Media still trying to get Crazy Vossy sacked: “Is the messaging not getting through?” “How’s the support of the players?” “In hindsight, do you think your team should have skills?” “Have you given up on finals?”
(The first two are almost literal quotes, the latter two I took a slight amount of liberty with my wording.)
Media also continuing to FC
AFL round 13: Carlton lose sixth straight game to Essendon on Sunday night
The last time Carlton lost six in a row, Brendon Bolton was in charge. That was four years ago, which beggars the question, what exactly has changed at Carlton since then?
Chris Cavanagh and James Mottershead
June 11, 2023 10:33 pm
The last time Carlton lost six games in a row, Brendon Bolton was still in charge.
That was in early 2019 and four years and two sacked coaches later, the Blues have lost six on the trot again.
It raises the question – what progress has Carlton actually made?
The age profile of its list suggests it should be playing finals, if not challenging for a premiership.
The side the Blues rolled out against Essendon on Sunday night was 10 months older in average age than that of their arch rival.
But for fans who hadn’t already cut apart their membership cards this season, they can safely book their September holidays now.
Chief executive Brian Cook moved to calm growing tensions and guarantee coach Michael Voss’ position in a pre-game radio interview last night.
“Michael Voss’s future with us is a three-year contract and he will be with us at least until the end of next season,” Cook said, adding that Voss would “absolutely” be at the helm in Round 1 next year.
A few hours after that interview, Essendon kicked eight unanswered goals on Carlton between the 20-minute-mark of the second quarter and the 19-minute-mark of the third term on its way to a 34-point win.
Voss is just halfway through his second season, but the numbers don’t make for good reading.
The Blues’ previous coach, David Teague, was given the flick after 50 games, during which he held a 42 per cent winning record.
From 34 games, Voss’ win rate now sits at a worrying 44.1 per cent.
Since Round 11 last season, Carlton has won eight of 25 matches – just 32 per cent.
Players being booed off the ground by their own fans at a home match showed that this situation is only getting uglier by the week.
Granted, Voss foreshadowed “change” in his press conference last Thursday.
He hinted that the memo to his side had been to “embrace the chaos”, after they were the go-slow Blues across the first half of the season.
That change, we saw.
The team with a Hyundai logo on their jumpers used the ball with the pace of a Ferrari in the opening quarter, playing on from their marks and looking to use the corridor.
The problem was, there was little method to the madness.
When then Blues went inside-50, there was no one home in the first term.
Key targets Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay would be up on the wings, leaving a vacant attacking 50.
Carlton did not take a mark inside-50 in the opening quarter and at one point during the second term it had logged 28 inside-50s for only two marks inside the arc.
Phone towers in the outback provide better connection than that.
The frustration is clear to see.
During the third quarter, Jack Silvagni ran down a wing and place a perfectly-weighted ball inside-50.
The ball went in the direction of Matthew Owies, with Charlie Curnow just behind him.
Neither went for what would have been an uncontested mark, the ball spilt free, a turnover eventually ensured and Essendon chained the ball to the other end of the ground with ease for a Peter Wright goal seconds later.
Silvagni clapped his hands in anger as the crowd collectively groaned.
It was symbolic of the wasted opportunities from a forward line that simply can’t hit the scoreboard.
In seven of its past nine games, Carlton has failed to score more than 62 points.
Against an undersized Essendon defence, it put six goals on the board from 56 inside-50 entries.
The problems at the Blues go beyond their failure to score.
The inconsistency of the midfield group is also hurting.
The Bombers blitzed the Blues in centre clearances, particularly in their third-quarter purple patch.
That was Carlton’s one-wood early last season.
And when the Blues weren’t winning the ball during that period, they weren’t tackling, either.
Across the second and third quarters, they laid a combined 10 tackles.
It’s been acknowledged that Cripps did not stay in a different hotel on a trip to Sydney last month, but he’s playing on a different planet to what he did in his Brownlow Medal campaign last season.
During the first 44 minutes of play against the Bombers, Cripps recorded four disposals – three of which were clangers.
At halftime, he had 17 SuperCoach ranking points – only four players on the ground ranked worse.
While the skipper lifted a little in the second half, his performances over the past five weeks have been a lot like his side’s – not up to expectations.
