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Strategic Shift!

What is the one thing that every club, no matter what sport they play in, wants to achieve? Success at becoming for a year, or even more, to end the season with that penultimate achievement – the winner’s trophy.  For some, it takes a long, long time. For some, it takes a few years. In all instances, the work behind the actual game involves constant tweaking and restructuring across all facets of the team. From coaches to players, success comes from the department that handles whatever code the team is in, looking not only at what is available now, but also to the future.  To see behind what could be possible now, to what can be possible down the track. This ability, this foresight, is something that not many can understand or possess.

I have never criticised any current coach for any club, especially in the AFL, with the current coach of a team, as that achieves nothing because, to be honest, they don’t care. I have also never been critical of the coaches that have passed through our doors at Carlton FC while they were at the club, as again, this achieves nothing but personal venting. Given this, regarding Michael Voss’s resignation, I would say the following: he achieved in giving the playing group skills that can be seen on the field today, but he did not have the foresight to make changes on the field during a game.  This is not a disbelief in a player’s ability, but rather a lack of being able to see a much broader aspect of the game. That is, understanding that an opposition team does not play on game day in a predictable pattern, but rather the opposite. The very nature of the unpredictability of any team’s game play only shows up on game day.

If a player who is generally on the backline is struggling to achieve any substantial result against a forward, then the logical move would be to move that player and try something different. A player who seems to be struggling in the midfield is kept there and achieves nothing; this is not only deflating for the player but also for the team.

The coach must have the ability to understand that moving players around if that player is underperforming, is not one of the attitudes of “keep going, you will get there”, it is rearranging the playing group, knowing the strength of a player that could be better utilised in another position on the field.

A prime example is Harry McKay, who was seen and still is seen as Carlton’s major tall forward. Yet his ability to move around the ground in different positions allows more damaging small forwards to come in. It allows other players to put their stamp on the game without being restricted on game day, when they are struggling in the position they have been placed in.  It also gives a team something that is so valuable on game day: depth.

Josh Fraser has since taken over, understood this and has moved players around. A team is not a jigsaw puzzle where every piece has a specific place to be put on the field. It is one in which the puzzle pieces shape-shift to suit the environment in which they are placed – a game. What this does to an opposition is strike a sense of confusion into their minds. If an opposition player who was told to pick up a forward that suddenly goes down to the backline, they then have to tag another player whose gameplay they probably don’t really have a sense of in that position. This is something that some AFL coaches understand and work on.  Sam Mitchell does. Craig McKae does. Chris Scott does. There are others, but these coaches are constantly moving players around to suit the game on any given match day.  And it works.

This ability to see beyond the current situation during a game enables a club to recognise that each player has the potential to become more than they are known for. A forward can become the difference between scoring a goal, or stopping an opponent from getting near their goal square. A midfielder can be the difference between getting the ball from the centre to marking it near their forward line and scoring. A wingman can become the dynamic player who just slots inside the forward line and kicks a goal. A ruckman can become a goal scorer or a defender who is just too tall for a forward to combat.

The point is that right now, what Carlton is achieving on the field is remarkable. There is not one player who is not making their mark on the game during the game. No matter what their statistics are, it has taken the entire team to achieve the results since Round 10.  What this does to a team is create a camaraderie that Carlton has not seen in a long time.  If a player makes a mistake, they are encouraged to move on and not dwell on it. If a player performs an amazing feat, such as a run-down tackle or a mark, they are encouraged to keep going. If a player scores a goal or misses, the team backs them in, no matter what.  What this does mentally to a player is give them the sense that no matter what, the team has their back. That is vital in any team sport.  It solidifies in a player’s mind that, no matter what, they are a valued and integral part of the team. That their contribution, their presence, is part of a group that will get a team across the line.

This is a revelation for a club that has not seen much success. What it does is enforce a mentality that, together, anything is possible, and success can be achieved. But more importantly, it shows that any team, no matter where they sit in a game, can turn their season around if given the right leadership both on the field and off.  It is exciting and a positive step forward in the hunt for that ultimate prize.

Is Josh Fraser the answer? Right now, yes. Down the track, the club must and should take their time to secure a senior coach who is not for the immediate future but for the long term. But whether it is Fraser or not, it has to be a coach who sees beyond what a player or a group of players can bring during a game, to what they could possibly be if they are seen not as a rigid puzzle piece with only one spot, but a shape-shifting piece on a board that has many sides and positions.

