Carlton coach Michael Voss has lamented his side's fourth-consecutive blown halftime lead after another second-half fadeout saw the Blues rescind their tight advantage to Collingwood on Thursday night.
The Blues matched Collingwood in a scrappy first half, edging the Pies out with a halftime lead of 29 to 25. However, the Blues lost all momentum in the third quarter, scoring just one behind while the Pies tallied on 10 scoring shots, and extended their lead to beyond four goals.
Collingwood parked the bus in the final term and in trying, wet conditions, the Blues once again fell short of victory, and now sit winless after four rounds.
Voss said his side was "encouraged" by a strong start, but were completely outdone in the third quarter, which was the term that broke Carlton's back.
"Coming into half time, it was pretty clear on what we needed to be able to get done. Certainly, the way we played the first half gave us encouragement to suggest that we could continue," Voss said.
"There were certainly no signs to suggest that that was going to drop off. But ultimately, our third quarter was unacceptable."
Previously struggling with inside 50 entries or withstanding opposition pressure, it was instead the midfield that faltered on Thursday. Losing clearances by nine, the Blues recorded 13 fewer inside 50s than Collingwood, which was ultimately the difference maker in the low-scoring affair.
Voss remarked their failures in the contest were "unusual" given it is normally a strength of Carlton's, but conceded the Magpies easily were the cleaner side in the game.
"We talked about this game, and about styles, but the reality is, is that the game is played at the contest first. We absolutely were disappointing in that area in the third quarter," Voss said.
"So we lost territory. Couldn't get ball flow, hard to defend the way we wanted to... They were cleaner. They were tougher around the ball, they upped the pressure, and we didn't handle it. So that'll be something that we'll review strongly.
"We've already had a really honest chat about that within the rooms, but that's not us. It's not us.
"...It was unusual today, because it was around something that we've been quite strong at regardless, and that was around the ball. They were cleaner, they brought they brought the pressure, we didn't handle it.
"We didn't step into it. So we'll look at that pretty closely. Won't be missed, I'll tell you that."
The Blues' best chance at getting off the mark comes in Gather Round against the currently winless Eagles. With a nine-day break, Carlton are set to take a couple of days off, not out of the ordinary with how AFL clubs approach larger in-season gaps between games, but with hopes it can reset their approach after a rough start to 2025.
"We've got a few days off so the guys will have to take a rest," Voss said.
"You've got to take those opportunities within the season. You don't get many of them. So we've got to take a nine-day break going into the Gather Round.
"It's an important time, after a month to get the recovery, and then we'll get into the training."
