Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Tasmania went for the mature-aged recruit when they appointed Ken Hinkley as their first coach.
Essendon’s coach recruiters are conducting their coaching search in the equivalent of a compromised draft.
That’s because several strong candidates declared themselves off-limits to the Bombers due to both the campaign supporting James Hird as a candidate and the club’s perceived treatment of “outsiders”.
By contrast Carlton appeared to have a free run to appoint the best untried coach in the market via a process being managed by experienced operators – chief executive Graham Wright and football boss Chris Davies.
A predictable process loomed.
Coffee dates at Brunetti’s and elsewhere, followed by a short list of candidates presenting in the next fortnight would lead to a new polo top being measured up and worn by a new coach declaring at a media conference their excitement at what lay ahead.
Meanwhile, Josh Fraser was expected to selflessly take on the interim job for 14 matches and lay strong foundations for Michael Voss’s replacement.
Of course, nothing is that simple nowadays.
Fraser has the Blues inside the top 10 with three games remaining after their 76-point thrashing of the Brisbane Lions became their ninth win in 11 matches under the hoodie-wearing coach.
Reflecting the times, he has disrupted – by winning rather than campaigning – a coaching selection process that you could argue he should have been considered for before his wins as interim coach.
Or has he?
Those who joined the ‘give it to him now’ category after the Blues’ massive win over Brisbane think Fraser has done the unthinkable and made the Essendon coaching race more open than Carlton’s.
That’s a stretch.
What Fraser has done is earn himself an invitation to join the short list of candidates to become Carlton’s next coach. He might even earn himself the right to be in the last two considered.
It would be a surprise if he didn’t accept that invitation this week after consulting family, friends, mentors and the Blues as he has done throughout his time in the chair.
Fraser deserves that chance to present, but he also should be respected if he decides the time is not right for him.
He has been in the coaching business since 2013, coached his own teams at NEAFL and VFL level and has an ability to create genuine relationships with people across all levels of the game.
His authenticity, perspective and humility has shone through during his more regular public appearances as interim coach and, unlike some other interim coaches in recent times, he has wanted to divert attention away from himself at every opportunity.
That’s been good to see as Fraser put his coaching reputation on the line when he did the right thing by the Blues in accepting the interim position for 14 matches.
His ability as a coach was going to be judged despite his capacity to create the environment he believed necessary for success being limited. But he took it on anyway.
Fraser is not silly. He knows enough about coaching and the AFL to understand that nine wins from 11 matches doesn’t automatically make him the best man for the job.
The 44-year-old would be as aware as the hard heads responsible for selecting Carlton’s next coach (which also includes Eagles’ premiership coach Adam Simpson) that the wins/loss record as interim is just one part of the criteria assessed when deciding the best candidate.
The panel wants to know what the candidates stand for as a coach, their use of data and how it informs their decision-making, their management skills, their capacity to cope with pressure, their ability to teach in a range of ways and a range of other qualities that make senior coaches successful.
Carlton have been able to see the way Fraser operates as the stand-in coach but will still be making as educated a guess about him in a range of those areas as they will be on the other known candidates which include James Kelly, Corey Enright, Daniel Giansiracusa and Jaymie Graham.
Like Fraser, that crew will have strengths and weaknesses and will need the support of experienced leaders if they become a senior coach.
Unlike Fraser they won’t have proved themselves as able to coach a winning team at AFL level and their ability to form relationships with the players will be unknown.
To many supporters that will be all that matters and, in many ways, it is all that is important.
Choosing an untried coach other than Fraser will be a harder sell and need explanation, but they will be able to do that if they select another person after comparing the candidate’s methods and personality. If they choose Fraser they need to know he impressed them enough to convince them he was the best candidate.
A coach who can lead this team to a premiership is what Carlton are chasing.
Of the nine interim coaches appointed full-time this century, Paul Roos is the only interim coach to do so.
Fraser may, in fact, be the man.
The reality is the next fortnight will help inform Carlton’s decision as much if not more than the past 11 matches.
Whatever the Blues’ call, the past three months has convinced everyone that at some point, somewhere, Fraser, if he wishes to, should become a senior coach.
And it should also remind Essendon of the job talented coaches working away in the system can do if given the chance.
North Melbourne are treading water, regardless of what they say
In the past five matches, North Melbourne have been sixth in the competition for average age and fifth for games experience.
They have been competitive but lost each game.
Although there is a big hole in the middle when it comes to age and experience, they should be performing better than they have in the past five matches when a wildcard chance has been up for grabs.
Their inaccuracy has been costly but combined with the overuse of handball and indefensible turnovers in the back half, they have collapsed to 13th on the ladder.
Billboards promoting improvement aren’t created from two wins over Essendon and Richmond, Carlton on Good Friday, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast and West Coast.
Making mistakes is part of learning but some of the risky kicks their defensive runners take from the back half would be off the table even for defenders at the best, most skilful and experienced teams.
It works often enough for their transition numbers to be reasonable but too often mistakes are made at crucial moments when the result is in doubt.
It’s not just Colby McKercher and Caleb Daniel biting off more than they can chew, but that pair need to be accountable so the team learns when to go and when to slow.
After 19 wins in 79 matches as North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson looks exasperated on game day, his unrelenting style potentially wearing on his leaders who play with furrowed brows in 2026.
He reached that point at the Hawks in his first two seasons before switching gear.
Perhaps that’s the conversation the club hierarchy needs to have with him before entering next season.
They can’t extend him prematurely but the four-time premiership coach who joined them in their hour of need deserves honesty as to what they are thinking. And if they are considering that a new breed of coach could do for North Melbourne what Steven King has done for Melbourne this season then that argument must be had.
The Kangaroos need to be honest with each other over summer so the alignment necessary for success is maintained.
Because the message to be patient is wearing thin.
Don’t sell Nick Watson’s achievement short
Nick Watson is a star. He can turn a match in a minute, his ability to switch from defensive to attacking transition is unmatched. He is brave, cheeky and skilful.
His effort to kick 52 goals with three rounds remaining is meritorious because few small forwards reach the half century before turning 22.
Brisbane Lions champion Luke Power kicked 52 goals before turning 21 in 2000, but he is the only one this century to do so at a younger age than Watson.
Cyril Rioli never kicked 50 goals in a season, Luke Breust was aged 23 when he passed the milestone. Eddie Betts was even older than Breust. Jeff Farmer and Phil Matera were 23 and Stephen Milne had turned 22. Ty Stengle helped the Cats to a flag with 50 goals in 2022 aged 23.
Peter Daicos, a mid-sized forward, had kicked 70 goals before he turned 20 in 1981.
Daicos was a goalkicking freak.
If Watson can win the Coleman Medal, he will have done something Daicos didn’t.
Pick one is enough of a helping hand for the Bombers
Essendon have draft pick number one with three matches remaining after the Tigers’ win over an inaccurate West Coast.
Finishing on the bottom will help the AFL justify an assistance package despite the Bombers being about as deserving of one as a billionaire seeking tax relief.
Giving them assistance is not only a reward for mediocrity but investing in a club that, part from recent recruiting, is yet to prove they can stack good decision after good decision as yet.
Before any assistance package, the Bombers will have pick one, a likely compensation pick early in the second round which is designed to help clubs rebuilding plus any return from trading Zach Merrett who appears set to exit.
That will arrive just one season after they added Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow and Dyson Sharp with picks 9, 10 and 13, following Isaac Kako in 2024 and Nate Caddy in 2023.
Injuries have affected their performance and they missed on a couple of high draft picks.
Fair play to Essendon for asking, but there should be resistance to assistance inside AFL House.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