#ALWAYSGOBLUES!

Image courtesy of the AFL

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The Time Is Now!

Some may have seen that I have not written for a while. This was done on a premise that I had hoped would not eventuate. I had hoped that the reason I have not written anything would be resolved, and that I would not have to escalate what has been going on and now take this step. The time is now!

To clarify, this has nothing to do with the team, the coaches or anything in the football department. This is solely on the club’s administrative side.

For over six months, I, together with others, have been dealing with the administration side of the club with regard to a certain supporter group who have been bullying, harassing and being racist towards others.  This is not only during a game but also outside of it. The club has been presented with numerous examples of the issues, but has not taken action on any of them.  No matter what proof has been shown, those who are supposedly there to ensure that ALL members feel safe, protected, and heard, and to know that if there are any issues, they are met with respect, efficiency, and, above all, statements made by club personnel are truthful and valid.

This is a statement that, having dealt with the issues presented to the club, nothing has been done; and those who are supposedly there to ensure that ALL members are treated with decency and respect are actually handled with anything but decency and respect. Statements have been made to those dealing with the issues, which have proven to be mere words to placate and hope they just “go away”.

In December 2025, I provided the club with detailed and photographic evidence of a rise in toxicity, racism, bullying and hypocrisy with regard to the club’s stance on “stronger together” and the Respect program, from a group that has been allowed to continue and where no action was taken when issues were originally raised. It seems that the club wants to go down the path of handing it off to others who have decided to let that group know about the situation and, so, do nothing.

This is confined to a small group of individuals. I informed the club that I would have no hesitation in taking it further, but it seems that they refused to take any action or responsibility for the continuation of this toxic environment. When people come up to me or send me messages and screenshots of what is going on and what has been reported to the club, and nothing is done, the question has to be asked: Why is the club so reluctant to take any action?

If a person in this group yells to an Indigenous opposition player, “you’re an ape,” or to another player with a Jewish-sounding surname, “you should have all been gassed”, should that person remain in the group? The answer is: NO. But yet, that person is still there.  If a person made a complaint to that group and was greeted with the reply, after a week of inaction, “Oh, I forgot,” should that person remain in their position?  Is this what the club wants from its supporters, where the club promotes a “stronger together” stance and where this inaction is anything but stronger or together?

What about the fact that other people in other AFL groups want nothing to do with this group, because they are rude, toxic, arrogant and disrespectful. Then why are they still allowed to be part of the club? The group’s stance on the club’s Respect program is hypocritical: they promote a “respect” stance, yet behind the scenes, they are anything but respectful.  Why is this still being tolerated at the club?

Why have some been intimidated, bullied, ostracised and demeaned because they took a stance that encompasses “stronger together” and “respect”? Is this what the club wants to promote in terms of its supporter base? This will not go away until something is done at the club. Until these individuals are removed from the power and control that they deem is rightfully theirs.

I, like many others, am fed up with what is going on and the club’s lack of action, so I had hoped that it would be rectified behind the scenes and not come to this. But I was wrong.

We are not a club of one that is “Stronger Together”, from an administration perspective, but we are fractured, bullied, pushed aside because we don’t fall into the clique and are treated with an arrogance that comes from those who truly believe they are the most decent and respectful individuals, and it is their right to be in the position they are.

I have tried to present facts and evidence and have removed emotion from the issues, as that does not solve anything, but it is continually falling on deaf ears at the club. This cannot continue. The club cannot promote the “Stronger Together” stance if this group of people is allowed to continue.

If we want to solidify the club as being one that is stronger together, shows respect both on the field and off, then it must apply to every aspect of the club, including ridding those who are far too arrogant to see the damage they are doing, and that includes those who want the issues that are plaguing this group to be continued and not do anything .

I will always be a massive supporter of the club. I love what the football department is achieving right now. They should be proud of this, as we can see the possibilities for the future, which look very bright. The players are enjoying playing together and support each other no matter what. The players have a stronger together attitude, and it is showing. But this has to encompass all parts of the club, not just the football department. But would the football department be proud of the lack of any meaningful action against a group of people who are anything but respectful and do not promote a stronger-together stance? Or would they be appalled at what is happening?

