Carlton have now won just one of their last four games, falling short to Collingwood in dramatic fashion to land back-to-back losses for the first time since Round 13 of 2023.
With heavy expectations entering the season, Carlton are yet to truly cement their position as a top four side in the competition, failing to secure wins against the competition’s best in the undefeated Geelong and the reigning premiers Collingwood.
While their injury list remains extensive, the Blues were figured out tactically by the Pies and Craig McRae, and their lack of adaptation in last night’s contest has raised concerns for AFL champion Luke Hodge.
“There are some concerns about Carlton,” Hodge told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“Carlton started off really well, (Marc) Pittonet was really effective early before he went off, Collingwood came back into the stoppage area, but then they thought to congest it.
“Their last month has been as good as anyone. They are number two for clearances and number one for scoring from clearances over the last three or four weeks.
“So (Collingwood) thought, let’s congest it, let’s see if they can score a different way, and all of a sudden, you had the Collingwood blokes sweating from the outside, that ball got knocked on and it worked to Collingwood’s favour.
“The other concern for me was once they got it on the half-backline, and yes, granted, there is a couple of guys that are injured who are good ball users for Carlton, there was no way to try and get through.
“Collingwood’s zone is exceptionally good, but there was no one trying to run off to the fat side or no short 45 or handball receive or get in behind the man on the mark to link up that way… there was nothing outside the ‘let’s just go long down the line to see how we can break this open’.
“If you’re going to try and do that later in the year and have no backup plan, you’re going to fall short in finals.”
Former GWS captain Phil Davis also questioned Carlton’s ability to play outside of their comfort zone, particularly with their current lack of run and carry.
“They are such a fascinating team,” Davis said.
“When it’s on their way, when they get to choose how the game is to be played, which is a bit of space around stoppage, we can use the ball well, they look as good as anyone.
“My question is, what levers can they pull when it’s not going their way?
“Cumbersome is too strong of a word but their side is built on that. They don’t have these free running, agile players, or, as many as some of these other teams who play a more turnover dominated game.”
The Blues’ rough run of fixtures continues, with Melbourne to come next Thursday night, followed by the Swans in Sydney.