The Simpson spectre: What having a premiership coach at Carlton means for Voss

March 30, 2026 — 4:47pm

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Carlton’s season is only three matches old, but already it carries a familiar, creeping tension — the kind that settles when a team isn’t just losing, but losing the same way.

Three games into the final year of Michael Voss’ contract, the Blues sit at 1–2. On the surface, it is hardly terminal. Underneath, it is far more revealing.

A more accurate Tom Lynch in round 1 would have the Blues 0-3 and heading into what could be a very bad Friday against North Melbourne.

Each game has followed the same script.

Carlton begin games like contenders — powerful, organised, in control. Then, after half-time, it unravels. Leads surrendered. Momentum lost. Games slipping, almost predictably, from their grasp.

There is a growing sense among rival clubs that Carlton’s issue is no longer about personnel or even early season........

© Brisbane Times