Blues' mental woes grow in second-half horror show

Carlton coach Michael Voss concedes his side's mental fragility in the second half of matches is undeniable after another horror fade-out in the 23-point loss to Melbourne.

The Blues led by 43 points early in the second quarter at the MCG on Sunday but were overrun by the rampant Demons, who piled on 14 goals to four after halftime for a 15.10 (100) to 11.11 (77) victory.

Voss' men have now lost all six quarters after main breaks this season, resulting in losses to Sydney and Melbourne either side of a narrow escape against Richmond.

"I don't think we can ignore it. We've got to accept some reality in that," Voss said when asked if the Blues' poor third quarters are a mental issue.

"Right now my position is that we own it, whatever that looks like, so I'll always come back to process and make sure we keep the process really simple.

"But the whole thing about staying connected as a football team and making sure that we're still playing the right way, there's got to be an energy towards that and we're not able to sustain that for a long period of time."

Carlton dominated early and kicked the first seven goals of the match while holding Melbourne to 1.6 (12) in the first half, but felt the tide turning before the main break.

Voss, who summed up his mood as "filthy", conceded poor ball movement, simple errors and a lack of discipline in roles had let the Blues down.

But he said team defence and system was the most serious area of concern, with Carlton unable to hold firm for long enough.

"There's got to be periods of the game when things aren't going your way when you've got to just be able to defend for long periods of time," Voss said.

"You can talk about process all you like, but the reality is when the opposition gets the ascendancy and that movement, you've still got to be able to defend.

"Then you wait for that one moment where you might get that score going the other way, and that's a big moment. We need to acknowledge that more."

Carlton have a quick five-day turnaround leading into their clash with North Melbourne on Good Friday, when they are unlikely to have Zac Williams (ribs) or Harry Dean available.

Young defender Dean was taken to hospital for further assessment after he fell on his side/hip in a heavy last-quarter collision.