‘Do you really want it?’ Blues under fire as ‘panic errors’ to blame for ‘alarming’ drop-off

North Melbourne legend David King has thrown the challenge to Carlton’s superstar midfield to rediscover the edge that drove it deep into finals last year.

The Blues lost to arch rival Collingwood last Friday night in a game Carlton was uncharacteristically beaten in the midfield to the Magpies’ undermanned on-ball brigade missing Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell.

Voss’ midfield was meanwhile at full strength for the first time this season after Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra had missed time earlier in the year due to injury.

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King on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 showed a series of contests the Blues lost from the blockbuster game including one play where Carlton was “just not hard enough,” saying it happened “time and time and time again”.

“You’re looking for small margins and why they let that game slip — you can’t help but notice the amount of times Carlton fumble or feel the heat in a genuine 50-50 ball,” King said.

“We lauded Carlton last year for how tough they were to play against and how brutal they were in the contest. They’re far from that at the moment.

“They can gather that back, but they’re going to have to do it in a hurry. And it’s not their last six picked players, it’s the ace, king and queen.

“You get one chance — you can’t fumble and can’t miss your target. Some of them are cold, blatant panic errors.

“I blame Carlton as much as I laud Collingwood last week.”

The most damning of the clips was Nick Daicos’ clutch match-winning goal from a stoppage — vision the Blues have already come under scrutiny for for not setting up effectively defensively in a vulnerable part of the ground.

“This is the biggest one of the game we’ve all talked about and seen. Do you really want it?,” King posed.

“Dennis Pagan used to call it the one-metre test — you either pass it or fail it and move on. They failed that moment probably 20 times last week.”

King noted how the numbers behind the Blues’ drop off in the midfield were “alarming.” Ranked No. 1 in the AFL for groundballs from Rounds 19-24 last year (+87), Carlton has dropped to 10th in groundballs this year (+11).

The Kangaroos legend had concerns for how Carlton would fare against Melbourne’s stacked midfield on Thursday night if it can’t improve its efforts.

“They were totally dominant (last year), this year they’re mid pack. They can’t be mid pack, they have to be brutal for everything to fall into place for Carlton,” he added.

“They’ve got good representation forward of the ball and a solid defence. They’ll get a few back this week, but it’s not really about those guys.

“In the middle and the clearance, they haven’t been the same product this year and I reckon that’s why — too many double clutches and guys feeling the heat and not handling what’s coming at them. In recent years, they’ve embraced that and sought contact.

“If you can’t be clean, you can’t be in at centre bounce. It’s a no fumble league now, you don’t get two opportunities to gather possession.

“They’re their own worst enemies at the moment. It can correct like that, but it has to start with Patty Cripps, Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra being harder for longer than Melbourne on Thursday night.”