Carlton coach Michael Voss has the fight of his life on his hands to keep his job long term. Picture: GETTY IMAGES

A very familiar story is unfolding down at Princes Park.

We have all seen this movie before, and it almost certainly won’t end well for Carlton coach Michael Voss.

If the Blues’ shock loss to perennial battler North Melbourne nine days ago put Voss’ tenure on the ropes, then the follow-up effort against Port Adelaide has seen it undergo a standing eight count.

Against the Kangaroos, in a game that they trailed by 46 points at one stage and weren’t able to win despite keeping North scoreless in the final quarter, Carlton’s players made the loudest statement of Voss’ reign yet that they were not playing for the coach anymore.

Their style of play was static, predictable and lethargic and they basically didn’t look like they cared as the relentless Kangaroos piled on eight goals in a row for the first time in six years.

Perhaps because of how glaringly obvious it was that the Blues had checked out under Voss’ watch, captain Patrick Cripps and his deputy Jacob Weitering took it upon themselves early last week to front the media and throw their support behind their beleaguered coach.

“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Vossy as a coach and also as a mentor and a friend. He puts a lot of work into it, along with the whole coaching group, they’re very aligned,” Cripps said.

“We’re in it together, and we’re not going to point fingers or blame anyone else. He’s done a great job for us for a long time now, and I feel like as players we need to aim up a bit more.”

Weitering added: “There’ll be some honest conversations, I think, and we’d be silly not to look into when the pressure comes on, what are we doing as players and as leaders? It’s not just on Vossy, it’s on the entire group, it’s the club. We’ve got to take a one in, all in approach.”

Good on them for going into bat for the coach, but it seemed like nothing more than an exercise in damage control.

However, all one can do is take such comments at face value and if ever the team was going to be stung into action and show they cared for Voss, it would’ve been on Thursday night against Port Adelaide.

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So what was the Blues’ response to their North Melbourne debacle? Giving up the first eight goals and waving the white flag well before half-time. During the Power onslaught, Voss was seen smirking in disbelief at what was taking place before his eyes. It was almost as if he was witnessing his fate being sealed in real time.

It was an indictment of a performance. And even more damning was the fact that both Cripps and Weitering, the players who spoke so strongly earlier in the week, had just eight disposals each in the first half.

Granted, they both appear to be hampered by some physical ailments, but once you’re out there, you’re ready to go, and by not living up to their rhetoric as leaders of the club, it’s not surprising that the effort from the rest of the team fell away so dramatically.

Voss couldn’t sugarcoat how bad the 50-point loss was after the game, but like Cripps did a few days earlier, he was pushing hard the message to his fans and the club to remain united in these most challenging of times.

Given how passionate and fickle the Blues fans are, that plea always seemed destined to fall on deaf ears, and only hours later, Princes Park was graffitied with messages of, ‘Sack the board’, ‘Sack Austin, Lloyd’, ‘TDK yes or no’, and, ‘Keep Voss’.

Austin being list manager Nick Austin, Lloyd being football manager Brad Lloyd and TDK referencing star out-of-contract ruckman Tom De Koning, who is being heavily courted by St Kilda.

And things look set to get only more difficult for the Blues with encounters against premiership contenders Collingwood and Brisbane in the next fortnight.

Every so often a result occurs for a club that is so damaging and so unacceptable, that it quickly becomes apparent that the coach’s days are numbered. Carlton have had two such results in the past two rounds.

At a club that is famous for eating its own and ruthlessly dispensing of its coaches, it would be a borderline miracle if Voss survived, even if he is still contracted until the end of next season.

The impending arrival of new CEO Graham Wright is ominous as well considering Wright overlooked Voss, when he applied for Collingwood’s vacant coaching role at the end of 2021, in favour of Craig McRae.

In various high-level roles at Hawthorn and Collingwood, Wright has built a reputation as being an agent for change, and certainly isn’t afraid to make tough, bold personnel calls.

He may not wait very long to make his first one at Royal Parade.