AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at the Swans' answer to Nick and Nasiah, Freo's under-the-radar winner and more in Cal-culations

CARLTON'S CALL BECOMING CLEAR

JOSH Fraser was keeping things under wraps after Carlton's blitz over Brisbane on Saturday night and what it meant for his coaching credentials.

"I'm almost convinced that you're never a finished product in terms of being ready," the Blues' interim coach said.

That is true. But fewer first-time coaches have had as stark an influence on a team as this. If it wasn't for David Teague's interim coaching stint into full-time appointment and sacking two years later, then Fraser would be the most obvious appointment in some time.

But the Teague example is far enough in the rear-vision mirror (appointed in 2019 and sacked in 2021) that a new set of eyes can be focused on this interim change at Carlton under Fraser.

And the knowns for what he has done at the Blues – turn around the ship from 1-8 to 9-2 under his coaching, bring in younger players, reposition older players, change the game play dynamic and add a freshness to Carlton's approach – are now more known than that of the other assistant coaches vying for the job: Geelong's James Kelly, St Kilda's Corey Enright, Hawthorn's Daniel Giansiracusa and Fremantle's Jaymie Graham.

In a field of assistants trying to secure their first seat at the senior coaching table, it is hard to see how the Blues could be sure there is a better option than Fraser after this run of form.

Saturday night's clash with Brisbane was underlined and circled as a pivotal match in this coaching search. 

Win and his stocks would be boosted. Lose and they may not be affected. Be thrashed and it wouldn't help. But belt the reigning back-to-back premiers and record the club's highest score since 2012? As Anthony Hudson said in the Fox Footy call – give him the job.

Nobody ever really knows how an untried assistant coach will go once they get into the hot seat. It is footy's hardest version of future telling. But Carlton now does know about Fraser – his temperament, his plans, his relationships, his style. CEO Graham Wright also knew him enough to drag him across from Collingwood, where he was head of development, to join the Blues at the end of last year. 

The Blues and Fraser have also executed a masterclass in under promising and overdelivering. By taking his name out of the coaching discussion at the start of his stint and declaring he wasn't ready, Fraser avoided the distraction. He was consistent in his messages and the Blues, who haven't shied away from providing updates through their senior figures, mirrored that as well. 

The club was careful in its first batch of seven straight wins to declare he was going to be in the mix, knowing that tougher games were to come after that. But the Blues have gone 2-2 from games against Brisbane, Gold Coast, Collingwood and Hawthorn. 

The Blues' strategy has been flawless but has now reached a key point after they publicly invited Fraser to be a part of the coaching process. He hasn't yet committed to doing that, with a decision in coming days, but surely the answer is there in front of everyone. 

And the AFL would be as happy as the Blues about their revival. The prospect of Carlton and Collingwood both playing in wildcard round games – or in a wildcard round game against each other – for a spot in the final eight is a very real chance. The League could not have dreamed of a better result in the introduction of the wildcard weekend. 

TIGERS GET THEIR TASTE

TWO MOMENTS would have stood out for Richmond fans at the MCG on Sunday.

The first was a big tackle from Taj Hotton late in the game on Harley Reid. Reid has size and strength on the second-year Tiger, but in just his 14th game Hotton stopped Reid and caught him holding the ball as the West Coast gun was surging his team forward.

Then with minutes remaining in the game, it was Sam Lalor who sealed the win for Richmond with a smart one-on-one win inside 50 and a clever around-the-corner snap that lit up the Punt Road end of the MCG.

Lalor and Hotton are both crucial to what Richmond is hoping to deliver in its rebuild, but the top picks from the 2024 draft have barely played together through various injuries, with Sunday's win over the Eagles just their third AFL game together.

The Tigers have moved from 18th position on the ladder, with the Bombers' clash against Port Adelaide in round 24 set to be the final decider in the wooden spoon race. The Tigers' past six wins now have come against either West Coast or Essendon, including two this season.

While there was triumph for the Tigers, there were tears for West Coast.

Willem Duursma's emotions post-game on the field came after a frustrating afternoon for the Eagles, who kicked 9.19 to cost themselves what would have been their first win since May. Instead, the Eagles' run of losses extended to eight games and their reliance on Reid remains a challenge as they also embark on the long way back to the top.

