Has Carlton’s forward line functioned better without Harry McKay in recent weeks? That was the question posed by Luke Hodge on Monday night.
The Blues have been without the key forward since the first quarter of their 50-point win over Port Adelaide and since then they have beaten West Coast, Collingwood and St Kilda in successive weeks.
Charlie Curnow has been the lone key forward for the Blues, with Jack Silvagni also injured, and Carlton has turned to the likes of Jack Martin, Jesse Motlop and Matt Owies as inside 50 targets.
Hodge wonders whether they should persist with the more mobile forward setup even when McKay returns from his knee injury.
“They’ve got a different game style and the question is – are they better without Harry McKay?” the Hawthorn great told SEN’s Sportsday.
“It’s a hard question, he’s an $800,000 player and if you look at face value, he would be the front man for any other team.
“They were getting the ball centre-forward and just bombing the ball long. Now with only one tall down there they can’t do that so they’re piercing their way through, they’re trying to find little hit ups and other ways and it just brings up different avenues.
“It looks like they’re moving the ball a lot smarter going inside 50 and now with the small forwards as well, there’s a lot more pressure on the ball when it hits the deck.
“So you sort of sit back and go, are they game enough to keep that same forward structure when McKay is ready to play?”
Kane Cornes disagrees, pointing to St Kilda playing both Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle on Curnow on Sunday, restricting him to just one goal and no marks inside 50.
“I thought they needed (McKay). I wanted a look at it without him, but on Sunday they needed one more key forward,” Cornes said.
“It was Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle just sitting on Curnow and everyone flocking to Curnow and they struggled for any aerial dominance.
“I think if McKay was there, it would have been an even more convincing win.
“I just felt they were one key forward short, now Jack Silvagni wasn’t there either. They just didn’t have any aerial threat and Ross Lyon took away Curnow as an option.
“The Saints were almost playing the old-fashioned flood and parking the bus. When they won it back, they could not score themselves. It was a genuine double team on Curnow.
“I think they play McKay when he comes back in. I thought they missed him.”
Carlton played both Tom De Koning and Marc Pittonet on the weekend, with the resting ruckman serving as the second key forward.
McKay and Silvagni are expected to return this season from their respective knee issues.
However, Carlton will likely be without them once again on Saturday night against Melbourne.
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