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SELECT 👉 Bay Oval commentary
“Serious regret”: Troubled Blue must turn things around
Andrew Slevison • October 24th, 2025 12:36 pm
Elijah Hollands is far too talented not to be playing regularly in the AFL.
The 23-year-old has been asked by Carlton to explore his options after a tumultuous season which saw him twice take personal leave.
Hollands is contracted with the Blues for 2026 and there is a chance he could be paid out by the club if he is unable to find a new home.
The former Gold Coast Sun’s football future is far from certain, but should he be handed a lifeline by a third club?
SEN Breakfast’s Sam Edmund posed that exact question to co-host Kane Cornes.
“I’m not sure what they’re going to do with him,” said Edmund.
“If it were you would you give him another chance?”
Cornes believes Hollands has more than enough ability for a club to take a chance on him otherwise the former Pick 7 could come to regret his off-field decisions.
“Yes. He’s too good to be out of the system at 23,” he replied.
“There’s serious issues. We’ve heard his side of things, clearly Carlton see it slightly differently. I can’t remember a club being as openly frustrated at a player as what Carlton have been with him, to the point where they’re willing to move him on or shop him around.
“I hope he gets himself right. He’s too talented a player not to be playing in the AFL system. I think there’ll be some serious regret in his life down the track if he doesn’t make the most of his third opportunity.”
Hollands played 14 games across two seasons for the Suns after spending 2021 recovering from an ACL injury suffered in his draft year of 2020.
He was then traded to the Blues at the end of 2023 before featuring 22 times in 2024 which landed him the cub’s Best Young Player Award.
The older brother of Ollie managed just five games in 2025 as he dealt with personal issues.
One Blue whose short-term future is assured is Mitch McGovern who signed a one-year deal during the week.
The 31-year-old was forced to wait on a contract extension after narrowly missing his games trigger in 2025.
“Mitch McGovern got the one-year extension at the Blues which is not surprising,” Cornes said.
“They didn’t allow him to reach the trigger in his contract, they kept their options open which was a reasonably smart move. In the end they’ve taken some time.”
Edmund feels it was quite a ruthless move by the Blues to hold back his games tally late in the campaign.
“Ruthless. He was ready to play a long way out before the end of the season,” he said.
“They had multiple opportunities but they didn’t want him to stay on the old terms that they’d agreed. So now he stays but very much on their terms, reduced terms you’d imagine.”
In an era where players seemingly have the control, Cornes rates the ruthless nature of the Blues in this instance.
“Which is good, it’s a good level of ruthlessness,” Cornes concluded.
“He hasn’t been a great pickup for them. Has played some ok games at times but he has been a disappointing recruit from what they thought they were getting from Adelaide.”
McGovern was kept on at IKON Park after the Blues missed out on Bulldogs swingman Buku Khamis and Jack Silvagni left for St Kilda.
