{"id":596174,"date":"2026-04-09T18:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596174\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T18:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:07:21","slug":"carlton-blues-coach-michael-voss-remains-upbeat-despite-another-loss-this-time-to-the-adelaide-crows-to-open-gather-round-at-adelaide-oval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596174\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlton Blues coach Michael Voss remains upbeat despite another loss, this time to the Adelaide Crows to open Gather Round at Adelaide Oval"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sam<\/p>\n

April 10, 2026 \u2014 12:36am<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Adelaide: Michael Voss insists Carlton are close. The evidence increasingly suggests otherwise.<\/p>\n

The Blues\u2019 now familiar pattern \u2013 a blistering opening giving way to a gradual, inevitable fade \u2013 resurfaced again on Thursday night as they fell to a high-powered Adelaide outfit<\/a> to open the fourth iteration of Gather Round.<\/p>\n

It was an improved performance, but that\u2019s coming off a low base. Voss said after the match his team was close to clicking. But, at 1-4, time is slowly running out.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Voss rallies his troops from the bench. AFL Photos<\/p>\n

In a fixture increasingly positioned by the AFL as a showcase moment early in the season,<\/a> Carlton initially played their part. They slammed home seven first-quarter goals \u2013 their most prolific opening term since midway through 2024 \u2013 and briefly hinted at a statement performance.<\/p>\n

Instead, it became another case study in inconsistency.<\/p>\n

From that point on, the Blues managed just five goals for the remainder of the night, their ball movement stalling as Adelaide\u2019s pressure and method took control. A 10-minute stretch in the second term, in particular, proved decisive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t get our hands on the ball,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost territory from stoppage, and when they went inside 50, they made us pay. That\u2019s where the game was lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Rachele was the early architect of the damage. The lively forward booted three first-quarter goals on his way to four for the night, finishing with 26 disposals in a performance that combined energy with ruthless efficiency.<\/p>\n

The contest shifted further in the third quarter when heavy rain lashed the ground, sending thousands of fans scrambling for cover and turning conditions treacherous. Yet even amid the chaos, Adelaide\u2019s system held firm.<\/p>\n

Carlton\u2019s undermanned defence \u2013 missing key pillars Jacob Weitering and Harry Dean \u2013 was repeatedly exposed as the Crows generated consistent forward-half dominance.<\/p>\n

Scoring from stoppage \u2013 a statistic the Blues are clearly the league leaders in \u2013 also dried up, unlike the weather.<\/p>\n

In the first quarter, the Blues kicked 5.4 of their 7.4 from stoppage. They then kicked two points from stoppage for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And still, somewhat inexplicably, the Blues hung around.<\/p>\n

They trailed by just three goals at the 17-minute mark of the final term and edged closer when Ollie Hollands was gifted a goal via a scarcely believable 50-metre penalty on the line.<\/p>\n

But the scoreboard never quite matched reality.<\/p>\n

Carlton were never convincingly in the contest and, while the margin may temper the external noise, the broader questions around their inability to sustain performance across four quarters continue to loom.<\/p>\n

\"TalkTalk about a purple patch: Crows star Josh Rachele celebrates a goal.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Voss, however, remains adamant his side is not far away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d he said when asked if the Blues\u2019 current win-loss ratio was an accurate reflection of the start to their season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you want to see is whether you\u2019re progressively getting closer to how you want to play \u2013 and we are.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t question the effort and spirit. We had 86 [87] tackles tonight. There are indicators there that we\u2019re getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief \u2014 that Carlton are on the cusp \u2014 has been a consistent theme across the opening month. But it sits uneasily against a 1-4 record and recurring lapses that continue to cost them games.<\/p>\n

Voss pointed to \u201cfundamentals\u201d as the difference, citing lapses in stoppage work, poor tackling discipline and an inability to defend repeat inside-50 entries.<\/p>\n

\"PatrickPatrick Cripps leads the Blues off the ground after another loss, this time to the Crows at Adelaide Oval.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lost territory, we just couldn\u2019t defend for long enough,\u201d he said. \u201cThey scored too often from their entries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Nick<\/a><\/p>\n

There were, in his view, signs of individual improvement. Sam Walsh was electric early, collecting 15 disposals in the opening term before Adelaide applied closer attention, while Mitch McGovern\u2019s forward shift again looked promising.<\/p>\n

But it was Carlton\u2019s key forward, Harry McKay, who drew the most pointed post-match commentary.<\/p>\n

Voss suggested McKay could count himself unlucky not to receive greater support from umpires in aerial contests, despite competing strongly throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Harry competed really hard,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could have been a bit luckier in some of those contests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go back and have a look, but I think he could have been supported a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The comments add another layer to Carlton\u2019s ongoing challenge inside 50 \u2013 not just supply, but reward.<\/p>\n

For all Voss\u2019 optimism, the disconnect remains stark. Carlton can produce football sharp enough to overwhelm opponents in bursts, but not yet consistently enough to control games.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"South<\/a><\/p>\n

Even the coach concedes the gap between winning and losing is now narrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference right now is small,\u201d he said. \u201cYou walk up here each week hoping it clicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Carlton, that moment still hasn\u2019t arrived.<\/p>\n

Voss is confident he will regain Weitering (who will train on Friday) and Dean for next Thursday night\u2019s game against arch rivals Collingwood.<\/p>\n

The Blues then face an ominous road trip to Perth to take on Fremantle, followed by games against St Kilda, the Brisbane Lions and the Western Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Things might get worse before they get better.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam McClure<\/a> is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 10, 2026 \u2014 12:36am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-596174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}