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Judd no tonic for Blues' AFL woes: Simpson

14th April, 2014
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Chris Judd will offer untold leadership and class when he returns for Carlton, but teammate Kade Simpson says the superstar is no quick fix for the AFL club’s woes.

Judd remains a chance to play on Sunday, when the Blues attempt to record their first win of the season in a round-five clash with the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.

The dual Brownlow medallist underwent pre-season achilles surgery and is yet to play a game this year.

“He hasn’t actually come up in our meetings at all,” vice-captain Simpson said of Judd.

“He’s obviously going to be a handy player when he does come back, but we’re definitely not relying on him.

“He’s not going to be the saviour and the fix.

“It’s not that he’s going to come back and we’re just going to all click.”

Carlton’s deficiencies have been laid bare over the past fortnight, in which Essendon dished out a 81-point walloping and Melbourne recorded a shock 23-point win.

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Criticism has been directed at the board, coach Mick Malthouse, and captain Marc Murphy.

Football chief Andrew McKay told radio station 3AW on the weekend the club was “probably … lacking a little bit in on-field leadership.”

Simpson suggested the club carried too many passengers in Saturday’s loss to the lowly Demons.

“I don’t think it’s a problem,” Simpson said of the side’s leadership.

“We’ve probably lacked 22 contributors out there.

“You’re not going to win too many games of footy (like that).

“It’s so competitive these days, if you’ve got a couple of passengers you’re not going to win.”

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Simpson and teammate Lachie Henderson both spoke out in defence of Malthouse on Monday.

Henderson attributed the slump to a “lack of confidence”.

“That’s the one thing that’s letting us down,” he said.

“We’re trying to put these things in place and they’re just not happening. They’re the things we’ve got to work hard on and move forward with.”

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