St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has said star forward Max King “won’t be seeing anybody outside the club” to help improve his set-shot routine, instead backing in those at the club to help steady the 22-year-old’s game.
King imposed himself in the air during Friday night’s loss to Brisbane at Marvel Stadium, but kicked five behinds and ended up goalless as the Saints’ final hopes were all-but dashed.
Speaking post-game, Ratten was staunch in his defense of King.
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“It’s part of the game and you look through great forwards to have played the game, they’ve had a night where they haven’t scored like they wanted to,” he said.
“The pleasing part we know about Max is that Tuesday was a day off for the players and he was at Marvel Stadium for an hour-and-a-half having goal-kicking practice. Every day we’re at the footy club or not at the footy club he’s there having extra goal-kicking and really rehearsing and fine-tuning his game to make sure he gets the opportunity to score on game-day. He’s doing a power of work.
“What I do know is I want Max King in my corner. He’ll be at our footy club for 10 years and when we look back we’ll be saying what a great player he is and what he’s done. Tonight he had a night where it didn’t work for him.
“He did everything right but finish, for great forwards that’s happened in the game. He’s 21 years of age, we love what he brings to the footy club, he’s developing and we know that he’s doing the work. Sometimes you don’t get the reward all the time but he’ll keep doing that and you watch, he’ll turn it around.”
King has enjoyed a relatively impressive season in front of goal, booting 47 goals from his 21 games.
There have been occasions, however, where inaccuracy has plagued him, most notably his return of one goal and seven behinds in round six and two goals and five behinds in round 20 before tonight’s five behinds.
Ratten said a myriad of factors were at play for King.
King kicked five behinds on Friday night (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images).Source: Getty Images
“I wouldn’t say high pressure, I think sometimes the goal-kicking, it’s got so many elements to it,” he said.
“It’s the technical aspect, the mental aspect, the fatigue, what part of the ground, people score from different parts and score easier when the ball is on the right side versus the left.
“I want to go to war with Max because he delivers and he will deliver.”
The Saints in 2021 knocked back Max King’s request for help from Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd – who also coached King at Haileybury College – instead opting to leave King’s goal-kicking practice to those internally.
Asked on Friday night if there had been a change since then, Ratten’s response was firm.
“He won’t be seeing anybody outside the club, he doesn’t need to. We’ve got people with the skillset to keep working there,” he said.
“As I said to you, it’s not just all about the technical aspect, there’s a mental aspect to it as well. With goal-kicking, it’s a closed skill and there’s different elements to it.
“It’s not just we bring somebody in and they fix up the hand drop or anything like that. He hasn’t got many flaws, but sometimes it can go against you.”
There’s fears Sydney veteran Josh Kennedy has played his last match after suffering another hamstring injury in the VFL.
Plus the Saints’ sweat on Dan Hannebery’s fitness after the luckless midfielder goes down once again.
Get the latest AFL injury news in our Round 21 Casualty Ward!
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SYDNEY veteran Josh Kennedy could potentially be “pushed into retirement” after another hamstring injury; this time suffered in the VFL on Sunday.
Kennedy missed 10 matches after a horror hamstring tendon injury suffered against Carlton back in Round 10.
He made his return as the medi sub last round, but didn’t get on the field.
So the Swans made the call to send Kennedy back to the VFL. But he has now injured the hamstring on his opposite leg.
Kennedy limped off the ground in the second term after trying to lay a tackle on North’s Tarryn Thomas.
“It’s disastrous developments,” Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph said.
“It seemed to be a really serious hamstring injury.
“The worst case scenario for a hamstring tear at the high end scale or a tendon injury probably puts him out for the rest of the season and potentially pushes him into retirement.”
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PORT ADELAIDE star connor rozee will undergo scans after a knee scare in Saturday night’s loss to Richmond, but club doctors are confident the mercurial midfielder has avoided significant damage.
The 22-year-old limped from the ground in the second quarter at Adelaide Oval after his left leg twisted awkwardly under him as he attempted a quick change of direction.
He was clearly in pain as he was assessed on the sideline and was taken to the changerooms for treatment before half-time, then shortly emerged with the knee heavily strapped to play out the second half.
The Power was playing for pride only, having been knocked out of finals contention by Collingwood, but coach Ken Hinkley was comfortable with the decision not to put the young star in cotton wool.
“What you do when you manage a player is you have good conversations with the medical team and they were very certain and sure that there was not going to be any further damage done,” Hinkley said.
