A frustrated Carlton coach Mick Malthouse has put the acid on his players to give veteran star Chris Judd some midfield support.
After last night’s surprise 69-point drubbing at the hands of West Coast in Perth, Malthouse said his team needed to perform better for longer periods.
The Blues started well against West Coast, leading by two goals at quarter-time with Chris Judd on fire with 12 first-quarter possessions.
But Eagles coach Adam Simpson put Matt Rosa onto Judd the rest of the night and held him to seven touches in three quarters and Carlton only kicked three more goals with the Eagles dominating to win 20.11 (131) to 9.8 (32). Former Blue Josh Kennedy dominated proceedings with 10 goals.
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Malthouse was frustrated other players in the Blues team did not take it upon themselves to make a stand when Judd was shut down.
“We don’t want to be a one-man midfield, we are trying to get other people around him,” Malthouse said.
“Rosa did a great job but the hit outs were 27 to 59 and we just went back into our shell.
“It seems to be a common occurrence and we’ve got to find people who can stand up under pressure, and make the right decision and at least hold up for a little while until we regather, but that’s not happening at the moment.”
The Blues have lost to Richmond and West Coast to open the season, with Essendon to come next Saturday.
“We will keep going until we turn things around, if we turn things around. It just needs people to stand up and take control, to take charge,” Malthouse said.
As for the Eagles, Simpson was delighted with the effort from his team to dominate after quarter-time to bounce back from the disappointing loss to the Western Bulldogs in round one.
The defence held up led by Jeremy McGovern and Will Schofield in the absence of Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown, who have suffered season-ending injuries.
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