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Sport Nation
How Carlton sent a serious message to the competition
Andrew Slevison • April 28th, 2025 9:57 am
Carlton reminded the competition what they are capable of on Sunday.
The Blues have well and truly got their season back on track with three wins on the trot, culminating in an 18-point victory (94-76) over Geelong at the MCG.
The pressure was building on coach Michael Voss after four straight defeats, but things are looking good again after smashing West Coast, North Melbourne and then accounting for the Cats.
SEN’s David King was quick to praise Voss and the Blues for the way they went about their business by getting back to what they know best - winning the ball at stoppage while also applying maniacal pressure when they weren’t in possession.
King was thrilled to see Voss stay strong amid the swirling speculation and guide his players through the turbulence to stabilise what appeared to be a flailing season.
Special praise was also reserved for Harry McKay who kicked three goals from 19 disposals and 12 marks.
“De ja Blue,” King said on SEN’s Fireball.
“Every year at some point the heat comes on Michael Voss for a three or four-week window - ‘Oh, he can’t do the job, oh, his game plan (is no good)’, this and that.
“It’s happened again and he’s blown through that again with a big victory for both Michael personally and the Carlton Football Club.
“That was a performance! That is back to their grassroots of what they are, the fabric of this group, the forward handball, the dynamic clearance game that just cuts a swathe through the opposition.
“They smashed Geelong, they absolutely smashed them on the inside and were able to get the game (on their terms) on the outside.
“I think the biggest story of the weekend and one of the biggest stories of the year is the return of Harry McKay. The way he was able to take control of big moments late in the game, I think Carlton fans would be chuffed with what the saw from Harry.
“They looked so good forward of the ball.”
Kane Cornes also spoke glowingly of the Blues who had all of their star power on show at the ‘G.
“The Cats were ‘out-starred’. Geelong’s best players couldn’t match Carlton’s best players,” said Cornes.
“When you look at the performance of (Charlie) Curnow, of McKay, of (Jacob) Weitering, of (Sam) Walsh, of (Patrick) Cripps, of (George) Hewett - that was the difference. (Tom) De Koning was the other one who I thought was enormous.
“When (Patrick) Dangerfield is quiet, when (Tyson) Stengle doesn’t touch it, when Geelong’s tall forwards are really struggling, for me that’s the difference.
“I thought Carlton’s pressure was elite. They kicked 10 goals off turnover and restricted the Cats to 44 inside 50 entries.
“Does it change your opinion of the Blues and what it looks like?”
King had been critical of Carlton’s defence earlier in the year, suggesting it was brittle and made of straw, aside from the presence of Jacob Weitering.
But he admitted he liked what he saw from the likes of Nick Haynes and Jack Silvagni in particular.
“The big revelation for me - and there’s a couple of texts coming through about my Carlton’s backline is made of straw comment - that’s as good as I’ve seen them behind the ball,” King said.
“I didn’t know Haynes could get to that level again. His intercept mark game was really strong. We’ve talked about Silvagni, Weitering is a colossus behind the footy.”
King felt that the manner in which the Blues played would have blown most other teams out of the water.
“It was some sort of performance from Carlton that has to be recognised. If they played a team that was a lesser grade than the Cats, I think they really would have got hold of one,” he continued.
“To win by 18 points doesn’t reflect the dominance in this performance.”
It was a serious message sent to the rest of the league.
The Blues, who have recovered to 3-4, next take on the Crows at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday as the Cats prepare to meet Collingwood.
