Carlton coach Michael Voss said Elijah Hollands was “shattered” and felt he “let people down” during a concerning performance in his side’s narrow loss to Collingwood on Thursday night.
There are concerns for the welfare of Hollands after he exhibited erratic behaviour throughout the game.
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Hollands did not record a disposal from 60 per cent game time and disturbing footage showed him behaving in an unusual manner on the MCG, looking out of sorts.
The clean stat sheet prompted a slew of videos posted online showing Hollands struggling away from the ball during the match.
“He seemed to be in an altered state. He ran around for 60 per cent game time without a possession,” the Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy’s coverage.
“There is footage, which is disturbing, of him throwing the bird at teammates. At one stage he seemed to be in the Collingwood huddle.
“We know he’s had his issues with mental health, he’s spoken really bravely about the alcohol issues he had.
“They’ll tell us what they can. Some people will ask did they do enough to be aware of the fact he was in the right stage to come out here.
“He didn’t seem to know what was going on out there. He finished the game on the bench. The footage of him throwing the bird to the crowd, to teammates is disturbing.”
According to SEN’s Sam Edmund, Hollands’ behaviour was due to a mental health episode and he was not under the influence of drugs during the game.
Edmund reports Carlton is adamant Hollands’ issues are not substance-related — the club has investigated and the Blues are completely satisfied the situation was a medical issue.
Last year, Hollands opened up about his mental health challenges, revealing he had symptoms similar to a “mini panic attack” during a round 10 game against Sydney.
“We are having on-going discussions with Carlton and also ensuring Elijah has the relevant support,” AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said in a statement.
In his post-game press conference, Voss said Hollands was “shattered” and “pretty emotional” after the game.
“I spoke to him after the game, he was really disappointed with how he started the game, really upset, he feels like he’s let me down,” the Carlton coach said.
“I had a good chat with him, he was pretty emotional after the game.
“He didn’t play a great game and he struggled to get his way into it, he was clearly really disappointed with his performance.
“Obviously with the importance of the night he feels like he’s let people down, we’ve just got to keep supporting people through those situations.”
Hollands had played 75 per cent of the game until three-quarter time but he was benched for most of the final quarter as Collingwood mowed down the Blues.
“It comes to the last quarter, you obviously have to work out what mix you want out on the field with five minutes to go,” Voss said.
“He wasn’t having a great night, so (we had) conversations with him, but we obviously thought the best mix was not have him out there.”
Last year, Voss confirmed Carlton had asked Hollands to explore his options and look for a trade to another club, explaining he was “disappointed” with the 23-year-old’s off-field issues.
Hollands took personal leave last year — later revealing he had been battling mental health and alcohol issues.
He was delisted by Carlton after the 2025 season but was given the opportunity to train during the off-season and was added to the club’s rookie list in the pre-season supplemental selection period.
“I feel like I’m starting to find my feet now, which is nice… I’m really enjoying being back playing,” Hollands told Carlton’s website this week after playing in the club’s first five games of the year.
“I was trying to be cautious with being patient when trying to find my feet again. I have a high expectation of myself, so I often have impatience in terms of my own performances.
“I tried to be really cautious that I wasn’t going to come in and play the footy I know I can straight away.
“It’ll take time. I used the bye to reset after the first two games. Thanks to the freedom the coaches have been able to give me, I’ve started to play some good footy.”
The Blues had a chance to sneak away with a draw against Collingwood through Talor Byrne after the siren but the fourth-gamer skewed his kick.
Voss said he was proud of how his players reacted to the missed opportunity.
“It’s understanding it’s not all on the young man’s shoulders,” he said.
“He’s probably rehearsed that 2000 times… he didn’t quite obviously get the job done but the boys rallied. You win together, you lose together.”
– With NewsWire