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Full Noise by SN
List or coaching?: Why King fears for Voss
Jaiden Sciberras • March 6th, 2026 12:30 pm
Carlton’s loss at the hands of the Swans was all too familiar under Michael Voss, but how much of the result can be blamed on the coach?
The Blues were completely dominant in the first half, creating ample opportunities through their superior work in the contest. However, they simply couldn’t put the score on the board.
Once the Swans wrestled back the inside game, their run on the outside was simply too much for the Blues, penetrating with their movement inside 50 and capitalising on half chances to kill the game early.
While this was a trademark loss for Voss and his Carlton side, David King has questioned whether this is a coaching issue or a list issue, with the Blues hardly possessing the personnel to compete on the outside.
“When they are getting beaten for spread, for run on the outside, how many magnets can they actually go to?” King asked on SEN Fireball.
“They’ve got too many players that are just one position, and one position only.
“I never see them throw Adam Saad on ball, or to a wing, or to somewhere where he can be a running asset. I don’t know whether you can do that.
“(Lachie) Fogarty, I’ve never seen him do that. (Ashton) Moir is just a one position player, (Will) Hayward, one position player. Can you throw (Ollie) Florent on ball? I don’t think you can.
“I think they’ve got a lot of guys that are one position. (Mitch) McGovern has another McGovern game – it’s just the same game on repeat. You’re like a cricketer out of form. He’ll make a ton when he needs it, and then he’ll go out for six, eight and 10 over the next six gigs.”
“Adam Cerra will come back in a month, and he’ll be the same player,” Kane Cornes added.
King: “He’ll have 25, five clearances and six score involvements. 25, five and six. Too good to be dropped, and not good enough to shape the game.
“They need more players that are more versatile. I get what Vossy is trying to do. They’ve made list changes to modernise their brand of footy, but they don’t have the soldiers who can play it.
“I fear for him with this list. He is hamstrung.”
Cornes: “You asked him, ‘have you been disarmed?’ It’s hard to argue that he hasn’t been.
“They’ve set themselves up for the future fine, as long as they get their draft picks right. Around Harry Dean, Jagga Smith and the three first round picks they got for Curnow, but it’s not going to help Michael Voss.
“He’s going to have to get two out of the next three wins, you would think, because life is going to get tough with the lack of depth that you speak of.”
After Thursday’s tough start, the Blues will host Richmond in the classic Round 1 opener in a repeat time slot next Thursday.
