By Marc McGowan
The no-frills Western Bulldogs are where winless Carlton can only wish they were.
Missing the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Adam Treloar, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Cody Weightman, the Dogs have gritted their way to two wins and a narrow defeat to start a season their coach Luke Beveridge entered under pressure and on an expiring contract.
Aaron Naughton congratulated by his Bulldogs team mates after kicking a goal.Credit: Getty Images
VFL recruit Sam Davidson starred with 31 disposals on a wing – earning Peter Matera comparisons from Beveridge – while the Dogs also depended on recycled battlers James Harmes, Matt Kennedy (an ex-Blue), Lachie Bramble and Oskar Baker.
They were supposed to be vulnerable to a tardy opening to 2025, but two late goals from Aaron Naughton, who was otherwise well-beaten by Jack Silvagni, and James O’Donnell delivered them an eight-point triumph.
The loss left Michael Voss’ Carlton at 0-3, only weeks after he giddily declared to an amped fan base at an open training session at Ikon Park that they were preparing for an exciting season.
They led Richmond by 41 points in round one, unbeaten Hawthorn by 11 last week, and the Bulldogs by 24 at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, but each game ended in defeat. Carlton crucially lost the second half and last quarter on every occasion.
The Blues have lost 10 of their past 12 games dating to last season. Voss was stony faced post-match on the sidelines, where he coached from in the latter stages, but defiant and upbeat when he faced reporters afterwards.
He bemoaned how his players lacked composure at different stages and were “straying from us” too often, but said their best was “pretty good”. Voss conceded that queries on their last-quarter performances were “fair”.
“I think a lot of that’s been a bit of inefficiency ... but today, there are varying reasons,” he said.
“Ultimately, the Bulldogs were able to step up their game, and they owned the ball a little bit more than we would have liked. In the last quarter, we weren’t able to finish the way we wanted to. We’ll keep persisting through that, and keep looking for those moments and how we get better.
Blues coach Michael Voss addresses his players.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“But a simple thing like giving away eight free kicks [hurt us] – that’s not running capacity ... if we don’t accept it, then we won’t get better, so we have to find ways to be able to do that.”
The Blues looked poised to take off and contend for a premiership after a remarkable second-half run in 2023 vaulted them into a preliminary final they lost to Brisbane from five goals up. But they limped into the finals last year and lost handsomely to the same opponent, and have dug themselves a hole in 2025.
They have lurched from one unwanted headline to another, much like Melbourne of last year.
Top draftee Jagga Smith suffered a season-ending ACL rupture and Nic Newman (patella tendon rupture) will also miss most of the year. There was the lewd photo scandal that convinced then-club president Luke Sayers to quit. Elijah Hollands and Harry McKay are away from the club for personal reasons.
However, it is easy to understand why Voss is putting on a brave face.
His team produced some blistering passages of play in the opening quarter against the Bulldogs, particularly Zac Williams’ multi-bounce effort that set up one of Charlie Curnow’s three goals.
Curnow looked far better, even if he faded. Tom De Koning is on track to be this year’s All-Australian ruckman. Brodie Kemp bobbed up to boot a match-high five goals. The maligned Lewis Young quelled Rory Lobb in a defensive forward role. Silvagni thrashed Naughton.
Adam Cerra (26 disposals and eight clearances) was also very good on a night skipper Patrick Cripps looked like he played sore and finished with 22 largely impactless touches.
Patrick Cripps of the Blues and Oskar Baker of the Bulldogs in action.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The longer-term history for teams that begin 0-3 is concerning for Voss and co. but they only need to look back to last year for inspiration. The Hawks rallied from 0-5 to win a final, while the Lions lost five of their first seven games in 2024 before going on to claim the premiership.
“In terms of the context of the season, we’re at the start, so there’s plenty of runway,” he said.
“But we’ve also got feedback to suggest that we’ve got to get better … when you watch us play, and you see the better parts of our games, and you see how we were able to play that, it’s worth persisting with.
“But the message will be pretty simple: make sure we get really clear on our roles, continue to keep playing us and at the right times, we need to put composure in the game – and we’ll keep coaching it.”
The Carlton Blues look dejected after losing against the Western Bulldogs on Friday.Credit: Getty Images
There is an elephant in the room that will only grow larger if Carlton continue to lose, no matter how competitive they are. That has everything to do with Voss and his job security.
For his part, he did say it was “up to me to be able to make sure we do something about it”, starting with arch-rivals Collingwood on Thursday night.
On the flip side, there has been a pressure release on Beveridge, who is getting plenty out of his fringe players ahead of a trip west to face another struggling side in Fremantle.
“We all like to see the good in people, so you see the promise in your players who are actually in the 23, and you hope that you see them improve, and maybe some growth from week to week,” Beveridge said.
“That doesn’t always come to fruition, but I think it really did tonight … some of the boys who haven’t played a lot of footy at this level – there were some encouraging signs.”
Beveridge was adamant he was not surprised at how some of his lesser lights had stepped up, and he said they continued to set high expectations.
“I know the talk out of last week [losing to Collingwood] was I should be proud of them,” he said.
“Yeah, to a degree [that is right], but we wanted to win that game – and that’s the way we’ve got to think. Otherwise, we don’t end up being a chance or getting a look at where we want to go.”
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