Carlton was incredibly disappointing in Sunday’s loss to bottom-placed Adelaide and Kane Cornes is now questioning whether they will improve in 2021.
After conceding the first five goals of the match, the Blues went down by 16 points in what was their ninth loss of the season from 16 games.
Blues fans are expecting a finals push in the coming years under new coach David Teague but Cornes says they currently look “miles off it” and called on the club to show a more ruthless edge.
“I think it’s negligible whether they’ve improved this year,” Cornes said on SEN's Whateley.
“It’s debatable whether they’ve improved this year, right now I’m staring at the ladder and it has them in 12th position and they’ve been overtaken by Fremantle.
“All the Carlton fans would think it’s just going to happen and there’s just going to be natural progression forward but is it a given that they improve next year, clearly the pressure will rise for David Teague – it’s got to be finals or bust (in 2021) basically.
“I’ve spoken at length about the culture of losing, when they get into winnable positions like they have done a couple of times this year, they haven’t had that grit and determination to get over the line.
“They look miles off it to me.”
Cornes said there was a “concerning” pattern emerging at Carlton of not adequately embracing pressure moments and he questioned whether the side possessed a player who was able to lift in the big stages of games to drag them over the line.
“I’m not sure they care enough,” he said.
“When the game is on the line and it’s there to be won, there’s no one (at Carlton) to do what Joel Selwood and Marcus Bontempelli have done all year and will their sides over the line.
“That attitude is concerning if I’m an observer onlooking.”
Cornes also isn’t impressed with the current demeanour of coach David Teague and wondered why he didn’t give his side an “old-fashioned spray”, especially after the Blues trailed by 44 points against the Crows at half-time on Sunday.
“The best coaches have a ruthless edge,” he said.
“If you look at history at previous premiership-winning coaches and the current ladder-leaders right now, all of the teams on top of the ladder have a coach who has a ruthless edge.
“That’s why I’ve been so impressed with (Brisbane coach) Chris Fagan and what he’s done this year because at the right time, and it’s not ever week, he’s laid down the law to his players.
“Trying to be a nice guy and be friends with your players doesn’t work, if you were ever going to give your players an old-fashioned spray, it was yesterday.”