Harry McKay has received praise and backing from Geelong champion Tom Hawkins as the Carlton forward attempts to rectify his dramatic slump in front of goals.
The Blues have tumbled down the ladder after losing six of their last seven matches, with McKay's inability to convert set shots ranking highly in the criticism circling Carlton.
The 2021 Coleman medallist has kicked just four goals from his last three games, looking devoid of self-belief from any range when having a shot.
But Hawkins, who endured confidence issues early in his career before becoming a Cats great, sympathises with what McKay is going through.
"When you see a player lose a little bit of confidence in the way they're kicking, and they play your position; I love watching Harry McKay, he's one of my favourite players to watch, his brute strength and height just troubles defenders. But he'll be fine," Hawkins said on Tuesday.
"He will continue to do the work, because there's no doubt in my mind that he's doing it, and you'll find what works.
"It will be a thing of the past in 10 years' time."
McKay's preferred technique when having a shot is to snap on his left foot, but that has not been working for him this season.
Even kicking from long range and trying the traditional drop punt has failed him, finishing the defeat to Sydney last Friday night with 0.3 and one out-on-the-full.
The kicking woes led to former star Brisbane Lions forward Jonathan Brown on Monday night suggesting the Blues put McKay up for trade.
Last October, McKay signed a bumper seven-year contract, keeping him at Carlton until the end of the 2030 season.
Even at 34 and with 762 career goals, Hawkins admitted every forward still had the odd sense of self-doubt about goal-kicking.
"Standing next to (Cats teammate) Jeremy Cameron, one of the great exponents of the goal-kicking routine, he's just a pure kick and he's going to find challenges through the year," Hawkins said.
"No one has ever mastered (goal-kicking) in their time in football.
"In my experience, particularly early on when I was finding my feet with my routine; I'm quite a simple thinker of the game, so for me it was just keeping things as simple as I could.
"Harry's going to be different ... all players across the competition are going to be different."