The time is now to make the club, the entire club and all its departments be one that not only promotes but actually acts both on the field and off the field, a stronger-together mantra. Otherwise, nothing will change in any aspect. Words become hollow when they are not backed up by action.

Always #GO BLUES!

P.S An official complaint has been made with the AFL Integrity Unit and other organisations. Also, even though I have been promised by the club that replies to the issues sent via email and phone would be forthcoming, nothing has been forthcoming. One reply I received did not address the issues and was only a stock-standard reply that used terminology they hoped would confound and appease me, far from it.

Image courtesy of AFL

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Be Critical…Not Disrespectful!

Before I go into the bones of this blog, let me be clear here. I have no issue with those who don’t agree with what I am saying. None whatsoever. However, don’t come at me with emotive language like “you need to see someone” or that “you’re delusional”. I am all for a healthy, rational debate, and we can all agree or disagree; however, the way someone agrees or disagrees, and the language they use, reflect not on what the other person is saying but on themselves. So, agree or disagree with me all you want, but do so with a rational point of view, not a cop-out of using words that do not address your viewpoint.

We are all aware of how disappointed we were with the result on Thursday night. I will not go into the bones of what happened; many others do that. This is not the point of this blog. It was, in a nutshell, not great. Yet the verbal diatribe that came from supporters and commentators is really ludicrous. It is the first game of the season. We had seven new players on the field. We have had a few key players leave the club. It was always going to be a bit of a struggle to get the new players and the other players already at the club to gel together in their first game together as a team.

Sure, some of the club’s experienced and senior players should have been better. But it is the first game! We saw on Thursday night that some new players showed what they are going to be capable of over time. But the team must learn to play together, and this will take a bit of getting used to. It is not the same when you are training or playing in the pre-season games. The pressure to perform is not the same. Learning how to re-play as a team, given the number of “ins” on the field, was always going to be a hill to climb to get used to each other’s style of play. What happens now, moving forward, is going to have to be about growth, understanding, and learning from each other’s capabilities.

But this is not the main part of this blog. It is the utter hypocrisy and disrespectful way some have gone to voice their views. While watching the game between Gold Coast and Geelong, the commentators on TV showed their hypocrisy and bias to the point of inglorious kissing of feet! One commentator said that even though Geelong got thrashed, Chris Scott knows that it is only the first game of a long season. If that is the case for Geelong, then isn’t it the case for Carlton or Hawthorn? I mean, if commentators are starting to make excuses for a team that is seasoned, then given their “so-called” knowledge and experience, shouldn’t they then say the same thing about Carlton? I do understand that we have not been a prolific team for a while, but you cannot say one thing about one team and give them a logical way out, and not do the same for others.

Then there was the explosive release of a discussion between two ex-Carlton players, being Gorringe and Docherty.  I have always believed that true colours are revealed in certain circumstances. This is clearly one of them. I have lost respect for both ex-players. Let me be clear here. I have no issue with them being critical, but using the language they used was deplorable.

With Docherty, I expected better. But maybe this is the way he has always been, and instead of thinking rationally and critically, he chose to go down a path that focuses on his true feelings about the club. I know that Gorringe chose to record the conversation and publish it without permission, yet Docherty has come out and stated that he stands by the sentiment.  Here is why I have totally lost all respect for the man.

He is no longer part of the game, but he can be a voice that understands it and is critical in a constructive way.  Yet for some, their own egos come to the fore when they are treated in a way that makes them feel placed on a pedestal.  They then use that pedestal in a way that they feel can never be pushed off.  It is arrogant and quite self-absorbed.  Now I will probably be lambasted in this regard, but how you carry yourself once out of the game and are then placed in a position of power where your voice is respected, but you use it in a completely disrespectful way, shows who you really are.

There was no need at all for Docherty to say what he said in that manner. He could have stepped back, taken a deep breath and made his point in a rational and respectful way. He chose not to. Gorringe should not have posted that discussion, but he chose to do so for his own benefit and for his own product – himself. So, I have no respect for either of them, and I think they may have lost a lot of people who looked up to them.

Carlton were not great after half-time in the first game of the season. But it is only the first game of a very long season. We, as supporters, whether we are just supporters or previous players, can be critical but respectful. It serves no purpose to be any other way, only a way to make those voices irrelevant.

