'I didn't give it a hell of a lot of thought': Voss in denial over Docherty outburst that served Carlton uncomfortable truth

Carlton coach Michael Voss has dismissed criticism of the club from ex-captain Sam Docherty, hinting that the retired defender was potentially part of the cultural issues at the club in 2025.

Voss referenced the speech he made at the club's best and fairest, where he stated the group had "culturally defeated (themselves)" last year.

This was seemingly aimed at the likes of Charlie Curnow, Jack Silvagni, Tom De Koning, and evidently, Docherty, who all departed at the end of the season - and were potentially critical of the direction of the club.

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"I could tell you what you'd like to hear tonight, but tonight is (about) what we all need to hear. Right now, we are not a very resilient football club," Voss said at the 2025 best and fairest.

"This club is powerful if we choose it to be, but the fight must be out there, not in here. My greatest lesson is this: chasing excellence can't come at the expense of enjoying the journey.

"Together, inside the locker room, and outside in the stands, we as a club have culturally defeated ourselves."

A voicemail of Docherty's thoughts played without his consent highlighted the former All-Australian's concerns for the club, following their second-half thrashing at the hands of Sydney in Opening Round.

"Exactly what happened again last night is the same shit that happens in every other game," he said.

"When the game's hot and contested and pressurised, Carlton is good in that environment, but as soon as some team can do somewhat good in the contest, the rest of the game just f---in' falls to pieces.

"Essentially, because the game gets somewhat slower and there's more open-brand footy, that's when Carlton is f---in' horrible.

"Basically, you smack our mids again this year and we'll be f---ed, going off last night. Change all the ball movement you want, but it's the same issue."

Voss turned down multiple questions about Docherty's comments at his press conference on Tuesday, but did point to his best and fairest speech.

"I didn't give it a hell of a lot of thought. People keep asking me about last year's best and fairest speech and how culturally we defeated ourselves (in 2025). I just felt it was an example of that," Voss told reporters.

"For us to have a productive conversation, I think we all need to know that we're not going to get mixed between the old and the new. We're new. That's the way we're going forward.

"We're beginning again. I'll be pretty strong on that. That's what you need to know. I don't spend a hell of a lot of time sharing what others say about us."

Docherty's comments being aired without his consent was obviously unfair on him, but they have shed some light on the frustration in the Carlton locker room in 2025.

In this instance, both things can be true. Voss is right that the club needs greater cohesion and fewer dissenting voices; hence the shedding of those players in the off-season.

But Docherty is also right in his criticisms of the Blues' game style; and it speaks to a larger question - how many others on the club's playing list right now feel the same way? How many have lost faith in Voss after five seasons?

Curnow was clearly frustrated with Voss and the club, hence pushing his way out the door in the trade period, but there would surely be others feeling similarly to Docherty.

And it's hard to disagree with him. Since Voss took over as Carlton coach in 2022, there has been a clear pattern of second-half fadeouts and/or a failure to find other ways to win games, beyond contest and clearance control.

The Blues play a heavily contested and taxing game style, which looks great when it's in full flight, but teams have figured out that if you can break even with them for a half, you can typically run them off their feet.

Since the start of 2025, Carlton is plus-128 in points scored in first halves, and minus-253 in second halves.

This isn't some sneaky secret analysis that only the club internally is aware of. As Docherty points out, it's "the same shit that happens in every other game".

Hawthorn star Josh Weddle happily pointed it out in 2024 after his club thumped Carlton late in the season.

"We knew that their work-rate's not the strongest in the fourth quarter, so we were like, we may as well start it from the start, get them tired early," he said.

"And then when we heard that they were getting numbers down, we were like let's just keep going and really tire them out."

Go back to Voss' first season at the helm in 2022. In his first five weeks as Carlton coach, the Blues had two massive half-time leads over Hawthorn and Port Adelaide respectively, and ultimately held on to with both games by under a goal.

They then ultimately missed finals by the barest of margins, thanks to blowing a 24-point three-quarter-time lead against Collingwood in the final round of the season in what was a humiliating result for fans.

Fast forward to the pinnacle of the Voss era, the 2023 preliminary final, where Carlton blew a five-goal lead to Brisbane and ultimately missed out on the chance to play in a grand final.

Blowing a 25-point half time lead to wooden-spoon favourites Richmond in round one of last year was the purest example of this playing out, and the first of multiple examples across the 2025 season.

They led at half time in eventual losses to Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Sydney and Fremantle across the season.

The club made the call to stick with Voss for 2026, though he enters it as the only coach out of contract at the end of the year.

The likes of Rory Sloane and Gerard Whateley have hit back at Docherty and Carlton fans for overreacting to the Opening Round second half humiliation, given the length of the season ahead.

"I don't think in my time I've seen an old captain dust his hands of a footy club as fast as Sam Docherty there," Sloane said on Nine's The Sunday Footy Show.

"The fans are probably rioting at the moment. He can help those fans level out their emotions a bit.

"I think Carlton are the most emotional footy club I've seen, and that's both their fans and inside the four walls too.

"They build every game up to be a must-win game... they probably got too heated and too emotional."

But with the five seasons of evidence laid out above, that would be hard to swallow for Carlton fans and club greats.

The reaction isn't because one game was lost.

The reaction is because the loss mirrored the strategic issue Voss has not been able to fix in his time as Carlton coach.

And despite a whole new band of assistant coaches, a new head of football, a new CEO, a new president and a dozen new players, the Sydney result ultimately followed the exact same script Blues fans have come to expect.

Except it was dialled up to 11 as the club conceded 18 goals in an hour on the primetime stage in their first encounter with Curnow in Sydney colours.

Voss and the Blues will need time to build chemistry and change the culture after the summer overhaul, and vibes seemed to be strong heading into Opening Round.

But the familiar stink that second half produced is inescapable.

Carlton's next month features winnable games against Richmond, Melbourne and North Melbourne, but things could get very messy, very quickly if results don't go the club's way.

Docherty might not be the only one expressing his disappointed if that occurs.