With the peak of hurricane season approaching the tropics may have woken up from their weeks-long slumber.
On Saturday, the National Hurricane Center began projecting the formation of a potential tropical system in the eastern Atlantic Ocean as a tropical wave is forecast to move off the west coast of Africa over this weekend.
The NHC said on Sunday that the tropical wave has moved off the African west coast.
As of the NHC’s 8 am tropical outlook, forecasters give the system a 40% chance of formation in the next five days.
“Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for some gradual development of this system while it moves westward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic during the early to middle part of next week,” said NHC Hurricane Specialist Brad Reinhart.
8am EDT Aug 7: A tropical wave has moved off the African west coast. Environmental conditions are generally conducive for gradual development, & this system has a medium chance (40%🟠) for tropical cyclone development over the next 5 days.
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 7, 2022
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released its mid-season forecast update this week still expecting and above-average number of storms, which it had predicted ahead of the season’s start, with a range of 14 to 21 named storms expected.
The hurricane season, which runs from June 1-Nov. 30, has so far produced three named systems: Tropical Storm Alex, Bonnie and Colin.
The last two years have been among the busiest in recorded history with 2020 producing a record 30 named systems and 2021 running through all 21 of the NHC’s standard hurricane season of named systems.
The next name of the 2022 name list is Danielle. This season, the NHC has had to issue advisories on systems ahead of official naming, referring to what became Tropical Storm Alex, for instance, as Potential Tropical Cyclone One. That un-named system dumped rain on Florida in as it passed over the peninsula in June leaving many parts of Miami under nearly a foot of water.
The NHC has not issued a tropical advisory since Tropical Storm Colin fizzled on July 3.
Intel has confirmed that they will be bringing improved DX11 & Legacy API gaming performance to Arc GPUs in a recent video. The company admits that they are aware of the unsatisfactory gaming performance in titles utilizing DirectX 11 & are working to improve the experience moving forward.
Intel Admits Lagging Behind In Older APIs But Promises To Improve DX11 Gaming Performance As Time Goes By
Initially reported in a review by LinusTechTips, the tech outlet witnessed a 50% GPU performance difference between DirectX 11 and 12 versions when benchmarking Shadow of the Tomb Raider on a system utilizing the Arc A770 graphics card. In the former DirectX version, the game reached near 38 FPS, while the latter saw a boost of around 80 FPS.
DirectX 11 and older APIs function differently than the updated DirectX 12, Vulkan, and other current APIs. Older API technology requires most of the processing from the graphics driver, from enhancements to customizations made for lower-performing cards. The need for the GPU to handle more of the game work was to alleviate some of the burdens from game developers looking to optimize the look of their games.
With Vulkan and the current DX12 API, the boost no longer depends on the graphics driver but on the game’s graphic engine. Now, game developers are required to handle the responsibility of graphics optimizations, especially in weaker systems, and place tasks within the code of the game to take this burden. An example of this is video memory allocation.
Intel has not had to concern themselves with graphical APIs because they were not developing GPUs for many years. Now, with the company’s Arc series graphics, they have to catch up to companies focusing on this type of technology for years, namely the company’s rivals AMD and NVIDIA.
This insight into the company’s ignorance of DirectX 11 and older APIs has led Intel to admit that it will take quite some time to understand and find solutions for problems plaguing their current iGPUs and dGPUs. Intel fellow Tom Petersen has recently been quoted about the pathway to improving the API for Intel as stating the issue will be a “labor of love forever.”
Most of these issues stemmed from the reliance on the integrated graphics software stack which houses a very different architecture compared to Arc GPUs. This resulted in inadequate performance levels, game/API compatibility, etc.
“Our software release on our discrete graphics was clearly underperforming,” said Gelsinger. “We thought that we would be able to leverage the integrated graphics software stack, and it was wholly inadequate for the performance levels, gaming compatibility, etc. that we needed. So we are not hitting our four million unit goal in the discrete graphics space , even as we are now catching up and getting better software releases.”
