In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Former skipper shreds Blues after Sydney fade-out.
- Craig McRae opens up on two separate rumours.
Docherty gives Blues brutal assessment
Greg Dundas and Peter Ryan
Carlton’s deplorable second-half fadeout against Sydney has drawn a stinging, expletive-laden assessment from former captain Sam Docherty, just months after his retirement from the club.
Sam Docherty of the Blues is chaired from the field after his final game by Patrick Cripps of the Blues (left) and Kade Simpson.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Blues were smashed by 63 points at the SCG, despite leading the match by 10 points at half-time and 22 points a short time later.
A revered figure at Carlton – the club he captained from 2019-2021 – Docherty was scathing in his appraisal of Carlton’s performance in comments recorded and played on former AFL player Dan Gorringe’s Dan Does Footy podcast.
Perhaps most worrying for Blues fans was the sombre sense of inevitability articulated by Docherty, who was in the inner-sanctum at Ikon Park until his retirement late last year.
“Basically what happens – and exactly what happened again last night – is the same shit that happens every other game; when the game’s hot and contested and pressurised, Carlton’s good in that environment. But as soon as some team can do somewhat good in the contest, the rest of the game just f—ing falls to pieces,” Docherty told Gorringe.
“Carlton were plus-21 in contested possessions, so they were winning all the contests around the ground, which then got the ball played in their half on their terms.
“Admittedly, their ball movement was pretty good in the first half, they were able to sort of control the tempo.
“But then they start losing contests, they get under pressure, they can’t get a hold of the ball and they’re just an absolute f—ing shitshow.
“Because the game gets somewhat slower and there’s more open-brand footy, that’s when Carlton’s f—ing horrible.
“That’s essentially what happened again last night.
“Basically, you smack our mids again this year and we’ll be f—ed, going off last night. [You can] change all the ball movement you want in the world, but it’s the same issue.”
Docherty told this masthead he stood by the views he expressed on the podcast, but had not intended for the language he used to be public.
His comments have potential to intensify the heat on coach Michael Voss, in the final year of his contract, and the team ahead of next week’s round one match against Richmond.
Docherty was playing for the Blues in the corresponding match last year when they fell to an embarrassing loss that was widely viewed as the definitive moment of what became a disappointing season for Voss’ team.
McRae dismisses two separate rumours
Danny Russell
Craig McRae has flatly denied he was approached to join Carlton at the end of last season during a Friday-morning press conference in which he also addressed untrue rumours about his personal life.
Craig McRae says he can’t control what is written about him.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Magpies premiership coach was asked about a report that Blues CEO Graham Wright reached out to him about shifting to Ikon Park late last year.
“Oh, that’s not true,” McRae said. “Geez, I’m caught up in a lot of things at the moment, aren’t I?
“Look, I’ve got a contract here. I’ve just extended it, thankfully enough, and my best mate (Michael Voss) works there (at Carlton). It doesn’t make sense to me.”
McRae said he was “really grateful” that Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly released a statement during the week in which the club defended the coach against “untrue, irresponsible and unfair” rumours about a marriage breakdown.
McRae also spoke to the Collingwood playing group to put the matter to rest.
“There’s a lot of things written that aren’t true, and I’ve addressed that,” McRae said.
“It’s a crazy world we’re in at times, and it’s just become a little bit annoying, and it was nice to get on the front foot, and really nice to have support that people just know my values and morals.
“I’m really comfortable with my values and morals, and what people say about me, I can’t control.”
McRae said he spoke to the players for “10 seconds of a 30-minute meeting”.
“It was just addressing the world we’re in,” he explained.
“There’s heroes and villains, and wins and losses, and we’re all caught up in that. We play the game … which is kicks marks and handballs, and this is the other game.
“Sometimes the other game tries to get involved in our kicks, marks and handballs, which we try to educate our players around. Maybe I was a living example of that.”
McRae said he had not tried to track down the source of the rumours.
“My private life, we are very comfortable,” he said. “My wife (Gabrielle) and I have never been happier. What others write about is what we can never control.
“Am I disappointed? Yeah, but I’m not a victim. I’m here to do my job, and how good is the footy?”
McRae is lining up for his 100th game in charge of the Magpies against St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday, following a week in which he was made an AFL life member.
He said Collingwood would introduce tall timber Jack Buller, recruited from Sydney, to their forward line.
“He gets recruited for a reason and he competes hard. He’s a genuine forward for us, he’s a competitive guy and well liked already.”
McRae was confident the Magpies’ system would allow their back six to compensate for the absence of captain Darcy Moore and veteran defender Jeremy Howe.
But the Collingwood coach would not be drawn on a recent comparison that suggested St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera had already surpassed Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos.
“Naz is an incredible player,” McRae said. “Wow, what an exciting player. You could build a whole club around him, and so great respect for what he’s doing.
“But I don’t like comparisons. I actually say to our players all the time, ‘comparisons are evil’ because you can never live up to someone else, so just be the best version of you. And Nick’s a pretty good version of himself.”
McRae said it was unlikely fans would see Wanganeen-Milera and Daicos go head-to-head on Sunday.
“That’d be pretty nice to see, wouldn’t it?” he said. “But I don’t reckon [Saints coach] Ross [Lyon] would allow that. I think he might have some plans for Nick.”
St Kilda have named recruits Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Sam Flanders and Liam Ryan in a squad of 26 to tackle Collingwood in their opening round encounter. Draftee Charlie Banfield has also been named on an extended bench.
“They’ve all come in and there’s been a real team chemistry right from the start,” Lyon said on Friday morning.
“They’re extroverted people, they really give their time to our young players, they engage with our senior players, and more importantly, they train hard and they play well.
“There’s been signs that they’re going to help us improve.”
Lyon said he would not be following a narrative that Collingwood was on the decline.
“They’ve been together a long time, and they know what they’re doing, so we don’t want to be ambushed,” he said.
“We’re not falling for [the idea] ‘they’re falling away’. Everyone’s there, the only two that aren’t there are really important … which is Moore and Howe, but everyone else is there.”
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