Stuart Waitley

Everyone watching and involved is on high alert for it.

The stats are ready.

The close-up's in focus.

On Saturday night, Carlton dominated the first six minutes of the third quarter.

But the first sign of trouble seemed to take fright.

A fumble, a missed kick, a missed tackle, a wrong option, a turnover, a free kick, a moment of ill-discipline, a drop mark.

The regular foibles in a game spin the doom loop for the Blues.

Resistance is broken.

Resilience can't be found.

There's a certain inevitability about their fates.

They seem resigned to it rather than railing against it.

And that makes it a deep-seated psychological issue.

Carlton has a fatal flaw.

The what is clear as day, the why is challenging, and the how, as in how to rectify it, is beyond those at the coalface.

And amid the despondency is now an inevitability.

There's no scenario in which Michael Voss wins a new contract.

So what does the end look like and when does it come?

And that's the grimmest reality of all.

This was a year doomed to fail in its own planning.

And the team is failing about as badly as a team can.