Kane Cornes believes Carlton tall Mitch McGovern is on his last chance at Royal Parade, but a former teammate believes he is finally ready to make the most of it.
The 27-year-old joined the Blues from Adelaide at the end of the 2018 season, and signed a five-year contract worth $800,000 per season.
McGovern has battled with his body, but his Carlton career has come to be defined by a perceived lack of application.
It was flagged early in the pre-season that the former Crow, who has played 81 games and booted 104 goals as a third forward, would line up in defence for the coming season.
The move would see McGovern mirror his brother Jeremy, who kicked 13 goals in 13 games in his first season for West Coast before swapping full-forward for full-back.
The experienced Eagle has since won four All-Australian selections, and was a defining figure in the play that sealed West Coast’s 2018 premiership.
“I like the move,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.
“It seems a bit like a last ditch move to revive a career that has completely stagnated, mainly because he’s been injured.
“His brother’s done it better than anyone for the last six or seven years. Can Mitch follow suit?”
Josh Jenkins, who lined up next to McGovern in Adelaide’s then-potent forward line from 2015 to 2018, agreed.
“He’s naturally a brilliant mark,” he began.
“I would nearly say he’s a better mark than Jeremy, who reads the game very well but Mitch has got more athletic prowess.
“I think he’s got the ability to do so. He covers the ground better than Jeremy, though he could still get fitter.”
Jenkins says McGovern’s instinctive game will complement and lean on the experience of key defender Jacob Weitering.
The vice-captain has the core strength and craft to play off his opponent’s back shoulder, which gives the Blues’ backline a stable base and affords his teammates the scope to leave their player, intercept and set up play.
“He’s a pretty good kick, and a pretty aggressive kick, so Vossy might have to live with a few turnovers going back the other way,” Jenkins acknowledged.
“But I think he could make it, particularly when working with a team defence. I think he’d probably get worked over if he had to play on a high half-forward.
“When you can hand over and play zone defence, I think he’s got the potential to make it.”
McGovern was axed late in 2019 and received strong feedback on his fitness at the time, but has generally had the support of the Blues’ match committee when he has been fit.
“It’ll be an interesting season for Mitch, I’m sure they’ll ride him pretty hard,” Jenkins forecasted.
“His spot in the side is no longer guaranteed. David Teague showed a lot of faith in him, he’s been well paid, so they’re trying to persist with him.”
Cornes ruled that McGovern can’t be considered to be in the Blues’ best team, with fewer than 50 days to go until the opening round.
“How many chances are you going to give him?” Cornes asked.
“I just get frustrated by players like that, who after six or seven years continually present out of shape and don’t appear to be trying to maximise what they’ve been given.”
With Charlie Curnow fighting fit in the lead-up to the season, McGovern faced a scrap for a position next to key forward Harry McKay, who won the Coleman Medal in 2021.
Defender Liam Jones retired over the summer having refused to meet the league’s vaccination mandate, opening up another position for the 191cm McGovern.
Jones was similarly aggressive in the air, and took on the game when he won possession, so the fit is snug if the utility is up to the task.
However, he is one of a handful of second talls on shaky ground, with Lewis Young in particular having crossed from the Western Bulldogs in pursuit of more minutes at the top level.
Former Sydney Swans academy member Luke Parks won six games in 2021 as a hard-working key defender, and has the raw materials - a big leap, strong hands and a ground game - to be a success.
Caleb Marchbank will also press for that position if he can catch a break with his body, having not played for the senior team since Round 16, 2019.
“It may be a huge wake-up call for him, and I hope it is,” Cornes went on.
“So I think it will be the last opportunity he’s got to make something out of a career that had so much promise.
“I watched him at Adelaide and he covered the ground as good as any forward in the league, sat on people’s heads and kicked match-winning goals as a part of a really damaging forward line.
“And then he signed a big deal and we’ve hardly heard from him since. I think he can make it, but it’s all on him.
“It’s not on Michael Voss, it’s not on Carlton, it’s not on Andrew Russell to get him fit. It is with him now to make the most of any career that is left.
“It’ll come down to how much he wants it.”
McGovern will first test his new skillset when the Blues go head-to-head with reigning premiers Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Thursday March 3.