Season over? Wounded Carlton torn apart by finals-bound Hawthorn; concern over Charlie Curnow, Adam Saad

Carlton has now slid out of the eight and has Charlie Curnow and Adam Saad under serious injury clouds. Have the Blues unravelled so much that they may miss finals? And are the Hawks now locked in?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 11: Josh Weddle of the Hawks celebrates a goal during the 2024 AFL Round 22 match between the Carlton Blues and the Hawthorn Hawks at The Melbourne Cricket Ground on August 11, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The trainers and doctors in blue must be wondering when they will ever get a break.

Already by quarter-time the toll was rising for Carlton as an injury curse continued to push their season from premiership hope to fringe finalist.

It got worse later as Charlie Curnow appeared to bust his troublesome ankle again early in the third quarter as the hyped clash against Hawthorn ground to a halt.

By the first break, Jack Martin had copped a cut on his head then pinged his hamstring, Jordan Boyd had hurt his adductor and Lachie Fogarty had smashed a collarbone.

Neither Martin nor Fogarty would come back on and Carlton’s rub-down mats were busier than Bourke St.

Charlie Curnow of the Blues was down in pain and taken off by the doctors on Sunday. Picture: Mark Stewart

Meanwhile, hardly a Hawthorn jumper touched their mats and the Hawks physios could have ordered a latte and kicked back with the Sunday paper on their bench.

Curnow limped from the field in the third after punching the ground in anger when he went over the ankle, with the Carlton fans so deathly quiet they barely clapped when Blake Acres kicked a goal moments later.

Those in the outer knew their flag hopes were fading at dramatic speed.

Michael Voss said describing Sunday’s disastrous match against Hawthorn as a “disappointment” would be an understatement, but denied that they took a risk playing superstar forward Charlie Curnow.

“Given what we’re managing there, we probably just accept it’s going to be a little bit like that for the rest of the season until he can get a rest, really,” Voss said.

“So ideally he doesn’t roll that ankle and he’s OK. He’s still moving around OK but it’s just something that he’s going to have to manage.

“But he was fine to go.”

Carlton looked slow before the injuries and picked the wrong team to be short of rotations against.

The clearest sign of Hawthorn quicker legs and inventive nature came in a 22 second play of the day in the second term.

The Hawks had clearly come to the MCG with a few set plays from kick-ins, a lost art in football.

Calsher Dear of the Hawks flies for a screamer in the third quarter. Picture: Mark Stewart

This one was perfection, with Jack Scrimshaw’s torpedo finding Jack Gunston, who turned and kicked to Jai Newcombe.

When Newcombe popped the ball into the goalsquare there were four Hawks on the goal line and just a flailing Brodie Kemp there to try and hold back the tide as Calshar Dear dribbled the ball through.

The brown and gold jumpers had just powered away from those in blue collars.

Only a minute later, Hawthorn’s best runner Josh Weddle found space and somehow snagged a classic goal from where the 50m arc meets the boundary line.

It felt like party time early in the second term.

About ten minutes later, Hawthorn had two spare forwards deep in attack and Gunston thumped one through with no Blues within 25m.

Josh Weddle kicked three goals for the Hawks on Sunday. Picture: Mark Stewart

For four months now, Hawthorn has beaten teams with speed, willing to run the shoes off the opposition and expose the open space of the MCG.

It’s glorious football to watch, as Sam Mitchell’s team breaks across the wings and sweeps the ball away.

So often their attacking plays came from terrorising pressure.

There can’t be a team in football that makes you work harder than the Hawks.

Down two soldiers by quarter time, an over worked and broken down Carlton just couldn’t keep up.

Boyd would be sent to full forward to save a rotation and finished the day without a disposal, while Curnow was on ice for the last hour of the game.

Carlton footy boss Brad Lloyd said pre-game that the Blues review every hamstring injury.

There has been a lot of reviewing – Martin’s twang made it 11 for the season and Adam Saad limped off with number 12 in the final term.

Lachie Fogarty and Jack Martin after being injured early in the game against Hawthorn. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

With fitness head Andrew Russell departing this off-season, the club needs a forensic review into its soft tissue epidemic.

Every footy fan walking into an MCG bathed in Sunday sunshine enjoyed the smell of September in the air.

With lowly Richmond and North Melbourne to come in the final fortnight, Hawthorn should be smelling that sweet spring air for some time – early in the fourth quarter Hawthorn’s formerly putrid percentage was ahead of Carlton, putting the Hawks in the eight.

Good luck keeping up with them should they hold their place in the finals.

The Blues may still feature in the finals given they round their season out against the Eagles and Saints.

But will they even have enough players to send to Perth next week?

Unless they can find a way to get more bodies on the field it’s hard to see the Blues keeping up in the biggest month of the year, especially without Curnow.

It’s a season that slowly at first, and quicker now, has slipped down the drain.

“We’d lost momentum. There’s no doubt. From where we were five, six weeks ago, we had genuine momentum,” Voss said.

“We haven’t been able to generate the same level of intensity and the same level of method that we’ve been playing for the majority of year.

“We’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the last little while to be able to try and find out where that spark comes from.

“It’s not about the level you play at for one week, it’s about how you play that level for 23 weeks and finals and, as a football club, we haven’t been able to do that yet.

“It wasn’t here before I got here, and it hasn’t been at a good enough standard since I’ve been here.”

Originally published as Season over? Wounded Carlton torn apart by finals-bound Hawthorn; concern over Charlie Curnow, Adam Saad