Lyon: Essendon should ask the question of Carlton caretaker

If Josh Fraser doesn’t put himself in the frame for the Carlton job, should Essendon take a look at him?

That is the situation which is evolving in front of our eyes after the Blues’ GM of footy Chris Davies said the club, for the moment, has ruled out the interim coach from the Carlton candidacy.

This is despite the fact that Fraser owns a 5-0 record since taking over at Ikon Park.

But if the former Collingwood ruck/forward continues to keep his name out of the race for the Blues gig, does it provide an opportunity for the Bombers to swoop?

SEN’s Garry Lyon reckons the Dons should at least ask the question of the caretaker.

“I just think he’s been so impressive. He’s maintained his line, his dignified line about not being ready, and that’s fantastic,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.

“He repeated it again last night (on Fox Footy’s AFL 360) and Chris Davies has said that we’re not going to push him because he said he’s not ready.

“This is a competitive world we’re in right now, so if Essendon think they can turn his head if they have any interest - they may not have interest in him.

“Do you know what that does? It puts pressure back on Carlton. It might even force them to do something that they’re not ready to do yet.

“Imagine if Essendon go, ‘Yeah, we’re going to get Josh Fraser’, and he says yes and he turns out to be the greatest coach of all-time. How’s that gonna roll?”

Essendon great Tim Watson does not think the Blues need to rush into a decision given they’ve pulled the trigger early on past coaching hires.

“The prudent thing to be for Carlton, if they’re not rushed into a decision, would be to wait and see,” he said.

“It’s an unbelievable start, you can see the mood, you can see the way they play, the way they’re connected on the field. Post-game you’ve got an insight as to how much they appreciate and enjoy each other’s company.

“But there is no need for them to rush. Maybe if they hadn’t have done the David Teague thing they would have rushed to make a decision (on Fraser), but they’ve learnt what happened to them previously.

“There’s still a way to go before they need to actually make that decision at the end of the season.”

Lyon concurs, but feels it’s a good chance for the Dons to assess their options in the middle of all the James Hird talk.

“They’ve got nine more games to observe Josh Fraser,” Lyon said further.

“All I’m saying if you’re in the market for a coach and you think he’s the one that could be of interest to you then you ask the question, surely.

“But Essendon may not want to ask the question, they might have their mind made up.”

Watson added: “In my opinion they (Essendon) have to run a non-polluted search for the next coach.”

Listen to Garry and Tim discuss the situation below: