AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at the huge coaching call facing the Blues, the three rucks redefining the game and more in Cal-culations
CARLTON'S HUGE FRASER CALL
It's seven o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's a happy man sitting next to me
Having just coached his fifth straight win
MATT Cottrell's harmonica-led Billy Joel tribute to steer Carlton's team song on Saturday night, to the tune of 'Piano Man', said plenty about the pressure valve being loosened at Carlton.
But can that interim feeling be bottled, or is this an extended sugar hit?
It is the question facing Blues chief executive Graham Wright and football boss Chris Davies, as the situation has now become real for Josh Fraser.
The Blues have not been in a rush to race into their coaching process, staying unperturbed by the possibility of duelling for coaches with Essendon and Tasmania. But while sounding out assistant coaches around the competition and those conversations kicking off, they have unearthed a contender already within.
Fraser's unbeaten start to life as Carlton's interim coach produced another result on Saturday evening, with the Blues' win away from home against Greater Western Sydney seeing Fraser go to 5-0 since taking on the role after Michael Voss' departure.
The tally of wins now sees Carlton having taken scalps over the Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Port Adelaide, Essendon and Greater Western Sydney, but the Blues could jump to 7-0 under the former Collingwood ruckman with games against West Coast (at Marvel Stadium) and then Richmond in the next fortnight. A spot in the wildcard round is now very much in play.
Fraser has played things beautifully since taking on the reins, from the outset remaining adamant he wouldn't put his hand up for the full-time role and that he had development left before he would be a senior coach.
Carlton has been down the path of appointing an interim before, when David Teague took over in the middle of 2019 and was given the job later that year. Two years later, Teague was sacked.
The Blues will go through their process, and a number of key assistants around the competition like Corey Enright, James Kelly, Daniel Giansiracusa, Jaymie Graham and Hayden Skipworth are expected to be a part of at least the initial stages. And Fraser should at least be in that bracket to pit his wares against the others, with his calm approach resonating.
Fraser's changes at Carlton have not just been about the Blues having more composure under the heat – there's been strategic shifts, positional moves and selection calls, and all have worked.
The Teague move, which is still recent enough for Carlton, will force the Blues to think long and hard about appointing another interim coach. But it is a discussion the Blues would not have even been considering on Fraser if not for his flawless start.
ALL ACTION JACKSON
LEIGH Matthews said Saturday that three ruckmen were redefining the role in the modern game – Max Gawn, Brodie Grundy and Luke Jackson.
The football legend said on 3AW that two of that trio would be in his All-Australian team right now, naming Jackson as his first choice and then Grundy ahead of Gawn.
Praise doesn't get much higher for Jackson, who is spearheading Fremantle's charge to clear flag favouritism this season after becoming their go-to ruckman.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir has been a two-ruck coach through his tenure, but with Sean Darcy's injury issues, the Dockers have landed their best mix this season and it has gotten the most out of Jackson.
He is playing 83 per cent of his game time in the ruck this year and the savvy recruitment of cheap-as-chips ruck partner Mason Cox has given Jackson a good partner. Jackson's previous two years at the Dockers saw him play as a ruck 64 per cent and 62 per cent of the time, and 57 per cent in his first Fremantle season in 2023.
The impact has been significant. Champion Data shows Jackson is averaging career highs in disposals, contested possessions, hitouts, hitouts to advantage, clearances, centre clearances, goals, tackles, score involvements and player ratings.
No part of Jackson's game has come off at the expense of another and in doing so the Dockers have seen the former Demon be a dominant, dynamic ruck playing through the midfield.
That was clear on Thursday night as he gathered a career-high 28 disposals and scored back-to-back three goal games. Geelong's lack of an experienced ruckman came back to hurt them as Jackson ran riot, with his average of eight score involvements the No.1 among rucks this year.
Back in 2022, when Melbourne granted Jackson his wish to return to Western Australia and join Fremantle, the Demons became the first club to receive two first-round picks for a player (as well as a second-rounder) without having to give up a pick in the first or second round in return.
Four years on, with Jackson still just 24, you can only imagine what his trade price would be now. What a superstar.
THE BOMBERS' VETERAN CHASE
ESSENDON had shown real interest in Lachie Neale and he was considering the Bombers as an option.
However, after the club's recent upheaval and sacking of coach Brad Scott, Collingwood has become the favourite for Neale, who is expected to leave Brisbane at the end of this season. AFL.com.au revealed earlier this month the Pies would be prepared to offer a three-year deal for the two-time Brownlow medallist.
Even with the Bombers set to miss out on Neale, the idea is right for them. They should keep going down this line of trying to attract senior, experienced players who can be pseudo coaches and who come for no trade cost.
Last week we said they should be calling Gold Coast's ex-skipper Jarrod Witts to gauge his interest. The next call they should be making is to Toby Greene.
The industry view is Greene is well on his way to joining Geelong as an unrestricted free agent. He has had a three-year offer on the table from the Giants but is in no rush to sign it and the Cats are circling him.
