After being stuck in ‘Groundhog Day’ for yet another round of footy, corners of the media are now sensing Michael Voss’ fate as “inevitable”.
Meanwhile out west, the Eagles have had another triple-point loss relapse — right when we thought they were beyond it.
That and more as the big issues from Round 4 are analysed in Foxfooty.com.au’sTalking Points!
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Watch every match of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
BLUES MOVING ON VOSS ‘FEELS INEVITABLE’… SO WHEN WILL THEY CUT THE CORD?
Carlton has guaranteed that Michael Voss will be coaching in Gather Round.
But a parting of ways now “feels inevitable” after the team’s horror fade-outs has led to a 1-3 start to the season.
A when, not an if.
Indeed, it feels like this is only heading in one direction for Voss, who came under scrutiny last season but was retained with a year to run on his deal.
There were even rumblings of a Carlton approach to Collingwood premiership coach Craig McRae.
Despite the bleak outlook, it’s rare to see coaches get axed in the first half of half of the season in AFL.
In modern times, the Giants let go Leon Cameron after just nine games in 2022. In 2015, Carlton sacked Michael Voss after only eight rounds.
Meanwhile in 1993, North Melbourne axed Wayne Schimmelbusch after a practice match before the season even officially began.
So when could the Blues pull the trigger on Voss? Hard to recall a coach being under this much pressure this early.
Although he’s at least safe for now. Blues footy boss Chris Davies said after the Good Friday loss to North Melbourne that Voss was “absolutely safe” ahead of the club’s Gather Round clash with Adelaide next Thursday night.
Voss speaks on fumbling lead v Roos | 09:54
It’s one of three prime time fixtures for Carlton over the next six weeks under the bright lights of Thursday/Friday night footy as Voss will firmly come under the microscope.
“To be honest, I think it won’t be long before the CEO Graham Wright begins the search for a new coach of the Carlton Football Club,” chief Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark said.
“If it hasn’t started already, with the rumoured approach of Collingwood coach Craig McRae at the end of last season.
“The problem is I don’t think they can make a serious move in the short term, because it would only undermine the decision they made at the end of last year to keep him.
“Round 14 is their bye after a game against Essendon on King’s Birthday Eve. That will be a great test and give this football club time to pause, reflect, consider and maybe review the football department operations.
“It feels like an inevitable situation unfolding around the senior coach.”
It’s been all downhill for Voss’ Blues after quarter-time of the club’s preliminary final loss to Brisbane in 2023.
Now in his fifth season at the helm if Ikon Park, the club’s horror fadeouts in 2026 – and even last year – have become damning.
The numbers don’t read well.
Over the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Carlton is +192 first halves and -346 in second halves in point differential.
But for Tigers champion Jack Riewoldt, “there’s no point sacking a coach after Round 4”.
“Who’s going to step in? We know Adam Simpson is behind the scenes in a different role,” he said.
“I would think you’d at least get through to Round 15. Hopefully, for Carlton fans, the wheel can turn and they can see some better performances.”
Weitering suffers brutal head knock | 00:39
Eagles premiership player Will Schofield argued retaining Voss until the mid-season bye is a “waste of a year of football”.
“I understand maybe there isn’t someone to put in straight away … but if you wait until Round 15 and it continues on and the same pattern goes on, I see that as a bit of a waste,” he said.
“The same message going to the same players and the same thing happened, it’s insanity, doing the same thing over and over again.
“It’s a pattern of behaviour now.
“Right now the pressure is on the coach. I think that (moving him on) probably would make a difference.”
Kangaroos great David King suggested it could be more disrespectful keeping Voss at this point to avoid “the long goodbye”.
“You’ve got to be respectful to Michael and respectful to your people. Sometimes respecting them is letting them go,” he said.
“Cutting the cord and not make them live a lie with a long goodbye. There’s nothing worse in footy than the long goodbye. Because everyone knows what’s happening, players aren’t stupid.
“Then it starts to become affordable. When it starts to cost the club money through attendance, that’s when things get real.
“If that doesn’t help in the short term, you roll on.
“As soon as the crowds diminish, you’re in a world of pain.”
‘STARTING TO GROW TIRED’: EAGLES’ ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ RELAPSE WE THOUGHT THEY HAD CONQUERED
Just when we and the rest of the AFL populace thought West Coast were past being on the receiving end of triple-figure drubbings, on Easter Saturday they nose-dived straight back into an all too familiar territory.