“It was about whether the pain was manageable for Connor and he seemed to think it was.
“You wouldn’t take a risk with a player like Connor, and we never do, regardless of the state of the season.
“(The medical staff) said structurally it’s all fine so that should give us confidence.”
RICHMOND are waiting on the results of scans on defender Nick Vlastuin after he was subbed out of the win over Port Adelaide.
Vlastuin sustained rib damage in a collision with Charlie Dixon, with Richmond coach Damien Hardwick conceding it is unlikely the important defender will be fit to take on the Hawks on Sunday.
He could also be in doubt to face Essendon in Round 23.
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GEELONG are taking a cautious approach with star Patrick Dangerfieldafter the veteran was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s win over St Kilda.
But Cats coach Chris Scott is confident Dangerfield will be fit to face the Gold Coast next weekend.
“The feedback I’ve got from him and the medical staff is that he’s fine,” Scott said.
“He just felt some awareness (of calf tightness) in the warm-up and I think in the past he’s pushed through these things thinking he’d be fine.
“And even if there was a one per cent chance that he might do some damage, he wasn’t prepared to take it. So it seemed a logical call.”
ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten says Dan Hannebery is in a race to be fit for the must-win clash with Brisbane on Friday night.
The injury-prone Hannebery was subbed out of the loss to Geelong with an ankle injury.
He’s managed just 17 games for the Saints since crossing from Sydney at the end of 2018 due to ongoing soft tissue injuries.
Hannebery is also out of contract at the end of this season.
“We’ve just got to look after him,” Ratten said.
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“It was a risk to put him back out there; we’re not taking a risk with a player we are trying to get up for next week.
“He might not even get up this week. We’ve just got to work through what it will look like for Dan post this game.
“He’ll be a test all the way until the last day. It’ll be tight.”
Ratten conceded Hannebery was in “a bit of discomfort” post match but said if he provided himself fit, he’ll keep his spot in the line up to face the Lions.
FREMANTLE‘s Matt Taberner is racing to be fit to face West Coast in next weekend’s Western Derby after being subbed out of the win over the Western Bulldogs.
Taberner failed to see out the match once again, this time with a calf issue, after being restricted to just 12 games in 2022 due to back and hamstring complaints.
Coach Justin Longmuir said the latest setback was disappointing.
“He was looking dangerous again so it’s disappointing for him and us,” he said.
“We’ll rehab it and see what the rest of the year looks like.
“We’ll see what the scan says and see what the doctors recommend for his time out but there’s not much of the season left to be too cautious so we’ll see how it pans out over the next couple of days.”
It’s one of the most famous and unique trades in footy history.
Famous because it involved two players, Chris Judd and Josh Kennedy, that end their careers with stacked CVs, with surely the latter to join the former in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
And unique because both Carlton and West Coast could claim they ‘won’ the trade.
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Debate over the famous 2007 deal between the Blues and Eagles has, inevitably, emerged this week after Kennedy announced West Coast’s upcoming match against Adelaide would be his 293rd and final AFL game.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old will depart as the Eagles’ greatest goalkicker, as well as several accolades including a dual Coleman Medallist, seven-time Eagles leading goalkicker and triple All-Australian. He was also a pivotal member of West Coast’s thrilling 2018 premiership triumph over Collingwood.
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Kennedy’s achievements came almost exclusively at the Eagles after Carton’s No. 4 pick from the 2005 draft was central to one of footy’s most famous trades.
In late 2007, Judd – West Coast’s 2005 premiership captain and arguably the best player in the AFL at the time – wanted to return to Victoria, with the Blues keen to secure his services.
After 11 goals from 22 games at Carlton, Kennedy moved back to Western Australia – although he was happy and settled in Melbourne at the time.
As part of the deal, Carlton acquired Judd and Pick 46, which it used to select Dennis Armfield, who played 145 games for the Blues). The Eagles got Kennedy, as well as Picks 3 (Chris Masten – a premiership Eagle that played 215 games for West Coast) and 20 (Tony Notte, who played two games in three seasons).
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The struggling Blues not only needed a star player, they sought a leader and standard-setter, hence he was made captain in his first year. In his first four seasons at the Blues, Judd made the All-Australian team in each year, won the Blues’ best and fairest in the first three, claimed the 2010 Brownlow Medal and won the AFL Players’ Association’s MVP award.
