Garry Lyon believes Carlton “failed the test” against Brisbane on Sunday.
The Blues needed to win at the Gabba after dropping their Round 20 fixture to the Crows in Adelaide which saw them fall towards the bottom end of the eight.
Michael Voss’ side was up against a Lions outfit that had given up a 42-point lead to lose to Richmond last weekend and had shown indifferent form in recent weeks.
Lyon admits he did have doubts about Brisbane’s form, but was pleasantly surprised with the way they “smothered” the Blues.
“I’ve had a few doubts about Brisbane,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“I’ve looked at it and said I’m not sure about their forward line.
“Watching that game yesterday with so much on the line, the first half or three quarters… if they bring the heat and pressure like they did in that first half, then they can do something pretty memorable.
“I’m not saying they can win it, but they smothered Carlton in a way that they (the Blues) just never got into space. It was all on the back of (being) just at them, at them, at them.”
Lyon feels it was a missed opportunity for the Blues who conceded eight goals to the Lions in the first half before saving some face with a sugar-coated eight-goal final term.
He says the result provides this Saturday night’s clash against third-placed Melbourne with so much extra significance.
“That looked to me finals-like (from Brisbane),” he said.
“If you’re a Carlton fan, that was as close to final intensity that they could expect, if they ever got there, and they failed. They just failed the test.
“The eight goals in the last quarter is just like Essendon’s year.
“To use the analogy, it’s like a horse that gets back and then flashes home and you go, ‘wow’, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you actually win one and they didn’t.
“A lot of pressure on Carlton, they play Melbourne this weekend and a lot at stake on Saturday night.
“They’ll find out one way or the other.”
The Blues are hanging onto their position in the eight for dear life after a third loss in four weeks.
Eighth-placed Richmond is breathing down their necks just two points behind and with matches against Hawthorn (13th) and Essendon (14th) to come.
Even the 10th-placed Western Bulldogs (eight points in arrears of the Blues) remain in the mix with fixtures against GWS (16th) and the Hawks come, while ninth-placed St Kilda have to play Brisbane (5th) and Sydney (4th) .
The Blues have to navigate the Demons before meeting a barnstorming Collingwood side in Round 23 and they might just have to do so without Captain Patrick Cripps who could land himself in hot water for a head-high hit on Callum Ah Chee.
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