CARLTON coach Michael Voss says the Blues aren't meeting the standards they expect, after his side produced another second half fadeout against Collingwood that left the club 0-4 to start 2025.  

For the fourth consecutive week, Carlton led at half-time before limping to the finish. On Thursday night, the Blues kicked only two goals after the main break to lose by 17 points at the MCG. 

The Blues have kicked a combined total of 10 second half goals across the first month of the season, while conceding 29 goals against Richmond, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs and now the Magpies, where a third quarter onslaught left Carlton stranded in the bottom four. 

MAGPIES v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

"Coming into half-time we were pretty clear on what we need to get done. Certainly the way we played in the first half gave us encouragement that we could continue it. There were no signs to suggest that it was going to drop off, but ultimately the third quarter was unacceptable," Voss said in his post-game press conference on Thursday night. 

"We talk about this game and styles, but the reality is the game is played at contest first and we were disappointing in that area in the third quarter; we lost territory, couldn't get ball flow, hard to defend the way we wanted to; they were cleaner; they were tougher around the ball and we didn't handle it. That is something we will review strongly.

"We've already had an honest chat about that within the rooms, but that's not us. We've got a standard that we play to, and we didn't meet that tonight. Ultimately, the way forward is to accept what's happened. You can't shy away from that, you've got to accept what's happened to be able to get on with it."

Collingwood coach Craig McRae revealed he referenced Carlton's poor second half form during his address at half-time, before the Magpies kicked four goals to zero in a third quarter blitz that put them on a path to victory. 

"We mentioned our second halves have been reasonably strong and theirs haven't. It's a small sample size, but you reach into those things if the opportunity is there to give belief," McRae said.

Carlton has a nine-day break before facing West Coast at Adelaide Oval in Gather Round. Voss said his post-match address was measured but pointed, using a method from his old senior coach Leigh Matthews.

"My old coach was one who didn't address at times; Leigh needed to separate the emotion a little bit. Come in a couple of days later, let's have a look at it, then have the conversation then. Why didn't I ask the players for the feedback because ultimately I said what I needed to say; it was pretty short, pretty sharp," he said.

"We walk away without the win and need to address it. The reality is, our system is nothing more than we turn up next week and we play another opposition, that's all we need to focus on. I'm more concerned about the standard to be honest with you. That's what I'm concerned about. We've got to address that."

Lachie Schultz won the Richard Pratt Medal for best on ground after a high impact performance – two goals from 17 disposals, nine score involvements and seven tackles – much to the delight of the players and the coach.

"You saw the reaction of our players when he won the award tonight; we love what he does for us," McRae said. 

"He put his body on the line regularly, he gets to good positions, and he got rewarded on the scoreboard and got us going at a really important time."

Collingwood fielded the oldest team in VFL/AFL history, but McRae doesn't believe the age profile of the list should be a rolling narrative this season.

"We don't have to bring our passports to the game. You guys keep adding the numbers up and we'll keep banking on our experience," he said. 

"We don't put ceilings on things; if we have a bad loss we're too old; if we have a good win we've got great experience. Our list is our list for the year, unless we recruit some three-year-olds in the mid-season draft. 

"We back in our experience. It's incredible how it helps us during the week with our standards and that feeds down to our younger players. Then when there is the heat in games, you handle the moments better."

McRae said the Magpies entered the game with the plan to manage Jordan De Goey's game time if the opportunity arose, before they pulled the trigger at three-quarter time ahead of back-to-back trips interstate.

"We had a bit of a plan around Jordy and a couple of others depending on what the game was giving us. We just thought it was an opportune time," he said.

"He had good impact, he is a work in progress Jordy, we haven't got him full wheels in motion yet. We have Ned Long and every week I don't know how he is the sub. I don't think he will be the sub next week."

After a dismal Opening Round showing against Greater Western Sydney, Collingwood is now 3-1 after winning either side of its early season bye. Now the Magpies head to Adelaide to play Sydney, before travelling to Brisbane for the traditional Easter Thursday fixture at the Gabba.