Coach Michael Voss - Stats, history, articles, videos

[JustaBattler]

My thoughts on the matter, from the other side of the world admittedly, are pretty simple...

Too many on the list are just...meh...

And even those that have a ceiling of being just an ordinary league footballer (absolutely nothing wrong with this) are not consistent enough to be considered ordinary, nor are they playing a role in a team that makes the most of their ordinariness. Ned Long is a recent stand out in this regard. Considered for a long time to be an ordinary player by every discerning eye in the land, he is now doing what he needs to do in the best team in the league.

Where are our Ned Longs?

Yeah nice way of putting it ...

I suspect that supporters hopes are getting in the way of what 40% of the starting players are able to achieve over 4 quarters let alone week to week - a lot of rose coloured glasses switching to the old red mist as a consequence ...

Carlton is #1 for moving the ball end to end according to Champion data ( that is the transition game in a nutshell) - and 18th for converting those entries. Carlton is a top4 if not better contested team in the game as well - so moving the ball and getting the ball is top4=- but converting to a score 18th....Carlton is also kicking accuracy bottom 4 if not worse....

and according to Champion data - kicking efficiency accounts for 75% of game results in 2025 - it is a close competition

Some of the stuff I read on here knifing Voss- is so far off the mark it is sad really.

Pretty clear what the issues are at Carlton and have been for a long time....coaching or game plan isnt the easy fix people are looking for...I'll take everything that Voss has achieved with is list and sprinkle a bit of forward class and nouse into it - fanks.

 

[bigblueboy]

Worth watching First Crack.
1 player in top 100 on kick rating.

 

[Osc1]

Worth watching First Crack.
1 player in top 100 on kick rating.

He summed it up well, Montagna. Hope people watch it and understand the issue. Worst kicking side in the league and twice as worse as 17th, Melbourne. Need better decision makers forward of centre. List list list and a healthy list to add to this. That’s the issue.

 

[The Blue Weirdo]

Worth watching First Crack.
1 player in top 100 on kick rating.

How do we manage to achieve #1 in the league for end to end ball movement without any rated footskills?

 

[Accidental genius]

How do we manage to achieve #1 in the league for end to end ball movement without any rated footskills?

Exactly…

Montagna focussed on poor kicking but Kingy added it’s also about systems and players not knowing where to kick to advantage the forwards when going if50.

If we had better systems I really doubt the 1 in top 100 kicking stat would still be a thing.

The important question is:

How often is it a case of players taking the wrong option (ie poor decision making) and kicking it to the wrong area compared to taking the right option (correct decision) but miskicking it?

 

[bigblueboy]

How do we manage to achieve #1 in the league for end to end ball movement without any rated footskills?

Think it says plenty about how we set up and where our most skilled players are positioned.

 

[chickendippas]

Exactly…

Montagna focussed on poor kicking but Kingy added it’s also about systems and players not knowing where to kick to advantage the forwards when going if50.

If we had better systems I really doubt the 1 in top 100 kicking stat would still be a thing.

The important question is:

How often is it a case of players taking the wrong option (ie poor decision making) and kicking it to the wrong area compared to taking the right option (correct decision) but miskicking it?

Unfortunately was at the game on Saturday.

It’s not as clear on TV but our decision making is so bloody slow at times. So many times we didn’t take the first option when it was available.

By that I mean we saw the option, hesitated for 2-3 seconds then took that option anyway. At that point, defenders had already rolled back to cover further up the field.

At one point I saw Durdin as the outlet kick from D50. He ran a pattern that could best be described as a squiggle. Instead of leading into space he just did a few small moves without actually going anywhere and was shut down easily by the defender.

Whether that’s not being ‘switched on’ or whether it’s due to poor training and systems (or a bit of both) who knows.

 

[gab213]

The players need to be placed under the microscope, this will be the third coach this group has burned if we go down the track of removing him. I think there's more wrong at the club than the coach. The culture of the club has been off for years.

 

[reubsblues]

The players need to be placed under the microscope, this will be the third coach this group has burned if we go down the track of removing him. I think there's more wrong at the club than the coach. The culture of the club has been off for years.

How about choose the right coach in the first place there's a reason he was last choose at Collingwood and port supporters where happy to see the back of voss

 

[gab213]

How about choose the right coach in the first place there's a reason he was last choose at Collingwood and port supporters where happy to see the back of voss

He wasnt last choice at Collingwood, he was third and there were more candidates behind him, that's just nonsense.

Like I said, time to put the players under pressure, you can have whoever you like as coach, if you dont have the right players with the right mindset they wont succeed either. It's too easy to blame the coach every time and let the players off scot-free.

 

[Beyond Blue]

He wasnt last choice at Collingwood, he was third and there were more candidates behind him, that's just nonsense.

