Carlton labelled ‘snoozefest’ in 22-point loss to St Kilda

Michael Voss may have all the gear but no idea - as his stacked Carlton side fails to make inroads against quality opposition.

Patrick Cripps and his Blues team mates look dejected after losing the round six AFL match between Carlton Blues and St Kilda Saints at Marvel Stadium, on April 23, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Michael Voss has questions to answer as his stacked Carlton side failed to fire against a surging Ross Lyon-coached St Kilda outfit that has established themselves as the team to beat this year.

The old adage about teams of champions against champion teams rang true on Sunday night as the Blues went down by 22 points at Marvel Stadium.

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Despite boasting eight All-Australian selections, the reigning Brownlow Medallist in Patrick Cripps, a Rising Star winner in Sam Walsh, and the two most recent Coleman Medallists, the Blues were all at sea in their first serious litmus test this season.

With Brisbane, Collingwood, Sydney and Melbourne in their next six fixtures, Michael Voss will be scrambling for answers to the Blues’ insipid efforts inside 50.

Admittedly missing Adam Saad, Sam Docherty and Zac Williams to injury, Carlton were notably less energetic off halfback, instead choosing to go slow and wide to their talls upfront.

News Corp’s Jay Clark noted Carlton didn’t have a single running bounce this week in four quarters of football, while David King on First Crack called the performance boring.

The Blues’ loss against St Kilda marks the start of a draw that will only get more difficult. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“When I watch Carlton play at the moment, it’s a bit of a snoozefest – there’s no real dare,” King said.

“Right now, (Voss has) got the biggest challenge in the competition as coach. He’s got the talent, he’s got the forward line and they are underperforming.

“Is it individuals not necessarily living up to their end of the deal or is it the system still being clunky six weeks in? Time is slipping.

“Their clearance game is ranked 12th in the competition for actually winning the clearance but 16th in terms of score differential – last year that was an absolute strength for them.

“Forward 50 is now 16th at goals per entry even with McKay and Curnow down there – how is that the case? The mind boggles.

“Every team in the comp would crave to have Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay in their front half.

“They should be leading the competition in marks inside 50 – there’s no excuse for that really.”

Carlton only managed nine inside 50s on Sunday, and rank 14th in the competition this season for marks inside 50, alongside various other statistical indicators that should be cause for concern for Michael Voss.

The Blues rank 14th in inside 50s, despite being ranked 2nd in marks per game, and the blame may partially lie at the feet of Patrick Cripps.

Cripps ranks 109th among the league’s midfielders in kicking efficiency this season, and 105th in disposal efficiency.

Patrick Cripps is at the core of Carlton’s premiership hopes. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

While efficiency is not necessarily a strong diagnosis tool per se (Cripps ranked 79th and 128th in his Brownlow year in disposal and kicking efficiency respectively), it demonstrates the extent of the Blues’ issues moving the ball when their top ball-winner falls behind his teammates in moving the ball as expediently as possible.

Asked about Carlton’s ball movement on Sunday night, Voss also spoke to efficiency as a core concern.

“Our front half game and our efficiency around our front half game needs to improve,” Voss said.

“What we’ve got to get better at is be more efficient in the front half of our game.

“Our efficiency needs to imrpvoe. Our total game is not all together. There is parts in our front half that showed up today we need to get better at.

“I actually thought if I look back … some of the decisions we made were actually quite sound … but our ability to execute and go after it needs maybe a bit of work.

“I think the method actually looked quite OK – you’ve got to finish your plays. They’re incomplete.

Michael Voss is under pressure to make the most of the plentiful assets he has at Princes Park. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“I think that’s a bit of a theme for us … so we’ve got to work on it.”

In a fortuitous victory for St Kilda, Carlton missed out on Ross Lyon’s services in the hunt to replace former head coach David Teague in 2021, and the gulf in coaching capability between Lyon and Voss was highlighted on Sunday night by Leigh Montagna on First Crack, who played in two Grand Finals under Lyon at St Kilda.

“The elephant in the room today was that they could have had Ross Lyon as coach and Ross Lyon outcoached Michael Voss today with what he was able to do,” Montagna said.

“When you think about Carlton’s start to the season, they got over the line against the Giants where there was that controversial free kick … the Kangaroos they were really up against it and the Kangaroos had no key defenders and no key forwards that day. The draw against Richmond, they were probably lucky to get away with two points.

“They are really struggling.

“The first 10 rounds last year when Michael Voss was new, and they were up and going, they scored 100 points six times. In the last 18 games, they’ve kicked 100 points twice.

“It’s been an issue since midway through last year.

“I think it’s their method – I think we have to question Michael Voss’ method.”

Originally published as Carlton labelled ‘snoozefest’ in 22-point loss to St Kilda