Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale revealed a brutal exchange with the Carlton players during his side’s win at The Gabba on Friday night.
The reigning champions looked to be cruising to a comprehensive victory before their 49-point lead was reduced to just 11.
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The Lions did get over the line to secure the 100-89 win, but at one stage appeared in danger of throwing away a sizeable advantage.
Blowing huge leads has been a criticism levelled at the Blues for much of this season — something Neale claimed during his post-match interview was said to him by the Carlton players during the match.
Speaking to Channel 7, he said: “We just had to get back to closing their space a bit. We weren’t doing that well enough in the third quarter and allowed them to find an easy mark.
“Got told by a couple of the [Blues] boys we were ‘doing a Carlton’. They were trying to get in our heads a little bit but that’s part of the game.
“Glad that we held on, it was pretty close but we’ll take it.”
The slender victory means the Lions are now on a three-match winning streak — a run that has taken them up to fourth on the ladder.
Neale starred for his side, making 33 disposals to take his total for the season to 245 in just eight games.
Meanwhile, Carlton’s nightmare 2026 goes from bad to worse after suffering a seventh straight loss.
The Blues, who have just one win from nine games, showed heart to fight back to within 11 points of the Lions, but the result ultimately piles more pressure on coach Michael Voss.
When asked about his future during the post-match, Voss said: “I coach for building a culture, and hopefully by the time I leave here we’ve got winning behaviours, and understand clearly what that looks like.
“We clearly understand what that looks like when we meet them, and we clearly understand what that looks like when we don’t, and I coach to create an environment that enables that to happen.
“Often people will make it about your job, but the reality is I’ll make it about something else, and that’s what we’ve got to continue to reinforce within our own environment.”
Hollywood icon Kevin Costner was in attendance at The Gabba on Friday night as social media exploded after he was spotted by the cameras.
