Carlton’s 39-point loss to St Kilda left Michael Voss under even heavier pressure after the Blues slipped to 1-7 and stayed just percentage away from the bottom of the ladder. The defeat also extended a six-game losing streak and brought another half-time lead collapse into focus.
Garry Lyon then put a blunt set of choices on the table for Carlton’s remainder of 2026 if Voss does not survive to the end of the season. His first option was to do nothing, a path he called “unpalatable on every level,” before adding that the club could move on Michael and coach through to the end of the year or turn to one of the assistants already in place.
St Kilda Punished Carlton
Carlton conceded another half-time lead in the loss to St Kilda last Saturday, and that pattern has now become the sharpest problem in the season. The Blues have dropped five matches this year after leading at the main break, a sequence that has gone beyond a single bad afternoon.
Round 8 left them with one win from eight games and little margin above the bottom of the ladder on percentage. That is the position Lyon was talking about when he said the club was sliding toward the “terminal stage” and into a “death spiral.”
Lyon’s Carlton Options
On Monday night, Lyon laid out the choices he believes Carlton has if the board decides the coaching change has to come before season’s end. He said the fourth, left-field alternative was Adam Simpson, while Gerard Whateley said there was now “no conceivable path” to Voss winning the next contract at 1-7.
Lyon’s strongest case was for stability through one of the assistants already on staff, arguing that the weight would lift if the club went that way. He also made clear he does not like the do-nothing option, saying the fans are walking out and sponsors would follow that mood if Carlton simply rode the season out without action.
Voss Under End-Of-Season Pressure
Voss is out of contract at season’s end, which has sharpened the scrutiny around every collapse and every late-game failure. Lyon said, “The toughest job is to front up and try to put a different spin on it. He was much more pointy-end in his press conference (last) weekend, because I think he’d had a gutful.”
He added, “We can sit here and pontificate and ‘work it out’. All those numbers that got thrown around over the weekend, they’re all absolutely true.” For Carlton, the issue now is not just the 39-point margin or the six-game run of losses, but which of Lyon’s options the club is willing to live with if the season keeps moving the same way.
