Carlton suffers a blow before the opening bounce
afl.com.au , James Dampney

The team sheets came through with no changes as the sides warmed up at Spotless Stadium. 

Then came word that Marc Murphy had experienced hamstring tightness and was a late withdrawal. 

Brock McLean removed the substitute's vest and came into the initial 21, with Dennis Armfield then donning red. 

Murphy averages 26 possessions, four marks and 5.5 tackles in 2014 and his loss was a major blow to the Blues' midfield stocks. 

As it turned out, GWS would win the midfield battle as the young club stole an upset victory in front of 9059 fans.


Blues appoint dual interim CEOs
afl.com.au, Callum Twomey

ANDREW McKay will share the role of Carlton's interim chief executive while the club starts its hunt to replace Greg Swann.

McKay, who played 244 games with the Blues and is the club's current football manager, will hold the interim CEO position alongside chief financial officer Jason Reddick.

Global recruitment firm Egon Zehnder has been enlisted to help a board sub-committee to replace Swann, who announced his departure from the club last month.

The update was announced as Mark LoGiudice officially took over from retiring Stephen Kernahan as president of Carlton at Monday night's board meeting.


The Tackle: Carlton and Richmond in crisis, but can Geelong still win the premiership?
Herald Sun, Mark Robinson

The problem is Carlton can challenge the better teams, but succumb to teams who they are expected to beat, which means the Blues aren’t mentally capable at the moment.

Malthouse is a coach who mostly gets his team to play with supreme effort.

It’s why he is a coaching great.

He can’t get anything like consistency at Carlton.

It’s why there are mixed messages.


Carlton coach Mick Malthouse laments eight-point loss to GWS Giants
Herald Sun, Neil Cordy

Malthouse lamented his team’s ability to take charge of a match when it was there to be won.

It following an encouraging display against Hawthorn last weekend when they went down by 28 points.

“Last week I was disappointed for the players, this week I am disappointed in the players,” Malthouse said.

The Blues coach said his side was outrun and had a terrible skill level. He questioned their ability to influence a contest.

“Players have to take charge and be responsible for setups and the ability to will your side to win the game,” Malthouse said.

Mitch Robinson (31 possessions) impressed for Carlton, while Bryce Gibbs and Chris Judd tried hard and Troy Menzel kicked three goals.


Carlton's issues run deeper than poor skills
The Age, Jon Pierik

Relatively content after a fortnight of encouraging performances, but not wins, against Geelong and Hawthorn, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse said on Friday the Blues were playing their best football in the 18 months since he joined the club.

That argument had merit, for Chris Judd was back, Bryce Gibbs was having a strong year after learning to assert himself in more contests, Levi Casboult was on the march, Dale Thomas had started to find his groove and Sam Rowe had emerged as a key defender.

But 48 hours later, and angered by a sobering eight-point loss to Greater Western Sydney, Malthouse gave one of the more damning assessments a coach can give.

"Unfortunately, when we needed things to take place on the ground, they weren't taking place, and that gets down to people taking charge," he said.

"The players need to take charge and be responsible for set-ups, the ability to will yourself to win a game. The players that willed the victory, unfortunately for us, were all Greater Western Sydney players. We had no one there that stood up and took control."


Sam Rowe emerges as one of the Blues most valuable defenders
Herald Sun, Jon Ralph

It might have been disguised by Carlton’s horrible season, but the 26-year-old has quietly become one of the AFL’s emerging full-backs.

All despite being dumped without a debut from Sydney’s list, and after surviving a 2012 bout of testicular cancer that seemed to have ruined his career.

Ask Rowe about his meteoric rise as he sits in a Carlton meeting room as Greg Swann’s farewell goes on close by, and he cheerfully deflects from himself and his battles.

Yet as Malthouse said after Rowe’s excellent job on Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead last week, this bloke’s story is something special.

“There are a couple of players who I have the greatest admiration for,’’ said Malthouse.

“We talk about courage. The courage award generally goes to some big strong bloke or midfielder who might put his head over it but I would say (Tom) Lonergan from Geelong and Rowe from Carlton are two people who I admire.

“If you know Sam Rowe you know his history, you know where he comes from, where he’s been on the football journey, and having overcome what he has overcome. I think it’s great testament to his courage.

“I just know Rowey is never beaten. When you have got that in your make-up, and you’ve overcome massive hurdles in health, he was fantastic.”


No apologies from incoming Carlton president Mark LoGiudice
The Age, Caroline Wilson

Carlton's new president Mark LoGiudice has refused to apologise for his bold multimillion-dollar attempt to poach Hawthorn recruiting chief Graham Wright, conceding the Blues had fallen behind in recruiting and player development and needed to ''make some changes to our culture''.

LoGiudice added he did not see any need to open contract negotiations with coach Mick Malthouse until midway through 2015, but said he had Malthouse's support in prioritising the club's "under-resourced" development of players.