‘Absolutely filthy’: Blues slammed over call to sub out midfielder

Carlton’s AFL season may be over, but the club remains on the hot seat with fans left fuming over one call during their loss on Saturday.

Matthew Kennedy was filthy on the bench

Carlton raised eyebrows ahead of their elimination final against Brisbane when they announced Tom De Koning would be the starting substitute.

The decision immediately proved to be the incorrect call as the Lions ran riot at the Gabba as they raced out to a 47-point lead midway through the second quarter.

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While that call was questioned by the footy world, it was their next decision that infuriated fans and one Blues player in particular.

Coach Michael Voss elected to use the sub halfway through the second term with De Koning injected into the contest in place of Matthew Kennedy.

Kennedy was left visibly infuriated as he was handed the red vest and sat at the back of the interchange box.

The Blues midfielder made a last-minute dash to be with the team after his wife had given birth to their first child.

His night coming to an early end left him dismayed and saw fans online blast the Blues over the decision.

Matthew Kennedy was filthy on the bench

Veteran sports commentator Tim Gossage wrote on X: “Matthew Kennedy is fuming on the bench.

SEN’s Nic Negrepontis wrote: “Matt Kennedy doesn’t deserve that junk call. This has gotta be the worst high performance into list committee into match day coaching effort of the year.”

Carlton News & Stats added: “Not sure if anyone caught it, but Matthew Kennedy looked absolutely filthy sitting on the bench late in the 2nd term. I don’t blame him, at all.”

Many fans also couldn’t quite believe the Blues made the call to pull Kennedy from the contest ahead of several other Blues players.

Footy Degenerate added: “If I’m Matthew Kennedy I’m absolutely FILTHY at being subbed off ahead of guys like Durdin, Motlop and Fantasia. Bust my ass in every position I’ve been asked to do all year, made a last minute dash from his child’s birth to play … and handed the vest.”

Another wrote: “Carlton seriously stuffed this up having de koning sub. Why they also subbed Kennedy off over Williams, Fantasia, durdin and motlop is just as surprising.”

A third added: “Not sure how they’ve reached the decision to sub Kennedy out with some of the other guys they’ve got running around out there.”

Kennedy gets a kick away in the opening quarter. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

While Kennedy’s game came to an end after a quarter and a half, he didn’t finish on the bottom of the disposal tally.

Corey Durdin finished on disposal behind on four with the 22-year-old having next to no impact on the contest.

After Kennedy was taken out of the contest, Durdin had one handball, one mark and laid one tackle.

Kennedy was one of three Carlton players to have not missed a game in 2024, but the questionable call to sub him out against the Lions has led many to speculate he could request a trade during the off-season.

The Blues season came to an end in ugly scenes on Saturday night as they became the first team to go scoreless in the first quarter of a finals match since North Melbourne did it against Richmond way back in 1974.