#GO BLUES!

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2026…The Start…The Beginning!

With only a few weeks until the start of the 2026 AFL season, it has been quite a tumultuous lead-up for the AFL in many aspects. For Carlton, we have seen the end of 2025 as being one of stunning departures and arrivals.  The media has once again, postulated, rationalized, opinionized and made statements that, for some, are the equivalent of “the gospel according to them”. We’ve read and seen those in the media who believe in their own hype and “capacity” to understand a club and what it will probably do in the upcoming season.  Some will read and side with those viewpoints because it suits their own narrative. Most will probably shrug it off.

From the outset, let me reiterate. The purpose of this blog is not to look at individual aspects of a club’s performance nor to point out either the greatness or insignificance of individuals, be it a player, coach, or administrator.  There are so many voices out there that do just that, in both productive and destructive ways. This blog is about looking at the game as a whole, not singling out specific players or a coach’s abilities.  It would be nice to see, in season 2026, that we, as supporters, do just that: support the team we are all so passionate about. No matter where we end up, it’s about the journey to help the club achieve ultimate success in its quest. To see the club grow, develop and move in a way that will achieve this ultimate success. Yes, I know it’s been a while since we’ve even come close to fulfilling this ultimate success, even though we have been close at times, but we need to understand the past to build a better future. We have had a tumultuous past, but stability takes time, and right now, we have stability. Now it is time to take that next step forward.

This blog has previously called out the toxicity that has plagued the club, both on and off the field, shaping not only the past but also the present and the future. And without a doubt, there is still the undercurrent of toxicity that I fear might come to a head and damage the club this year.  It is not one based on players, administrators, or even coaches, but on a supporter capacity that is as divisive as it is toxic.  It is this group that could actually send the club backwards in its strive for success.

The Carlton slogan is a great, unifying one: Stronger Together, alongside the Respect program. But this “togetherness” is a futile misnomer because this group of supporters does not value it. There are those who have stated that the arrogance of the past must be embedded in the club now.  This serves no purpose for long-term success in today’s game.  Some promote their viewpoint as the only one that matters in an environment and space that confer credibility and access; they believe they have the right to do so because of their standing within a supporter group. It is arrogant, misinformed, and to be honest, quite the opposite of the mantras “stronger together” and “respect”.

Over the past two years, we have seen a club that started poorly grow, develop, streamline, and hone itself into a team capable of winning the ultimate prize not once, but twice.  We have seen over the past two years how vital stability is within the club, both on and off the field.  That this club, despite being doubted throughout the season, banded together, showed respect across the club and won (the antics of 2026 are not part of this narrative and shouldn’t be, as that is not the point). Of course, I’m talking about Brisbane Lions. This is what must be emulated at Carlton if we want this success.

I have also been privileged to hear from another club and their coaches and players about their goals and what it is they want to achieve, and who will do this by stability, cohesiveness and a sense of belonging together for one goal: the rise of the club. They do not tolerate anything that divides them both in the club and its supporter base.

It must be that any supporter base rid itself of the toxicity portrayed and acted out. It must also be that those with their own agendas steeped in the past are a prime example of not having any resemblance to wanting to be “stronger together” or to show any “respect”, and that they be either weeded out or shown another way. If we are to be a club that is stronger together and promote respect, then togetherness and respect must be more than just a slogan; it must be a statement across the whole club.

If we are to promote stronger together at the start of season 2026, then toxicity at all levels must be eradicated. It must be stamped out. I am realistic: there will never be a time when those who dance to their own tune and have their own plan will see anything other than their own view. That they will never listen, as it does not suit their agendas.  However, I will never accept a group of supporters who use their “status” to be divisive and toxic.  This is not part of the “stronger together” and “respect” stance.

We are in a position where stability and a cohesive organisation at Carlton FC are now becoming a reality. Let those who wish to use their platforms for a negative, divisive agenda fade into the obscurity of irrelevance.  Let us have meaningful debates about a game, its players, and its coaches. Let us disagree and agree respectfully. But let us not become so arrogant and divisive that we allow toxicity to permeate the supporter base.  We must be, and should be, better than this.

Let’s Go 2026! GO BLUES!

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2025 Trade Period View!