Like I said, time to put the players under pressure, you can have whoever you like as coach, if you dont have trhe right players with the right mindset they wont succeed either. It's vtoo easy to blame the coach every time and let the players off scot-free.

There’s always an excuse for the players. I reckon Voss is way more invested than any of the players except for a small handful.

 

[Opium]

This coach is dillusional. Reckons our game style is "impressive to watch". This guy is so full of it no wonder the players are lost.
We kicked 2 goals in a half against Nth ffs.

 

[JustOneTime]

Yeah nice way of putting it ...

Carlton is #1 for moving the ball end to end according to Champion data ( that is the transition game in a nutshell) - and 18th for converting those entries. Carlton is a top4 if not better contested team in the game as well - so moving the ball and getting the ball is top4=- but converting to a score 18th....Carlton is also kicking accuracy bottom 4 if not worse....

and according to Champion data - kicking efficiency accounts for 75% of game results in 2025 - it is a close competition

Some of the stuff I read on here knifing Voss- is so far off the mark it is sad really.

Too simplistic IMO. In 2025 we are dead last for disposal efficiency at 18th. The doggies are #1 and also 2nd best at limiting turnovers from kicks. Looks awesome on paper but they are 8th and not topping the ladder. But i accept a correlation worth noting i guess as they are in the 8. One week ago they weren't, so not sure how much kicking efficiency in isolation is worth. It is a worth something for sure.

In 2023 the same group of Carlton players were 5th/6th by season's end on kicking efficiency. I think Kennedy, Marchbank and Cunners didn't play many games so it is almost the same group as now. Those same players you think cant kick now could kick better than 12-13 other teams in 2023.

The complexity is in how the kicking in transition unfolds. How much time you have. Not simply in your kicking skill which is important but so too is your GAME PLAN and how much space each team mate can buy you. What is an example of our kicking efficiency being lower than others due to Vossy? Vossy's specific gameplan of launching the ball at Charlie/Harry regardless of if they have 3+ opponents (usually no other targets as they are helping the defensive profile). As they are man handled off the ball i guess that kick ends up not efficient as it is intercepted.

This is where Voss is accountable. You call it knifing; others call it making him accountable for what his job is.

So yes, we probably dont have the most elite of kickers or more likely the 2 'special' players who can kick to make the entire side look special out there. But it is the hidden ingredient of buying space and time that is not there for our players.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Worth watching First Crack.
1 player in top 100 on kick rating.

Did we drop the main culprits this week, or is the coach trusting them for the 15th time this season to drag themselves out of this funk?

 

[JustOneTime]

Over a period of time we def have not dropped the right culprits. Mcgovern going strong now that he has found out JSoS is ahead of him in contract negotiations for the first time. He is now in panic mode good form to be next for renewal. Bless him.

McGovern should have been dropped from some games. I think Cripps could have been too when having his worst run. charlie too. Acres. Doch.

Voss desperation I guess as pressure is real right now.

Personally i think there were signs for vossy in 2022. We went on a mammoth run in 2022 and he preened big time walking around the boundary with a group of stars cutting it up - Carlton were back and he was 'the man'. He certainly walked like it after the wins. Fast fwd to the last 4/5 games and he got caught with his pants down leading 3/4 games by that sticky margin of 20-27 points. Carlton were required to hold on and defend and they butchered/panicked each game to drop out. We got front row seats to see Voss hadnt worked on that part of the game asit was woeful. Macrae rubbed his nose on it in the last game saying we practice it non stop. Voss went to work on it the next pre-season. Just a tad to late on it. Either you have insight ahead of time or you are reactionary. He has been reactionary. Same ever since on most things. Fix one thing break the next. We currently stand with an overly defensive profile unable to even run at any decent team late in the game. Unless you want to count a panicked Kangas outfit who had never led any game by that type of margin before.

 

[GoBlues!]

Some talk that Wright doesn’t have a great opinion of Voss as a coach. I’m not sure if that’s true or how anyone would actually know that. Maybe it’s an assumption based on Wright’s choice of McRae for the Collingwood position.

No doubt we have some gaps in the list that need to be fixed asap and is a priority. But IF Wright believes Voss is not the right man for the job, would he target an experienced coach (like Longmire or Simpson) or look for a first time coach?? Will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

 

[Blue_Fusion]

Some talk that Wright doesn’t have a great opinion of Voss as a coach. I’m not sure if that’s true or how anyone would actually know that. Maybe it’s an assumption based on Wright’s choice of McRae for the Collingwood position.

Voss was a distant 4th choice by some reports...

So clearly Wright doesn't rate him.

