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Blues coach Brett Ratten says complacency and immaturity could threaten Carlton’s chances of success this season following a second nail-biting AFL defeat in as many weeks.
Carlton went down by seven points to Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 11.15 (81) on the Gold Coast on Saturday, letting slip another game they could have won after bridging a 22-point gap early in the final term.
Post-match, Ratten found himself in a similar position to last week, defending a last-gasp attack that ultimately failed to bring home the four points.
Carlton had their chances – they finished with 50 more possessions and 12 more inside 50s than the Dockers – but wasteful disposals and poor decisions had them chasing the game for most of the night.
Ratten said the squad was in danger of becoming complacent and pointed the finger squarely at senior members and their over-use of the ball.
“We just thought it was going to happen for us I suppose,” Ratten said.
“It’s a team that needs to mature.
“That’s about the key thing in the modern game now, or just this season, if you get teams that contribute across the board you get a result.
“When you carry a few you get hurt and we’ve done that in the last couple of weeks. We knew we were going to have a real dogfight and we got that, but we lost another close game.”
While skipper Chris Judd and Marc Murphy were solid through the midfield, it was the Blues’ forward line that failed to fire.
Cameron Cloke and last week’s villain against Hawthorn Brendan Fevola were both well blanketed as the Blues kicked just three goals and 11 behinds in a wasteful second half.
Carlton now sit on three wins and four losses and face another stiff contest when they meet with bitter rivals Collingwood at the MCG next Sunday.
Ratten said all players would have to step up if the Blues were to be considered a top-four side.
“If you need to take the next step as a team, you need to win these games and we didn’t do that,” he said.
“We’ve found that blemish and paid the price.”
The Blues will have to keep a close eye on Fevola over the coming week after the big forward strained a buttock muscle during the pre-game warm-up.
He played most of the match but finished with just five touches and a solitary goal.
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