CARLTON coach Michael Voss has bemoaned his side's continued lack of composure, as the Blues let another lead slip to fall to 0-3 for the seventh time in the last 13 seasons.
However, the Blues boss has stressed that it's not yet season over for his side, suggesting that "the numbers stack up OK" despite their thrilling eight-point defeat to the Bulldogs on Friday night extending their winless streak.
BLUES V BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats
Carlton shot into a commanding 24-point lead in the opening half at Marvel Stadium, but couldn't sustain the advantage and coughed up two late goals that allowed the Dogs to run over the top and gain a crucial buffer with just minutes remaining.
It continued a worrying trend for the Blues, who have now kicked just three goals in three final quarters this year and have been outscored 24 goals to five in second halves so far this season.
"I just felt like we lacked composure for different times throughout the game," Voss said.
"Right now, our best has been pretty good. But we just seem to be straying from us more than we'd like. It's giving little pockets of windows for an opposition to walk through. We're inviting them into the game.
"That's probably not giving enough credit to the opposition, because you've still got to show up and you've still got to be able to get that done. I'd like to think they know I appreciate that it does take an opposition to be able to step up.
"But the consistency of what we need to be able to play at is clearly not where we want it. We're really confident in the manner of the way we play. I could spend a lot of times on the numbers, but it's not going to matter because the numbers stack up OK.
"It's these small moments that is enabling the opposition to be able to get back in the game. It's been on our boot and we haven't been able to finish the deal. We have to own that."
Carlton has now won just two of its last 12 games dating back to last season – against lowly opponents North Melbourne and West Coast – with the side's 0-3 start to the campaign severely damaging its fading finals hopes.
But Voss said the better parts of his side's performances – having won the inside-50 count (56-51) and the clearance battle (43-40) – suggested that the Blues can still turn around their stuttering fortunes.
"In terms of the context of the season, we're at the start," Voss said.
"There's plenty of runway. But we've also got feedback to suggest we've got to get better. We've got some real parts of our game that are a bit more obvious than others. That's what we'll do.
"From when you watch us play and you see the better parts of our games and you see how we were able to play that, it's worth persisting with. But the message will be pretty simple from me. Make sure we get really clear on our roles, continue to keep playing us, and at the right times we need to put composure in the game. We'll keep coaching that."
Carlton forward Zac Williams was substituted midway through the second quarter with what the club described as 'Achilles soreness', though Voss suggested afterwards he was battling a calf problem.
It's another blow for Williams, who missed the entire 2018 campaign with a ruptured Achilles before missing the majority of the 2022 season with a high-grade calf injury that had also initially appeared to be an Achilles issue.
"We'll investigate it, but we think it's a very, very minor calf," Voss said.
"I think we've got to investigate that one a little bit further, but it's nothing major. We thought we might put him back on, but that (his history) is the reason why he didn't go back on."
The Western Bulldogs moved to 2-1 on the campaign, having clawed back a 24-point deficit and a goalless opening term to eventually overrun Carlton and get some reward for the side's perseverance.
Having claimed their first lead of the match early in the final term, the Blues nudged their way back in front, only for two late goals from Aaron Naughton and James O'Donnell to eventually seal the deal for Luke Beveridge's side.
"It's pretty satisfying," Beveridge said.
"We didn't think we were doing a hell of a lot wrong. We obviously couldn't kick a goal in that first quarter, but even at half time we came in and six of their seven goals were from areas that we'd been reasonably good at.
"I thought the boys made some good adjustments and the coaches were really good with their instructions and their collaboration. Just to persevere through it and somehow find a way and nudge ahead, but then it's deflating giving it back. It's pretty satisfying night for everyone."
The Bulldogs moved back into a positive win-loss differential despite a start to the season where the club has been without Marcus Bontempelli (calf), Cody Weightman (knee) and Adam Treloar (calf) due to injury.
Key position pillars Liam Jones (hamstring) and O'Donnell (jaw) have also missed time, though Beveridge said he wasn't surprised by the side's form despite missing some quality players.
"Not necessarily," Beveridge said.
"If you think about lead-in from the pre-season. When we played Essendon … we did play 33 players in that main game. We wanted to reward the players that had pretty solid pre-seasons with at least half a game of senior footy. Some of them were the Josh Dolans and the Sam Davidsons.
"Then we went to Launceston and had more of a dress rehearsal, but we played pretty well against Hawthorn. We thought we had a little bit of momentum and there were some promising signs. So, I'm not greatly surprised.
"You lose players of the ilk of Marcus Bontempelli and Cody Weightman and Adam Treloar and there's a few others there. But, ultimately, there's some real promise in our group. So, no, I'm not surprised.
"I know the talk out of last week was we should be proud. Yeah, to a degree. But we wanted to win that game. That's the way we've got to think, otherwise we won't end up being a chance or getting a look at where we want to go."
