Goalkickers: H. McKay 3.2, W. Hayward 3.2, M. McGovern 3.1, B. Ainsworth 2.1, J. Smith 1.0, P. Cripps 1.0, B. Kemp 0.1, F. Evans 0.1, Rushed 0.3.

Reports: Nil.

Umpires: Andrew Stephens, Robert O'Gorman, Tom Bryce, Cameron Dore.

Injuries: Nil.

Ladder: 16th.

Game Review

Blues denied comeback win in Brisbane
An inspired second half wasn’t enough as Carlton recorded a 11-point loss to Brisbane. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media

After being outclassed by the dual reigning premiers in the first half, the Blues produced some of their best football of the season to draw within striking distance of the Lions. But an incredible comeback - which would’ve gone down as the Blues’ greatest ever, in terms of margin - wasn’t to be, with the Lions settling late and withstanding another late Carlton charge. In the end, the Blues produced 20 marks inside 50 and had plenty of looks on goal late, but they ultimately left themselves with too much to do in the 14.16 (100) to 13.11 (89) defeat. It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Blues, who were unable to capitalise when going forward and were made to well and truly pay by Brisbane, who opened up a 49-point lead early in the third term. Up until that point in the game, only Will Hayward had hit the scoreboard for the Blues in a meaningful way with both of the team’s two goals. When the Blues were getting looks going forward, they either weren’t capitalising in front of the big sticks (2.6 at half time) or failing to find a teammate and getting sliced in transition from the Lions. However, that changed in the second half, with Sam Walsh and Patrick Cripps leading brilliantly in the middle of the ground. After losing eight of the first nine centre clearances, the Blues started to win the ball out of the middle, gaining valuable territory and dominating time in forward half. The Blues produced six third-quarter goals to bring the margin back to 20 points, with five of those being generated from their own forward half. Ben Ainsworth continued his strong form for the Blues, producing a stellar third quarter that included eight disposals and two goals, while a long-range goal from Jagga Smith provided the Blues with the energy they needed.

The Blues also started to win their battles defensively, with Nic Newman once again leading the charge. When Mitch McGovern produced back-to-back goals within a minute before three-quarter time, the Blues were within 20 - and that was cut by a further six points when Harry McKay marked strongly and converted. The Lions were able to wrestle away some of the momentum from the Blues, kicking out to a 29-point lead after some ill discipline by the visitors. But the Blues didn’t go away, with the form of McKay a key positive on the night. The big man ended the night with 21 disposals, 10 marks and three goals, spending more time in the ruck and providing Harris Andrews with headaches. While it wasn’t to be for the Blues, it was a much better indication of what the football they’ve been looking to produce, kicking 11 goals in the second half alone. Despite the loss, the Blues will be hoping to continue that positive momentum of the final two quarters when hosting the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

Voss acknowledges fight, but Blues 'can't accept mediocrity'
AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss was clear in his message in his post-Round 9 press conference. - By Carlton Media

"We acknowledge the fight, but we can’t be comfortable in mediocrity." No honourable losses. AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss was clear in his message in his post-match press conference, after Carlton nearly produced an incredible comeback against the Brisbane Lions. Overturning a 49-point deficit in the third term to draw within two goals late in the game, Voss said the second half was distinctly much more like what the Blues want to be about... but putting themselves in a disappointing position had to be a source of motivation. Here's what he had to say.

On what the second half represented:
"It highlights the capacity that’s in the group, but it’s also a familiar narrative. The game asks you to play for longer, and we’re playing against the reigning premiers. They tried to take the game away from us early and did a great job at doing that. "We asked for a response quite forcefully at half time, and to the boys’ credit they came out fighting. It didn’t quite go all our way in the first few minutes of the third quarter… we fought, which was pleasing. "Whether we were a chance to win is really hard to say, but it always felt like we were one goal off it from really asking the question. They were able to steady with Neale kicking that goal, and that was probably the difference in the end."

On what changed in the final two quarters:
"What you could tell after half time was there was a confidence growing within the group. The little battles, we were starting to win which we were losing in the first quarter. Some of the connections forward of the ball that we were missing we started making, we finishing with 20 marks inside 50. We didn’t look like it in the first half. "We got field position, we kept the ball in our half - all the things we want to be building our game on the back of, they were certainly evident and challenged a very good football team. We utilised their drop in intensity to pick up our own, and that gave us the confidence to be able to finish the game the way we did. "But we’ve still got to be better than playing a half of football."

On personnel changes in the second half:
"The big difference in the end was they’ve had 10 shots on goal from centre-square bounce - they kicked 3.7. We were pretty handy ourselves and kicked 2.4. That was a really good battle. "‘Crippa’ and ‘Walshy’, Jagga spent more time through the middle of the ground and his second half was really good. We walk out of the game and get further clarity on what we need to keep producing. "But we walk away disappointed. We acknowledge the fight, but we can’t be comfortable in mediocrity. We’ve got to have higher standards of ourselves than that, and we’ll continue to find out what that looks like for us so we can replicate it more often."

On not walking away happy with an honourable loss:
"We walk away very much not happy with that. We’ve put ourselves in positions in most games to win, but I’m also sick of saying that. We’ve got to find those few more moments in a game, and I think the guys get genuine confidence off what they’ve been able to do. "Next week is a different challenge, it doesn’t present itself the same way. We’ve got to utilise that momentum that we were able to get in the second half and take it into the next game we play."

