Blues star out as former Docker in doubt for trip west
Carlton's task of causing a boilover in the west has been hit by a massive injury blow, with an ex-Docker also racing to be fit to face his former side.
The Blues have won seven of their past eight clashes against the Dockers, with spearhead Charlie Curnow proving vital - kicking 12 goals in his past three games against them.
But he won't be there on Sunday after it was revealed he pulled up sore following Carlton's loss to Hawthorn and failed to train during the week.
'Charlie Curnow is expected to sit out the trip to play Fremantle,' Mitch Cleary reported on Channel 7.
'Curnow pulled up sore from the loss to Hawthorn and failed to join teammates at training yesterday, five days on from that game.'
Despite the Blues' struggles this season, Curnow has remained one of their best with 32 goals and has not missed a game since round one.
His absence could allow Fremantle to take the safe route with captain Alex Pearce, given the Blues will likely have only Harry McKay as the primary key forward threat.
Pearce has been dealing with shin soreness, playing just one game since May, and was listed as a test to play this weekend. While Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir was confident they could bring Pearce back, he admitted it wasn't without risk.
'I can't say 100 per cent though. The loads of a game are a lot different to the loads you can put him up to at training,' Longmuir said.
'There's always that risk but we feel like he's done the work and he's in a good spot.'
The Blues could also be without former Docker Adam Cerra, after he was seen with his knee heavily strapped at training this week.
Cerra has averaged more than 27 disposals across his past three games against the Dockers and he would be a massive loss given the calibre of Fremantle's midfield.
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The Age
28 minutes ago
- The Age
Why the Voss call is easier for Carlton than the Goodwin call for Melbourne
They have gun players who've either flirted with the idea of leaving (Charlie Curnow) or made plain their unhappiness and wish to get out (Christian Petracca). In Oliver's case, it was the club that first raised the prospect of trading him, only to baulk when he was ready to join Geelong; it is a non-deal that the Demons should regret. Despite the shared problems and superficially similar situations, there's a clear difference in the nature of the coach calls that Carlton and Melbourne confront. Carlton are in a better position to judge Voss – and to remove him, if that's deemed necessary – even though he's only in his fourth season with the Blues. How so? The Blues have had their new CEO in the building for the entire 2025 season, even though Wright has been the understudy – the dauphin, if you like – to exiting chief executive Brian Cook. Their president, Rob Priestley, assumed the role early this year ahead of schedule following the scandal that saw off his predecessor Luke Sayers. Priestley, the chairman of J.P. Morgan, had been tapped as Sayers' successor for some time, and is more than familiar with the football department's workings and worries. Loading The Demons, conversely, have had only an interim CEO this year, David Chippindall, and the new CEO Paul Guerra won't be installed until next month. The presidency, too, is in transition. Brad Green holds the role now, but is slated to hand over to a former player (and lawyer) from an earlier generation, ex-MCC chairman Steven Smith, later this year. Carlton's shot callers – Wright, in particular – have had a front-row seat to observe Voss during 2025. Further, Wright's had a full season to assess the playing list, list management, high performance and culture. Oh, and a detailed understanding of their salary cap and contracts (another unfortunate parallel – the Blues and Dees have paid a huge amount to stars, and have accordingly tight player payments). Guerra, when he arrives, will be on a steeper learning curve than health ministers during COVID. Unlike Wright, he is not a football expert, and will have to defer to the judgment of others, such as Smith, Green and ex-All Blacks manager Darren Shand, who did the recent review of the Demons' football operations. Carlton have the more stable leadership. Their CEO, board and president have been in place and should know the score. This column is not venturing a view on whether Voss should be sacked. Not now. The point is that the Blues have a better vantage to judge their coach's suitability than Melbourne, despite Goodwin's nine years in the job. It is debatable which of these coaches has encountered more turbulence, if you count matters such as supporter unrest (Goodwin grateful for added security at Marvel Stadium on Saturday), and frenzied media intrusion – Carlton, as the bigger prey, will always draw heavier fire. Goodwin, however, has had more obstacles in his path when factoring in board instability, the questions over player behaviour – dating back to the Entrecote dust-up and peaking around the drug suspension of Joel Smith – and