Carlton not hard enough, crestfallen Walsh says

Carlton star Sam Walsh has slammed his team as "not hard enough to play against" after the Blues' season ended in a whimper at the Gabba.

Preliminary finalists last year and sitting second at round 19, Carlton bowed out with a 28-point elimination final loss that could have been far worse.

The Blues conceded the first 60 points of match to be the first team in 50 years to go scoreless in the opening quarter of a final.

Vice-captain Walsh was crestfallen when arriving back in Melbourne on Sunday.

"That game summed up a bit of our year; too inconsistent (and) not hard enough to play against at certain times. And we want to be known as that team," Walsh said.

"We wanted to double down on our brand and the early part of the year we showed that was we were becoming.

"If you don't keep the edge with it, you can fall away quick.

"It is an opportunity that we've missed, but if we don't learn these lessons then the same things keep happening so we've got to get to work."

Walsh, who won the Gary Ayres medal for best finals player in 2023, declared he was fully fit heading into the match.

The 24-year-old has dealt with back issues for the past two seasons and was not at his damaging best against the Lions.

Walsh refused to blame an extensive injury list - Carlton made six changes to face the Lions - for their failure to score until late in the second quarter.

Athletic big man Tom De Koning was tactically subbed into the game during the second term, with the Blues starting him off the ground after he'd missed the past six weeks.

Veteran utility Sam Docherty was recalled, just six months after rupturing his ACL in the opening-round clash with the Lions at the same venue.