Blues coach Michael Voss says there’s always next week. He might find that’s not the case
Carlton coach Michael Voss was as he almost always is after Sunday’s latest disastrous defeat to Melbourne.
There were strong soundbites. He was “filthy”. He admitted he could not ignore the Blues’ third-quarter and general second-half problems. The Blues had to “put a wedge against that wheel” when things were trending the wrong way. And, of course, giving up another 40-plus point lead to lose was “really disappointing”.
Voss did not present as a beaten man, as he, perhaps sometimes did during the first half of 2023, when a string of losses left Carlton slumped in the bottom four before they rebounded to make a surprise preliminary final run.
The ex-Brisbane Lions champion and coach chose instead to take the positives, adding there was no need for a “circuit-breaker” and that there was always next week, where a quick turnaround to face North Melbourne on Good Friday might be a good thing.
But at some stage, there won’t be a next week – at least for Voss, whose contract expires this year.
The Blues might actually need a circuit-breaker, such as finding a new coach, just like the Demons did with Steven King.
Blues president Rob Priestley and chief executive Graham Wright, one of the masterminds behind Hawthorn’s flag three-peat from 2013-15, spoke to The Age’s chief football writer Jake Niall ahead of the capitulation to retooling Melbourne.
It was a deliberate attempt to calm the waters around Voss, who Wright said was just “one person” in the bigger picture.
Priestley and Wright want improvement across the board and say there is not a specific wins tally that would ensure the embattled coach survives. They already reshaped the assistant coaching team around Voss, and moved on from recruiting manager Michael Agresta.
Gone are the likes of Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni, and among the fresher faces are exciting duo and top-10 draft selections Jagga Smith and Harry Dean. They both look hugely promising.
A year after Priestley declared he wanted Carlton to contend for the premiership every season, the goal now is to reach the top 10, the threshold to feature in the AFL’s new wildcard round.
That might even be too ambitious after watching the Blues cough up a 43-point first-half lead to a Melbourne side that struggled at times to execute handballs to each other. It was eerily similar to Carlton’s round one collapse last year from 41 points up against an upstart Richmond side.
In Voss’ favour is the consistent player messaging that the coach was doing everything he could. Captain Patrick Cripps restated that post-match, while Wright referenced that during the week.
What happens if that support fades?
Wright, the veteran football administrator, is factually right that the senior coach is just one person at a club – but that person is the face and loudest voice after wins and losses, chiefly responsible for game-day decisions and more generally the structure of the program.
New football boss Chris Davies was an excellent off-season addition, and has a long-standing relationship with free agent coach Ken Hinkley from their shared Port Adelaide days.
That might be too obvious a connection to make, but there will be no shortage of interest in any potential coaching vacancy at Carlton in the months ahead.
They remain one of the biggest football clubs in the league, but the stampede of members and fans leaving the MCG before the final siren on Sunday was a visible sign of the frustration, anger and disappointment being felt.
The Blues thumped North Melbourne by 82 points on Good Friday last year, only to lose to the Kangaroos two months later.
Losing again to the same opposition in a few days’ time would be another stain on Voss’ record.
It would also leave Carlton with three defeats in the opening month – and the sole win an unconvincing one by four points over winless bottom team Richmond, where they managed a solitary goal in the second half.
After that, the Blues must travel to Adelaide to face the Crows before clashes with Collingwood, Fremantle (in Perth), St Kilda, Brisbane (at the Gabba), Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide (in Adelaide) and Geelong. They might start the underdogs in every one of those games.
Saving his job is nearing Mission: Impossible proportions for Voss.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.