“While we will not hit our GPU unit target, we remain on track to deliver over $1 billion in revenue this year,”
“In Q2, we started to ramp Intel Arc graphics for laptops with OEMs, including Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, HP, and Asus. COVID-related supply chain issues and our own software-readiness challenges caused availability delays that we continue to work to overcome. Intel Arc A5 and A7 desktop cards will start to ship in Q3.”
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger
Now, Intel will need to make attempts to work on DX11 and older APIs or risk waiting until the industry no longer requires anything less than the current next-gen APIs available.
St George Illawarra and Andrew McCullough have opened discussions about the future of the veteran hooker and whether he will play on in 2023.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told the herald that McCullough is considering retiring from the NRL despite having one more year to run on his deal at the joint-venture club.
The 32-year-old has played 305 NRL games for the Broncos, Knights and Dragons and is regarded as one of the game’s best ambassadors.
While it’s hard to be critical of his effort, the Dragons believe they need to bolster the dummy-half position.
McCullough is aware of his standing in the game and is considering calling a premature end to his career that began under Wayne Bennett at Brisbane in 2008.
Dragons hooker Andrew McCullough is a veteran of 305 NRL games.Credit:NRL Photos
The Dragons are in the market for a No.9 and have been looking at Sam Verrills and Jacob Liddle, among others.
While Verrills was among the Dragons targets and did entertain interest from the Red V, sources have indicated the Roosters hooker is poised to join the Titans from 2023.
A two-year deal that buys out the remainder of his current tricolours contract is close to being finalized as Brandon Smith prepares to arrive at Bondi next season.
Tensions simmered on the Senate floor early Sunday as members clashed during an overnight voting marathon over a proposal offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to restore the party’s expanded child tax credit.
Sanders offered an amendment to revive the expanded credit, which lapsed late last year, as part of Democrats’ sprawling tax, health care and climate bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act. But the Vermont Independent was the only one to support the revision, as it ultimately failed in a 1-97 vote.
The vote came as the Senate hunkered down for an hours-long vote-a-rama, one of the last, key hurdles Democrats have to clear to secure passage for their mammoth bill. During the often grueling, drawn-out voting session, any senator has the chance to force a floor vote on amendment.
In floor remarks ahead of the vote on Sunday, Sanders said the amendment sought to bring back a temporary expansion to the credit that was passed in the American Rescue Plan, a sweeping coronavirus relief package Democrats passed last year.
“Pathetically, the United States has the highest child poverty rate of almost any major country on Earth, and it is especially high among young people of color,” Sanders said. “This is the wealthiest nation on Earth, we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any country.”
“The American Rescue Plan included a $300 a month child tax credit which ended up lowering the child poverty rate in America by over 40 percent,” Sanders added, noting his amendment would restore the expanded credit for four years and “be fully paid for by restoring the top corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.”
The move by Sanders drew immediate pushback from Democrats ahead of the amendment vote, who expressed support for the child tax credit provision by itself but emphasized that they could not support the change in an effort to protect final passage on the full package.
“Sen. Sanders is right, the child tax credit is one of the most important things this body did. It brought down the child poverty rate by 40 percent almost immediately,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has long advocated for a renewal of the expanded credit. But he urged colleagues against voting for the amendment to avoid bringing “the bill down.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) sounded a similar note, vowing to work with his colleagues on advancing the provision but arguing that it should not be moved in the climate, taxes and health care bill.
“We have to fight to make this enhanced child tax credit permanent and that’s what I will do with people on both sides of the aisle. But this does not advance that cause because we could lose the underlying bill and therefore, we should vote against the amendment,” the Colorado Democrat said.
But Sanders appeared unsatisfied with his colleagues’ positions. He shot back at Brown, asking why passing the amendment or allowing 48 Democrats to vote for it would tank the bill.
The Ohio Democrat pointed to the tenuous nature of passing legislation through budget reconciliation in an evenly split Senate, which is requiring all Democrats to sign on to the bill for it to clear the chamber. If the amendment were added to the bill, it could put a final passage in jeopardy by dissuading a member from supporting the overall legislation.
