Brendan Fevola gets a hand pass away under pressure from Daniel Bradshaw during the AFL Women's Round 11 match between the Brisbane Lions and the Carlton Blues at the Gabba.The Slattery Media Group
If Robert Walls had his way, Carlton’s Brendan Fevola would be kicking goals for the Northern Bullants at the moment.
After the spearhead’s below-par performance against Essendon in Round 13, the former Carlton coach, speaking on Channel 10’s One Week At A Time, said that Fevola should be banished to the VFL for a month.
Had that occurred, the Blues would have lost to Richmond last Saturday. Fevola’s nine goals were a match-winning performance and he is a lock-in selection in this young Blues outfit.
For all the criticism Fevola receives about a lack of defensive pressure and poor attitude, he leads the Coleman Medal race – with 55 goals – after finishing second last season, with 99 majors.
Chris Judd may be Carlton’s best player, but Fevola is its most important.
Without the full-forward, the Blues’ finals hopes would, almost certainly, be in the casualty ward.
Fevola is averaging 12.5 disposals a game, along with six marks and almost four goals. Carlton simply could not drop a player with those numbers.
He has also kicked five goals or more five times this season.
The figures may be slightly down on last season’s efforts, but Fevola has become a victim of his own high standards.
The Blues are already and struggling to find a key target, so why would you give your best forward the chop? Although Fevola can sometimes display a petulant attitude, tell me one forward who hasn’t at stages during their career?
It is understood that Fevola explored overtures from the Sydney Swans last season and met the leadership group.
The Swans may approach the full-forward again after the finals, as they seek a replacement for Barry Hall.
But a Carlton team without Fevola looks very thin. It is impossible to envisage the Blues trading the unpredictable spearhead.
He may be inconsistent; he might frustrate Carlton fans. But, when Fevola is on song, few players are more damaging – or as exciting.
Walls was naive to suggest a shift to the VFL for Fevola. It would achieve nothing and, last week, the Blues’ persistence paid off.
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