Merrett’s role in the spotlight, no contact with Hird
Essendon’s interim coach Dean Solomon said Carlton spearhead Harry McKay was smart to milk the clock with less than two minutes remaining in Sunday night’s five-point loss to the Blues.
Essendon have shifted pieces of the on-field puzzle under Solomon, who intends to persevere with key players in new positions.
Solomon said he would continue deploying star midfielder Zach Merrett at half-back as he seeks to set up the last-placed side for next season.
Former skipper Merrett was used away from his customary on-ball role during the Bombers’ five-point defeat to Carlton at the MCG on Sunday night. Merrett will again consider his options at the end of the season, this masthead has reported, with the new coach likely to influence his thinking.
Some supporters at the MCG on Sunday night held up signs imploring the club to bring back James Hird, but president Andrew Welsh said at his president’s function before the game that the Dons would run a thorough process and this masthead reported he has had no contact with Hird.
Carlton spearhead Harry McKay not only fought with his twin brother on the field but milked the clock by taking a long shot for goal late in the game. “I reckon it was just smart. He was using the rules and maximising the opportunity at that time. They put themselves in a winning position and there is nothing I can do to control that,” Solomon said.
McKay was 70 metres out but the umpire allowed him to stand, wipe his hands on his shorts and take a series of deep breaths as he lined up for a set shot, which denied the Bombers a final attacking foray.
Essendon fans were also briefly up in arms when they thought the Bombers had been robbed of 20 seconds because of a broadcaster glitch.
On the Fox/Kayo coverage the clock appeared to freeze on screen at 44 seconds and start again at 24 seconds.
“It was just a visual glitch, but no actual time was lost,” Fox Footy’s Zita clarified.
Merrett had a game-high 33 disposals and 456 metres gained (ranked third), as well as seven score involvements, but used the ball at just 67 per cent efficiency.
“We want to generate a bit more drive out of half-back and obviously we know what Zach can do,” Solomon said after the Bombers’ 10.12 (72) to 10.7 (67) loss.
“He’s got a lethal left foot. The coaches discussed it throughout the week, what the pros and cons of it were, do we take away from our midfield.
“But we felt that ended up being a positive space at the end of the game and we’ll continue to do it.”
Solomon considered shifting Merrett back into the middle when teammate Sam Durham, who had been a dominant figure in the first half, was shut down by George Hewett in the third term.
Durham had been crucial in setting up a 23-point lead during the second term before he went cold and the Bombers threw it away.
“We had a discussion around that but it did we feel that Merrett was giving us a fair bit of drive,” Solomon said.
“We chose to send the message just to continue to give him confidence to run past, get handball receives and try to generate some flow from that and get it in the forward half.”
Solomon has also shifted Ben McKay forward since taking the reins and likes what he sees in the regular defender as a tall target in attack.
Now in his 10th AFL season, McKay doubled his career goal tally with one major in a loss to West Coast last round and did so again when he kicked 2.2 against Carlton.
But the Bombers didn’t help McKay or fellow forward Nate Caddy with their poor delivery and ball movement forward of centre on Sunday night.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do there with the connection, but we’ll continue to try to make that more efficient to give both of those guys more opportunity,” Solomon said.
“But I think McKay is giving us a great target and he’s got a nice set of hands and he’s a good, steady set shot.
“We’ll continue to persevere with that and I’m very confident that he can develop into a very handy player for us in the forward-line.”
Young star Caddy cut a frustrated figure at times, finishing with 1.1 from just six disposals as teammates often let him down with their passes.
“I just feel like giving him a big cuddle,” Solomon said.
“I love him, he’s got a massive heart, he loves this football club and he gives everything he can for us.
“Unfortunately, the last two weeks we just haven’t helped him out.”
Essendon (1-12) remain last on the ladder ahead of a clash with Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday.
Peter Ryan, AAP
‘Answer right now would be no’: Fraser sticks firm on coaching question
After a controversial umpiring decision allowed the Blues to hang on for a five-point win over Essendon, Carlton’s interim coach Josh Fraser is resisting any temptation to do an about-face and declare himself a candidate for the Blues’ vacant coaching job.
Instead the 44-year-old said he is hoping to head back to the farm at Mansfield over the bye to collect his thoughts following a rollercoaster ride for the Blues in 2026 which saw Michael Voss resign as coach and Fraser become interim after round nine. They have recorded four consecutive wins under Fraser and are in striking distance of the top 10.
Asked the question again on Channel 7 post-match about whether he would consider throwing his hat in the ring Fraser played a straight bat and pushed it back down the pitch, although the response was slightly more uppish than normal.
“That’s a big hypothetical and my answer right now would be no,” Fraser said.
That’s all for tonight
Thanks so much for joining us today, everyone. It was a cracking day and night of footy.
Please join us again tomorrow afternoon for our Big Freeze and King’s Birthday game live blog – it promises to be an unforgettable day in AFL history.
That’s all we have for tonight, please have a lovely evening.
Bye for now.
Vote: What can Essendon achieve?
Photos: The McKays on Sunday night
Fraser won’t change mind or hoody
Interim Blues coach Josh Fraser has held his own party line about chasing the club’s long-term coaching role.
Fraser told Kayo Sports that he had not changed his view on chasing the full-time role despite making history as the first interim coach to win four straight games to start.
“That’s a nice statistic,” Fraser said.
Fraser said he would ask the players during the bye for their thoughts on whether they would directly talk and plan for how they can make the top-10 now that their record has improved.
Solomon sees bright future, calls McKay antics ‘smart’
Bombers coach Dean Solomon spoke to the media post game.
On the game:
“The pressure came off slightly and to their credit, they elevated their game,” Solomon said.
“We went a bit safe with ball in hand and started going lateral and backwards a bit more. We want to be more of a time-in-front-half kind of team, so we did go a bit safe.”
No time lost despite last-second clock drama
There was a bit of alarm immediately after the game when the clock on screen during the Kayo/Fox Footy broadcast appeared to freeze and change.
It appeared to freeze on screen at 44 seconds and then started again at 24 seconds.
The same issue was not visible in the Seven coverage.
During Kayo Sports post game coverage, reporter David Zita told the audience that it was a “visual glitch” and no actual game time was lost.
“It was just a visual glitch, but no actual time was lost,” Zita told the coverage.
Fox Sports’s Max Laughton also posted on X and said similar in a thread of messages.
Blues win fourth in a row
Carlton have won their fourth game in a row under Josh Fraser after storming over the top of Essendon to win a thriller by five points.
The tense encounter came down to a final centre bounce with nine seconds remaining when the Bombers drew within five points after Zach Reid kicked the first goal of his career.
They nearly won the centre clearance through Zach Merrett – who played behind the ball for most of the match – but a fumble allowed the Blues to shut down the clearance in a desperate final second.
‘It was a bit ambitious to think I could kick it from 75m’: McKay
Blues forward Harry McKay has spoken about his ability to take more than 30 seconds off the clock in the final minutes by attempting to kick for goal from what he estimated to be 75m out.
Some observers claimed McKay burned through 41 seconds before taking his kick.
On what happened:
“I always have a theory that late in the game, if you have a shot within the 50, the theory is that you can take your 30 seconds and a little bit more,” McKay told Kayo Sports.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