Essendon pitting its wares against Geelong is like a busker taking on The Rolling Stones, but the Bombers should be asking every question and using their salary cap space as a lure. Greene also has a close relationship with James Hird, who wants to coach the Bombers next year.
The reality is Geelong is favoured to land Greene, but the Luke Hodge to Brisbane model, which was part of Essendon's interest in Neale, must be one they are exploring to veterans across the competition this year given they are likely to lose their only player aged above 30 – Zach Merrett – at the end of the season.
Meanwhile the Cats, who nearly pulled off the impossible against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Thursday, are the ultimate destination club. Last year Charlie Curnow wanted to go there, Rowan Marshall did too and so did Clayton Oliver during the season. None of them landed there for various reasons, but the appeal of the Cats endures.
And as Greene strongly considers leaving the Giants to become another high profile Cats recruit, they remain firmly in the race and one of the leading favourites for Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters as well.
EXPECT THE RADICAL
COULD a Rivalry Round be back on the cards?
It is one of a number of suggestions expected to be thrown up on Monday and Tuesday as club chief executive officers gather on the Gold Coast with the AFL for their annual mid-year summit.
As AFL.com.au revealed earlier this month, club bosses have been encouraged to bring big ideas about the future of the fixture from 2028 onwards, once Tasmania enters the competition.
The League has previously said the competition structure with 19 teams would need 22 or 24 games per club each year, and with most believing the AFL would go up rather than reduce the numbers of games, the question is in what format.
Expect a range of radical options to be presented to – and by – club chiefs this week.
An 'in-play' tournament at some stage of the season, perhaps mid-season or before Wildcard Round, is expected to be floated, with another trophy part of the appeal to that concept. Would there be a stop to the season for three weeks for a separate tournament? The AFL has looked at whether there's more ways to introduce more silverware to the competition.
Then there's the views on what to do with the extra game if the League decides to extend the season – could there be a fixture where each team plays each other once, there is Gather Round, the return of an officially themed Rivalry Round as well as a handful of other opponents as part of the extra matches? And what is the long-term plan for State of Origin to fit into the schedule?
Where the AFL's monthly call with club CEOs – which has been more formalised and run by AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley this season – discusses the day-to-day issues of the game, this week's Gold Coast getaway with the League's bosses leans more onto the future of the competition.
Other topics set to be discussed include capping long-term contracts, club officials and players' commentary on umpiring and Tribunal matters, the future of media, the next Collective Bargaining Agreement and international opportunities.
PORT KEEN TO TIE UP TALL
PORT Adelaide is in talks for an extension for young forward Jack Whitlock, and the emerging tall has been a highlight of the Power's campaign this season.
Whitlock kicked two goals from 10 disposals in Saturday night's defeat to Collingwood, taking his tally to 15 goals this season from 14 games in a promising campaign.
The 20-year-old, in his second season, is signed through to the end of 2027 but already the Power are working towards an extension for multiple years with discussions underway to lock in a key piece of their future.
Whitlock's showings as a developing tall in a team in the bottom rungs of the ladder have been impressive this season and again he presented and competed well against the Pies this round.
Port has been near enough but not good enough a lot of times this year – six of its 10 losses have been under 10 points – but the unearthing and progress of Whitlock, Joe Berry, Ewan Mackinlay and more recently Xavier Bamert have been positives.
The biggest disappointment on Saturday night was the patella tendon knee injury for Esava Ratugolea, who was enjoying a brilliant stretch of form. He is expected to miss around 12 months, which is a bitter blow for the Power and coach Josh Carr, who is already set to bid farewell to his best player - Zak Butters - at the end of this season.
Port's injury crisis that has spanned the past two years might have gone somewhat under the radar outside of the club but its impact has been real – for Ken Hinkley in his last season and Carr in his first.
WILL HAS HIS DAY
HAWTHORN was already charging towards a top four finish, but the addition of Will Day has made Sam Mitchell's team a different proposition.
Day had his third game back at AFL level since his shoulder injury and his outing against the Suns was his best.
He had 21 disposals, a goal, seven tackles, five clearances and he just adds a more dynamic mix to Hawthorn's midfield group.
Damien Hardwick lamented Hawthorn's ability to score from the midfield battle in Friday night's loss to Hawthorn. The Hawks booted 5.4 from centre bounces and smacked Hardwick's Gold Coast midfield group with 20 centre clearances to 12.
It wasn't the Suns' midfield day, but the Hawks having their Day, in combination with co-captain Jai Newcombe, has them firmly in the flag race.
Hawthorn's clearance numbers have remained steady after the return of Day, but they are up 12.7 points from centre bounce clearances since he has returned, seeing his impact straight away.
Hawthorn hunted Harley Reid last year, met with Bailey Humphrey and then Zach Merrett in the trade period and ended up adding no new faces to their midfield group. But they played most of last year without Day, including in their finals campaign (as well as their 2024 finals series), and with him in the building form he has shown so far, Day adds a genuine point of difference in there and is a spiritual leader for them.
September awaits him and the Hawks.