Carlton slump to awful 45-year first after losing the ‘unlosable’

Carlton players were gutted after Collingwood mounted a final quarter comeback which resulted in their finals hopes being extinguished at the 11th hour. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

It’s been a sobering morning for Carlton supporters after one of the most heart-wrenching losses in the club’s history.

A one-point defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Collingwood is enough to sting any Blues fan at the best of times, let alone after that loss cost the team a place in the top eight.

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Unfortunately, for veteran Blues fans out there, there might have been a sense of deja vu.

Carlton had been sitting in the top eight for every round of the home and away season – until the loss to the Magpies saw the tumble into ninth place by the barest of margins.

Not for 45 years of VFL/AFL competition has a team dropped out of the finals in the final round after holding their spot for the entire season.

The other occasion was again Carlton, back in 1977.

The Blues seemed to have the game in hand, holding a 24-point lead at three-quarter-time – but Collingwood had other ideas.

Looking to cement their top four position, Collingwood kicked five unanswered goals in the final as the Blues could only muster an agonising six behinds for the quarter.

“Everything that is great in our game is encapsulated in what Collingwood just did. Everything that will break your heart as a football supporter forever is what Carlton just did then,” AFL great Garry Lyon told Fox Footy in the wake of the Blues’ heartbreaking loss.

Fans were left in disbelief after the devastating loss, which came a week after the Blues forfeited a similar lead against reigning premiers Melbourne.

The back to back losses, from a position which former Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes described as ‘unloseable’, marked the end of an otherwise promising campaign under Michael Voss.

Statistically the Blues had dominated Sunday’s game, winning the inside 50 and contested possession counts handily, something former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said would be of little comfort for the team.

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“They did a lot right, but in the end that’s not going to make anyone feel great about it because they gave up eight points that they’d earned for 95 per cent of the last two games and then just weren’t able to get over the line,” he told Fox Footy.

“There’s a lot of ‘what if’ in Carlton’s season and it’s going to feel really wasted for them now. But they’ve definitely taken great strides this year. This is not the time because Carlton fans aren’t going to feel that, but they’re definitely coming.”

Carlton had opportunities to grab back the lead but were denied by Collingwood’s steely defence – and by kicking 0.6 to the Magpies’ 5.1 in the last quarter – leaving despondent Blues players to slump to the ground when the siren sounded.

Having started 2022 with an 8-2 record, Carlton are left with serious heartbreak after being in the top-eight all season until the final day.

Needing to defeat the Magpies after the Western Bulldogs replaced them in the last finals position through a 23-point win against Hawthorn earlier on Sunday, Carlton kicked only two goals outside of their third-quarter burst.

Former St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt said Carlton had thrown the game away.

“Carlton had the opportunity to stamp it right at the start of the fourth quarter. They had the opportunity to put it to bed and they didn’t,” he said.

“We’ll celebrate Collingwood and we’ll talk about them for the next couple of weeks because they’re going in on the wave of the most unbelievable momentum, but that was a butchering of the highest order.

“Two weeks in a row they’ve slaughtered it.”

Patrick Cripps did all he could to will Carlton past the Magpies and into the finals, but it wasn’t to be. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Voss said his players were understandably mortified.

“They’re devastated,” Voss said of his Blues players.

“We didn’t want this season to end, we feel like we had more in us and clearly when we were in the position we were, we wanted to play finals footy.

“When it came down to those key moments, we couldn’t get it done, and it’s going to hurt for a bit.”

The Blues started in nervous fashion and missed easy shots as Collingwood’s pressure overwhelmed them.

Carlton rebuilt, however, and their 8.3 was the first time since the famous 1970 grand final they had kicked eight goals in a third quarter against Collingwood at the MCG.

Ultimately, though, it was not enough, as Collingwood secured fourth place and a tantalising qualifying final at the MCG against minor premiers Geelong.

With AAP

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