Sloane Urges Docherty to Support Blues, Not Criticise
AFL great Rory Sloane has weighed in on the fallout from Carlton’s disappointing Round 1 performance, suggesting that former captain Sam Docherty should be focusing his efforts on supporting the struggling Blues rather than adding to the public criticism. Docherty found himself in the spotlight after a private voicemail he sent to former Carlton teammate Dan Gorringe was aired on Gorringe’s podcast.
In the leaked audio, Docherty, who captained the club for three seasons before retiring last year, offered a candid, expletive-laden explanation for Carlton’s heavy 63-point loss to Sydney. He attributed the defeat to recurring issues, stating it was “the same shit that happens in every other game.” He later clarified to 3AW radio that he had not intended for the message to be broadcast publicly.
Sloane, who himself retired from his captaincy role at Adelaide in 2024, expressed his view on Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show, questioning Docherty’s swift departure from actively engaging with the club. “I don’t think in my time I’ve seen an old captain dust his hands of a footy club as fast as Sam Docherty there,” Sloane commented. While acknowledging the honesty of Docherty’s sentiments, Sloane expressed a hope that the former skipper would leverage his public platform to contribute positively to Carlton’s future. “I love the honesty, but I hope he can use his platform to really help Carlton go forward,” Sloane added. He also suggested that Docherty could play a role in managing the emotions of the passionate Carlton fanbase, stating, “The fans are probably rioting at the moment. He can help those fans level out their emotions a bit.”
The Blues have faced widespread condemnation across the AFL landscape following their capitulation against the Swans. After holding an early lead in the third quarter, Carlton conceded 12 goals to Sydney before three-quarter time, a period of dominance rarely seen in modern football.
Carlton player Marc Pittonet, when interviewed on The Sunday Footy Show, claimed to be unaware of Docherty’s recent comments. “I actually haven’t seen the comments sorry, I live in my own bubble,” Pittonet stated. “I’m not a listener (of the podcast), sorry.”
The season-opening match at the SCG was marred by several on-field brawls, with Blues defender Jacob Weitering admitting that his teammates had allowed their emotions to get the better of them. Sloane concurred with this assessment, arguing that under-fire Carlton coach Michael Voss must instill a greater sense of emotional control within the club.
“I think Carlton are the most emotional footy club I’ve seen, and that’s both their fans and inside the four walls too,” Sloane observed. “They build every game up to be a must-win game… they probably got too heated and too emotional.” He elaborated on the challenge of sustaining high emotional intensity, stating, “You can play off emotion for small periods of the game, but you can’t sustain it.” Sloane advised Voss to adopt a measured approach leading into the next game, cautioning against a response that frames every match as a critical battle. “Vossy has got to have a really normal week this week, it can’t be ‘we’ve got to respond’… if you keep building every game up, your cortisol levels are up here.”
Carlton’s Round 1 performance has amplified concerns about their season prospects, especially after finishing 11th last year despite pre-season expectations of a finals berth.
Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd was particularly critical, labelling the current Carlton list as one of the weakest in the AFL this season and expressing little surprise at the Round 1 result. “The gulf in talent on the two lists is huge, absolutely massive,” Lloyd asserted on The Sunday Footy Show. He went on to highlight the perceived disparity in player quality, stating, “There are not too many Carlton players who would get a game in this Swans team… I think it was a top-four team against a bottom-four or bottom-six team.”
Carlton is scheduled to face Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night.
