Carlton coach Michael Voss has expressed his joy and relief at the Blues snapping a six-game AFL losing streak by obliterating Gold Coast by 59 points at the MCG.
The Blues came to a life with an extraordinary 9.3 to 0.3 second quarter to blow Sunday’s match wide open with 30 minutes of power.
After conceding the first two goals of the match, Carlton slammed through the next 12 in a performance more reminiscent of their 8-2 start to the 2022 season rather than this year’s disappointing campaign.
The Blues’ run of unanswered goals was their most in a row for 25 years as they cruised to a 18.12 (120) to 8.13 (61) victory after the Suns mostly held their own after halftime.
They had lost their past six matches and eight of their past nine, frustrating the club’s large supporter base that had dreams of ending their 10-year finals drought.
Unlike recent weeks when the Blues have been booed, supporters gave their team a standing ovation as players walked off the MCG at halftime and cheered as Carlton scored 100 points for just the third time this season.
“Some joy, more relief,” Voss said when summing up the drought-breaking win.
“Coming into the bye, we probably get to smile for a little while and we haven’t had that for quite a period of time.”
Voss admitted some of the criticism surrounding the club had got to him and the players, even as they attempted to be “eyes in” on returning to form.
“There’s a lot of circumstances and perhaps a lot of distractions there,” he said.
“We’ve had players been really struggling with some form and we’re trying to get some continuity with our team.
“Clearly there’s a lot of commentary on the footy club and so that can test your direction and where you want to go.
“It’s been a storm on the outside but it’s been calm inside.
“We know sometimes a storm will pass but we just have to make sure we’re still really clear and calm and what we need to be able to do and I’ve just got great belief in the players.”
Carlton’s under-fire midfield lifted, with out-of-contract tall Tom De Koning firing in the ruck and allowing Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra to dominate the Suns’ young brigade of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.
In his 100th game, Harry McKay finished with a game-high three majors in a confidence boost for the 2021 Coleman medallist who has experienced some mental demons kicking for goal this year.
As good as Carlton were, Gold Coast’s lack of workrate in the second quarter was a huge concern for a team with ambitions of playing finals for the first time in their 13-year existence.
The Suns notched up impressive wins in Darwin against finals contenders Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
But the bye came at the wrong time for Gold Coast, putting in their worst performance of the season when a victory would have catapulted them into the top eight.
“We’re disappointed with today, we need to take responsibility,” Suns coach Stuart Dew said.
“We’ve played a strong brand of footy for the last six, seven weeks, but we let ourselves down and we’ve spoken about that in the rooms after just a missed opportunity.”