Ahead of the weekend’s marathon debate, a number of Democrats vowed to vote against any amendments brought to the floor — even if they agree with the premise of the change — to preserve its chances of the bill passing.
“The arrangement in this is, all 50 Democrats support this. We know every single Republican has voted against the child tax credit not once last March but twice, but we know that this is a fragile arrangement and we’ve got to pass it, as much as I’d like to do it, as would Sen. Bennet,” Brown said.
At the end of his remarks, the senator could be heard saying, “Come on, Bernie.”
The amendment was one of several ambitious proposals Sanders brought up early Sunday, all of which were overwhelmingly defeated. He brought them up hours after criticizing Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act for not going far enough on key issues like health care, child care and housing.
Sanders also offered measures aimed at ensuring Medicare pays no more for prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and expanding Medicare coverage to include dental, oral, hearing and vision benefits as potential changes to the package.
The VA-related revision failed in a vote of 1-99, with Sanders being the sole member who voted in favor. The Medicare expansion change Sanders offered failed 3-97, after Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who is facing a tough reelection campaign in November, and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) joined the Vermont progressive in voting for it .
Sanders also introduced an amendment to establish a Civilian Climate Corps, though the amendment failed in a 1-98 vote.
The amendments from Sanders came as no surprise, as the senator has repeatedly voiced frustration with the Inflation Reduction Act, which is drastically scaled down from the Democrats’ earlier Build Back Better Act that the Vermont senator pushed hard to pass last year.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) announced a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) on the smaller bill in late July, months after talks around the larger plan fell apart due to opposition from the West Virginia centrist.
In remarks ahead of the vote-a-rama on Saturday, Sanders aired a list of complaints with the slimmed-down bill, which he said “does not address the reality that we have more income and wealth inequality today than at any time in the last hundred years.”
“This bill does nothing to address the systemic dysfunctionality of the American health care system,” he also said, while also criticizing the bill for not doing more to address the nation’s child poverty rates or the “major housing crisis.”
“These changes provide more options and greater flexibility for users of the scheme and are expected to increase the number of older Australians choosing to participate.”
Reverse mortgages let older home owners borrow money secured against their property. If they don’t make payments, the debt compounds and is paid when the property is sold or the borrowers die. Commercial loans taken out since 2012 have a no negative equity guarantee, meaning borrowers cannot owe more than the value of their stake in their home, and this safeguard was also added to the government scheme this month.
Prior to 2019, participants in the government scheme could draw a fortnightly income up to the full pension rate, including any existing pension payments, making it effectively only available to part pensioners and some self-funded retirees. From July 2019, borrowers were able to borrow to fund a fortnightly income of up to 150 per cent of the full pension rate.
Meanwhile, figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show the continuing decline of the commercial market. The value of outstanding reverse mortgage loans held by banks, building societies and credit unions fell to $2.21 billion by the end of March 2022, an 18 per cent fall from $2.7 billion from the same period in 2019.
In 2019 the Commonwealth Bank and its subsidiary Bankwest were the last of the big banks to exit the reverse mortgage market for new loans, but the products are still offered by a handful of smaller lenders charging 6 to 7 per cent interest a year.
Comparison site Canstar says lenders offering reverse mortgage loans include Household Capital, Heartland, IMB, P&N Bank, G&C Mutual Bank and Gateway Bank.
Steve Mickenbecker, a finance expert at comparison site Canstar, said commercial reverse mortgages had not lived up to expectations.
“Reverse mortgages were developed with great hope that they would provide the financial solution for asset-rich, cash-poor retirees to fund the retirement lifestyle they aspired to,” he said.
But Mickenbecker said early offerings in the reverse mortgage market delivered adverse outcomes to customers and while this was largely fixed by regulation, it still came with “significant trade-offs and some risk to the borrower”.
