Carlton Football Club faced a tough loss to Adelaide as they lost their last match at home. The last scoreboard number read 7.8 (50) to 16.14 (110). Following the defeat, Coach Michael Voss expressed his disgust over the performance. He dubbed the first quarter performance, at times not even trying to establish a run game, an overall “flat failure.” The counterpunch Carlton received from Brisbane over the weekend had them down and out by 33 points at the half-time change.
In the opening minutes of the match, Adelaide established a dominant tone for the game, with quarterback Jordan Dawson proving to be the conductor. He recorded 11 disposals in the first quarter alone and finished the game with three goals, eight tackles, and six clearances. The huge deficit in uncontested possessions—minus-59 for Carlton at halftime—was a testament to how thoroughly they were beaten all over the ground.
Voss called out Carlton’s approach at the contest as “unacceptable.” He explained how in the course of the match, the team lost essential ground, and how that played a monumental role in their overall poor performance. Patrick Cripps starred for the Blues with 24 touches, with George Hewett continuing his strong form of late in the engine room. These efforts would prove insufficient to overcome the power of Adelaide’s reign of terror.
From Adelaide’s perspective, their success was amplified by the superb performances of Josh Worrell and Wayne Milera. Worrell finished with 23 disposals while Milera led all-comers with 27. Together, their dogged collaboration stalled Adelaide’s momentum and then closed the door on the win.
Michael Nicks, coach of Adelaide, reflected positively on his team’s performance, stating, “That is our game, back to its best, I thought.” His comments illustrated how well Adelaide had executed their plan in the first half of the game.
For Voss, that approach to learning and being better carried over into his desire for an in-depth review of Carlton’s performance. He emphasized that the best teams are consistent week-in and week-out, saying, “We just have to be better in that space.” He continued by noting, “What have been particular strengths in our game over the course of the full part of this season, not just the last few weeks, we just couldn’t get right.”