the separate but equally damaging circuses around Petracca and Oliver. Loading Did Goodwin's methods or management contribute to these problems that made his coaching life difficult after 2022? Possibly. But there were also factors outside his domain, which made it harder to have a singular focus on coaching. Goodwin appeared to have done enough mid-season, on the back of a victory at the Gabba, to hold his position next year, as I suggested. Results since, 'have not necessarily been to [his] advantage', to borrow from the Japanese emperor Hirohito's surrender speech. The Demons have gone south. Voss' curse has been injury, both in 2024 and this year. This must be considered when judgment day comes. The Wright call, however, will be predicated on whether the coach has the right stuff for 2026 and beyond. Most crucial to Carlton and Melbourne's self-examinations will be their understanding of their position – ie, if they are undertaking mini-rebuilds or refreshing of their lists (the Demons have put their toe in those waters already), or if either believe they can re-jig, find some mature players from rivals and scale the mountain quickly. The Blues are committed to father-son Harry Dean and to Andrew Walker's gun son Cody, and will regain Jagga Smith, a top-three pick in 2024, over the next two post-seasons. This necessarily gives them signposts for the future. How quickly can those kids come on alongside Curnow, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh? Knowing precisely where you're situated in the premiership cycle is paramount. Once you're sorted on that front, the calls on players, coaches and recruiting follow.
Sydney Morning Herald
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Why the Voss call is easier for Carlton than the Goodwin call for Melbourne
They have gun players who've either flirted with the idea of leaving (Charlie Curnow) or made plain their unhappiness and wish to get out (Christian Petracca). In Oliver's case, it was the club that first raised the prospect of trading him, only to baulk when he was ready to join Geelong; it is a non-deal that the Demons should regret. Despite the shared problems and superficially similar situations, there's a clear difference in the nature of the coach calls that Carlton and Melbourne confront. Carlton are in a better position to judge Voss – and to remove him, if that's deemed necessary – even though he's only in his fourth season with the Blues. How so? The Blues have had their new CEO in the building for the entire 2025 season, even though Wright has been the understudy – the dauphin, if you like – to exiting chief executive Brian Cook. Their president, Rob Priestley, assumed the role early this year ahead of schedule following the scandal that saw off his predecessor Luke Sayers. Priestley, the chairman of J.P. Morgan, had been tapped as Sayers' successor for some time, and is more than familiar with the football department's workings and worries. Loading The Demons, conversely, have had only an interim CEO this year, David Chippindall, and the new CEO Paul Guerra won't be installed until next month. The presidency, too, is in transition. Brad Green holds the role now, but is slated to hand over to a former player (and lawyer) from an earlier generation, ex-MCC chairman Steven Smith, later this year. Carlton's shot callers – Wright, in particular – have had a front-row seat to observe Voss during 2025. Further, Wright's had a full season to assess the playing list, list management, high performance and culture. Oh, and a detailed understanding of their salary cap and contracts (another unfortunate parallel – the Blues and Dees have paid a huge amount to stars, and have accordingly tight player payments). Guerra, when he arrives, will be on a steeper learning curve than health ministers during COVID. Unlike Wright, he is not a football expert, and will have to defer to the judgment of others, such as Smith, Green and ex-All Blacks manager Darren Shand, who did the recent review of the Demons' football operations. Carlton have the more stable leadership. Their CEO, board and president have been in place and should know the score. This column is not venturing a view on whether Voss should be sacked. Not now. The point is that the Blues have a better vantage to judge their coach's suitability than Melbourne, despite Goodwin's nine years in the job. It is debatable which of these coaches has encountered more turbulence, if you count matters such as supporter unrest (Goodwin grateful for added security at Marvel Stadium on Saturday), and frenzied media intrusion – Carlton, as the bigger prey, will always draw heavier fire. Goodwin, however, has had more obstacles in his path when factoring in board instability, the questions over player behaviour – dating back to the Entrecote dust-up and peaking around the drug suspension of Joel Smith – and the separate but equally damaging circuses around Petracca and Oliver. Loading Did Goodwin's methods or management contribute to these problems that made his coaching life difficult after 2022? Possibly. But