He said many providers withdrew from the reverse mortgage market during the global financial crisis because they were expensive to run, with an uncertain time frame. The market had not recovered, and it was unlikely to do so given rising interest rates would make the debt compound faster and may cause the value of the property to fail.
Deb Shroot, a financial counselor with the National Debt Helpline, said she sometimes recommended the Centrelink scheme to clients, adding it worked similarly to hardship programs run by councils to allow older people to defer their rates.
“If these forms of loans or hardship [schemes] are enabling people to stay in their homes longer, if that’s what they want to do, then they can be a really good option for people so long as they’re going through adequate checks to make sure that they’re suitable and then not charging an unaffordable interest,” Shroot said.
Shroot said the main reasons why older people rang the National Debt Helpline included credit card debts where they had only ever paid the minimum balance, utilities and energy bills and the rising cost of living generally, and unaffordable rates and strata debt.
In controversial scenes at Salter Oval, a try to North Queensland winger Murray Taulagi was overturned during the Cowboys’ 28-14 win over the Bulldogs.
After scoring in the 57th minute, the Bunker was called in to check the play for a knock-on.
In a decision which split the NRL community, the ball was judged to have traveled forward after bouncing off of Valentine Holmes’ shoulder as Tom Dearden passed to Taulagi.
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“We always try to find why it’s not a try,” Balmain Tigers great Steve Roach said in commentary for Fox League.
“How does it go forward?”
Fellow legend Billy Moore was equally staggered.
“For me that was a try,” Moore added.
Speaking after the game, North Queensland coach Todd Payten said the no-try decision was erroneous.
“I though it went backwards, definitely,” he said.
“If the try had gone up as a try then we would be celebrating, but watching from the lines, even Muzz (Taulagi) who caught it on the wing, had to reach backwards.
“So, that says to me the ball has gone backwards.”
Fortunately, the decision made no difference as the Cowboys shrugged off a slow start to win their third match in row and secure second spot on the ladder.
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Commonwealth Games in pictures: Netball semi-final delayed after a player broke the goal post
A small city in Alabama moved this week to disband its three-member police force after one of them sent a racist text message that then circulated on social media.
Pending an investigation into the text message, the City Council in Vincent, Ala., suspended the police chief and assistant chief at a meeting on Thursday and moved to dissolve the department, the mayor, James Latimer, said on Saturday. After that decision, the remaining member of the department resigned, the mayor said.
After the suspensions and resignations, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Friday that it was handling law enforcement emergency calls for the city. The statement added that officials at the Sheriff’s Office “equally condemn” the allegations of misconduct.
The city, which is about 30 miles southeast of Birmingham, has a little under 2,000 residents, 392 of them Black, according to census figures.
“This has turned this community apart,” a member of the City Council, Corey Abrams, said at the meeting, according to AL.com, which reported this week on the text message. Mr. Latimer said the assistant chief, John L. Goss, had sent the message, an offensive remark about slavery.
The Rev. Kenneth Dukes, the president of the Shelby County branch of the NAACP, said that the text was the “tip of the iceberg” and reflected unaddressed community concerns about racism in the community.
“I think now the Council, along with the mayor, see that this is totally unacceptable and that the people have said, ‘No more,’” he said.
Mr. Latimer said that the police chief, James Srygley, and Chief Goss had been suspended with pay at the council meeting on Thursday. An officer, Lee Carden, resigned. The council approved a resolution to pursue the termination of the chief and assistant chief, the mayor said.
Chiefs Srygley and Goss and Officer Carden could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
The council also agreed to draft an ordinance to dissolve the police department and to work with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to contract for law enforcement coverage.
The Rev. Dukes said his organization planned to meet with community members in the coming weeks to hear their feedback before the next City Council meeting on Aug. 16. He said he appreciated the city’s quick response to the text message allegation and was waiting to see if the chief and assistant chief would be terminated in keeping with the Council’s recommendation.
“I think at this moment we are pleased with the outcome and hopefully everybody will move forward, once it’s confirmed,” he said.
There are thousands of “zombie” houses in Australia – and they could hold the key to the country’s rental crisis.
