Why Lloyd is bullish ‘flawless’ Blues can cause finals havoc
In early May, Carlton sat 16th on the ladder. They had one win from nine outings, blowing leads in five of those games, and had coach Michael Voss quit on them days before what would be his final match in charge.
Now, 121 days later, they enter a final against Melbourne as the betting favourites, having lost just twice in three months.
Patrick Cripps and Marc Pittonet lead the resurgent Blues off the ground on Saturday. Getty Images
They beat the two top premiership favourites in Brisbane and Fremantle by a combined 113 points within a month and have experts wondering just how far they can take this season.
Under Josh Fraser, who was made the full-time head coach last week, Carlton has risen from a bottom four team with weaknesses so obvious and exploitable that rival players were happy to casually discuss them, to a side capable of matching it with anybody.
Fremantle might not have had anything to play for in round 24, but they had a genuine crack in the first half with a near full-strength team, and could not match Carlton’s ball movement or defensive pressure in the 37-point loss.
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd labelled it as the Blues’ second “flawless” performance in a month, after thrashing Brisbane by 76 points in Round 21.
“It was a flawless performance and they also had a flawless performance against Brisbane less than a month ago,” Lloyd told Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.
“I just see a side with the ball that’s exceptional, without the ball exceptional, stoppage work exceptional. I just don’t see anywhere where they’re lacking right now.
“The Western Bulldogs took it to them last week and stopped those chains and got the draw where you thought ‘could teams exploit what Carlton is doing?’, but they were outstanding against Freo.”
Carlton faces Melbourne in a Wildcard Round game on Saturday night. The Demons will be without key forwards Jacob Van Rooyen and Matthew Jefferson, while star defender Jake Lever is now in significant doubt with a foot injury.
The Blues meanwhile will get Will Hayward and Nick Haynes back after managing the pair, and are near full strength.
If they beat Melbourne, a date with Geelong at the MCG looms after that, a team Fraser’s side knocked off earlier in the year.
“I think they’re playing as well as anyone right now. They have been chasing for three months and that can get tiring. They’ve played a final nearly every week for three months and that can get the better of you,” Lloyd said.
“I’d be surprised if they don’t win one or two finals.”
Presuming Fremantle beats Hawthorn in their qualifying final, Carlton wouldn’t have to leave the MCG until prelim final week, if they were able to get through Melbourne, Geelong and Hawthorn.
As Lloyd says, they’re playing as well as any team in the competition right now, and won’t have to worry about combatting home ground advantage for several weeks.
Carlton made a similar fairy tale run in 2023, rising from the bottom four to finish fifth. They ultimately knocked off Sydney and Melbourne before finding themselves five goals up against Brisbane in a preliminary final.
That unravelled from there, but it shows what this side has been capable of with momentum at their backs.
The journey starts anew on Saturday night, with the Blues taking on a Melbourne team that has equally been one of the stories of the year under new coach Steven King.
