Carlton fans have reacted strongly to much-maligned midfielder Paddy Dow’s continued absence from the senior team despite dominant VFL form.
Dow, drafted with pick 3 in the 2017 national draft, is yet to feature for the Blues at AFL level despite averaging over 31 disposals a match in the reserves, including a 36-touch, one-goal game in his most recent outing against Sydney.
Fans clamouring for his selection assumed Friday night’s clash with Melbourne would bring a recall, given the Blues’ horror run of injuries that has seen midfielders George Hewett (concussion) and Oliver Hollands (shoulder) enter the casualty ward.
However, Dow has been named as an emergency for the match; while leaving open the possibility of a senior return as substitute, that isn’t enough for Blues fans keen to see change amid their team’s dire run of form.
Their frustrations were summed up by journalist and Blues diehard Sam McClure on 3AW.
“It is quite unbelievable that Paddy Dow is not being given a look in,” McClure said.
:It is now borderline cruel what they are doing to this young man.
“He’s been having 40 disposals for fun; they’ve been talking about how well their midfield’s going – which is garbage because it’s not – and they lose Hewett to injury, they lose Hollands who’s been playing on a wing to injury, and they lose Ed Curnow who’s been dropped, and they haven’t brought in a new midfielder.”
McClure had a message for Dow after his latest snub – seek opportunities at other clubs, as the Blues reportedly urged him to do at the end of 2022, only to choose to fight to earn his place in the team at Ikon Park.
“Go somewhere else. Go anywhere else and play,” he said.
“Life’s too short, careers are too short, for him to be not getting a game.”
Former great Jimmy Bartel agreed, urging Dow to not get ‘sucked into the sales pitch’ at Carlton come season’s end and depart for greener pastures.
“Write down all this emotion with your manager and then just don’t get sucked into the sales pitch at the end of the year,” Bartel said.
“Some coaches like some players and the way they play and they don’t like some players and the way they play… Paddy Dow mightn’t play the football that Michael Voss and the coaching team wants.”
While Dow didn’t earn a recall, teammates Lewis Young, Zac Fisher, Alex Cincotta, Lochie O’Brien and Jack Silvagni have with the Blues forced to make a swathe of changes.
Joining Hewett and Hollands on the sidelines are ruckman Marc Pittonet (broken hand), Nic Newman (hamstring) and Corey Durdin (knee).
On a four-match losing streak and sitting 13th, the Blues face the fourth-placed Demons keen to revive their spluttering season.
Paddy Dow. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Amid the AFL’s ongoing crackdown on dangerous tackles, Richmond great Jack Riewoldt has warned of players using the harsher environment to their advantage.
With Sydney co-captain Luke Parker and Fremantle midfielder Jaeger O’Meara lifting the suspension count to 18 this season for players adjudged to have made dangerous tackles, against just two escapees – Carlton’s Adam Cerra and Adelaide’s Rory Laird becoming the first only this week – Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 Plus that confusion around what constitutes a dangerous tackle is muddying the waters further.
“There’s definitely an element of confusion about it,” Riewoldt said.
“We’re seeing these one-weekers now that are cropping up and you’re thinking, that could be a dangerous tackle. I think slinging, dumping, dropping of the body weight is probably what the Tribunal is looking at and what the match review officer is looking at.”
Riewoldt’s greatest concern, however, is the trend of players ‘looking for free kicks’ by going down easily in tackles and risking concussion from their head hitting the ground, similar to how some players are able to manipulate tackles to win high contact frees.
“I reckon players might be cottoning on to this, and starting to play a bit possum,” Riewoldt said.
“I reckon players are looking for free kicks. As we’ve seen, the high contact in tackles has become prevalent over the last decade of AFL. Now players will take advantage of how to get a free kick. Maybe it is just going limp a little bit and dropping down?
“It’s hard to see why some are being penalised with a week, even a free kick and some aren’t.”
