Carlton’s Struggles Continue as Second-Half Collapse Becomes a Pattern
Saturday night was a painful reminder for the Carlton Football Club, as they once again found themselves on the wrong end of a significant second-half collapse. This time, it was against St Kilda, with the Blues losing by 39 points after leading at half-time. It marked the sixth time this season that Carlton has blown a halftime lead, a worrying trend that has persisted under coach Michael Voss.
The pattern of defeat has been a recurring issue for the Blues over the years, but in 2026, it has escalated into a full-blown crisis. The team’s inability to maintain their form in the second half has left fans and analysts questioning the direction of the club.
Voss, who is currently the only AFL coach out of contract in 2026, faces increasing pressure as results continue to slip away. However, according to Nine reporter Damian Barrett, the club may not make a decision on Voss’s future until after their bye week in round 14.
“From what I understand, they would try to get as close to round 23 as possible before making a decision on Voss,” Barrett said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show. “Their bye period will be used as a point of consolidation to work out what happens in the remainder of the season. I still can’t see anything happening from a Voss perspective until that bye stage at the earliest.”
The upcoming run of games leading up to the bye week will be a tough challenge for Carlton. They will face Brisbane (away), Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide (away), Geelong, and Essendon before getting a break. With only one win to their name this season—against a struggling Richmond side—there is a real possibility they could enter the bye with a 1-12 record.
A Season in Disarray
Carlton’s season has fallen apart due to these consistent second-half collapses, with opposition teams capitalizing on the Blues’ lack of consistency. St Kilda, for example, kicked nine goals to Carlton’s two after half-time in their most recent game.
Adelaide champion Rory Sloane believes the trend is unlikely to change soon. “They look mentally cooked at the moment. They’re mentally fried during those second halves of the game,” he said. “It just doubles down when a team like St Kilda knows, and they would have spoken about it at half time, they know they can get on top of them in those second halves. It feeds the opposition too.”
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd has also criticized the performance of several Carlton players, particularly in the midfield. He pointed out their lack of defensive effort in the second half, which he believes contributes to their downfall.
“Carlton fans want to know ‘why does it keep happening to us.’ I think it’s a mixture of the personnel that they’ve got, it’s mental and it’s work rate,” Lloyd said. “All the players are walking. Look at all the Carlton players walking. It’s pretty slack and pretty lazy. Are they not fit enough? I’m looking at these blokes, they can’t run. They’re not working hard enough.”
Lloyd highlighted a transition goal St Kilda scored in the fourth quarter, where Carlton players failed to apply pressure. “This was a shocker. Look at all the Carlton players walking,” he said. “It’s pretty slack and pretty lazy. George Hewett got dropped because they thought it would help the midfield, that’s helped nothing. Patrick Cripps is a worry because he gets caught so often and he can’t defend. Jagga Smith is a young kid, he can’t do much about it. Sam Walsh isn’t having the impact he would have hoped for.”
Lloyd believes the club would need to make a move on Voss if he has lost the support of the playing group. He also questioned whether key players might have left the club last year due to tensions with the coach. “If key players want to leave, that’s when you’ve got to make a move, if he’s lost the players,” Lloyd said. “I wonder if Charlie Curnow would still be there, for example, because there was talk he and Voss weren’t seeing eye-to-eye last year.”
