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Important SN update for SouthlandBuckley unpacks the troubles at Carlton
Jaiden Sciberras • April 8th, 2025 9:04 am
Carlton are in a bad place through four games in 2025.
Zero and four and with little to celebrate, the Blues look devoid of ideas as they consistently and predictably falter at the back end of each contest.
Following Thursday night’s collapse against Collingwood, serious questions are being asked about coach Michael Voss and his ability to pull together an evidently failing game plan.
Beyond the coaching staff, issues with list management, the health of fringe players and severely underperforming senior players have Blues fans scratching their heads as to what comes next.
AFL legend Nathan Buckley believes there are reasons beyond their football that are contributing to their extremely poor start to the season.
“Body, mind and spirit, they are not there,” Buckley said on SEN’s Whateley.
“The other point in that is, when is it a negative to be predictable?
“Predictability can be positive, but at the moment Carlton have been really predictable.
“Their last couple of games have been the same, jump in, look a bit like things have changed, a bit more of a balance in their offence, and then they just fade out after half-time.
“Collingwood really lowered them down and put them to sleep.
“I think their bodies are a question. I think (Nick) Haynes, (Sam) Docherty and (Charlie) Curnow, whether it’s injury or whether its top-end physicality.
“(Harry) McKay, the question has got to be asked. Is he ready to go? Can he perform because he hasn’t been there, and he hasn’t been able to be there.
“(Mitch) McGovern is one for me, loses his head in key moments and is an experienced enough player that he needs to be better than that.
“And then there’s a little bit about spirit, some of their efforts, or lack thereof, when the game is on the line was not good enough.
“Docherty was one, (Zac) Williams was another.
“Body, mind and spirit, Carlton aren’t turning up at the moment.
“They are not scoring; they are in the bottom four for scoring. They are seven per cent below average for disposal efficiency in the competition.
“There are not that many redeeming features outside of Tom De Koning and (Patrick) Cripps. Those boys are up and about and having a crack, Ollie Hollands showed a little bit but geez, things are a little dire at the moment.”
When asked about the state of the club Buckley was rather forward in his response.
Whateley: “So, what if they’re just no good?”
Buckley: “Well, they are not.
“They’re not. Footy is a hard game, and one thing that is abundantly evident is that they just don’t have the legs.
“They can’t cover the ground fast enough or long enough.
“The game is too long, and the game is too fast for Carlton at the moment.
“That is not a good position to be in.”
Carlton have plenty to prove as they take on fellow winless side West Coast during Gather Round this Saturday.
