Carlton's season has crossed into a different category. The Blues led St Kilda by 12 points at half-time at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, then watched the Saints kick eight goals in the third quarter to win 16.12 (108) to 10.9 (69), a 39-point margin that flatters Carlton given how the contest played out. Michael Voss faced the press afterwards and stopped short of guaranteeing his job. The Blues sit 1-7. Their only win this season was a Round 1 defeat of Richmond.
An Eight-Goal Quarter Ends the Contest
The third quarter was the kind of half-hour that ends seasons. St Kilda kicked 8.3, Carlton 0.0. Forty-eight points to nil. By the final change the margin was 39 and the contest was over. Mason Wood led the way for the Saints with three goals, with Mitchito Owens, Hugo Garcia and Anthony Caminiti also finding the goal square. The pressure on the Carlton defenders was intense, with the Saints generating 22 inside-50 entries to the Blues' six in that quarter alone.
For Carlton, the silence was telling. Patrick Cripps, the captain, finished with 26 disposals but couldn't influence the contest in the second half. Charlie Curnow had nine touches and zero goals, blanketed by Callum Wilkie. Sam Walsh battled hard but couldn't break through the Saints' midfield press. The result is the Blues' fourth straight loss after looking competitive in patches earlier in the year, and the post-match temperature is the kind that sometimes triggers board meetings.
Voss Knows the Question Is Coming
Voss told the press he understood the position the loss puts him in. "It's on me," he said. "We're 1-7. The players have done as much as they can but my job is to give them a structure that wins games and we are not doing that." The Carlton president Robert Priestley is yet to comment publicly. The Blues face Sydney next at the SCG, the same Sydney that has just put 66 points on the Bulldogs. The fixture is the kind that puts a coach's job in the headline of every newspaper for a week.
The Saints, by contrast, sit at 4-4 and look like a team that might actually finish in the eight. Ross Lyon's coaching has them grinding through wet contests in a way that is hard to play against. Mason Wood now has 18 goals through eight rounds and looks like a Coleman threat. Three more like Saturday and the Saints will be closer to the eight than the rebuild brackets they were drawn into in March.
Where the Markets Land
The bookmakers had St Kilda $2.40 about the Blues at dabble at the start of Saturday afternoon, with Carlton $1.55 favourites. The market was wrong. The Saints firmed in across the day to $2.10 by kickoff, and the line at +9.5 the visitors' way came home by nearly 50. Carlton's wooden-spoon market now sits at $4.50 at Picklebet, level with West Coast, the only club below them on points. Voss's job market on the same site sits at $1.20 to be replaced before season's end. Ladbrokes have shifted the Saints' top-eight markets significantly, from $9 a fortnight ago to $4.20 after Saturday's result.
Round 8 closes Sunday with Geelong hosting North Melbourne at the MCG, with the Cats $1.16 about the Roos $5.50. Full Saturday match reports and the Voss press conference are available via ABC News.