there were also factors outside his domain, which made it harder to have a singular focus on coaching. Goodwin appeared to have done enough mid-season, on the back of a victory at the Gabba, to hold his position next year, as I suggested. Results since, 'have not necessarily been to [his] advantage', to borrow from the Japanese emperor Hirohito's surrender speech. The Demons have gone south. Voss' curse has been injury, both in 2024 and this year. This must be considered when judgment day comes. The Wright call, however, will be predicated on whether the coach has the right stuff for 2026 and beyond. Most crucial to Carlton and Melbourne's self-examinations will be their understanding of their position – ie, if they are undertaking mini-rebuilds or refreshing of their lists (the Demons have put their toe in those waters already), or if either believe they can re-jig, find some mature players from rivals and scale the mountain quickly. The Blues are committed to father-son Harry Dean and to Andrew Walker's gun son Cody, and will regain Jagga Smith, a top-three pick in 2024, over the next two post-seasons. This necessarily gives them signposts for the future. How quickly can those kids come on alongside Curnow, Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh? Knowing precisely where you're situated in the premiership cycle is paramount. Once you're sorted on that front, the calls on players, coaches and recruiting follow.
West Australian
an hour ago
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Fremantle Dockers made a decision to recruit more mature aged players and it totally changed their depth
Fremantle believe they're now reaping the rewards of their decision to bolster the list with more mature-aged players, with footy boss Joe Brierty saying they have made a huge difference to both the depth and strength of the team. The Dockers will enter Sunday's game against Carlton with an unchanged line up and having won nine of their last 10 matches despite Alex Pearce, Nat Fyfe, Corey Wagner and Matt Johnson being unavailable. Fremantle struggled to cover for injured players in the last month of 2024 and lost four matches in a row. Brierty said it had been important for the club to constantly recruit elite young talent through the draft, but also understand they would need mature bodies around them. Pat Voss, Isaiah Dudley, Oscar McDonald and Wagner have all played key roles since joining Fremantle as mature-aged additions, on top of their group of high profile recruits. 'In the last three or so years, the fact our list has been fairly young has meant we've wanted to look to do those things and top up with mature-aged players,' Brierty explained. 'We've got Wagner and McDonald and O'Meara that sit in that bucket and the SSP has been a really good process for us to bring players in and assess them under our eyes. Voss and Dudley are only 21 as well so they are definitely at the infancy of their playing career, but it's a horses for courses in understanding your list needs. 'Going into the draft you're wanting to use your early picks as much as you can but also be taking your opportunities at the back end of the draft or SSP. 'Depth is an aspect of the modelling of our list and what we look like from an age demographic and having a real strong cohort from that 21-28 year old demographic. 'The majority of the group are sitting in that bracket of their footy careers where they can show their wares at AFL level. When they're needed to come in and play a role, their ability to execute that is quite strong.' The Dockers are among a logjam of teams fighting for positions in the eight and must continue to win to keep their September dreams alive. Carlton can't play finals and have lost five of their last six games. They will enter Sunday's game having lost Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow for the rest of the season with a knee injury, midfielder Adam Cerra due to knee soreness and retired former captain Sam Docherty. Flynn Young, Lewis Young and Francis Evans have come into the team as their replacements But the Blues still have a potent midfield led by dual Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps and have been a strong clearance team despite their ladder position. The wet weather which has hit Perth all week is expected to continue on Sunday which will make the game even more contested. Brierty said the Dockers won't fall into the trap of underestimating Carlton, saying the squad is acutely aware of how much talent is still on the Blues' list. 'We've got to acknowledge they've got some match winners across the ground and obviously their ability to transition the ball is a real strength,' he said. 'We're still chasing four quarters of really consistent footy. The ability to win stoppage and lock the ball away in our forward half when you're coming up against the likes of De Koning and Cripps and Hewett (is important). 'There's definitely some ball winners in there that can take control of a game. I'm sure it's going to be a fierce contest and we are ready for what's to come.'
