Carlton coach Michael Voss has denied that star forward Harry McKay has confidence issues in front of goal after another wayward performance from the Coleman Medal winner.
McKay finished with just one goal and missed several chances on Sunday as the Blues slumped to their second straight loss, with St Kilda running out 12. 10. (82) to 8. 12. (60) winners at Marvel Stadium.
The left-footer's struggles in front of goal were made more frustrating by the fact that he was dominant around the ground, finishing with 17 disposals and 14 marks.
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McKay's kicking issues were evident in the third quarter where he missed a pair of snap attempts in the space of a minute as Carlton looked to get back in the game.
Voss was asked about his star man's wayward kicking after the game, particularly about an instance where McKay offloaded a ball instead of taking a set shot, and defended his player.
"I think he's OK," he said.
"The moment you're talking about, he's trying to be a good teammate. You'd like to go back and kick that goal, but he's also trying to bring one of his teammates into the game."
McKay's set shot technique, which often sees him opt for snaps around the body rather than regular drop punts, has been polarising, but Voss urged him to continue.
"He goes to work on it pretty hard and there is always coaching in it," he said.
"There's an acknowledgement that it's industry-wide that it gets done, so this is not a new technique that's just emerged.
"He rehearses it and goes after it. That's the only ask (of) the players – to be able to look at their technique and how they finish and keep evaluating it and have enough humility to know that if it's not working, what you need to adjust, but then go to work on it.
"Don't just think that something's going to work and then you don't practice it."
Voss' comments were echoed by champion Richmond goalkicker Matthew Richardson, who also struggled in front of goal during his 282-game career.
"I think his around the corner (snap) is more reliable than his drop punt at times," Richardson told 3AW.
"So when he's on the right side of goals and probably straight in front, I would go around the corner. And then obviously on the other side you can't do that, so he probably needs to go the drop punt on that side of the ground. But he needs to make sure he does the same thing every time.
"I would've (kicked more around the corner) now because I reckon you've got less margin for error with a drop punt. You've got more of the ball to kick around the corner and it feels more comfortable too.
"You need to work out and know that (when to snap), and I don't think Harry knows what he's doing yet."
Richardson said the key to McKay having success in front of goal is to develop a consistent, repetitive routine.
"Every time Harry goes back (for a set shot), you're not sure what he's going to do. Is he going to go the drop punt? Is he going to go around the corner?" he said.
"In my experience, I wasn't a great kick at goal, but I did work out that I have to do the same thing every time and that's going to give me the best chance, and he doesn't do that."
Richardson also admitted that the mental aspect of goalkicking often plagued players who struggled in front of the big sticks.
"Some guys are probably just mentally better in the head when they're having a shot at goal," he said.
"At training you'd have 100 shots at goal (and) you'd go 70-80 per cent because there's not 50,000 people (watching), there's not the situation of the scoreboard, there's not the fact that you might miss one early.
"Some guys just can't master that part of it either."
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