AFL great Jonathan Brown has blasted Carlton star recruit Zac Williams over a "lack of workrate" during the club's Round 14 loss to the Giants.
The Blues, who currently sit 14th on the ladder, have found themselves out of finals contention for the eighth straight year after a series of poor performances, despite telling fans that 2021 would break the long finals drought.
The 36-point loss to the Giants highlighted the Blues' lack of effort and defensive work rate, kicking just three goals and laying 20 tackles in the first half of the match, despite having 38 fewer possessions. By the final whistle, Carlton had 37 less tackles than the ninth-placed Giants.
Speaking on FoxFooty's On The Couch, the triple premiership Lion specifically questioned big name recruit Williams and his effort.
"I tell you what, Zac Williams is one of the laziest footballers going around at the moment," Brown told the program.
"Don't worry, there's about 100 pieces of vision we've left on the cutting room floor. We could've gone through it for the next half an hour and showed it. We could've really hurt his reputation. I'm just verballing it for you.
"That bloke has come to the Carlton footy club, paid that sort of money, he needs to turn up in better shape and get himself fit and turn up and put in a better effort, especially on defence."
Williams joined Carlton in the off-season after making the move from the Giants, signing a six-year deal understood to be worth around $800,000-a-season. The 26-year-old played 113 games for the Giants after being drafted in the 2013 AFL rookie draft.
Three-time Coleman medallist Matthew Lloyd added to the criticism of the underperforming Blue, questioning his fitness.
“No one knows Zac Williams better than the Giants … they said, ‘You know what we’ll do? We’ll work over Zac Williams aerobically with Tim Taranto’,” Lloyd said on Footy Classified.
“Taranto will bolt past him. Zac just wants to walk so they exposed him poorly. They knew Zac Williams better than anyone yet Carlton overpaid.
“I think they took him off the back of a prelim final where he dominated and hoped that he could be that for Carlton and he’s not, unless he finally gets serious and has the pre-season of his life and gets fitter than he is currently.”
Carlton have initiated an external review of the club, announced after the Round 12 loss to the Eagles. The panel, led by incoming club president Luke Sayers, will review the performances of embattled coach David Teague and his assistants.
The Blues face last year's wooden spooners Adelaide in Round 15, aiming to end their three-match losing streak.