No doubt we have some gaps in the list that need to be fixed asap and is a priority. But IF Wright believes Voss is not the right man for the job, would he target an experienced coach (like Longmire or Simpson) or look for a first time coach?? Will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

He will appoint the person he believes is best for the job. It could be an experienced coach or it could be a first time head coach. Will depend on the assessment... just like he did at the Pies.

 

[btdg]

Yeah nice way of putting it ...

I suspect that supporters hopes are getting in the way of what 40% of the starting players are able to achieve over 4 quarters let alone week to week - a lot of rose coloured glasses switching to the old red mist as a consequence ...

Carlton is #1 for moving the ball end to end according to Champion data ( that is the transition game in a nutshell) - and 18th for converting those entries. Carlton is a top4 if not better contested team in the game as well - so moving the ball and getting the ball is top4=- but converting to a score 18th....Carlton is also kicking accuracy bottom 4 if not worse....

and according to Champion data - kicking efficiency accounts for 75% of game results in 2025 - it is a close competition

Some of the stuff I read on here knifing Voss- is so far off the mark it is sad really.

Pretty clear what the issues are at Carlton and have been for a long time....coaching or game plan isnt the easy fix people are looking for...I'll take everything that Voss has achieved with is list and sprinkle a bit of forward class and nouse into it - fanks.

Just to add to this, when it comes to the SYSTEM - moving the ball end to end, defending the field, we are excellent.

Where we struggle is converting ball movement into scores. Ok, so what is the context there?

• Last year's top goal scorer (Curnow) started the year injured, has played injured, and output is down. In particular, he can't score after quarter time (14 goals in first quarters, 13 goals in the rest for the season).
• Last year's second top scorer (McKay) has played only half our games, and missed due to mental health (twice) and now a knee injury.

The drop-off from Curnow and McKay, which appears largely due to injury and other issues, has cost us the equivalent of 33 goals for the season. That is THIRTY-THREE less goals just from our key forwards being off.

What about the rest of our forwards from last year?

• Third on the 2024 goal-kicking (Owies) plays for West Coast now.
• Fourth on the 2024 goal-kicking (Cripps) has come back to earth after a ridiculous Brownlow year. He's actually almost caught up to last year's pace, but is only human, right?
• Fifth on the 2024 goal-kicking (Eli Hollands) has gone MIA with personal issues
• Sixth on the 2024 goal-kicking (Kennedy) has gone to the Bulldogs

Yep, goal-kickers 3,5 and 6 from last year are gone. Hollands and Kennedy have literally no replacements - we just don't have anyone on the list capable of playing that forward/midfield rotating role (we're trying Motlop... it's just no there yet).

Basically, our two best forwards are struggling and below par, and the rest of the forward line has had a complete overhaul. And what do you know - we're struggling to score going inside 50.

Interestingly, we've played a third forward most weeks, and if you look at the replacement goals from Kemp/McGovern/O'Keefe plus Durdin and Motlop (back from injury) they have kicked 36 goals. The 'expected goals' for Owies/Hollands/Kennedy last year was 41 based on their output. So we're papering over their loss reasonably well, despite the injury to Kemp/O'keefe and lack of stabilty there. If we are being fair to Voss... he's done ok tactically (Kemp forward worked, trusting Silvagni in defence has worked, throwing McGovern forward has worked). He's been given a bit of a bum steer with list management but surely you can't complain about that forward output in the cirucmstances?

But roughly 3 goals per game down from the Curnow/McKay drop-off, and a bit of injury luck elsewhere in the forward line? Might not sound like a lot, but just putting them back to last year's output (and god knows the ball has been inside 50 enough for that to be realistic) puts us up roughly 250pts on the season.

That would be enough for us to the be the SECOND HIGHEST scoring team in the competition, and the SECOND HIGHEST most efficient going inside 50.

To put this into perspective, if you just assume Charlie and McKay back to 2025 form, and give us a bit of stability in the forward adjusting to quite a few personnel changes, we are quite conceivably sitting here with:

• the third best defence in the competition based on points scored
• a top 4 defence based on ball movement
• a top 4 midfield for contested possession
• the best ratings in the league for moving the ball end to end
• the second highest scoring attack in the league based on points scored
• By my calculation, quite likely the fourth best % in the league (behind Colllingwood, Adelaide, Bulldogs)

Quite frankly, that's a premiership contender. Despite the lack of depth around the ground. Despite the fact we are bringing in our 7th debutant this week and cobbled together half the list off the rookie list/mid-season draft. Just put a fit and healthy Charlie/Harry inside 50 and let them clunk 3 extra marks per game (yep, from the endless horrid looking floaters we thrown in there) and we leap all the way to having a very sexy statistical profile...

