The two most talented players at Carlton have been suspended due to a misunderstanding, which is unbelievable news for their brave fans.

The two most talented players at Carlton have been suspended due to a misunderstanding, which is unbelievable news for their brave fans.

Ball direction, ball movement, and ball use.

Over an extended stretch in which a talented but faltering side has lost four of five games and their dreams of making the playoffs are all but gone, the Blues have devolved into a drab and lifeless forward-half lineup.

Carlton has been mysterious during that time; few teams that had only won once in five weeks would have won that game by more than 100 points. The Bulldogs’ loss last Saturday night served as a microcosm of the club’s campaign.

Sam Walsh and his teammates following the May 13, 2023, round nine match between Carlton and the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. Image: AFL Images
In a quick and dramatic third-quarter blitz, the Blues scored eight goals from 12 entries, turning the game entirely on its head. How could they just convert one goal from 29 inside 50s to halftime?

That is how it has been for the majority of the season. It’s interesting to note that, according to Champion Data, in Carlton’s four wins this season, 54.4% of its forward-50 inputs resulted in goals, compared to just 37.1% of entries in its four losses.

“We must maintain our optimism,” Cripps says. The blues are stuck in a rut.
This decline, or 17.25 percent, is the largest of any team in history to have dropped more than one game in a season. Thus, how and why have the Blues evolved into one of the most annoying teams in the league?

Ball direction, ball movement, and ball use. This is the reason Carlton’s campaign isn’t succeeding.

Blues in slow motion…
Among the teams in the competition with the slowest ball movement is Carlton.

The Blues are ranked third in the league for disposals this season, per Champion Data. They rank No. 14 for inside-50s, though, even though they have so much possession of the ball. In other words, they’re not in charge of the football at the riskiest locations.

Carlton’s proportion of kicks that travel forward puts them in 16th place in the league, which serves as more evidence of it. Just North Melbourne and Hawthorn had lower ratings for context. The Blues are ranked No. 16 in terms of long kick percentage as well.

The night of Saturday was typical of this. At halftime, Carlton had 29 inside-50s for just one goal and five points. After that, it started the game, played a little faster and more erratically, and then resumed.