{"id":549103,"date":"2026-03-18T20:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549103\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:45:18","slug":"afl-pressure-gauge-extreme-spotlight-suddenly-lands-on-five-afl-coaches-ahead-of-round-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549103\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL pressure gauge: Extreme spotlight suddenly lands on five AFL coaches ahead of Round 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

It doesn\u2019t take long for intense pressure to build to explosive levels in the AFL<\/a>, and for some coaches (and clubs) that pressure roars in like a freight train.<\/p>\n

It is certainly the case for Carlton and Michael Voss … but he is not alone as the AFL season sets up for Round 2.<\/p>\n

So yes, the wolves are out early and they\u2019re already at the door. The question is, where are they knocking the loudest? Here\u2019s a tip, ladder position doesn\u2019t save you when this drooling pack roams down your street. Check out the top five* below.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Dean Cox<\/p>\n

It might seem odd to see Cox\u2019s name here given his Swans are off to a flyer and sitting on top of the ladder. But a massive curveball has just be thrown his way and Cox can\u2019t let it derail another season.<\/p>\n

Sydney actually struggled to win games without their No.1 playmaker in Errol Gulden last year, and the 2024 grand finalist missed out on finals in 2025. Cox simply can\u2019t let that happen again.<\/p>\n

After handing over a massive bounty for Charlie Curnow at the end of last year, the Swans are chips in on 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all about Errol Gulden,\u201d Dale Thomas said on Channel 7\u2019s The Agenda Setters<\/a> following Gulden\u2019s shoulder injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hate to see it … Surgery has been the option. They need to learn the lessons that they didn\u2019t (learn) at the start of last year, because once he\u2019s out of that side, the numbers aren\u2019t good for the Sydney Swans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to find a way to continue their red-hot start to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what do we actually make of the Swans\u2019 start to 2026?<\/p>\n

Well, the glass half-empty lens might also suggest that they only managed two goals in a half against Carlton, the two wins so far should be expected on their home deck, they got lucky against Brisbane with the reigning premiers missing key stars due to injury and suspension.<\/p>\n

The real test for Cox starts right now, as he prepares to take on Hawthorn without Gulden and also Isaac Heeney (hamstring). His days of fanciful experiments are over. He\u2019s inherited a grand final team. And he needs to find a way to win without his 23-year-old gun who has become a standards-setter for his teammates.<\/p>\n

4. Alastair Clarkson<\/p>\n

A Round 1 win for Alastair Clarkson was just what the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n

But Clarkson knows questions about his future won\u2019t go away unless his team keeps banking the four points when it\u2019s expected.<\/p>\n

And yes, that means they win this weekend in Perth against West Coast, and then they have another winnable match against Essendon to potentially start the year with three consecutive victories (if they beat the Eagles it will be the first time the Roos have banked back-to-back wins in 70 games).<\/p>\n

Who knows, if they beat Carlton in the Good Friday clash they could be 4-0 and humming.<\/p>\n

North Melbourne finished second bottom in 2020, bottom in 2021, bottom in 2022, second bottom in 2023, second bottom in 2024, and third bottom last year.<\/p>\n

Clarkson is entering his fourth year as North Melbourne coach and even he is aware it\u2019s time to rise.<\/p>\n

While a return to finals action might be a stretch (their last finals appearance was way back in 2016), he might need 8-10 wins to continue next year.<\/p>\n

\"AlastairAlastair Clarkson was all smiles after his Round 1 win over Port Adelaide. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

