“THE ownership is on us.”

Charlie Curnow said the Round 13 result lies with the playing group, after an inability to convert once again left Carlton ruing a missed opportunity against Essendon.

The Blues dominated for large portions of the game in the King’s Birthday Rivalry Clash, but were made to pay in the third quarter when the Bombers pounced and took the game away from them.

Essendon kicked seven goals to two in the third term, doing the majority of damage with six goals inside the opening 15 minutes after half time, while Carlton could only manage 4.16 - to Essendon’s 6.7 - in the other three quarters. 

Speaking to ABC Grandstand from the rooms after the game, Curnow said consecutive missed chances only made the pressure build.

“Us as a forward line and as a team, the efficiency inside forward 50 plays a role . . . and we didn’t get the job done in that area,” Curnow said.

“You come into the rooms at half time and we were doing the things we set out to do in the first quarter and at the start of the game. We were ticking a lot of boxes and felt like it was going to come if we kept putting ourselves in the right spots.

“Kicking 3.10 [to half time] obviously hurts, but the ownership is on me also. A lot of the shots were outside 50 in tough spots, and when you’re relying on those inside of shots from 0-30, it can be really difficult.”

Asked by former captain Marc Murphy about the immediate emotion post-match, Curnow was honest about sharing in the fans’ disappointment and frustration.

“Footy goes on and you have times where it’s pretty tough — right now, we’re not doing what we want to be doing on game day,” he said.

“I know fans are hurting out there. Trust me, I’m hurting too. I want to be doing a lot better than what we are.

“I really feel for them, because we’re putting the jumper on and it’s our role to go out there and have a crack. The boys are doing that, but there are a few areas - like the inside-50 efficiency - that we’re struggling in.

“It’s obviously tough.”