Goalkickers: M. McGovern 3.2, E. Hollands 2.0, H. McKay 1.1, B. Ainsworth 1.1, J. Smith 1.0, P. Cripps 1.0, M. Carroll 1.0, T. Byrne 1.0, S. Walsh 0.2, G. Hewett 0.2, W. Hayward 0.1, F. Evans 0.1, Rushed 0.1.

Reports: Latrelle Pickett (MEL) reported for careless contact with an umpire - Fined $1000 with an early plea.

Umpires: Brett Rosebury, Alex Whetton, Nathan Toner, Martin Rodger.

Injuries: Z. Williams (ribs), H. Dean (side/hip)

Ladder: 16th

Game Review

Blues falter in Round 3 defeat
Carlton has let a massive chance slip at the MCG, falling by 23 points to Melbourne at the MCG. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.

Carlton has let a massive chance slip at the MCG, falling by 23 points to Melbourne at the MCG. Despite kicking the first seven goals of the game, Carlton had no answers as it faltered in the second half, with Melbourne finishing the contest the better of the two sides. After a 43-point lead, and reinstating a 20-point lead early into the final term, the Blues eventually fell by 23 points, with the scoreboard reading 11.11 (77) to 15.10 (100). Coming back from the bye, the Blues made the early running, bursting out of the blocks with a six-goal opening term.
Generating seven forward-half intercepts inside the first eight minutes, with Jagga Smith opening his AFL account from a set shot. The Blues’ next five goals for the term came from clearances, with Marc Pittonet negating Max Gawn’s influence in the ruck and the Blues getting maximum return.

Patrick Cripps led the way early with six disposals, five clearances and a goal, while Talor Byrne’s debut goal reaction was the pick of the bunch in the opening term. The play lived in Carlton’s forward half with 22-5 inside 50s, and when Mitch McGovern kicked back-to-back goals in his milestone game, the Blues had a big quarter-time lead. Momentum started to shift in the second term with just a goal apiece for either side, with Melbourne kicking its first goal at the 25-minute mark of the second quarter. In the second half, every time the Blues looked to settle, the Dees responded, gaining all the momentum heading into the last term with a six-goal third term. The Blues opened up a 20-point gap after consecutive goals from Elijah Hollands and Matthew Carroll, but the Blues were then no match for the Dees in the final 15 minutes, who piled on seven straight majors to prevail by 23 points.

Dee-lightful! Melbourne produces epic comeback as Blues collapse again.
The Demons have come from 43 points down to stun the Blues at the MCG. - By Gemma Bastiani.

Look away Carlton fans, it's happened again. After kicking the first seven goals of the game, and leading by as many as 43 points, the Blues coughed up another winning position to go down to Melbourne 15.10 (100) to 11.11 (77) in the increasing shade of the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
Kysaiah Pickett led the charge for the Demons, putting the icing on his 19-disposal, five-clearance second half with a big goal, and Bayley Fritsch slammed home four second-half goals of his own. Carlton's third-quarter blues were on show once again. After holding Melbourne to just one goal across the opening half, the Demons piled on six in the third term to set up the almighty comeback. It wasn't until the 26-minute mark of the second quarter that Melbourne landed its first major off the boot of Harvey Langford, but it was exactly the kind of momentum shifter the club needed. With a different look around stoppage to start the second half – setting up to power through the contest from the back side, rather than trying to win front-side clearance – Pickett got to work.

His speed and dynamism through the middle of the ground asked questions of Carlton's defence for the first time all day, and his connection with forward pair Brody Mihocek (four marks, one goal) and Fritsch revved the engine for the Demons. And captain Max Gawn, in game No.250, turned a challenging first half, where he went toe-to-toe with a smart Marc Pittonet, into a dominant turn for home. It was a remarkable turnaround for Melbourne, which was the victim of the Blues' early control. Notably, it wasn't a manic kind of pressure that Carlton brought to set up its 37-point quarter-time lead, rather it was thoughtful positioning, and a diligent use of teasing distance every time Melbourne looked to exit defence. The home side owned territory, recording 22 inside 50s for the opening term and the Demons just five, and the only part of the Blues' game that was deficient in that time was that final kick going forward. But once Harry McKay (nine marks, one goal) started to exploit his speed advantage on direct opponent Tom McDonald, and Mitch McGovern (13 disposals, three goals) utilised his leap as the scoreboard started ticking over. Young gun Jagga Smith (25 disposals, seven score involvements) moved beautifully around stoppage, and kicked his first career goal to open proceedings, and key defender Harry Dean (10 disposals, six marks) was solid behind the ball alongside leader Jacob Weitering, before a high-flying spoil attempt saw him leave the field in discomfort. In tandem with fellow defender Lewis Young, they ensured Jacob van Rooyen remained a relative non-entity for Melbourne. When the going was tough for the Demons, it was Jack Steele working hard defensively, setting up his eventual tackle count of 16 for the game, and Caleb Windsor (24 disposals, 447 metres gained) tried hard to be creative and get the Dees moving forward.

