Carlton have suffered yet another second-half capitulation as a rampaging St Kilda ran away with a 39-point win on Saturday night.
The Blues held a 12-point lead at the long break, but once again it completely unravelled as the Saints piled on eight consecutive goals in a devastating third quarter.
It was a familiar story for Carlton, who have seemed to suffer the same fate in nearly every match this year.
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The pressure will surely ramp up to embattled coach Michael Voss, who was out of ideas on on the bench as Saints kicked goal after goal.
The Blues were their own worst enemies at times with Harry Dean giving away a rare double goal after pushing Liam Henry in the back after the Saint ran into an open goal.
But that was just one moment in a nightmare second half that felt like watching an old movie on repeat.
The Saints ended up kicking 12 of the last 14 goals.
Nort Melbourne great David King put the onus on the leadership, and particular the midfielder leaders.
“How quickly they lose their handle on games is frightening,” King said on Fox Footy.
“You have to put it down to their leadership group on field. What happens to them? Why do they into their shells so quickly?
“At half time this was going beautifully for them. They’ve just lost their way.
“They’ve been hammered out of the middle – centre bounce clearances have been a smashing. Can’t win a contest down back and a distinct lack of leadership.
“We haven’t seen (Patrick) Cripps fire a shot, (Adam) Cerra has turned it over this quarter, (Sam) Walsh’s disposals have been disgraceful.”
Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt slammed the Blues’ effort in the second half in what is now becoming a “traumatic” situation.
“It’s proper trauma now for them. Happens time and time again,” Riewoldt said.
“We haven’t seen any effort in this second half.”
King added that the debrief on this game will be “savage”.
St Kilda’s Tom De Koning had extra reason to celebrate a goal against his former club. Credit: AAP High-profile recruits Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni were jeered by Blues fans throughout their first encounter since the pair accepted big-money offers to leave in the off-season.
But De Koning stood tall and took strong marks to set up his two goals, while Silvagni played his role in defence to help St Kilda (4-4) square their win-loss record for the first time this season.
The victory came at a cost when Dan Butler sustained a hamstring injury, just hours after injury-plagued spearhead Max King was taken out of a VFL match with “hamstring awareness”.
Jack Higgins (concussion) and Darcy Wilson (illness) were late withdrawals.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera starred with 31 disposals, five clearances and one goal, with co-captains Jack Sinclair (29 touches) and Callum Wilkie (22) also important contributors.
De Koning’s ruck-forward partner Rowan Marshall (three goals) also shone, and the pair helped their midfielders get on top at the contest when it mattered most.
Mitch Owens (three), Liam Henry (three) and Cooper Sharman (two) also kicked multiple majors.
It was a familiar story for Carlton (1-7), who faded dramatically after halftime on their way to a sixth consecutive defeat.
Oliver Florent (30 disposals), Nic Newman (28) and Sam Walsh (24) won plenty of the ball, while Brodie Kemp stood up in attack with three goals.
But the Blues had few clear winners, with captain Patrick Cripps held to just 14 disposals and one goal under attention from Saints stopper Marcus Windhager.
After a tight first quarter, Carlton lifted their work-rate and produced a five-goal second term to lead by 18 points before halftime.
Matt Carroll’s spectacular pack mark was the highlight, but the lead quickly vanished as St Kilda piled on nine consecutive majors to take complete control.
– With AAP