‘Not going to sugarcoat it’: Voss lays Blues’ dilemma bare after Round 1 Tiger terror

Carlton coach Michael Voss “could not be more disappointed” with his side, admitting it will be “hard to accept” their stunning 13-point loss to Richmond on Thursday night at the MCG.

The Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent years as they overturned a 41-point deficit to overrun the Blues, who have been touted as a top-four fancy.

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“It was pretty disappointing, I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Voss said.

“To be in the position that we were in early in the match and give up that lead and that position, I couldn’t be more disappointed.

“As the game went, you could see clearly Richmond were gathering more energy and as they’re gathering sometimes you’ve just got to stay in that fight when things aren’t working for you and we just weren’t prepared to stay in that fight.

“If the scoreboard’s not ticking over, well, live in the arm wrestle for a while, fight for a while.

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“And through error, through inefficiency, they (Richmond) were able to, I guess, claw their way back probably through increasing their pressure and capitalising on our mistakes and being a little inefficient when we went inside 50.

“Fundamentals are crucial in this game: falling over; keeping your feet; being clean around the ball – relevant 100 years ago and will be relevant in another 100 years and we just weren’t that.”

Carlton’s loss was the biggest loss on record for a team that won the contested possession count by at least 20, and the inside 50 count by at least 25.

Voss said he hoped his players didn’t take the Tigers lightly due to the fact that they are widely predicted to be a bottom side in 2025.

“Humility has been a significant thing for us,” Voss said.

“It may be talked about extremely but there’s never a comment about where an opposition team are (on the ladder).

“No matter where people have proposed or estimated where the teams have been and how they’ve projected them to be at the end of the season, the reality is that these (early-season) games (against Richmond) have (historically) been close.”

Voss was so gutted, he wasn’t even prepared to treat the shocking defeat as a good, early reminder about not taking weaker teams lightly.

“I didn’t need it,” he laughed.

“I think the evidence is there from last year. It’s a tight competition.

“We gave up the lead we had and we got what we deserved.

“What we’ll do is we’ll accept how this has played out. You don’t tuck this one away. You’ve got to address it.”

Two-time premiership Kangaroo David King was in disbelief with Carlton’s output during the second half, noting that only a trio of regular contributors should hold their head high after the loss.

“You’ve got to call a spade a spade: They looked timid in the second half, they looked like they were a rabbit in the spotlight there for a while,” King told Fox Footy post-game.

“I’ve never seen players just lose their minds, bomb the ball long and panic. They didn’t want to take responsibility for the football. They just needed someone to play with composure – and outside Cripps, De Koning and Weitering, there really wasn’t a lot else to look forward to steady the ship.”

St Kilda great Leigh Montagna added: “It’s one of the biggest upsets of all-time, not just because Richmond were given little chance coming into the game, but they were then 41 points down – and somehow found a way to come back and win. That’s what makes it even more remarkable.”