There could even be one in your neighbourhood.
Put simply, “zombie” houses are properties that are sitting empty or are not being used 100 per cent of the time.
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“No one is renting them … no one’s living in them,” Finder money expert Rebecca Pike told 7NEWS.com.au.
And they are widespread – last year’s census revealed there were more than 1 million unoccupied dwellings, although that was during a time when much of the country was in lockdown and borders had been closed for more than a year.
But with Australia’s rents soaring and tenants struggling to find a roof over their heads, these ominously termed properties could be pushing prices up – and taking away rental properties from desperate families.
Governments around the country are working to clamp down on zombie homes and make them available for renters, but experts say more can be done.
What is a ‘zombie’ house?
It might be a terrifying term, but the idea of “zombie” houses came about in a much more benign way than their name suggests.
They can include short-term rentals and holiday homes – investors may choose to rent their property out short-term to make more money and have some flexibility.
“It seems safer to have Airbnb tenants just for a few days at a time, a week, couple of weeks – there’s less wear and tear to worry about,” Pike said.
And there’s more money to be made.
“The other side is you can just charge more money for an Airbnb. So, what you might get in a week’s rent, you can get in a weekend.”
But while there are benefits for investors, turning properties into short-term rentals means there are fewer homes up for rent, Pike said.
And that’s a problem at a time when residents have been priced out of the rental market as demand grows and rents increase – forcing some to live in their cars or stay in a caravan while they find a rental.
“Investors are putting their properties out for Airbnb, but it’s taking rental properties away from renters and that lack of … properties available to rent is driving demand and prices up,” she said.
Why landlords don’t want to change tack
Melbourne property investment adviser Goro Gupta understands the challenges of the rental crisis.
He has an Airbnb on the Gold Coast that doubles as a holiday home, and is in the process of turning a second property he owns into an Airbnb.
Gupta said he purchased the Gold Coast property – a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house – because it would have less of an impact on the rental market.
“Not all people need a four bed, two bath home for just one family,” he said.
“That’s why we purchased an Airbnb which wouldn’t really be affecting the market which is in crisis.”
He and his family fly up to the Gold Coast and use the property about every two months. Every other weekend, it’s booked out by travellers, Gupta said.
“It’s not like it’s sitting empty, it’s just empty on some of the weekdays,” he said.
“Typically, two families that want to have a family reunion or get together… at least have a house because it’s a nice four-bedroom house with a private pool.
“It’s cheaper for them to use our house than a hotel.
“With the second property, there was a long-term renter in there, but he wanted to go off and buy his own property.”
Using the property as an Airbnb generates about 10 per cent to 20 per cent more income than having a long-term rental.
“(And) it gives us the ability to use the house as a holiday house whenever we need to,” he said.
Brisbane resident Raine Gaisford knows there are struggles in the rental market, but needs her investment property listed on Airbnb.
She and her husband bought an investment property in Noosa last October, planning to use it as a holiday home that they would eventually move into – but that became too expensive with their mortgage.
Instead, they listed the property on Airbnb. It is now booked out about 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the time.
“It’s not a matter of us trying to make profit. It’s actually just about trying to pay the mortgage,” Gaisford said.
“We wouldn’t be able to service the mortgage if we didn’t have it as a short-term rental.
“We’d be making quite a significant loss … if we were to rent it out as a longer-term rental.”
The couple uses the property when they can, but need it to be rented out “for a good portion of the year in order to service (the loan)“.
What needs to be done?
While short-term rentals do contribute to the rental crisis, investors and Airbnb owners are not to blame, First National Real Estate CEO Ray Ellis said.
“You can’t blame the consumer or the property owner because they see it as an investment return,” Ellis told Money News.
“If we’ve got a good property in a regional town or close to the beach or even in inner Sydney, that’s getting $800 a week – if you can get that $1000 for the weekend, without … having long-term commitment with tenants, it’s an easy financial decision to make.”
Instead, the onus should be on state governments, Ellis said.