Now that the dust has settled on this year’s Trade Period, and now that we have all had some time to digest what transpired, and now that we have all had a chance to look at some of the most idiotic and laughable comments by both supporters and “media” commentators. Here is my take.


For those who have stated that the club will lose “thousands of supporters” if Charlie Curnow leaves, it is a delusional and very narrow-minded viewpoint.  Here is why.  If a club’s success hinges on one player who we have seen is a tad temperamental, then that club will never succeed because they are catering to an individual rather than what a club is about.

A club houses a team that is not based on a few individuals but on the entire body of players who come together to play for that club. If a player who does not see this and decides to go to another club in the hopes that they will be treated differently, they will not succeed, because the game and the club will not cower to individualism. Success is not based on that, and it never will be.


Some have even suggested that Vossy is toxic and that the club should go down the path of sacking yet another coach.  While I do agree that season 2026 will be a pinnacle one for him, I do not agree, nor will I ever subscribe to the need to sack yet another coach just because the season did not pan out the way we all wanted.  Is he solely to blame? No. Should some players bear the way the season ended, absolutely.  Should some of the assistant coaches bear some of the responsibility? Absolutely.  The point I am trying to make is that it takes an entire team, across all facets, to be successful, as long as every part of that team is on board. If one or a few are not, they are not seen as team players, and that can — and will — change a team’s direction.  Jacob Weitering stated it perfectly before the trade period, that “you want guys that play for the jumper, and play for the club. If you want to play for the club, then you’ll stay. If you don’t, you’ll be moved on.”


These past few seasons, we have seen one club succeed when it mattered because of that very ideal of understanding what it means to be a team. They did not finish in the top four in both seasons, but in the end, they raised the Premiership Cup because they played as one. They played as a team, and it was a team effort that got them winning back-to-back Premierships.

To clarify, Brisbane Lions Charlie Cameron forgot this at one stage during the season, and the team did not perform as expected. You could see that others in the team remonstrated this to him. Now, I am not saying that it was his performance alone that determined the final outcome, but the point is that once he was reminded that the club is a team sport, his mindset changed, and he became not the primary focus of Brisbane’s game, but a part of the rise to the top. It was on display at the Grand Final.


With the players who have left and what Carlton has acquired during the trade period, it shows that the players joining Carlton want to play for a club, for the team.  They want to be part of the whole to ensure its success. 

2026 will look a bit different on the field, but maybe, just maybe, this will be the catalyst for growth in a club and a team that have been stifled by those with a singular outlook and knee-jerk reactions. And maybe, success for Carlton is not that far away. On this, I can see it.

#GOBLUES

https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/1916189/full-qa-every-trade-deal-summed-up-plus-whats-to-come

Images courtesy of AFL

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Great Clubs Make Great Players!

Let me be clear here. Great players do not make great clubs. Great clubs make great players. This has been proven in all manner of team sports.

In the world of AFL, my point right now is one that encompasses Hawthorn and Geelong and also GWS. 


Sam Mitchell, as coach of Hawthorn, understands this more so as someone who is part of a great club. When they won their multiple Premierships, not one player in that club started as being labelled – great.  They became great because of four factors that Carlton simply has not had since the first sacking of a coach midway through a season – Brett Ratten.


Hawthorn acquired players with potential, who were young, and the club saw the possibilities that these players could offer within the club.  The players went to a club where the entire organisation, from coaches to the Board, knew what it would take to make Hawthorn a great club.  They had stability within the club. They had consistency within the club, and they had a Board that understood long-term requirements to achieve long-term success. There were no egos, no self-entitlements, no arrogance. This only reared up after Hawthorn became the club that went on to win multiple Premierships.


Geelong has had a consistent and stable culture that, whether we like it or not, has given it a reputation that most clubs dream of. They are consistently vying for a Premiership by being in the top eight for quite some time.  There is always a notion that due to the age of their players, they will fall, but to their credit, they have not. 


So, I will say this point-blank: we have not had that since Brett Ratten’s sacking, where the continual knee-jerk reactions have resulted in great players not fulfilling their goal of being a part of a Premiership-contending club.  We have had instability and an arrogant stance that has proven does not work. We have had spurts of success, but when things don’t go to plan, arrogance takes over, and once again, a coach is sacked and a new one brought in, hoping that short-term logistics will enable long-term success. How has this worked out so far?


So let’s go through what has happened in the past week, in my view.

