s guard, and they play a very good defensive game of football which will clearly test the Bombers and coach Ben Rutten.

This will be a ripping test for both Melbourne-based clubs against non-Victorian raiders. It’s far too early to assume that any of these clubs are certainties to miss or make the final eight, but these games will go a long way to setting up their season.

Originally published as Mick Malthouse: Why Essendon and Carlton quickly need new engine room leaders to emerge