'He has got to play': Carlton star's curious decision to play VFL game questioned
Updated . First published at
Collingwood great Tony Shaw has questioned why Carlton star Harry McKay played a full game in the VFL on Saturday night instead of featuring in Thursday's clash between the Blues and the Magpies.
McKay has been missing since round one with what the club has labelled "personal issues".
Carlton are 0-4 and their season is heading south quickly. They haven't yet broken 80 points in a game and are yet to have both McKay and Charlie Curnow feature in the same game.
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McKay kicked two goals in the third quarter of the club's VFL loss to Southport, but was otherwise quiet.
Shaw believes the decision to play him in the VFL raised more questions than it answered.
Blues players look dejected after a loss to Collingwood. AFL Photos via Getty Images
"I don't get it," he told 3AW Football.
"If you're running around in the reserves, is it his comfort zone? Is it the only thing he can cope with at the moment? Maybe that's (where he is).
"But I just don't understand. You're paying this bloke $1M a year and he's playing (in the VFL while) you're playing Collingwood."
Shaw said he feels the former Coleman Medallist simply has to play if he's fit.
"There has to be (more to it), but they're not going to come out with it, so we're going to ask the question, it's going to be lagging on for a long time," the 1990 premiership captain said.
"But to me, he is in the top five players in that side when he is up and going by a mile, he has got to play.
"He could be a decoy. At the moment, Charlie Curnow is going head to head with three defenders at a time and he's the one bloke they keep kicking the ball to, Brodie Kemp has stood up pretty well, but they need (McKay)."
Richmond great Matthew Richardson sees things differently, saying the personal reasons may just be like any other reason a player could need a run in the twos.
"You can't be selected sometimes because of form, well maybe they can't select him because of these other issues at the moment," Richardson said.
"They want him to have a run around in the VFL."
Carlton and West Coast will face off in a battle of winless sides in round five as part of Gather Round.
