Carlton coach Mick Malthouse lashes Blues poor showing against Collingwood

MICK Malthouse couldn't find a Carlton winner, lashing his team's 41-point loss to Collingwood as the low point of his first season in charge.

Malthouse

MICK Malthouse couldn't find a Carlton winner tonight, lashing his team's 41-point loss to Collingwood as the low point of his first season in charge.

The Blues coach was shocked that there was simply no response from his team after it coughed up a 28-point first-quarter lead with an insipid performance in contests around the ground.

"It's comprehensively our worst game. No question about that," he said.

"Not because of the scoreboard, but because of the ease with which the opposition was able to score.

"They beat us comprehensively right across the board.

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"We were looking for a spike (when the Magpies surged), but it's got to come from all over, not just half a dozen players.

"The worry was we didn't get back in the game by any circumstance, any division or players.

"It's foreign to us this year. We've been a very competitive side.

"We've led sides and lost, trailed and rallied ... but) we just haven't seen this situation before.

"But it's part of the learning curve for me and ... for the playing group to understand that it's not acceptable by anyone at the football club and I dare say any supporter."

Malthouse said the match was lost in the closing minutes of the final term when the Pies kicked three quick goals moments after Jarrad Waite was subbed out of the game with a knee injury.

Pies unite to smash Blues

But he refused to blame the loss of his key forward.

"It throws your balance out, but it's a poor and lame excuse if we use that," Malthouse said.

"The scoreboard might have shuffled marginally, but that wasn't anywhere near the reason we were beaten -- we were beaten by a very good football side.

"And the worst thing was we were beaten in the core, they took the ball away from the stoppages, their forwards generally won one-on-one and their backs won one-on-one.

"It's very hard to find one good player -- one player who actually won on the day. You can't win too many games like that."

Carlton also suffered injuries to Eddie Betts (hip pointer) and Mitch Robinson (shoulder) during the loss, which left it three games outside the eight should Port Adelaide win on Sunday.

Malthouse didn't want to use his team's wet-weather slog in Sydney last week as an excuse, but he did raise the match as an issue that affected his team's preparation.

"That was our care during the week ... but we were just beaten by a better side."

Malthouse bristled when asked for his thoughts on Carlton's ladder predicament.

"You can't reinvent the year. The ladder is totally and utterly irrelevant for us," he said.

"We will go into next week, pick the best-prepared side to play our next opponent without even a glance at the ladder because that doesn't determine how well you play."