Carlton coach Michael Voss has lamented his side being exposed in a 10-minute blitz that looked to seal their fate in a 28-point loss to Adelaide on Thursday night to open Gather Round.
As they have done all season so far, the Blues burst out of the blocks to pile on seven goals before quarter time in a clearance demolition like no other under Crows coach Matthew Nicks.
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However, a seven-point lead at the first break turned into a 21-point deficit in a matter of literal minutes to begin the second stanza, before a torrential downpour during and after half time prevented either side from playing free-flowing football for the rest of the night.
Speaking to journalists post-game, Voss rejected the idea that Carlton’s start to the season felt like one deserving of a 1-4 win-loss record, noting the gradual improvement he’s seen week-by-week.
“I don’t think so. Obviously it’s been well-spoken about the couple of games we let go, so that always puts a little bit of tension (on),” Voss said.
“I don’t want to be sitting here lowering any standard, because we don’t win the game. But what I can’t question of the players, is the effort and spirit they’re bringing to wanting to get better — and turning up every day to get better.
“Today, simple indicators like having 86 tackles and the communication we’ve been trying to work on. All those little things and marginal improvements that we’re looking to get better at, it’’s closer to where we need it to be.
“It’s not finished, but it’s closer to where it needs to be.”
The Round 5 fixture was the first time all season the Blues didn’t lead going into the changerooms at half time, instead holding a four-goal deficit. In completely different conditions for the back half of the game, the away side finished only four-point losers in the second half.
Adelaide’s nullifying of Sam Walsh — who had 15 disposals and nine score involvements to quarter time — evidently played a major role in their swinging of the momentum throughout the second term.
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps had 12 disposals, six clearances and four centre clearances of his own in the opening 37 minutes, but started the next term on the bench as the Crows piled on the next half a dozen clearances amid their scoring spree.
“I just share the load. We don’t ask any player to play 100 per cent of game time. I can’t believe those sorts of things are still questions,” Voss said when asked about Cripps’ interchange time to begin the second quarter.
“Our midfield group gets the job done. The skipper (Cripps) started great, he had a very good night which was great to see. And there were some very important players that returned to some form.
“We’ve got to be better than a team that has to have him in there for the entirety of the time.
“What we were probably able to do was get a few more players through there. Again, sharing the load a fair bit more. So we’ll continue to see what that looks like if we’re afforded the opportunity to do that.”
While a second-half fade out was avoided for the first time in 2026 on Thursday night, a deep analysis of the second quarter slaughter will still be front of mind come review.
“The game asked questions for the entirety of the game … there’s no guarantees how you finish the game, versus how your first halves are. Every game presents a new opportunity to put your game style to work,” Voss said.
“For a large portion of that game, particularly the second half, we were able to dominate the field position.
“The last quarter I thought we played it out really strong … we set the game up okay, but the second quarter for 10 minutes, we weren’t touching the ball a whole lot.
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“It’ll be something to go back to look at clearly, because that’s where the game was lost in the end.”
Partly given the horrid second-half weather, it was a tough night for key forward Harry McKay up forward, who was well-held by James Borlase — perhaps too well-held at times Voss suggested.
“I thought Harry competed really hard — sometimes against three players. He could have been a little bit luckier tonight maybe in some contests,” he said.
“I think he could have been rewarded a little bit more. I’ll go back, just to make sure I’m not making any accusations there, but I thought he showed up in those contests and was really strong in the air.”
Carlton’s next chance to double their win record for the season comes next Thursday night in an MCG blockbuster against age-old rivals Collingwood.
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