“At the moment, we’re not playing our best footy, that’s pretty evident for everyone to see.” 

CARLTON defender Sam Docherty isn’t shying away from the Blues’ poor performances over the last month, noting that the team is feeling the frustration and disappointment as much as the fans. 

Whilst there are positives to take out of the Blues’ defensive game of late, Docherty admitted on 3AW - whilst doing special commentary - that the team has lost their quality ball movement – a key pillar of the game that has been built in Voss’ time as Senior Coach. 

“Teams are putting a great focus on the guys that are key contributors in our ball movement and teams are clearly honing in on that and stopping those guys,” Docherty said.

“We just need to have more dare in our game to give the ball in positions that are more dangerous and let [the boys] work it out – whether it’s that or take an aggressive kick that we need to start taking more often or giving a handball or overlap more often.” 

The 29-year old concedes that his side's forward 50 entries are another area which the Blues need to continue working, alongside getting more speed behind the ball.

“There’s bits of pieces of when we’re going inside 50, we are a bit focused on our two big boys at times, it does draw your attention pretty quickly but that’s also very obvious to the other team,” he said. 

“Teams are doing a really good job in closing those guys down and getting extra guys in the air to support. 

“There’s elements of our ball movement – our ability to get speed on the ball to get good looks inside 50 has been an issue for about a month now.” 

Both Docherty and Voss have both been strong in the media on the work going on behind the scenes, forceful on the way the team are going about it at training to try and rectify key areas of their game. 

Not always having that work reflect on the scoreboard is a great source of disappointment for the team, admits the seasoned footballer, but the only way to fix the issue is to keep putting in the hard yards. 

“It is [disappointing] – it’s a result-based industry. That’s part of it, but for me, as a senior player in the club, there are parts of our game that I’m more focusing on than specifically the win-loss,” he said.

“Inside a footy club; you’ve just got to get to work. That’s the only thing you can do. If we fracture and start thinking about everything else other than what we need to do on game day; it’s going to be pretty hard for us.”

Docherty mentioned his lengthy list of challenges over the past few years, noting the perspective it has given him and the ability to reflect more deeply when considering team performance.

Admitting his younger teammates may not have the same experiences to draw from, he hopes that they can take hold of the current adversity and turn it into something positive. 

“Through the tougher times in my life have come the biggest growth opportunities and perspective on the way I see the world,” he said. 

“At the moment we’re in that phase of adversity and I think in the long term… there will be guys that are going to nail down on what their roles are and their footy and their game and their work habits – I think there will be positives out of that. 

“At the moment, we’re stuck in the mud and we have to work our way out of that.”