Carlton coach Michael Voss has explained the reasoning behind naming star ruckman Tom De Koning as sub for Saturday night's elimination final, which the Blues lost after coughing up the first 60 points of the must-win match.
The sub call was a curious one given De Koning's role and form prior to the foot injury he sustained in Round 19, however stand-in ruckman Marc Pittonet was also named to face the Lions as the Blues prepared to be without another tall in star forward Charlie Curnow.
Voss made six changes for the trip to Queensland, with the large number of changes some concern for a game where the Blues' season was on the line.
A historically slow start saw Carlton make their sub change midway through the second term, with Matt Kennedy taken out of the match after just 37 minutes of play.
In hindsight, the De Koning call looked to be a poor one, as his influence on the game was cooled by the large deficit, but as Voss revealed it was either starting on the bench or no action at all for the promising ruck-forward.
"We tried to manage Tom's minutes a bit at the start of the game. We didn't want to activate him when we did, but we were sort of left with no choice with how the scoreboard was rolling," Voss said post-game.
"I'd love his availability, there's no question on that. I think if we had our way, we'd love to start [all the returning players] at the same time.
"But to manage a very unusual and unique set of circumstances... there was probably a couple in that category and Tom was one or two runs short of being able to put in 100 minutes, for example.
"The option was to either not play him, or play him in that scenario. We chose to want to activate him and I'm pleased we did, as it turns out. We needed a little bit of presence down the line forward of the ball. We couldn't win many contests, they were able to dominate the air and on the ground."
Carlton won the period of the game from when De Koning was brought into the match, with the added height to Voss' front third giving them an advantage in the second half as the Lions lost Jack Payne to a knee concern.
Key forward Harry McKay booted a team-high three goals, while Pittonet kicked two late into the game after losing most of the ruck battle to Oscar McInerney.
De Koning ended his night with 11 disposals, four marks, three clearances, 10 hitouts and a goal assist, while the Blues won the second half 58-37.
The loss sees the Princes Park club's campaign come to an end, while the Lions progress through to a semi-final against GWS on Saturday.