Judd was four years older than Kennedy when the 2007 trade went down. He was also already a Brownlow Medallist, Norm Smith Medallist and premiership captain.
But as Judd was coming to the end of his career, Kennedy reached his prime. He kicked 59 goals as a 23-year-old before a golden run where he booted 60, 61, 80 (Coleman Medal), 82 (Coleman Medal) and 69 majors across five seasons. Most crucially, the next year he kicked 3.2 from 18 disposals and 11 marks in a winning Grand Final.
Ex-Carlton coach Brett Ratten with Chris Judd on the day he officially became a Blue. Picture: Simon MossmanSource: AAP
Injury forced Judd to retire at 31 following a couple of seasons where it was clear he was part of his incredible prime. Kennedy will retire after a mighty, warrior-like finish to his career that’s seen him kick 43, 49, 34, 41 and 29 goals from the past five seasons. Considering the Eagles’ plight, the poor delivery inside 50 and his own injury niggles, the fact Kennedy has booted 29 goals this year is remarkable.
Ultimately, the Blues got seven seasons out of Judd and the Eagles got 15 out of Kennedy.
So all things considered, who won the 2007 Judd-Kennedy trade?
Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich perhaps put it most diplomatically.
“Probably West Coast in the long run, but it’s one of those ones where you could probably argue the case either way on who had the better result,” Pavlich told foxfooty.com.au.
“Judd was captain and All-Australian and took the Blues to a finals win in 2013. So maybe the short-term winner was Carlton, but definitely the long-term winner has been West Coast in terms of Josh Kennedy being an incredible forward for a long, long period of time, All-Australian, Coleman Medalist and eventually a premiership player in 2018. He’s been a star for a long time.
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“So short-term Carlton, long-term West Coast – it’s not usually you get a trade like that where both teams could argue that they got a better result.”
Ultimately, the business of footy is winning, which is what swayed two Fox Footy pundits to the Eagles.
“Without judging the individual players but judging from the time of the trade, I would feel West Coast won the trade,” triple premiership Lion Alastair Lynch told foxfooty.com.au. “That’s not reducing or belittling Judd’s contribution because he is one of the all-time greats of the game, but post-trade, West Coast got a flag out of it and I suppose Carlton didn’t, so I’d have them just in front.”
Bulldogs games record-holder Brad Johnson told foxfooty.com.au: “Well West Coast won a flag, so I think with what West Coast got out of Kennedy was absolutely spot on for what they needed as a team.”
Triple premiership forward Cameron Mooney also leant towards West Coast – but not by much.
Josh Kennedy with the 2018 Premiership Cup. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
“I think it worked out pretty well for both. But if I had to pick, being a forward and knowing how hard it is to kick 700 goals and to win a premiership, which is the main game of the game, you have to think probably West Coast,” Mooney told foxfooty.com.au. “But I would’ve been very, very happy if Chris Judd walked through my doors.
“The thing for Carlton was at the time, the club just wasn’t a good club – and it’s probably the perfect example of one person cannot change a football club. He’s in the top handful of players this century and as great as he is, he couldn’t change a club that, probably until recently, had been seen as a poor club.”
AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson declared it a win-win for the Eagles and Blues.
“They both won. Judd was a champion and Kennedy played 15 years,” Robinson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“His second headline in football was ‘Carlton are giving away Josh Kennedy’ – and his last headline will be ‘Josh Kennedy retires a champion of the game’. It’s a great story.”
AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley added: “It’s quite clear Carlton didn’t know what they were trading, because nobody trades THAT player. He was two years in and the forecasting wasn’t he was going to become one of the top 25 goalkickers of all-time. He might’ve been reluctant at the start, but he found his home from him and West Coast and he won his reputation from him at West Coast.
Melbourne and Brisbane have been quizzed on the futures of two their respective out-of-contract stars as rumors swirl.
Plus the latest on a suitor’s Jordan De Goey bid as well as Dan Hannebery’s future.
Get the latest player movement news and updates in AFL Trade Whispers!
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DEES, LIONS CONFIRM HONEST CHATS WITH OFF-CONTRACT STARS
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has admitted he’s had “honest chats” with out-out-contract star Luke Jackson about his future, saying the youngster faces a massive call ahead.
Jackson has put off contract talks until the end of the season and been heavily linked with a move to Fremantle as he weighs up returning to his home state of Western Australia.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Goodwin implored the 20-year old to not be distracted by his future plans and keep his focus on helping the Demons’ bid for back-to-back premierships.