The Blues face an improving Gold Coast side – which will be fresh off a bye – at the MCG next Sunday.
It’s a dead-rubber as far as this season goes, but Voss and some of his players won’t want to treat it that way.
BLUES 1.5 3.10 5.10 6.16 52
BOMBERS2.4 4.6 11.7 13.8 86
MOTTERSHEAD’S BESTBlues: Cerra, C. Curnow, Walsh. Bombers: Martin, Wright, Hobbs, Stringer, Caldwell, Perkins, Redman.
GOALSBlues: C. Curnow 2, McKay, Cincotta, Martin, Owies. Bombers: Wright 5, Menzie 2, Langford, Snelling, Merrett, Guelfi, Phillips, Caldwell.
INJURIESBlues: nil. Bombers: nil.
83,638 at MCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JAMES MOTTERSHEAD’S VOTES
3 Nic Martin (ESS)
2 Peter Wright (ESS)
1 Ben Hobbs (ESS)
Even Zac said that come the pointy end of the season against the good sides we need to work on more than that.
We will take the kick/mark game if our opponents allow it. If not then we need to better than them in the contest
Yeah true, it’s not going to happen overnight, the group is still young and will only get better in the contest as time goes on
I assume that was before three-quarter-time.
I think I reached a higher plane of existence on that Redman run in Q3 that finished in a millimetre perfect pass to 2MP.
at what point do we consider that mckay isn’t just out of form but is, in fact, a giant fraud?
Long ago
Well hes no Peter Wright
The one benefit of getting the bus train combo tonight is that we’ve won and I have some blitz likes to dish out
always have thought hes a fraud
He is a big strong bloke with solid marking but cannot kick for peanuts. That makes him a spud.
Me and 12 yo son giggling in tears.
Tired sillies kicked in.
What an enjoyable night at the MCG - especially as I was invited by my Blues supporting brother-in-law and sat in the Carlton members area behind the goals at the Punt Rd end.
There were plenty of Essendon supporters in this area but also all over the ground.
What made this location ideal were two things:
- An absolutely outstanding BOG effort by our grog squad all night with some brilliant (“don’t sack Voss”, “you’re the bad Ben McKay” and others.) And superbly well behaved as well I might add.
- Seeing two Carlton supporters have a massive punch on in front of me early in the last quarter, drawing the attention of the constabulary.
The problem with the location is that it’s quite low so you can’t see the game moves off the ball that well.
So, anyway, what did I notice?
- Out tackling and pressure were immense all night. It was very noticeable at ground level all game. Even Langford and Merrett who had “quiet games” were still tackling machines. Carlton’s two “best” players - Docherty and Walsh - laid only 1 tackle between them. They won I50s by 15 yet lost the I50 tackling count to us by an amazing 12 (7-19).
- We all know, by now, that the move of Merrett out of the centre square to the forward pocket at the start of Q3 was a master stroke. What makes it more amazing that means our entire starting midfield from early in the year (Setterfield, Parish, Shiel) were already out but the likes of Martin, Perkins and Hobbs were outstanding (ably supported by Stringer).
- We continually looked to share the able to get into good position at goals. That’s why we won easily and kicked accurately. Carlton do not. Curnow is the worst culprit. 3-4 times he won the ball/marked outside F50 in the first half and turned and tried to kick goals for out wide 55m-60m out. Not once did he just pause and hold the ball looking for a player in a better position. All their forward are like this. They basically play for themselves and not each other. They all want to take the shot and assist someone else to have the shot in a more realistic spot. It’s a large reason why they kicked 6.16 tonight. It’s why they kick 7.15, etc. most of the last few weeks. We truly played as a team.
I could go on and on but thank God Phillips played tonight. He was as important as Wright was up forward. We win a lot more games win Phillips plays than when he doesn’t (especially when playing with Draper). That’s just a fact.
And that 10 minute burst at the start of Q3 when we kicked 6 goals…I had flashbacks to 2000. I have not seen an Essendon side play like that since then.
On the night, the only problem we have had, as has been the case the previous fortnight, is what to do with Weideman. He cannot keep playing this poorly and holding his spot.
I thought Daisy was a bit snaky about those in-the-back frees…to us.
Haha what a way to describe how poorly the Fark Carlton mids connect with their forward line!
I farking love Ben Hobbs.