Andrew McQualter’s ultra-young side were knocked off the park by an unforgiving Swans outfit to the tune of 128 points; the largest away win by Sydney/South Melbourne in their 130-year history across the VFL and AFL.
The defeat is a brutal reality check coming off the back of two consecutive wins for the first time since 2024, having already doubled their win count from last year.
To be clear, this is not a suggestion that West Coast aren’t still on an upwards trajectory — they have already proven they are a better outfit than they were 12 months ago.
But, for context, Saturday night’s loss was their 13th by 15 or more goals since the start of 2021, and eighth by 100 or more points across the same timeframe.
It’s a frustrating relapse that 2018 Eagles premiership defender Will Schofield was unwilling to accept as okay in 2026.
“The backline wasn’t able to get it done, it means the midfield hasn’t put pressure (on) as required, and it means the forward line hasn’t been efficient,” Schofield told Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live.
“Earlier in the game, West Coast did have their chances as they went about it.
“You had to be competitive. What this fan base is starting to grow tired of, is it’s an uncompetitive side. And from what we’ve heard over the pre-season, is they’re going to be competitive.”
McQualter admitted in his post-match press conference that they “potentially” tipped his side’s selection too far in favour of youth on Saturday night, with the Eagles holding claim to the 10 youngest players on-field.
The 10 youngest players on the ground at Optus Stadium on Saturday night — all of which were playing in West Coast colours.Source: FOX SPORTS
Throw in the absence of key midfield cog Elliot Yeo (adductor) and new recruit Brandon Starcevich (calf) through injury — among other players who would make their best 23 — and they are hamstrung more than most clubs are so early in the season.
“They win two games the last two weeks, and that’s great, but if you can’t back it up in the third … Look, 128 points — it’s just not acceptable,” Schofield continued.
“You can lose by 70 and be respectable because you’re competitive. They were uncompetitive throughout the game and the entire four quarters.
“I think there has to some sort of point, some sort of line that says: ‘This doesn’t happen’, or we’ll start leaving players out. Maybe they don’t have the list and the depth to do that … in the ruck today, uncompetitive. Through the midfield, uncompetitive.”
Two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King was reluctant to read as much into the monster loss however, noting the main takeaways are less about the margin.
“I think when you’re at this stage of your rebuild and reset, against the top four teams, there are going to be blowouts. Now, 128 is a big margin, but would it have made any difference if it was 80 or 90?” King said.
“I get what you’re saying; the previous two weeks they’ve built a lot of grace and faith with the fan base. I think this one was on the cards early (though).”
McQualter on brutal 128-point loss | 08:42
‘BE AGGRESSIVE, BE BRUTAL’: WHY AFL GREAT, PREMIERSHIP EAGLE BELIEVE HARLEY’S ANTICS ‘CAN’T CONTINUE’
In the middle of West Coast’s Saturday night horror against a rampant Sydney, Harley Reid was the unfortunate sideshow after a James Jordan hard tag that understandably frustrated the 20-year-old.
The 20-year-old was limited to just 17 disposals, one clearance and one tackle, with the Swans nullifier claiming another victim in the negating role.
Rightly or wrongly, it saw Reid the centre of more than one umpiring decision that resulted in opposition goals. That said, his coach Andrew McQualter was quick to defend his actions post-game.
“I don’t want Harley to give away free kicks, and we talk about that, but the fact he’s trying to stand up for his teammates — that’s a pretty good trait,” McQualter told journalists post-game.
Two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King was less forgiving of his minor discretions though, one of which carelessly gave away a 50-metre penalty for not giving the ball back to a Sydney player.
“This may just be the public stance. Behind closed doors it might be completely different. But … to use a Ross Lyon term, you’ve got to support the person (and) challenge the behaviour. This can’t continue the way that it is,” King said on Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live.
“To say: ‘Oh look he just didn’t give the ball back properly’. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s a high-level talent. He’s got to correct this, and it’s on Andrew McQualter to correct this before it becomes a serious problem.
“You can’t have rules for one and not the group. You just can’t have it. You’ve got to set a standard that goes across the board.
“I just think it’s dishonest as a coach to say that we’re happy with this, we’re going to support this, without challenging the player. I think he’s got an issue he needs to address.”
