Advertisement

AFL great's truth bomb for Carlton as fans left fuming over 'awful' finals development

Carlton are on a brutal run with an AFL great blasting the club during their mini-crisis.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Michael Voss and the players been called out for their 'awful' capitulation in recent weeks with AFL great Leigh Montagna blasting the Blues for a lacklustre effort on the weekend. The Blues have now lost five of their last six games after Hawthorn added to their woes hammering them in a 74-point win at the MCG.

The Blues fell out of the top eight on percentage and now must travel to Perth in a must-win game against West Coast next weekend if they have any chance of playing finals footy. Carlton will also likely play the game without superstar Charlie Curnow with the Blues ace going down with a potentially season-ending injury during the ugly loss to Hawthorn.

Carlton have been called out for their 'awful' with AFL great Leigh Montagna blasting the Blues after the loss to Hawthorn. (Getty Images)
Carlton have been called out for their 'awful' with AFL great Leigh Montagna blasting the Blues after the loss to Hawthorn. (Getty Images)

Carlton are also dealing with injuries to Jack Martin and Adam Saad who both suffered hamstring recurrences. Meanwhile, Lachie Fogarty injured his collarbone. And after the humiliating defeat, Montagna didn't hold back on the club.

The AFL great claimed Carlton are in crisis mode having not produced finals-worthy footy for a number of weeks. And Montagna said Carlton need to find their confidence again or face an early wrap to their season.

“The Blues are officially in free fall ... not just their top four or premiership aspirations, their chances of playing finals are now hanging by a thread and they’re going to be dependent on other results,” he said on Fox Footy's The First Crack. “It was a disaster (against Hawthorn) and not just because of the significant injuries ... even if you just take the first half when the injuries weren’t a factor, what they dished up was terrible.

“The way they were sieved as a team defence, even if they do make finals, that won’t hold. They looked like a rabble at times the way they were trying to defend the Hawks. Carlton was all at sea, it looks like they’ve lost confidence in the way they want to defend. It’s fallen apart and become really inconsistent. Their defensive numbers are starting to head towards bottom six territory."

David King claimed Carlton's injuries have to be taken into account during their horror run, which has seen them lose three in a row. And Montagna claimed coach Michael Voss will need a serious turnaround if the team are going to make AFL finals footy in 2024. “Michael Voss has some serious work to do if he can get them both physically and mentally in the right shape to be a contender," he added.

Charlie Curnow injured.
Charlie Curnow (pictured) is another Carlton player to have gone down injured in recent weeks.

Blues captain Patrick Cripps didn't hide from the display and admitted it would take everyone in the team to stop the rut against the Eagles away from home. However, he also defended the club against the must-win clash and said they can still make the finals.

“It’s going to be a really honest week, it’s really important we stick together,” he said after the Hawthorn humiliation. “As frustrating and disappointing as today was, there’s still a lot of football to be played this season.

"We always talk about earning the right. We have a big game next week and a big game the week after and we’re still in a position to earn that right. We’ve got to stick together, we’re going to keep working hard and give it everything we’ve got. It’s that stronger together mentality. I can’t stress enough we have to stay united, stay together.”

RELATED:

Cripps said while the results have not been favourable, the Blues can still make inroads with with two wins in their final games. This would give them a good chance of playing finals footy if the Western Bulldogs or Hawthorn were to lose a game. Although fans were also quick to condemn Carlton's season with the club battling a mini-crisis since their bye round. Carlton were sitting in second, before losing five of their last six matches.

Even if they win their next two games, they would have to rely on other results going their way to make the eight. Former AFL player Dane Swan was critical of the team's slide and took a dig at the club.