Across the country, local councils and state governments have introduced rules and restrictions on short-term rentals.
In Brisbane city council, owners who list residential properties on short stay websites will be hit with a 50 per cent surcharge on their current rate bill.
“Brisbane has plenty of great hotels with many more under construction, and our suburban streets were never meant to be home to mini hotels that house different tenants every week,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in June.
File image of residential houses in Sydney. Credit: Getty Images
“It is my hope that instead of paying extra, many owners will return these houses and apartments to the long-term rental market, which will help ease our housing shortage.”
Across the border in NSW, owners who rent out their properties for short-term stays must register the accommodation with the state government and comply with a code of conduct.
In Greater Sydney and several regional areas, non-hosted short-term rentals – where the owner does not reside at the property – are limited to renting their property out for 180 days a year.
Still, more needs to be done to help ease the rental crisis.
“Australia hasn’t built enough houses,” Ellis said.
“As a government – state or federal – in the post-war period, the late ’50s, early ’60s, we built almost 240,000 of what we called social housing properties in those days.
“They were full and since then, no state government has made the same commitment to it.
“State governments must address it.”
Finder money expert Pike said the rental crisis is expected to get worse over the coming months and agrees it needs urgent action.
“We’re definitely seeing that demand for rental housing going up because we have so many more people coming into the country, whereas during COVID we really saw that drop,” Pike said.
“There is definitely more demand at the moment, but there’s also less supply.
“Also with the RBA cash rate, if investors are paying more for their loans, they’re potentially passing that on to renters.
An emotional tribute to the late, much-loved Gunditjmara-Bundjalung songman Archie Roach was at the heart of the National Indigenous Music awards in Darwin on Saturday night.
Led by Emma Donovan and Fred Leone, a group of artists including Shellie Morris, Leah Flanagan, Birdz, Yirrmal and William Barton gathered on stage to pay tribute to their beloved Uncle Archie, who died last week after a long illness aged 66.
They performed We Won’t Cry from his 2012 album Into the Bloodstream. Many in the crowd wiped away tears as they sang the uplifting ballad: “I’m here beside you/Don’t you forget it/I’m with you walking down this road/Give up what’s inside you/You won’t regret it/Together we can lighten this load.”
For the first time in two years, due to Covid restrictions, the National Indigenous Music awards were held under the stars in a live ceremony at the Darwin botanic gardens, on a perfect dry-season night, hosted by Kukuyalanji-Waanyi-Gangalidda-Woppaburra -Bundjalung-Biripi writer and performer Steven Oliver.
Earlier in the week, Oliver paid his respects to Roach, saying: “Some people will say that … we [have] lost a voice. But how do you lose a voice that’s become so ingrained within a people, a land and a country that it collectively becomes embedded within a spirit?
“More than a singer, he is a storyteller. More than a front man, he is a leader. More than a solo artist, he is so many of us hoping for a better, compassionate, truthful future,” Oliver said.
The night’s big winner was Yolngu superstar Baker Boy, who won artist of the year and album of the year for his debut, Gela.
Yolngu surf-rock band King Stingray won song of the year for the crowd’s favorite Milkumana, a song about passing on and sharing knowledge.
Malyangapa-Barkindji lyricist and musician Barkaa won film clip of the year for King Brown, a celebration of independent black women and the power of the black matriarchy.
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Proving musical brilliance runs in the family, Gumbaynggirr-Bundjalung indie artist Jem Cassar-Daley won the new talent award. Jem is the daughter of country music legend Troy Cassar-Daley, who has won an astonishing 44 golden guitar awards at the Country Music awards.
The Archie Roach Foundation award went to Murawari rapper and drummer Dobby.
The late Gurrumul was inducted into the hall of fame in a ceremony led by his brother and Saltwater Band co-founder Manuel Dhurrkay.
The evening hosted live performances by an incredible lineup of First Nations talent including King Stingray, Birdz and Fred Leone, Emma Donovan and the Putbacks, Yirrmal and the Red Flag Dancers.