What could have been a seven or eight-win season for the Eagles now looks likely to finish on four.

SYDNEY LANDS ITS NICK AND NASIAH

SYDNEY is turning Errol Gulden into its Nick Daicos and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. The Swans simply want to get the ball into the two-time All-Australian's hands at all times and we all know why.

Gulden had a career-high 25 handball receives in last week's local derby thrashing of Greater Western Sydney, where he was best on ground and claimed another Brett Kirk Medal. That was a personal best by six.

On Saturday against the Saints it was again obviously a focus, with Gulden having 16 handball receives – making it the most he has had in his career over a two-week stretch.

As the wondering starts about Sydney's form heading into September once more, Gulden is the antidote to that, with the best-and-fairest winner in the best patch of touch since he returned from shoulder surgery earlier in the season. 

Then, when he was struck by the injury in round one, we said he was not only their best player but also their most important. His run, carry, left-foot kicking and point of difference with the ball meant the Swans' fast, attacking style was made for him. These past weeks have certified that view. 

Like Daicos at Collingwood and Wanganeen-Milera at St Kilda, Gulden's teammates want to get the ball into his hands because he slices games open and makes the right decisions. 

There are concerns for the Swans and Will Edwards' season-ended leg injury was a shattering end to a breakout season, but with Gulden hitting this type of form before the finals, they cannot be ruled out. 

FREO'S UNDER-THE-RADAR WINNER

EVERY premiership team has its role players who make others look better.

Usually, in flag seasons, those players start to get the external praise they've been getting internally for some time but lacking outside of a club.

Karl Worner might be the perfect case in point this season with Fremantle. 

Worner played 23 games for the Dockers last year and established himself in the club's defence but has taken his game up a notch this season, playing every game and being a quiet achiever in Fremantle's rise to an almost-certain minor premiership. 

The 24-year-old was excellent against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, recording a career-best 14.9 Rating Points as well as career highs in uncontested possessions (23), marks (13) and score involvements (eight). 

Worner was overlooked in his year's national draft before being a rookie pick by the Dockers and has proven another success for the club from the backblocks of the draft.

For his match-ups of more than 40 minutes in a game, according to Champion Data, Worner has only conceded three goals for the season – one to St Kilda's Bradley Hill and two to Swan Jake Lloyd – and he is used by the Dockers to control and feed the ball from the backline. 

In a Freo side glittering with top picks, big deals, high-profile recruits and early selections, there are also many role players doing more than their bit to keep the Dockers' machine humming this season. Worner has been a big part of that. 

CHANGE IT UP

THE OLD saying is attributed to the car manufacturing pioneer Henry Ford: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses".

Who knows if Ford actually said it, but what is certain is that if we took a snap poll about anything in football the same can usually be applied – the prospect of change leaves many aghast.  

And so Collingwood's attempt, in conjunction with Geelong, to change its pre-game plans on Thursday night was worth the throw at the stumps. 

But here's a couple of things if they continue down that route: keep the club song before the game and keep the coin toss out on the ground. If Essendon had employed the same thing, its fans in Melbourne wouldn't have heard its team song blaring at a game before or after a game for 400 days. Granted, Collingwood isn't Essendon, but thousands of fans left the 'G not hearing 'Good old Collingwood forever'. 

Clubs should keep trying things as well. Teams didn't always run through banners and they didn't always play their team songs before games, and they didn't always link up in a circle after a win to sing it either. New traditions always start somewhere. 

AND ANOTHER THING…

A COUPLE of experienced recruiters should be feeling good about their scouting eye this week.

Rewind back to 2023 and as Nick Watson dazzled as a junior, and was just fitting into his 'wizard' moniker, several long-term recruiters said they thought Watson would easily kick 500 goals in his AFL career.

One club interviewed the small forward and told him: "Don't worry about playing up the ground, just kick heaps of goals."

To be fair, 500 goals might end up unders. He has flashed right past 100 and has now booted 113 goals from 61 games. Remarkably he's kicked 52 this year despite missing two and a half games with a hamstring injury. He's still alive in the Coleman Medal race with three games to go and is chasing history on that front.