 
TDK. I have stated before that being who he portrayed himself to be would mean that he would stay.  However, over the past year, I have seen a complete change in him, and he has now signed with a club for an amount that, for a ruckman, is over the top. There is not one ruckman in the history of the AFL who has been paid the amount he is now getting. Not even Max Gawn, who I believe is a far better ruckman than TDK.  TDK is going only for the money, nothing more. St Kilda have paid an enormous amount of money to two players in their club and believes that these two will bring them the ultimate success that has eluded them longer than Carlton’s quest for glory.  It won’t happen. There is an underlying culture in that club that has far too many egos.


Jack Silvagni.  Now this will polarise some. Reading what fans and commentators have said about his desire to explore free agency has nothing to do with his abilities as a player, nor with this feeling that he is “not loved by the club”. But has the undertones of believing himself to be a better player than he really is.  He is a good player, not a great one, and because of his surname, some believe that this should be the most critical factor in wanting to keep him or not. The club has stated that they want to keep him, but he wants to leave. So what does that tell you then?


Look at it this way. If a company CEO hires a relative with the same surname who is only there because of who they are, but they are ok as an employee, not great.  What does that say about the company? Jack Silvagni is not a great player, but a good one. If we want to keep him because of his surname, then Carlton will never become successful. 


Charlie Curnow. There is talk that is rampant that Charlie Curnow is out of the club and will be in Sydney colours next year.  Let’s be realistic here. He is contracted until 2029. If a club wants to acquire him from Carlton, the reimbursement from, say, Sydney would be so substantial that it would require one or even two major players from that club, plus major draft picks. Suggesting that a club like Sydney would be willing to do this would only highlight the fault in this scenario from Sydney’s perspective in their club’s rebuild.  I don’t think Sydney would be inclined to do this. If they do, as some have alluded to and are convinced is the case, then it will send Sydney, not Carlton, down a rabbit hole that will take years to climb out of. Buddy Franklin moved to Sydney because they hoped that by getting a great player, that it would ensure that Sydney would win a Premiership. How did that work out? Sure he is a great player, one the best, but he didn’t start off great, the Hawthorn FC made him a great player.


If Charlie Curnow does go to Sydney, then I will hold the door open for him. If his arrogance and self-importance is to show that he is bigger than the club, then he does not understand at all that to be successful, to be continually seen as a threat in the world of AFL, it takes a team to be at the top, not a few individuals who see nothing more than the dollar signs and how a club will lay out the red carpet for them.

Then there is GWS. They have had many great players who were full of amazing potential and abilities, but have they won a Premiership? Are they closer to winning one? Maybe, but not yet because there are far too many ego’s in that club that will overshadow any example of being a club that is team based not individual based.


To be a successful club that is indicative of what it means to be at the top requires a team mentality and a complete lack of self-arrogance, as well as weeding out egotistical players, administrators, and Board members. It takes knowledge that great clubs make great players, not the other way around.


The players have come out and stated categorically that they are behind Michael Voss as a coach. The Board, thankfully, has come out and said they are categorically behind Michael Voss.  The talk that some are spouting, that he should not be the coach, or that we must get rid of yet another coach to be successful, will make Carlton a laughing stock in the AFL world, continually. It will show them that we just don’t understand that, for long-term success, we need exactly what Sam Mitchell has said and done. We need to get players who want to play for the privilege of wearing the Navy Blue, whose egos are checked once they don that top. Who are willing to put in the work necessary to be a part of a great club. This means that consistency, stability, and a culture of not accepting knee-jerk reactions and being egotistical will not be tolerated at the club.


Carlton right now is, thank goodness, heading in the direction of solidifying long-term goals for long-term success. If players want out, then I will open the door for them, regardless of their surname or who they believe they are.

#GOBLUES!

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This May Not Be Popular!

What I am about to write may not be very popular. It is something that I have thought about, rationalised and researched.  If some have previously agreed with me, and do not this time, so be it.  It is a view that may not sit well with the broader Carlton community.