Ruck byplay
The game within the game was the match-up between rucks Marc Pittonet and Max Gawn, which proved enthralling all day. Understanding the Melbourne captain's capacity to dictate play, Pittonet worked exceptionally hard to draw Gawn deep into attack, and essentially remove him from the conversation as the Demons tried to transition the footy. And it worked, as Melbourne looked lost without Gawn's contested marking ability on the wing. Once Gawn began to challenge Pittonet back the other way, rather than simply being accountable for his own direct opponent, things started to shift for the Demons.

Green shoots
What's better than a six-goal-to-nil opening quarter? Having two first-time goalkickers in the early onslaught. In game No.3, talented youngster Jagga Smith calmly went back from 45m out to slot the first goal of his career. It was the goal that got things started for Carlton, after it had failed to capitalise on repeat forward entries through the first eight minutes of the game. Seven minutes – and one handy Patrick Cripps goal later – it was debutant Talor Byrne with ball in hand from an almost identical position as Smith. With the ball sailing through, the vocal MCG crowd was on its feet, excited about the green shoots that were finally on show in the navy blue.

Carlton's mindset shift is telling
In first halves, Carlton is playing to win. In second halves? It is playing to not lose. The clear shift in confidence is emblematic in how the Blues take the game on, and on Sunday afternoon against Melbourne it showed once again. To start the game the Blues were aggressive, quick, and well organised, but after the main break there was a tentative feeling about their approach to the game, giving up a 43-point lead to fall to the Demons. It opens the door for opposing sides ready for a resurgence. For the better part of a year, the Blues have been trying to address their significant downturn in second halves, but could it be as simple as playing to win as opposed to trying not to lose? – Gemma Bastiani

Best: J. Weitering, J. Smith, H. Dean, M. Pittonet, E. Hollands, S. Walsh.

What they said: Voss, Cripps “filthy… frustrated”
Michael Voss and Patrick Cripps said there was no point “sugarcoating” what went down against Melbourne.

“We have to own this.” Carlton AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss and captain Patrick Cripps said there was no point “sugarcoating” what went down in Round 3 against Melbourne. After kicking out to a big lead, the Blues were outgunned in another disappointing second half, letting slip the chance of a second consecutive win at the MCG. Saying the Blues needed to address performance and mental barriers when games turned, here’s what both Cripps (on 3AW post-match) and Voss had to say.

Cripps on the manner of the defeat:
“It’s frustrating, I’m not going to lie. It’s one of those things at the moment where the first half, we’re playing great footy, but we can’t carry that through in the second half. We’ve got to own this.

“It’s something that keeps rearing its head, and the only way you change it is going at it and performing. Until we do that, we know what the narrative will be.”

Cripps on addressing the psychological nature of second half fadeouts:
“I think we’ve got to look at it in that way, to be honest, because our system and the way we play is powerful when we go at the game. We know teams are going to challenge us, and it’s important that we keep going back at the opposition when that happens.

“I don’t know what it looked like today, but it feels like we tend to go safe in those moments and we don’t take the game on. There’s a bit to work through. As leaders, we’re going to own this.”

Cripps on supporter frustration at the end of the game:
“I can understand why they’re angry, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. As players, we echo how they’re feeling. When you prepare all week, you want to capitalise on that momentum. We weren’t able to do that. “I can understand the anger and we have to own this, I’ve said it a few times. Until we rectify that, I can understand why people are frustrated.”

Cripps on Michael Voss’ message at half time:
“A lot of the time, the game is set up how we want it, and we double down on the message that put us in that position. “He’s doing all he can, it’s up to us as players to execute and keep going at the game. We’ll do some digging, I don’t have the answers right now - just frustration.”

Voss on immediate reactions post-match:
“I’m pretty filthy. We’re putting ourselves in great positions, and we’re handing it back. “I’m not taking anything away from Melbourne: you’ve got to be able to go at the game and challenge the opposition and turn the momentum your way. But we’re not helping ourselves. “We have to own it, that’s the first thing we have to do. I’ve taken the measure of glass half full and seen the things we’ve been rehearsing over the course of pre-season and seeing the transfer and highlighting what those moments are and chipping away at that. “But today, it was really disappointing. I was expecting more than that.”

