‘A distinct lack of leadership’: How Carlton got crunched in the third term, again

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Carlton coach Michael Voss faces a near-impossible task to save his job after the Blues’ latest second-half collapse against St Kilda on Saturday night resulted in a seventh defeat in eight games.

An eight-goal-to-one surrender in the third quarter to the Saints laid bare the issues that have plagued Voss’ side all year, including blowing three-quarter-time leads to Melbourne, North Melbourne and Collingwood.

Opponents have outscored Carlton, who are ahead of bottom-team Richmond on percentage only, by a league-worst 117 points in the third term this season, and they have won that quarter only twice.

Voss is out of contract at season’s end after surviving a club-wide review late last year, but the Blues’ horror campaign gives the ex-Brisbane Lions champion little hope of remaining as coach, even if he was reluctant to speculate about his future.

“It’s been a familiar pattern,” Voss said.

“Centre-square bounce [failures], four or five free kicks against us … and then the ability to be able to just continue to defend when we’re up against it isn’t at the level that it needs to be at.

“It puts you under an enormous amount of pressure, they’re kicking goals when they like, and we’re getting these huge runs against us.

“Defensively, we’re not strong enough for long enough over the course of a game.”

There were no visible signs from Carlton of what was to come in the early minutes of the third quarter on Saturday night.

In fact, the Blues were spreading........

© Brisbane Times