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St Kilda run riot over a deplorable Carlton outfit that didn’t put up a fight

THE only thing worse than Carlton’s latest diabolical loss was the strange new look it forced its players to parade on Friday night.

2 min read
July 14, 2018 - 7:55AM
AAP
Carlton had another night to forget.
Carlton had another night to forget.

ST KILDA have prolonged Carlton’s horror AFL season, downing the Blues by 64 points in a Friday the 13th massacre at Etihad Stadium.

Pressure is certain to mount on coach Brendon Bolton after the bottom-placed Blues blundered their way to a dismal 16.20 (116) to 7.10 (52) defeat.

The Blues have just one win this season and have saved two of their worst performances for the past fortnight in games against fellow bottom-four teams. The only thing as bad as the club’s performance was its kit, which copped plenty of criticism on social media.

Carlton donned an all-grey strip during the pre-season, deviating from the traditional navy blue look, and went back to the well against the Saints. The Blues were slammed in Round One for trotting out grey shorts as opposed to the usual white bottoms and the backlash from Friday night’s look went up a gear when the grey jumper also made an appearance.

Channel 7 chief AFL reporter Mark Stevens said the faded grey look was an even bigger “disaster” than it was earlier in the year, while Fox Sports reporter Julian de Stoop said the look was “horrendous” as the punters joined the chorus of discontent.

Grey top and bottom? No thanks.
Grey top and bottom? No thanks.

Bolton’s men were outscored eight goals to two after halftime, with repeat turnovers ensuring the ball rarely left St Kilda’s forward half.

Carlton lost ruckman Matthew Kreuzer in the opening minutes, the Blues later revealing he had suffered shortness of breath.

Kreuzer’s absence forced the Blues to improvise with Charlie Curnow, Liam Jones and Harry McKay sharing ruck duties.

But there was no justifying the Blues’ basic skill errors, lack of focus and dreadful decision-making, exemplified by the fact they twice had players penalised for the rare mistake of overstepping while kicking the ball into play.

Carlton trailed by just eight points at the end of a heated first term but spent the remainder of the game on the back foot as the relentless Saints peppered the goals.

Brilliant midfielder Patrick Cripps was typically prolific for the Blues, finishing with 35 disposals (23 contested), 10 clearances and a goal, while exciting young forward McKay (15 touches, seven marks) showed plenty of promise.

But as has been the case throughout their season, the Blues had far too many passengers and the final margin flattered them.

“Their ball use was diabolical tonight,” former St Kilda player Nick Dal Santo said on SEN.

The AFL’s decision to hand the Blues four marquee Friday night timeslots has come under heavy criticism and Collingwood great Dane Swan didn’t miss the opportunity to stick the boot in.

Swan wasn’t the only one to slam the Blues for their horrific displays which have now included two loses to fellow cellar-dwellers in Brisbane and St Kilda by a combined 129 points.

Jack Steven (33 disposals, two goals) led the way for the Saints, who lost defender Jimmy Webster to a quad injury for the final quarter.

Blues defender Jed Lamb is likely to face match review scrutiny after he appeared to claw at the face of a prone Jade Gresham during the second quarter.

It’s unclear whether Lamb made contact with Gresham’s eyes but a serious misconduct charge could see him referred directly to the tribunal.

Originally published as St Kilda run riot over a deplorable Carlton outfit that didn’t put up a fight

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/st-kilda-run-riot-over-a-deplorable-carlton-outfit-that-didnt-put-up-a-fight/news-story/ba35b2ee9d77172b2e2a648a646e5b9e