“[I’m] so honored to … be at the Amphitheater with community,” the awards’ creative director, Ben Graetz, said. “Celebrating together in person will be something I will remember for a very long time. Also to remember, honor and pay tribute to Dr G and Uncle Archie was a true highlight.”
Dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna fears Carlton’s terrific 2022 could be undone by ill-timed personnel issues, which has left Michael Voss’ team vulnerable at the most crucial stage of the season.
Michael Voss’ Blues are clinging to seventh spot on the ladder after a 33-point loss to Brisbane on Sunday – their fourth loss from their past six games.
They’ve been inside the top eight at the end of every round so far 1 this season, but are now in serious danger of missing out on finals with St Kilda and, particularly, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs still well placed to squeeze into the top eight. The last team to be in finals places every round except the last was Carlton in 1977.
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The Blues need to win one more game to guarantee a finals spot. But they would have upset one of Melbourne (3rd) or Collingwood (4th) over the next fortnight, while the Bulldogs and Tigers have ‘easier’ final games.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s First CrackMontagna said the Blues now had their “work cut out to play finals.”
It comes amid player availability issues in the most important part of the ground for Carlton, with George Hewett (back) and Matt Kennedy (fractured jaw) sidelined due to injury, while skipper Patrick Cripps could also miss matches due to a bump on Lion Cal Ah Chee that will attract MRO scrutiny.
Ban likely for Cripps after heavy bump | 02:00
The Blues have been renowned for their ruthless nature at the coalface this year, but Montagna on Sunday night pointed out the Blues had lost the hardball get count in the past two games against Brisbane and Adelaide by -20 and -15 respectively.
“They’re starting to get beaten up around the footy … and without that big three in the midfield, they look vulnerable to me,” Montagna told First Crack.
“They don’t look like the same side at the start of the year that was brutal, physical, aggressive, that was just bullying and beating up on teams through the midfield.
“The ‘Voss gloss’ might’ve worn off. They’ve got their work cut out now and they’re going to have to do some soul searching to try and play finals – and it might undo what has been such a terrific season up until the last sort of four or five weeks.”
Montagna also pointed out the Blues had only been in front for 26 per cent of game time in their matches against top-eight teams this year, while dual premiership Kangaroo David King highlighted the Blues are 10-1 this year when they’ve won the clearance count by at least +5 but 3-6 when that count has been +4 or less.
Brisbane stay in the hunt for top four | 02:26
“They’re clearance-based and contest-based – and they lose their best commodity,” King said.
In a must-win game, the Lions stunned the Blues in the first term with a fierce tackling display, laying 20 tackles to 13. That prompted dominance at clearance (+11), inside 50s (+13) and on the scoreboard (+ 29).
King said the Lions’ pressure was awesome, making Carlton look “jittery” and “panicky with the ball”.
The Kangaroos great put the heat on Blues backman Adam Saad, who finished with 24 disposals and 10 interceptions, but was arguably beaten by direct Brisbane opponent Charlie Cameron, who kicked two telling goals.
King pointed to a sloppy kick-in from Saad that led to a turnover and Dayne Zorko goal during the first term.
“What is that? I mean come on. This is high-level stakes,” he said.
“That’s not AFL standard, just waltzing out like that and just trying to be a little bit arrogant again with the ball.
Carlton Press Conference | 06:10
“He’s had a fantastic year, but his last two weeks he’s left opportunities on the floor for the opposition to take – and they have.”
Despite his club’s predicament, Voss said it must “embrace where we are at”.
“We are all about what’s in front of us. They are games to look forward to. We are playing in games that matter. This is an important phase in the development of our group,” Voss told reporters on Sunday.
“We need that exposure. We are going to the MCG next week against Melbourne, it will be a big game. The Collingwood game is being talked about already so we are getting exposure to these games and there can only be growth off the back of it.
“Tonight, it’s a bit of a tough one (lesson) but we’ve got to bring that fresh energy and we’ve got to correct ourselves pretty quick and we’ve got to get on with it.”
