Carlton have suffered yet another second-half capitulation as a rampaging St Kilda ran away with a 39-point win on Saturday night.
The Blues held a 12-point lead at the long break, but once again it completely unravelled as the Saints piled on eight consecutive goals in a devastating third quarter. It was a familiar story for Carlton, who have seemed to suffer the same fate in nearly every match this year.
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The pressure will surely ramp up on embattled coach Michael Voss, who was out of ideas on the bench as Saints kicked goal after goal. The Blues were their own worst enemies at times, with Harry Dean giving away a rare double goal after pushing Liam Henry in the back after the Saint ran into an open goal. But that was just one moment in a nightmare second half that felt like watching an old movie on repeat. The Saints ended up kicking 12 of the last 14 goals.
North Melbourne great David King put the onus on the leadership, and particularly the midfielder leaders. “How quickly they lose their handle on games is frightening,” King said on Fox Footy. “You have to put it down to their leadership group on field. What happens to them? Why do they go into their shells so quickly?”
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Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt slammed the Blues’ effort in the second half in what is now becoming a “traumatic” situation. “It’s proper trauma now for them. Happens time and time again,” Riewoldt said. “We haven’t seen any effort in this second half.” King added that the debrief on this game will be “savage”.
More to come ...
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