JACOB Weitering told Carlton president Luke Sayers after Friday night’s loss to Sydney that coach Michael Voss wasn’t to blame for the Blues’ unravelling season.
Weitering approached Sayers during an eventful post-match in the Carlton changerooms to tell him the blame lay with him and his teammates instead of their besieged coach.
The Blues’ sixth loss in seven games came in a match in which they kicked 6.15 from 59 inside 50s and repeatedly made poor choices going forward.
A spat between president Luke Sayers and board member Craig Mathieson was the ugly post-script that led to Mathieson’s resignation over the weekend.
Sayers and Mathieson were in conversation under the SCG before Mathieson’s frustration bubbled over and he started yelling. Witnesses said Mathieson accused the club of accepting mediocrity.
While the players weren’t in attendance, family members and club staff were said to be shocked by the outburst. Mathieson was then led away by two onlookers.
The incident came after Mathieson’s uncle, Bruce, earlier this month savaged club leaders.
Sayers said in a statement today: “We accept Craig’s decision to resign from his role as a club director and thank him for all he has contributed to the Blues across 11 years of service.”
In a later letter to members, the president doubled down on his promise that nothing would be decided in-season.
“We will judge our 2023 season at the end of the year, in its totality,” Sayers wrote.
“Football clubs are defined by their moments of adversity and I can guarantee we will handle ours with a level-headed professionalism that Carlton people should expect.”
Carlton will play a third game in 13 days when it faces Melbourne at the MCG this Friday night.
The Blues could be forced into as many as five changes due to injury and potential suspension, with George Hewett (concussion), Nic Newman (hamstring), Ollie Hollands (shoulder) all set to miss.
Patrick Cripps (ankle) and Adam Cerra (potential suspension) are in doubt.