Blues’ MCG Collapse: A Candid Look at Their Downfall

Damning vision exposes Blues negligence | 01:48

Carlton fans, you’re going to want to look away now.

After last night’s shocking loss to Richmond, where the Blues squandered a 41-point lead in what became “one of the biggest upsets of all-time”, according to St Kilda great Leigh Montagna, the alarm bells are ringing at Ikon Park.

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Carlton started the match strongly but conceded 12 out of the last 14 goals of the game, ultimately going down by 13 points to a youthful Richmond side.

The Fox Footy expert panel were scathing in their assessment of the Blues post-match, exposing a number of passages of play that cost Michael Voss’ side dearly.

“It’s not vision Carlton players or supporters are going to be all too happy with, because it shows some moments where they really just lost the plot,” host Sarah Jones began.

The first clip highlighted debutant Lucas Camporeale, son of club icon Scott, missing a simple handball to new recruit and ex-Giant Nick Haynes. The Tigers forced a ground-ball contest and after a couple of handballs, small forward Seth Campbell streamed into an open goal.

“That’s just a young player in his first game with an errant handball, but even good, experienced players aren’t immune to the effect of pressure,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said.

In the next clip, defender Mitch McGovern kicked the ball off the ground, rather than gathering and finding a teammate in close proximity by hand. His stray kick landed straight in the lap of Tigers midfielder Jacob Hopper, who was standing on his own just inside the 50m arc and cooly converted the set shot.

“We see some players here make some strange decisions, he has numbers around the ball and kicks it off the ground and costs them a goal,” Dunstall continued.

“This is when the Tigers are coming, and the game is on the line.”

Lachie Cowan mistimes a kick.Source: FOX SPORTS

Young defender Lachie Cowan was also under the microscope, for a poor attempt at a defensive 50 exit. His kick went straight up in the air, allowing Richmond back Tom Brown to take a contested grab and kick a goal on the three-quarter-time siren to tie the game.

“Here, just kick it up the line, he goes for a torp off one step, and it comes off the outside of the boot. This is right on the siren which gives them momentum,” Dunstall said.

Veteran Sam Docherty was also highlighted, for a stray handball that missed teammate Jack Silvagni. From there, Tiger Tom Lynch scooped the ball up before finding prized Tigers draftee Sam Lalor, who kicked a ripping goal on the run.

“Here we go again, Sam Docherty, just a fumble, doesn’t control the handpass, results in a goal,” Dunstall mused.

“These are things you just don’t expect to see. But if you put enough pressure on, players are human.”

Sam Docherty misfires a handball.Source: FOX SPORTS

The final edit was arguably the most concerning of the lot, where defenders Haynes and McGovern collided mid-air and missed an easy intercept marking opportunity.

As the Blues duo stumbled close to the boundary line, Richmond debutant Harry Armstrong picked the ball up and found Jacob Bauer all on his own.

“Here’s two players that can’t work it out, Haynes drops the mark then McGovern goes down insipidly, they both fall over and then the Tigers just pick it up and kick to an unmarked player in the square,” Dunstall said.

“I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Michael Voss reviews this game, because he’s going to see some things that he’s going, ‘I didn’t think we had this in us’.”

North Melbourne champion David King said he had never seen anything like it.

Nick Haynes fumbled a mark in defence.Source: FOX SPORTS

“You’ve got to call a spade a spade, they looked timid in the second half. They looked like they were a rabbit in the spotlight there for a while. I’ve never seen players just lose their minds and just bomb the ball long, panic, they didn’t want to take responsibility for the football, you’ve got to treat it like gold sometimes,” King said.

“They just needed someone to play with composure and outside of Cripps, De Koning and Weitering, there really wasn’t a lot else to look forward to, to steady the ship.”

St Kilda champion Leigh Montagna added: “The lack of care with the ball in that second half was on display. Right from almost the very first contest, I think it was Jesse Motlop on the wing, he decided not to put his hands down and tried to kick it up to himself, there were some fumbles and dropped marks and then from there, it filtered through the whole team, and they couldn’t recover.”

Carlton are left to lick their wounds, before a huge clash against Hawthorn in round two next Thursday night.