Reid’s quieter outing in Round 4 follows a pair of influential performances in the Eagles’ Round 2 and 3 wins — notably the latter against Port Adelaide.
McQualter admitted that given the ultra-young profile of his side and senior players such as Elliot Yeo being sidelined, it was much harder to act on plans in place to prevent the Tongala product from being completely shut down.
Swans crush Eagles by 128 points | 02:53
“I think you have to come back to the stars. If you want Harley to get to that point, to be that player for this footy club, you can’t accept some of the things he’s doing at the moment. You have to knock the warts off his game,” King continued.
“We give him his flowers when he plays well like we have the past couple of weeks, but if you watched him closely, these (acts) have to be stamped out of his game.
“He’s only played 43 games, so I’ll give him an out. But by game 60, this stuff needs to be gone, and it’s coming quickly.
“We’re not here to smash young players, we’re not — he’s just getting rolling. But, for him to become a dominant force in this competition, he has to show more maturity and less petulance than he does.
West Coast 2018 premiership player Will Schofield added: “Be aggressive with him, be brutal with him. He will learn and pick it up quickly if you’re brutal. If you tip-toe around it and you don’t hit the issue where it is, then you’re not going to get the best out of him.”
‘3rd QTR looked like a Richmond game!’ | 10:30
FROM BLOOTHBATH, TO BAN: TIGERS’ RUCK STOCKS HIT BREAKING POINT AFTER SILLY ACT
Sitting at 0-4 to start their season for the first time since 2010, Richmond are facing an uphill battle to rack up their first win of the season.
As they did at times throughout last year, injuries have again cruelled Punt Road, with a number of promising youngsters sidelined — as well as their captain and key cog in Toby Nankervis.
The 31-year-old has played 21 or more games in three of the last four years, leading his developing and rebuilding side honourably amid a different type of adversity.
So, when Nankervis went down against Gold Coast in Round 2, the alarm bells sounded loudly for Adem Yze’s side. Ruck-forward Samson Ryan himself was still only returning from injury, while former NBL player Ollie Hayes-Brown — who joined the club as a Category B rookie in September 2023 — wasn’t initially considered as his replacement.
It left Yze making the brutal call to rely on 195cm key position player Campbell Gray to tackle the lethal duo of Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy in Perth the following week.
Needless to say, it was a bloodbath. The Dockers won the hitouts to advantage count 18-1, with the Tigers’ sole one coming from key forward Mykelti Lefau.
Tigers remain winless after Port pumping | 01:47
Fast-forward seven days, and it was Ryan who was called upon for AFL game number 26 to chop out Gray in his solo role. Now in his sixth year on the Tigers’ list, it was a golden chance for the 25-year-old to prove himself a valuable asset.
Yze commended Ryan for his efforts in Richmond’s seven-goal loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday evening, but unfortunately, it was his off-the-ball act in the third term that has attracted the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Less than 24 hours after Carlton’s Will Hayward threw a rogue arm to the stomach of North Melbourne young gun George Wardlaw, Ryan did the exact same thing to counterpart Jordon Sweet — 70 metres off the ball.
“I think it’s really disappointing. He’s a player that’s on the cusp of getting a game, and not getting a game,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live.
“I think he’s been looked at by Richmond as a potential ‘next-in-line’ to Toby Nankervis. He got his opportunity today, and he’ll sit out next week. It’s completely disappointing.”
The Match Review Officer confirmed a one-week ban for the tall on Sunday evening, which the club is not expected to challenge.
2018 West Coast premiership player Will Schofield added: “We know these behind-the-ball free kicks are being looked at by the MRO. They want to stamp them out of the game completely … I think one week’s a bit light on.”
His silly act now leaves Yze with little-to-no choice in selecting Hayes-Brown, who, while he played very well in the VFL’s 33-point win over St Kilda on Sunday, is clearly still seen as a developmental product right now.
And quite frankly, Ryan may not be a guarantee to return to the senior side after serving his suspension, despite Nankervis not being expected to overcome his injury for roughly another month.
“Even when he’s ready for selection, I don’t think they’d be in a hurry to rush him back. He’ll pay a price,” David King said.
Three-time premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt finished by saying: “I think it would be sitting in the back of Adem Yze’s mind the next time that he does come up for selection.”