Carlton’s players deserve to feel the heat after winless start, not coach Brendon Bolton, writes Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson fears Charlie Curnow has become a ‘lost soul’ as a role player in Carlton’s battling forward line and says the pressure should be turned on the Blues players — not coach Brendon Bolton.

Mark Robinson argues it’s time for Charlie Curnow to get his hands dirty. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

Instead of heat being turned up on coach Brendon Bolton after Carlton’s fourth defeat of the season, heat should be directed at the players.

The unofficial stance at the club today was Bolton is coach, he will remain coach and the support for him internally is unwavering.

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Blues president Mark LoGiudice was unavailable today.

Chief executive Cain Liddle was doorstopped by media in the car park at Carlton on Monday, but what could he really say?

And head of football Brad Lloyd spoke to the Herald Sun and said all at Carlton were hurting and a review would be centred on the last 10 minutes of the loss to Gold Coast.

Mainly, it was business as usual.

While most football observers want a piece of Bolton — who’s winning percentage is just 21.4 — it’s the players who must take a level of responsibility.

What’s happened to Charlie Curnow?

Mark Robinson argues it’s time for Charlie Curnow to get his hands dirty. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

He’s taken one contested mark in three games, and only 11 marks overall.

The game has changed and uncontested everything seems to be king as coaches seek safe football — but one contested mark?

When Dermott Brereton suggested Curnow could be the best player in the competition, these sort of numbers two years down the track were certainly not in Brereton’s thinking.

He’s a kind of a lost soul Charlie.

Gifted athletically with sticky hands, he’s arguably developed into a high half-forward as Carlton has embarked on its forward-50m restoration.

There’s only so much ball going into any one forward line and at the weekend, for example, 192cm Curnow was the target for teammates only three times.

Oddly, 175cm recruit Micky Gibbons was also the deep target three times.

The emergence of Mitch McGovern and Harry McKay and the coach’s determination to play Levi Casboult has forced Curnow to become a hybrid forward.

There was once a belief the super talented Curnow would be the No. 1 forward, but this year at least it looks like McKay has that mantle.

Maybe if Curnow could take more than one contested mark in three weeks, maybe if Curnow could again reassert himself in the air, then that could change.

Last year he took 37 contested marks and 123 overall.

This year it is one and 11 overall.

Brendon Bolton has come under fire after Carlton’s winless start. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

The new forward formation is a work in progress.

Against the Suns, the Blues never had their four talls inside 50m at a centre bounce.

Game stats show McKay was the target 10 times, Casboult five and McGovern three.

But when Gibbons is the deepest target several times, there have to be questions about the organisational abilities of the forward group.

Is there a general down there?

McGovern and Gibbons are new, McKay’s played 19 games and Curnow 50 games, so who directs and points and takes control?

Multiple avenues towards goal might become a strength for the Blues, but it’s not at present. Some of it’s working, a lot of it isn’t.

Despite playing tall, the Blues broke even in ground ball inside their forward against the Suns, which was a terrific result because most teams are in the negative.

However, they’re not kicking enough goals and they have taken an average of eight marks a game inside 50m, which is ranked 18th.

Every player has a role, but surely Curnow is too damned good to be a role player.

It’s time for Charlie to get himself dirty.