On the difference in second half this week compared to previous:
"It shows you that we have the capacity in there to finish off games really strongly - maybe the difference was that we were chasing. We could go for it a bit. We have to replicate that same mindset. "We let ourselves down in the first half: just watching, it didn’t feel like our hunt for the ball was on, we gave away way too many uncontested marks, couldn’t get any pressure on the game. We gave them the style of football that we know that when they play well, you’re next to no chance. In our front half, we couldn’t find our connections - that completely flipped in the second half. "There’s a model in there that definitely works. Those sort of results do say so, but it also says that we’re not doing it for long enough. That’s something we have to continue to work on."

On what the commentary will be coming out of the result:
"I don’t coach for my job. I coach for building a culture. By the time I leave here, it’s that we’ve got winning behaviours and we understand clearly what that looks like. We clearly understand what it looks like when we need them and when we don’t. I coach to create an environment that enables that to happen. "Often people will make it about your job, but we’ll make it about something else. That’s what we’ve got to continue to reinforce within our own environment, and build that positive energy around the place. "There is a spirit within this group that keeps coming. But we’ve got to learn that method of learning how to win and how to execute more often."

Roaring start saves Lions from brave Blues comeback
Carlton surged home late but couldn't quite make up the first-half deficit as Brisbane held on for an 11-point win. - By AAP with Alison O'Connor

Brisbane has survived a rare second-half resurgence from Carlton to hold on for an 11-point victory at the Gabba. The Lions looked set to canter clear when leading by 49 points early in the third term, before the Blues surged to within 10 of the lead. It was a case of what could have been for the Blues, who almost pulled off a second Gabba miracle in three seasons before ultimately falling to a seventh straight loss. The 14.16 (100) to 13.11 (89) result came barely two years after the Blues came from 46 behind to beat the Lions by one point at the Gabba in Opening Round. They couldn't finish the job on Friday night, but after coughing up six first-half leads to lose in eight games already this season, there was a different narrative for Voss and his besieged Blues (1-8) to digest. The Lions dominated from the outset, with Lachie Neale (33 disposals, nine clearances, one goal) leading the assault at clearances, and the one-way traffic eventually told as Logan Morris (four goals) and big men Sam Draper and Darcy Fort added majors. Brisbane led clearances 24-11 and centre bounce 10-2 at half-time and it was more of the same when they resumed, even with Neale copping a tag. Hugh McCluggage's goal was a sixth straight for Brisbane - the seventh time the Blues had conceded that many consecutively this season. But that's where it turned, a high-flying Morris spilling a mark and Ben Ainsworth ending a 40-minute goal drought for the Blues.

Jagga Smith and Patrick Cripps (32 touches, nine clearances, one goal) followed suit, and Mitch McGovern (three goals) snuck two goals in the final stages of the quarter to make it a 20-point game. It was a complete turnaround, the Blues up 16 in contested possessions, seven in clearances and 14 in inside-50s. Harry McKay (three goals) kicked his first of three goals to kickstart the final quarter, with a Kai Lohmann goal ending a six-major Blues run. Fort hit the post, and Levi Ashcroft and Neale followed up with frustrating misses to keep the Blues in it. Ashcroft made no mistake on his next chance, the goal sparking a push-and-shove that gifted him a free kick and chance for another. He pushed it wide but the damage, with six minutes to play, was done. Nobody told the Blues though, with McKay, McGovern and Will Hayward (three majors apiece) booting goals to make it a 10-point game with three minutes to play. But Neale finally iced it, intercepting a handball and snapping truly to settle the nerves of the home crowd. A tale of two halves for the Blues, as they culled a 49-point margin down to just 11 points in the end. In the first half, they trailed the inside 50s by 11, clearances by 13 and pressure factor by 15. In contrast they led the inside 50s by 15, clearances by two and pressure factor by 11.

Voss in the box
Carlton coach Michael Voss opted for a different viewpoint this week, coaching his side from the coaches' box at stages against the Lions. The Blues coach has been a permanent presence at ground level across his five seasons at the helm, coaching and mentoring his troops from the bench. But he shook things up this week amid a six-game losing streak for his side, moving to the box to take in the game with a different lens. Unfortunately it didn't bring a better outcome for the under-siege coach, with the Blues slumping to a seventh consecutive defeat despite putting up a brave fightback in the second half.

Count out Patty at your peril
There's been plenty said about Patrick Cripps and his form this season, but the Carlton skipper reminded everyone he's still got what it takes against the Lions on Friday night. In the Blues' spirited 11-point loss, Cripps easily produced his best performance of 2026, finishing with 32 disposals (18 of those contested) alongside nine clearances, five tackles, a goal and eight score involvements. It was no coincidence his resurgence came in what was one of Carlton's strongest performances of a difficult 1-8 campaign. Once the Blues' lone beacon of hope, the two-time Brownlow medallist and four-time All-Australian showed he remains more than capable of influencing games. - Alison O'Connor

Best: H. McKay, P. Cripps, W. Hayward, M. McGovern, J. Smith.

Team

In: George Hewett, Billy Wilson
Out: Liam Reidy (Omitted), Matthew Cottrell (Omitted)

Interesting Facts

1. Carlton kicked 71 points in the second half; this was their 5th best second half in the last 10 years.

Free Kicks

Carlton 13
Brisbane 19

Front Runners

1 - Oliver Hollands 15.0km
2 - Sam Walsh 14.4km
3 - Jagga Smith 14.2km
3 - R. Lester (Brisbane) 14.2km
4 - Nic Newman 14.0km

AFLCA Votes

9 - Ryan Lester (BL)
9 - Lachie Neale (BL)
4 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
3 - Sam Walsh (CARL)
2 - Levi Ashcroft (BL)
2 - Harry McKay (CARL)
1 - Bruce Reville (BL)

Brownlow Votes

2 Harry McKay
1 Patrick Cripps

Best and Fairest Votes

Video