Bombshell Carlton dressing room rumour shows club at breaking point

Carlton has been the biggest story of the 2023 AFL season and now a report claims the situation has gotten much worse.

Carlton is not in a good place. Photo: Cameron Spencer and Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Carlton has been pushed further into crisis with a report of a dressing room rift.

The struggling club is at breaking point following weeks of off-field turbulence and a streak of six losses from seven games.

It has now been reported the situation is much worse behind the scenes at the Blues with claims there are sections of the club’s dressing room that do not see eye to eye and that there are players questioning if coach Michael Voss is the right man to lead the team.

Journalist Sam McClure said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified on Monday night there is “a lot going on behind the scenes” and believes Michael Voss is coaching for his career, despite public declarations the former Brisbane Lions champion will see out his contract.

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“Michael Voss is coaching for his career at Carlton in the same way in the next 11 weeks Carlton are playing to save their season. There is a lot going on behind the scenes,” McClure said on the program.

“I’m not just talking about board level and whether they believe Michael Voss is ultimately the right man to coach Carlton to its next premiership.

“There are players that are starting to wonder if in fact they have the right system. There are opposition clubs I have spoken to over the weekend that believe Carlton do not have a discernible game plan.

“There are players at Carlton who don’t want to be playing with one another, there are factions developing within the playing group, as well.

“There is a lot going on at the Carlton Football Club. That is not to say Michael Voss will not survive this and they won’t do what Richmond did with Damien Hardwick and what Collingwood did with Nathan Buckley.”

Michael Voss is in the gun. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

He said a rift in the dressing room is continuing to cause issues for the club.

“They certainly have to show that they are willing to score and play in a different way to what they are at the moment,” McClure added.

“There are lots of players who truly believe Michael Voss can get them out of this and that Michael Voss is the man. But there is at least one situation I know of inside the Carlton dressing room between a couple of players which has caused issues in the team.

“There are still senior people who are restless at the lack of development at Carlton ... they need to win games and they need to start scoring.”

The club has been engulfed in off-field drama in recent weeks, headlined by the resignation of director Craig Mathieson in tumultuous circumstances.

Mathieson was reportedly vocal in the rooms after the 26-point loss, prompting club president Luke Sayers to step in.

The confrontation was apparently seen by family and friends of players and fellow board members, but the players themselves were in a meeting and did not see it.

Sayers last month declared Voss will see out his three-year contract at Carlton through to the end of the 2024 season – even if the Blues fail to make this year’s finals, which remains the club’s firm goal.

Despite this, McClure said it is a “fallacy” for the footy community to believe Voss is safe.

He said senior figures at the club are particularly “restless” about the club’s lack of development. He said it will be particularly difficult for the club to stomach if it loses to arch rival Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.

Bombers coach Brad Scott was available to Carlton when the club was searching for its next coach in 2019 following the sacking of Brendon Bolton.

The Blues went with Voss and Essendon last year appointed Scott following the Bombers’ disastrous end to their 2022 season.

Under Scott Essendon has surprised the competition to sit sixth on the ladder, while the Blues are languishing in 14th.

“If they are well beaten against Essendon on Sunday night by the man who they probably should have got to coach in many people’s eyes — and that is Brad Scott, who was available to them before he went to Essendon — it will symbolic of not just how Essendon have gone forward, but in fact how Carlton have gone backwards,” he said.

Voss last week hit out at external figures who he says are trying to “flip over rocks” to find weaknesses at the Blues, insisting his club remains united and is making progress on the field.

Carlton is in a bad way. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

It came after separate reports emerged that defender Jacob Weitering had approached Carlton president Luke Sayers in the rooms to defend Voss’ performance after the Sydney loss.

Voss said commentators were trying to “create a picture” following the Blues’ horror run of six losses in seven games, but it did not reflect how the players and coaches felt about their progress this season.

“There’s still some things we need to be able to clean up in our game to be able to get us to take that next step … clearly we need to be able to execute for a little longer,” Voss said.

Harry McKay’s three-goal display was the only positive to take from the club’s 17-point loss to the Demons on Friday.

Carlton’s season, promising so much at the beginning of the year, now teeters on the edge of the abyss.

Michael Voss’ men were undefeated after four rounds, but have now lost seven of their last eight matches with their only win in that period against last-placed West Coast.