Riewoldt anticipates a ‘real big shake-up’ around dangerous tackle rules across both AFL and AFLW competitions come season’s end, and is hopeful it will bring with it further clarity around what players can and can’t do.
“I think there will be a real big shake-up and hopefully for the playing group going forward, for AFL and AFLW there will be just a little bit more clarity on what it does look like,“ he said.
“I think this is a watch this space at the end of the year.
“Hopefully for the playing group going forward, for AFL and AFLW, there will be just a little bit more clarity on what it does look like.”
A legal letter sent by Brisbane coach Chris Fagan’s legal team has reportedly helped close the AFL’s investigation into alleged racism at Hawthorn, according to a News Corp report.
The letter informed the four First Nations families who first raised the shocking allegations against Fagan, North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson and former Hawks player welfare manager Jason Burt that Fagan was preparing to launch an injunction with the Supreme Court against the AFL and the independent panel appointed to investigate the claims.
This would have forcibly identified the families, who have chosen to remain anonymous, by name.
Sent on 28 May, the letter reportedly gave until 4pm the following day for a response.
According to News Corp, it was a key factor in the families’ decision to agree to terms with the AFL to close the investigation.
Troubled North Melbourne utility Tarryn Thomas is set to make his first AFL appearance of the season following a tumultuous period where he was almost sacked by the club.
The 23-year-old was stood down by the Kangaroos for a second time in March amid concerns over his behaviour towards women and spent the last three weeks in the VFL since returning to training.
Thomas has been named on the bench for North’s clash with Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Sunday in what will be his first AFL game since round 15 last year.
Speaking earlier on Thursday, caretaker North Melbourne coach Brett Ratten said the club would do its best to ensure Thomas was ready for the extra attention.
“We’ll work with him and look after him and make sure he’s focusing on the game itself and the performance,” Ratten said.
“He really got going, so that’s challenged the match committee group to work out where he fits in, is he right to go and is he ready to perform at AFL level.”
Tarryn Thomas. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
But the Bombers have opted to give star forward Peter Wright more time to get himself right after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Essendon were contemplating picking their reigning best-and-fairest winner, but the only change the Bombers made was axing Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Geelong have also decided on caution and will keep captain Patrick Dangerfield on the sidelines for another week after hurting his hamstring against Adelaide almost a month ago.
Cats forward Gary Rohan is a welcome return against the Western Bulldogs as the club deals with multiple injury issues.
The Bulldogs will be boosted by the inclusion of star midfielder Adam Treloar from a hamstring injury for Saturday night’s match at Marvel Stadium.
Gold Coast will enter their crucial game against Adelaide in Darwin without young defender Mac Andrew, who has been suspended by the club.
Earlier, Port Adelaide confirmed they had made the “significant call” to play captain Tom Jonas in the reserves after serving his one-game suspension.
Jonas missed last week’s win over Richmond at the MCG after being hit with a ban for a dangerous tackle against Melbourne.
But the Power have made the bold decision to ease Jonas back through the SANFL with the Port Adelaide Magpies instead of in Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn.
Port coach Ken Hinkley acknowledged how rare it was to leave a captain out of the team when fit and available.
“It is a big call, a significant call, but it’s a call for a team in really good form,” Hinkley told reporters on Thursday.
“Really consistent with our behaviours and we don’t separate, whether it be the captain or a first-year player.”
Hinkley said the key defender accepted the news with humility and was prepared to play his role with Port’s reserves team.
“He understands the team’s going really well and he would never put himself in front of the team regardless of his position. He’s very accepting of what’s going on,” the coach said.
Hinkley failed to guarantee Jonas would return for Port’s round-13 match, a Friday night blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on June 9.
Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines and defender Darcy Byrne-Jones are Port’s vice-captains.
(AAP)
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"That's the worst plan I have ever heard in my life!"
How could you, Hughesy!
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An innocuous incident - but any trouble for the Chad?
Safe to say Hodgey was fighting a lone battle with this take!
Surely this had to be recalled!
