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Carlton vice-captain Sam Walsh has conceded Blues players struggle to think clearly when opponents surge, as the club searches for solutions to their second-half meltdowns.
Walsh was emphatic the Blues’ fadeouts were not due to fitness, revealed that under-pressure coach Michael Voss gave players the floor in his post-match and challenged senior players to be mentally strong when rivals dial up the pressure.
Voss is under the pump to keep his job after a torturous start to the season, in which the Blues have continued their habit of flaming out after half-time.
The Blues’ capitulation against Melbourne, after leading by as much as 43 points, was the eighth time from 18 games they have lost after leading at the long break since the start of last season. No other club has given up more games when in front at half-time.
Reflecting the Blues’ split personality, they are world beaters in the first half and easybeats from then on – their points differential dropping from +66 to -237.
Walsh gave an insight into how the pressure impaired the Blues’ judgment in second halves.
“I don’t think there’s an element of, ‘here we go again’, but the biggest thing for us is like, we’ve been striving to play four quarters, and we just haven’t done that,” Walsh said.
“And then there’s times where you can nearly want it so bad, you’re forcing the game, rather than just playing, playing the role and seeing what you see. And sometimes those decisions, everyone can probably be in the stands, like, ‘how did that happen?’
“But it does become a bit clouded when you’re not thinking as clear. So how as leaders, can we get everyone on the same page, even ourselves – strong body language, moving on to the next play? And I think that’ll keep us engaged.”
Walsh was adamant conditioning was not a factor in their slow finishes.
“The biggest thing for us, probably, we might need to run through the banner two times, I reckon, reset the game,” Walsh quipped.
“But in all seriousness, I think there’s a few things that we can focus on with our mentality.
“When teams start to come at us, what team do we want to become?
“It’s the mentality of, how can we turn it around and really break the back of a team coming with momentum, or how do we stop that and really take it back the other way?”
Voss said on Sunday the entire Blues’ leadership would take ownership of the loss to the Demons.
“He actually opened it up to us as players, which I like that he did, because we’re the ones out there,” Walsh said. “I feel as though it’s like standing here now. I can stand and talk and say, ‘we’ve got to do this, we’ve got to do that’, but when the heat comes, where are we going?
“I think, probably, sometimes it can be a concentration thing, and then other times it’s also just being able to know how to control the game a little bit if teams are coming at us.”
Melbourne recruit Jack Steele revealed after victory the Demons gained belief from the Blues’ poor second halves.
North Melbourne captain Nick Larkey said it would not feature in the Kangaroos’ planning but said they were “as aware as everyone else is in the league”.
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