Could offloading Harry McKay resolve Carlton’s ahead line woes?
Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown believes the Blues ought to be on the telephone to Sydney – providing McKay because the substitute for Lance Franklin, who many have tipped to retire at season’s finish.
“Sydney, they’ve always had the big marquee forward – I think Buddy (Franklin) is going to retire at the end of the year. They’ve had Plugger (Tony Lockett), Barry Hall and Buddy – a long line,” he stated On the Couch.
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“Where is their next one, where is it coming from?
“Knowing Carlton have got a lot of deficiencies in all areas of the ground, if I was in charge of Carlton, I’d absolutely be open to picking up the phone to Sydney and saying: ‘Hey boys, would you like Harry McKay? Would you like your next big marquee up there?’
“It benefits both!
“You’d get maximum draft picks. I’d ask the question.
“Say (McKay) is on $900,000, so it would give Carlton salary cap relief. If Buddy retires, Sydney would certainly have that (cap space). They’ll need it to help Logan McDonald up forward.
“The Curnow-McKay thing is not working.
“It may be an opportunity for young (Tom) de Koning to find a spot there in the Carlton forward line.
“I know it’s a big call.
“I think Harry McKay can get back to his best, but you’ve got to be inventive when it comes to fixing your team.”
McKay, a Coleman Medallist, has struggled thus far in season 2023, kicking simply 2.7 in his previous three video games.
Against the Swans final Friday evening, McKay was focused inside 50 11 occasions for simply two scores generated.
Brown stated it wasn’t simply McKay who wasn’t performing, however believed he’d get the very best return for the membership if the time got here to be daring.
“Charlie Curnow’s got a fair bit to answer for … he’s one of the most predictable kickers inside 50 of any player in the competition,” Brown stated.
“If you’re his opponent and the opposition defence … you know what Curnow is going to do every time.
“Everyone knows what he’s doing.
“He gets the ball and rolls around to the right every single time.
“This is why you consistently see McKay and other big targets have multiple defenders around them.”
It’s been lower than a yr since McKay signed a big-money seven-year deal on the Blues, holding him on the membership till the top of 2030.
But AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson has warned McKay might “turn out to be one of the worst long-term signings” the Blues have made if he’s unable to right his goalkicking woes.
“He has lost games for Carlton, that is a fact. Other players have played bad, but Harry has had the opportunity, ball in hand, to win games of football and he hasn’t,” Robinson warned.
Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph stated he had little doubt the Swans would have the wage cap room for McKay ought to Franklin retire as anticipated.
But he believes the Swans have a couple of targets in thoughts – not McKay.
“They’re having a look at the likes of Tom De Koning, we told you in March they are sniffing around Harry Himmelberg,” Ralph stated.
“I can’t see Carlton blinking at that one.”
Originally printed as ‘It’s not working: Carlton informed to commerce struggling ahead to Swans as ‘marquee’ Buddy substitute
Source: www.news.com.au