3. Brad Scott<\/p>\n

2025 was disastrous in so many ways for Brad Scott, and Essendon\u2019s first match of 2026 has not done anything to safeguard the coach\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s a long year, but the powerbrokers behind this fading powerhouse are reportedly restless.<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson said on Channel 7\u2019s The Agenda Setters<\/a> on Tuesday that she already feared for Scott\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Club legend) Kevin Sheedy, we know he\u2019s a big fan of Dean Solomon,\u201d Wilson said on The Agenda Setters.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Sheedy) coached him to premierships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conversation around the Essendonians, etcetera, the old boys, is that maybe Dean Solomon would make a great coach of the Essendon Football Club and he and James Hird would work well together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just look at Brad Scott and you have to say at the moment the cards are stacked against him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essendon have the joint most premierships in the AFL\/VFL but they last won an AFL final in 2004, and their last flag came in 2000.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been rocky road since then on and off the field with many club heavyweights lamenting the drastic fall of their once mighty club.<\/p>\n

\"ItIt wasn\u2019t a great start to the season for Brad Scott. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

2. Ross Lyon<\/p>\n

A huge off-season of recruiting, an Opening Round date with Collingwood, 80,000-plus at the MCG, loads of tough talk, sparkly stuff on the shorts … this is the year for the Saints.<\/p>\n

But then reality, Nick Daicos and Max Gawn all step in and St Kilda are two losses from two and are staring down the barrel of a third straight defeat when they head to Engie Stadium to take on the Giants on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Ross Lyon is feeling it, and adding to the heat are some questionable moves in the coaching box during the losses against Collingwood and Melbourne.<\/p>\n

A 0-3 start to the new dawn of St Kilda is not how this script was written over the summer.<\/p>\n

In the game against Melbourne, Lyon was also slammed when his superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera headed to the bench in the fourth quarter when the game was in the balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard to beat as the dumbest coaching move this year. What are they doing with Nasiah?\u201d AFL expert Kane Cornes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you need strong coaching. If you are a team that needs to win now \u2014 and there\u2019s debate about the Saints \u2014 I would have thought the build up to this year means they\u2019re in it to win a final this year … finals, top eight or top six is the pass mark … I think you have to win a final.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you drop the first two against sides you think will be around you and it hurts. It\u2019s going to be hard to beat as the most mismanaged pieces this year when the game was on the line and not the first time. Last week (against Collingwood) was not a great coaching role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornes added if Wanganeen-Milera had stayed out on the ground against Melbourne, St Kilda would have \u201cprobably\u201d won.<\/p>\n

Simply, Lyon needs to dip into his bag of tricks and produce something special … quickly.<\/p>\n

\"RossRoss \u2018the boss\u2019 needs a win .. quickly. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

1. Michael Voss<\/p>\n

Knock, knock, knock …<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been years of torment and coach bloodletting at Carlton with many suggesting the job is a poisoned chalice.<\/p>\n

As for Michael Voss, he was on shaky ground last season but somehow survived … this year there\u2019s no solid ground in sight.<\/p>\n

While Carlton\u2019s loss in the Opening Round to Sydney at the SCG was probably expected, the third-quarter capitulation was alarming … to say the least.<\/p>\n

As for the narrow win against Richmond, the one-goal second-half has done little to stop the jungle drums that will undoubtedly beat for most of the year.<\/p>\n

Voss\u2019s contract runs out at the end of the season and he needs to show the critics something otherwise the axe will come quickly.<\/p>\n

The Blues have a bye this week but then they face Melbourne and North Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Pressure goes with the territory at Carlton who, as is the case at Essendon, have several behind-the-scenes figures who are desperate for a return to the top and don\u2019t mind rattling the cage.<\/p>\n

Carlton fans are also extremely vocal and quick to hit 11 on the Princes Park pressure-cooker when the wins dry up.<\/p>\n

To think, it was only a few years ago Voss steered the Blues to a preliminary final.<\/p>\n

*Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is certainly around the mark and will definitely slip into this top five if the Dockers don\u2019t find themselves in finals contention. The Western Bulldogs have started this season looking every bit a premiership favourite, but the screws will quickly turn on Luke Beveridge if they start to slide.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Stadium dumbfounded as St Kilda remove Nas at crucial moment<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n

Dockers coach slammed for \u2018nonsensical\u2019 comment: \u2018Sore loser\u2019<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

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