“I’ve had some great chats with Luke and some were honest chats about we just want him to perform for the Melbourne footy club, however long that may be,” Goodwin told Fox Footy.
“That’s what our focus has been, whether that’s 10 weeks, whether that’s the next 10 years, and he’s been really open … he’s fully committed to Melbourne.”
Jackson rucking against Freo (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
“Our responsibility as a club is to be mature in our approach towards that end, and get the best out of the Luke for however long he’s at our footy club… those conversations have been held with Luke and he’s embraced it.
“He needs time to make his decision… we’ve said to Luke all along, ‘you take as much time as you need’.
“He’s got the chance to go home at some stage throughout his career and he’s got a footy club that he loves at the moment, so it’s a big decision for him to make.”
Brisbane faces a similar situation with key forward Dan McStay, who’s been heavily linked to Collingwood on a five-year, $3 million deal.
And like Goodwin, Lions coach Chris Fagan just wanted to see McStay put his best foot forward while wearing the Brisbane jumper.
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“I’d have a couple of chats with Daniel during the season. These are challenging times for players when they’ve got to make decisions about their futures,” Fagan told AFL 360.
“I just wanted to make sure Daniel felt supported and also to encourage him to play the best football he can for the rest of the year.
“Whatever decision he makes he makes, hopefully he decides to stay with the Lions, but if he doesn’t he’s given us great service and we’re grateful for what he’s contributed to the club.”
Asked if players and clubs should announce moves ahead of time, like in the NRL, Fagan said: “That probably seems the mature way to do it, I just don’t know whether we’re ready for that and whether all clubs will be comfortable.
“Some players might feel like if they say they’re going, that would endanger their chances perhaps for selection for the rest of the year or the club might turn in a different direction.
“I don’t know whether we’ve arrived at that level of maturity with football yet, I’d like to think so.”
SAINTS WANT MORE BY GOEY CLARITY
St Kilda’s board has requested its football department for more information on Jordan De Goey before it ticks off making a formal push for the free agent Magpies star, reports TheAge.
The Saints have been linked to De Goey, who was discussed at the club’s board meeting on Thursday night as it weighs up an aggressive pursuit of the 26-year old.
It’s believed the board wants to be satisfied he’s the “right fit” for the club both on and off the field including its leadership and values and whether he could help the club win a premiership.
De Goey’s future at Collingwood is in doubt after the Pies pulled their most recent contract offer to him following his Bali exploits — a two-year deal with a trigger for another two years, totaling $3.2 million.
De Goey returned from a quad injury on the weekend (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Geelong is also interested in the midfielder/forward, while St Kilda coach Brett Ratten confirmed in June his club would want to look at “all the evidence” around De Goey’s off-field indiscretions before ruling out a play for the out-of-contract Collingwood star.
“We’d have to do our homework and have a look at exactly what has happened and taking all the evidence as you do when you bring in any player, especially opponents from another club,” Ratten said.
“You’re looking at the on-field performance, and you’re looking at what you’re trying to build as a football club and culture and that as well. So we take in both sides of the equation, and then we make decisions around there and all those free agents will be singled out and sort of maybe targeting one or two, if it’s possible.
“We do assess everything they do on and off the field.”
HANNEBERY ‘PRETTY KEEN’ TO PLAY ON
Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph reports Dan Hannebery is “pretty keen” to play on in 2023, but believes the out-of-contract Saint may have to settle for a rookie list spot.
Hannebery enjoyed a strong return to the field against Hawthorn — an inclusion that raised the eyebrows of some pundits — racking up 27 disposals and booting one goal in the St Kilda’s 12-point win in his first game since Round 23 last year.
However the injury-plagued 31-year old, who’s coming towards the end of a four-season deal worth around $800,000 per season — a contract renegotiated to a reduced figure this year — has struggled to stay on the park in recent years, playing just 16 senior games in four campaigns due to several setbacks.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s on the couch, Ralph provided the latest on Hannebery’s future.
“Officially out of contract, pretty keen to go again — probably needs to make the next three weeks a winner.
“He funded his own trip over to ‘Healing Hans’ the German soft tissue expert… he’s taken multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars pay cut.
“I think one possibility is if he gets through the year, you go onto the rookie list or you spend a summer trying to train yourself up — and if you can get through it, it gives you another year as a summer rookie.”
