Have Carlton failed to address one of Harry McKay’s biggest flaws?
While the tall forward is a superstar goalkicker, proven by his Coleman Medallist status, he has often been plagued with indecision in front of the big sticks in terms of what kick to use, whether it be a drop punt or snap.
That proved again to haunt the 25-year-old in Sunday’s loss to St Kilda as he kicked 1.2 and failed to score with other attempts on goal.
So far this season, McKay has kicked just nine goals from 23 shots and SEN’s Dwayne Russell believes the Blues were in denial mode as they failed to address his woes in front of goal during the pre-season.
“Let’s just hope that they're not in denial mode at Carlton,” Russell said on SEN Afternoons.
“I think they were in denial mode a bit this pre-season.
“I watched two Carlton practice matches and Harry McKay could not make his mind up, whether to drop punt or snap around the corner.
“He looked so uncertain pre-season every time he got the ball in his hands, that I asked multiple people about it and I was told, ‘Nothing to see here’.
“I even asked Carlton captain Patrick Cripps during the pre-season on Captain's Day, ‘What's Harry Mackay doing on his goal kicking? Is he kicking more drop punts? Is he giving away the snap around the corner a bit more?’.
“Here’s what Patrick Cripps had to say to me.”
Cripps told Russell that he was fine with whatever McKay decided to do with ball in hand, perhaps a sign that the Blues were unwilling to address the issue at the time.
“No, he'll still kick around the corner,” Cripps said.
“It works for him. He's got one of the highest percentages of conversion rates from the snap, so there's always going to be talk around it, but, you know, as long as it goes through the middle, I don't care how he kicks it.
“He's probably the hardest worker in terms of his goal-kicking that we’ve got at the club.
“He's done a lot of work … it's just about picking his spots when to snap and when to kick a drop punt.
“But he's been kicking both really well at training. So, he's set for a big year.”
Russell hopes that Carlton’s refusal to address McKay’s kicking woes doesn’t creep into other aspects of their game, adding that they’re “in trouble” if that’s the case.
“I think they were in denial about Harry Mackay's confusion in his own approach to goal kicking this pre-season,” Russell said.
“So, that's my worry with Carlton, if they're going to go to denial mode, ‘Nothing to see here’, mode, then they are in trouble.”
The Blues will look to bounce back in Round 7 following two consecutive losses when they face West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.