“IT’S ON us.” 

Carlton midfielder Sam Walsh faced the media on Monday morning following his side’s disappointing start to the season, with the playing group returning to IKON Park to review the Round 4 clash with Collingwood and sharpen their focus in training.

Walsh acknowledged there are clear areas the team needs to improve and admitted the group isn’t happy with where they currently sit but assured that the hunger and drive within the group remains as strong as ever.

Putting the onus and accountability on the playing group, the co-vice captain said it was up to the group taking the field each week as a collective to act.

“It's up to us to keep on taking that accountability - at the end of the day, we're the ones out there. Not the coaches," Walsh said.

“It’s been a bit of a theme for us not being able to execute four quarters of footy. There’s been different things that have let us down: the frustrating thing is we know we’re capable, but we’re not showing that at the moment."

The Blues' recent pattern of fading after a half-time lead appeared again in the third term, and it's one that Walsh and his teammates are fully aware of.

While the team is focused on addressing specific areas of their game, the co-vice captain was firm in stating that fitness and conditioning are not the root cause of their recent results.

“I definitely don’t think it’s a fitness thing – in terms of some of the games, our efficiency has really let us down and sometimes that’s different for each individual or a line group,” he said. 

“I think there are always ups and downs in footy but you want a response and for four weeks now, we haven’t played the way we want to for long enough.”

Sustaining their brand of football across four quarters has been the key challenge for Carlton in the opening four rounds, but Walsh believes the way the team has started games reflects the style of play that they’re striving for - and are clearly duly capable of.

At their best, Carlton is a powerful, contested and defensively strong side — for Walsh, it’s simply a matter of maintaining that standard for longer.

“If you look at games, there’s been quarters that look like our footy: we’re powerful, aggressive, strong in the contest, giving our forwards a chance and then in behind that, we’re defending really hard,” he said. 

“As a playing group, it’s taking that ownership but also peeling back a few layers as to why that [fade out] keeps turning up.”