Sometimes, we overthink things, and then lose all sense of perspective. The histrionics from the media this week has been ridiculous. One loss to North and we're sacking the coahc, trading all our players, and blowing up everything in sight.

Nope. So far this year, we've been a well organised, disciplined team, that has covered over its gaps reasonably well, and who has been hobbled by personnel changes in the forward line in the offseason, and injury and form issues for its two biggest weapons. So it goes

Last year, Adelaide had the framework of a bloody good team, but for a bunch of reasons ended up 8-14-1 and in the bottom 4. Half of Adelaide wanted Nicks sacked, and it must have been tempting to pension off Taylor Walker, find a trade partner for Darcy Fogarty or for some of the other older blokes... They kept their nerve, came back this year a year older, wiser, and have jumped all the way to top 4. We need to bear that in mind...

 

[JustOneTime]

That is some remarkable spin btdg. Really impressive.

Then i think about the Richmond game after thinking about the Kangas game. Then i think about the Pies missing more key players than us until just recently while still sitting at the top and winning each week.

Voss has been taking his learnings for 4 years now out of each game. The thing he didnt learn was to rely on more than two forwards. Hence the situation we are in now with one injured. You call the injuries to our key forwards bad luck. Other clubs would call it bad planning.

I also have a sneaky feeling we have a great defensive profile because except for Charlie and Harry the rest are buried in the defensive 50 when it comes time to rebound. Puts us out on our feet by the second half.

I hope you are right for sure i just personally calculate that chance as being slightly less than 0.03 percent.

 

[Opium]

Some talk that Wright doesn’t have a great opinion of Voss as a coach. I’m not sure if that’s true or how anyone would actually know that. Maybe it’s an assumption based on Wright’s choice of McRae for the Collingwood position.

No doubt we have some gaps in the list that need to be fixed asap and is a priority. But IF Wright believes Voss is not the right man for the job, would he target an experienced coach (like Longmire or Simpson) or look for a first time coach?? Will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

Voss came in fifth place when he interviewed for the Collingwood job. Wright is certainly no fan if that was anything to go by.

 

[gab213]

Voss came in fifth place when he interviewed for the Collingwood job. Wright is certainly no fan if that was anything to go by.

So, he has dropped dowm lower than what was reported in the Herald-Sun recently? By the end of the season he may drop to 25th.

https://archive.md/g1RNB

Voss famously finished behind Craig McRae and Adam Kingsley when the Pies chose their Nathan Buckley replacement.
It is seen as an indication Wright doesn’t rate Voss, but he was in the final four of 92 initial candidates.

 

[Coona Blues]

My thoughts on the matter, from the other side of the world admittedly, are pretty simple...

Too many on the list are just...meh...

And even those that have a ceiling of being just an ordinary league footballer (absolutely nothing wrong with this) are not consistent enough to be considered ordinary, nor are they playing a role in a team that makes the most of their ordinariness. Ned Long is a recent stand out in this regard. Considered for a long time to be an ordinary player by every discerning eye in the land, he is now doing what he needs to do in the best team in the league.

Where are our Ned Longs?

We do have a Cooper Lord who has been better to date for age (Long delisted by Hawks)
We do have a Jagga Smith as a shiny new toy for next year.
We do have one of the best extractors of the last draft crop developing in the twos.
We do have father son Cody Walker for next years draft who is so bloody good that guru Twomey said this week he would definitely be top 5 in this year’s draft. He is a January “foal” so will be very ready for immediate impact in 2027.

Good luck convincing Voss to replace any of Cripps, Hewett, Walsh or Cerra with the kids this season.

I wish this board would get over the green eyed monster, coveting every second player in the league when our youth is up with anyone’s bar perhaps the Richmond haul from last draft.

Our key position depth, including Dean coming may be a little underdeveloped, but is as good as any under 21 group in the league.

We need a couple of “pieces”, but bar small forwards, they are quite possibly already on our list.

 

[Sqotty from office works]

To be fair this ain't all Voss's fault.
Our leadership at this club is atrocious and committee wise isn't improving.
Without leadership at the top, the rest becomes average and that's what we are and have been for 20 years.

 

[bourbons]

Worth watching First Crack.
1 player in top 100 on kick rating.

Ya reckon we might finally prioritise kicking skills in trades/drafting?

Like as in actually prioritise - no one in who isn't at least a good (elite ideally but understand they don't grow on trees) kick, anyone under that standard need not apply, including father-sons.

 

[Stamos]

Ya reckon we might finally prioritise kicking skills in trades/drafting?

Like as in actually prioritise - no one in who isn't at least a good (elite ideally but understand they don't grow on trees) kick, anyone under that standard need not apply, including father-sons.

What about if we prioritise kicking skills (and other fundamentals) at training?
You'd think that would have a much quicker impact than turning over the list.