Carlton Advised to Consider Trading Harry McKay Following Disappointing Defeat

The situation at Carlton has reached a critical point, with the future of several key figures within the club now under scrutiny.

Coach Michael Voss is facing intense pressure, as supporters express their doubts regarding his position after the team’s disappointing defeat to North Melbourne on Saturday.

The Blues find themselves two games adrift of the top eight and appear to be miles away from competing with the league’s best, with tough matches ahead against Port Adelaide (away), Collingwood, Brisbane, and Hawthorn in their next five encounters.

With the finals now looking increasingly unlikely for a side that started the year with hopes of contending for the premiership, Richmond legend Matthew Richardson suggests the club may need to consider trading a star player for draft capital to rejuvenate their squad with younger talent.

Richardson identifies key forward Harry McKay as the most probable player to be offloaded.

“I believe they will seriously consider trading one of their big names,” Richardson mentioned on 3AW.

“It seems necessary to (trade one of them). You’ll likely get two quality picks in return for one of these players.”

“When you evaluate it, who among those three is the most tradeable? It would probably be Harry.

“They’ve got two prominent key forwards, and I know several clubs that would be keen on acquiring a tall forward. Midfielders can often be found elsewhere.”

Carlton currently lacks a first-round draft pick, having traded it away last year in exchange for pick three in the draft and the acquisition of Jagga Smith. The Blues are set to receive a high draft pick if ruckman Tom De Koning joins St Kilda via free agency.

Both McKay and star midfielder Sam Walsh were sidelined with injuries during their last match.

Essendon’s goal-kicking legend Matthew Lloyd described the defeat to the Roos—where the Blues conceded 12 goals during the middle two quarters—as “embarrassing”.

“What’s most disappointing is that they faced Essendon, West Coast, and North Melbourne. They played just one solid quarter against Essendon, faltered, showed one good quarter against West Coast, and then the second and third quarters against North Melbourne were nothing short of embarrassing,” Lloyd shared on Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.

“There was a lot of frustrated Carlton fans in the stands, leading to plenty of boos and sarcastic cheers. Voss was quite critical of his midfield group at three-quarter time.”

Leading AFL journalist Damien Barrett believes that Voss will need to demonstrate a turnaround in the remainder of the season to prevent new chief Graham Wright from making a decision on his future.

“Should they miss out on finals, Voss has been in the system long enough to understand how these situations are evaluated,” Barrett remarked.

“I think he has the rest of the season to identify and tackle the underlying issues before any decisions are made.

“It’s clear that Graham Wright will not come in and accept the current circumstances, which have persisted for 12 months.”

Carlton’s head of football, Brad Lloyd, mentioned that the inconsistency at the club shouldn’t fall solely on the coach’s shoulders.

“(Voss) is dedicated and has been striving alongside the playing group, but the results are lacking. It’s not just about Michael Voss; this situation places pressure on everyone,” Lloyd explained to 3AW.

“We finished strong in the last quarter, but it was far too late. We recognise that North is a developing side, but this was a disappointing performance. The atmosphere in the rooms was quite deflated, and we must remain resilient and respond well.

“We haven’t met expectations and should certainly be performing better than we are currently.

“While our defence has improved and we’re still a competitive side in contested ball, we haven’t been able to make the most of our opportunities going forward. We’re not in peak form, but we will continue to work hard.

“Despite some challenging circumstances, we have a solid core group that can help us through this phase. It’s vital for both players and staff to stay committed.”