Voss on what changed in the second half from a Carlton perspective:
“There’s going to be periods of the game where things aren’t going your way, and you’ve got to be able to defend. You talk about process all you like, but the reality is when the opposition gets the ascendancy, you have to be able to defend. If it’s five minutes, it’s five minutes. If it’s 15 minutes, it’s 15 minutes. “And then you wait for the movement where you get the score going the other way. We kept it in our half 12 times in the first quarter, we only did it nine other times for the rest of the game. “Yes, there’s ball movement and erratic things we need to clean up. There’s discipline in roles we need to continue to reinforce. But more importantly, when we’re asked to hold and defend behind the ball as a collective, we’re not doing it for long enough. “To give them 88 points in the second half after keeping them to 12 points in the first half, which was an exceptional defensive performance in the first only to be let down in the second.”

Voss on whether there was a mental factor to the way the game played out:
“We can’t ignore it. We have to accept some reality in that. “Right now, my position is that we own it, whatever it looks like. It comes back to process and keeping the process really simple. But the whole things around staying connected as a football team and playing the right way, there’s got to be energy towards that. We’re not able to sustain that. “That starts with me as a leader, I’m not shying away from it and nor will our leaders. Speaking to them in there, we own this. As a leadership group, we own this - that’s an extended leadership group, senior players - and that’s me.”

Voss on how things change:
“We’ve got to put a roadblock somewhere. We’ve got the capacity to get it done, and we’re not executing for long enough. When we’re asked to defend for long periods of time, let’s defend. “But there are other things we need to tidy up. Why it’s frustrating and why you’re filthy is there’s all this work, but the gloss has been taken off because we can’t finish off games and continue the way we want to play.”

Voss on whether it was a fitness issue:
“We had probably our strongest running team out there today. In terms of our balance and running power, it’s probably as strong as it’s been. “We don’t discount anything, but the capacity side of things, everything is there that we need. We just have to back it in more than we are currently.”

Voss 'filthy' after another Blues collapse.
Blues coach Michael Voss was angry after another second-half capitulation cost his team - By Gemma Bastiani.

Michael Voss described himself as "filthy" following yet another Carlton fade-out on Sunday afternoon. After kicking the first seven goals of the match against Melbourne, and leading by 43 points early in the second quarter, the Blues gave up 15 of the next 19 goals to fall by 23 points. It is a concerning trend for the club, which has battled poor second-half performances for some time now, and is not a new challenge that has arisen this year. "I'm pretty filthy. We're putting ourselves in great positions, and we're handing it back," Voss said post-match. "I don't want that to sound like I'm taking something away from Melbourne, because you've got to be able to go at the game and challenge the opposition and turn momentum your way, but we're also not helping ourselves… Today was really disappointing. I was expecting more than that, and we just didn't get the change we were after." The contest was the key problem for the Blues after the main break, losing the clearance count by two despite leading the metric by eight at half-time, and the impact flowed onto the backline in a big way.

"There's some erratic things that we need to clean up, there's some disciplining roles that we need to continue to reinforce, but more importantly, when we're asked to hold and defend behind the ball – and that's a collective, that's not back six, that's a team system – we're not doing it for long enough," Voss said. "We've got to put a roadblock somewhere, we've got to put a wedge against that wheel. We've got the capacity there to be able to get it done, and we're just not being able to execute for long enough… Some of that is when we're asked to defend for long periods of time, let's defend, but there's a couple of other things that are on our boot as well that we can tidy up. "And why it's frustrating and why you're a little bit filthy is because there's all this work, and the gloss has been taken off because we can't finish games the way that we want, and continue to be able to play the way we want to play." Voss didn't accept that fitness was the issue behind the downturn in form late in games, but refused to "discount anything", and focused on the chance of redemption in the Good Friday clash against North Melbourne. Youngster Harry Dean is being assessed for a heavy knock to his hip/side late in the game, and Zac Williams failed to finish the game with his own rib concern from a heavy bump from Kysaiah Pickett.

Team

In: Francis Evans, Talor Byrne
Out: Lachie Fogarty (omitted), Cooper Lord (illness)

Milestones

Debut: Talor Byrne
100 Games (Carlton): Mitch McGovern
First Goal: Jagga Smith, Talor Byrne

Interesting Facts

1. Talor Byrne scored a goal with his first kick.
2. Carlton had won their last 4 matches against Melbourne, previous to that the Demons won eight in a row.

Free Kicks

Carlton 11
Melbourne 16

Front Runners

1. Oliver Hollands 15.8km
2. E. Langden (Melb) 15.6km
3. George Hewett 14.2km
4. Lewis Young 14.0km
5. Lachlan Cowan 13.9km

AFLCA Votes

10 - Kysaiah Pickett (MELB)
6 - Jake Lever (MELB)
6 - Max Gawn (MELB)
4 - Jack Steele (MELB)
2 - Bayley Fritsch (MELB)
1 - Tom Sparrow (MELB)
1 - Elijah Hollands (CARL)

Brownlow Votes

1 Sam Walsh

Best and Fairest Votes

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