Blues turn to ‘X-factor’; Viney on Clarko’s wishlist; Coach takes aim at managers

Blues turn to ‘X-factor’ debutant

Jon Pierik

Carlton have turned to a versatile forward they say can be an “X-factor” when they seek to keep their finals aspirations alive against West Coast on Sunday.

The Blues will have a pair of debutants at Perth Stadium after the carnage of last weekend when six players were hurt in a humbling 74-point loss to Hawthorn that led to Michael Voss’ men slipping out of the top eight.

Having already announced that Cooper Lord will debut, Voss said on Friday that exciting forward Ashton Moir was also among a raft of forced changes.

Moir, the No.29 selection in the 2023 national draft, is 187 centimetres and can play as a tall or small. The Glenelg product has 12 goals in the VFL this season, and had 18 disposals, six marks and three tackles against Geelong last weekend.

Voss said Moir, who dons the No. 43 guernsey of David McKay and Anthony Koutoufides, would have a role to play in a side missing star forwards Charlie Curnow (ankle) and Harry McKay (quad).

“Ashton is very exciting, plenty of X-factor about him. He just loves footy,” Voss said on Friday.

“He, obviously, plays forward of the ball. He has been playing a bit on the wing, but he has had to go about learning his craft throughout the year. He has had a few good mentors down there. It’s his turn. When he gets out there, we are not going to ask anything other than to bring that real raw enthusiasm and make sure to get your role done.”

Lord, recruited from North Melbourne’s VFL team in the mid-season draft, will play his first match, having averaged 26 disposals a game for the Blues in the VFL, while one-gamer Jaxon Binns has been recalled.

Jack Martin (hamstring), Lachie Fogarty (collarbone), Jordan Boyd (adductor) and Adam Saad (hamstring) were also injured last weekend.

The Blues had just 26 players to consider for selection. That 17 are injured has intensified the focus on a health and conditioning review, which Voss said would not start until the season was finished. Fitness boss Andrew Russell has already confirmed his decision to leave the club.

Despite the injury dramas, and having fallen from second on the ladder just a month ago, Voss insists the Blues’ season is not done.

“We haven’t shifted our focus from that we want to have an impact on this season. That hasn’t changed for us,” he said.

“There is a great uncertainty about what happens next, but that is where courage lies ... that’s where boldness lies. That’s what we are going to have to be this week. Play courageous, play bold, get a plan in place, and execute it.”

The Eagles have had significant troubles this season, but have won their past two games, and boast the league’s best young star, Harley Reid.

The Blues’ high defensive press was picked apart by the Hawks’ ruthless run last weekend.

“The reality is, we didn’t defend hard enough as a team. We don’t step away from that,” Voss said.

“We talk about personnel a lot. You can talk about who is there and who is not there, but my experience is, there is an attitude towards the way we want to defend, and it wasn’t in the right place on the weekend.”

The Blues must beat the Eagles and St Kilda in round 24 to retain hope of a finals berth, as they jockey with the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn.

Viney headlines Clarkson’s wishlist of targets

AAP

One day after claiming he wouldn’t comment publicly on trade targets, North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has confirmed he hopes to “extract” Jack Viney out of Melbourne.

Viney is under contract until the end of next season, but reports this week have linked the Kangaroos to a play for the Demons’ vice captain.

Clarkson, who works closely with Viney’s father and Kangaroos general manager of football Todd Viney, wants to lure the experienced midfielder to help guide North up the AFL ladder.

The Kangaroos sit 17th and are trying to avoid a third wooden spoon in four seasons, with games against the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn left to play.

Clarkson said he was also interested in chatting with Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines, Sydney duo Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, and GWS veteran Callan Ward.

“We want anyone that’s going to help us in that space,” Clarkson told SEN on Friday.

“There’s half a dozen players that have been successful, that have had really strong careers and are really strong in their leadership.

“All the guys that we actually want are probably contracted because they’re required for a reason.

“It’s just, can you extract one [or] two of them out who feel like they’re either not going to get the same opportunities as what they had before, or they feel like their club is going in a different direction?

“We’re just hoping we can extract one or two of those. Jack [Viney] is part of that.”

Viney turned his back on free agency in 2020 to sign his current five-year deal, after being drafted as a father-son pick in 2012.

A heart and soul midfielder for Melbourne, the 30-year-old has played 217 games for the Demons and co-captained the club with Nathan Jones from 2017 to 2019.

His father Todd is a former Melbourne captain and was named in the club’s team of the century.

Clarkson’s comments come after Melbourne this week tried to bat away trade speculation surrounding injured midfield stars Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca.

Demons coach Simon Goodwin guaranteed the pair would remain at the club next year, rejecting a Nine report claiming Petracca was “disgruntled” and “disillusioned”.

Petracca is contracted until the end of 2029, while Oliver’s deal runs until the end of 2030.

Fellow premiership player Alex Neal-Bullen will leave at the end of the season after requesting a trade home to South Australia for family reasons.

Beveridge takes aim at player manager power

AAP

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge would love clubs to take back power from “dominant” management stables in the player movement market, but doesn’t expect a shift in the balance any time soon.

The concession comes with Beveridge’s confidence waning on star midfielder Bailey Smith.

Out-of-contract Smith is not a free agent and would have to force a trade, with Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood among the clubs linked to the star while he has been sidelined with a knee injury this season.

Beveridge said he maintains a strong relationship with Smith and doesn’t feel the need to “force” an early decision out of the 23-year-old, who has played 103 games for the Bulldogs.

“There’s just too much to play out still at the end of the year, whenever that may be, and sometimes there’s just no certainty from the other end,” Beveridge said on Friday.

“Players might have more than one option and they’re considering things.

“I don’t think players are necessarily in a position to tell their club if they are moving, but when a player hasn’t told you that he’s staying, then as time goes on your confidence levels start to wane a little bit.”

Beveridge was buoyed this week by No.1 ruckman Tim English signing a new five-year deal until the end of 2029.

West Australian English had attracted interest from West Coast, with Beveridge taking satisfaction out of the 27-year-old’s decision to knock back a “pretty extreme deal”.

But the 2016 premiership coach added “contract commitments are as tenuous and as rubbery as they ever have been”, claiming managers and management groups had seized too much power in the market.

“There’s no doubt that over a period of time the managers have been able to position their players in certain directions and make certain choices,” Beveridge said.

“I think in a situation where you’ve got dominant player agent stables it’s not a free market – it’s controlled because there’s not enough dispersion of players through multiple managers in the industry.

“It’s controversial challenging that because player managers have got a lot of power. So you’ve just got to make sure as a club that your players feel like your cultural experience is really beneficial for them, and they’re happy in the way they’re supported and being developed.”

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