Regarding the future of Michael Voss, and the news that the Carlton FC Board held a massive and prolonged meeting this week, as reported by the media, here is my take on this. Although I wrote something before the club released a statement, this is no longer relevant. I applaud the Board for its stance and what it has come out and said. Some supporters have gone out of their way to be angered and downright nasty regarding that decision. I have even gone so far as to delete a comment on a page I administer and have banned that person.  You don’t need to agree with any decision the club makes, but you don’t need to be nasty, derogatory, or rude.  It serves no purpose, as you are not part of the inner workings of the club and therefore do not have all the information, and we have to trust in that decision-making process.


If the Board had decided to get rid of Michael Voss, no prospective player already in the AFL system would think about coming to a club that really has no faith in its coaching team, together with the Board’s ability to understand that stability in a club off-field is a significant factor in stability on the field. This notion that is steeped in the arrogance of the past, has no bearing on what needs to happen now to ensure future success.  Toxicity in a club, both on and off the field, and among supporters, will only serve to ensure that no success will ever be within reach. 


Tom DeKoning has been in the news, as he has not yet re-signed with Carlton.  There is speculation that he could go to St Kilda, who apparently have offered him a considerable amount of money to move.  Firstly, is he worth the coinage that has been offered – in my view, no.  Do I think he will move to St Kilda?  I have spoken to him in the past, and if he is the person I think he is, then no, he won’t go. However, he could have changed in that period. If he does move to St Kilda, then I will hold the door open for him, as it would show that he is not the person I thought he was.

To clarify, if he does go, then he is only going for the money, nothing else. St Kilda is in no way any closer to any attempt at playing in the Finals.  There is a more significant cultural issue at the club than anything else. If TDK does go, then he will not achieve a goal that every player in the world of footy wants to achieve: a Premiership.  I can guarantee that every player, no matter who they are, would gladly accept a lower salary if it meant they could attain their dream of a Premiership at their club.


Now, this next part will actually anger some Carlton supporters. Jack Silvagni has reportedly had meetings at Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs.  If all this is true and he is contemplating leaving Carlton, then, again, I will hold open the door for him.  It makes no difference what his family history at the club is or was if he does not want to be there, and the club is not willing to pay the price he probably wants.  The horror that some are alluding to, that a Silvagni could be playing at another club, is actually narrow-minded.  You need to ask yourselves, what do you want from the club you support? The continuation of a family name at the club or a Premiership? Do you want a player, who I think is not quite so dynamic as his father or grandfather, and who does not want to be at the club? I don’t.  I want a Premiership, and if that means that a player with the Silvagni name goes to another club, then so be it. If Jack Silvagni does not want to continue at Carlton, then he should go to another club. If supporters are angered by his move to another club, it is only because of who he is, and not for any other reason. Let me be clear on this, I would love Jack Silvagni to stay, but he has to do what he feels right for him and his family. This has nothing to do with a failure on the club’s part, but rather his own choice.


Every player, no matter how incredible they are, would gladly take a salary cut if it means that they get to wear a Premiership medal. There have been players in the AFL who should have won that medal but did not. This includes Nick Riewoldt, Eddie Betts, Matthew Kreuzer, Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs, Andrew Walker, and others. It is possible that some of our current star players may not get the chance to secure a win in a Premiership game.  The point is that at the end of the day, all supporters, players, coaches, and administrators of a club want to win the Premiership. It may be that a team will lose beloved players, but that is the nature of the game.


The club has issued a statement confirming that Michael Voss has the full backing of the Board, the players, and the club.  As supporters, we need to do the same. If TDK and Jack Silvagni want to go, I will hold the door open for them. If they want to stay, then I will cheer them on because I want to be part of a club that aims for that ultimate success.


The game on Saturday night began with the possibility of a “thrashing” from Gold Coast, who are in Finals contention, but we are not. But in the fourth quarter, the team showed signs of what the younger, inexperienced players would be capable of in the future. Right now is the best time to give them a run in the senior side as for Carlton, there is nothing to lose, only to gain.  Those supporters who are furious that we did not win don’t really understand where we are situated right now. To bag, insult, and get nasty towards players and coaches right now because we lost is a prime example of the insidious nastiness that seems to be infiltrating the game.  We might lose a game, but we gave inexperienced young players a chance to gain skills and experience when a season is not on the line. 


As we head into the end of the season, knowing that we will not be making a bid for the Premiership this year, we need to regroup and come back in 2026 as a stronger, more cohesive, and stable club on and off the field.  We saw signs of this on Saturday night. If some players who have been popular and well-loved since their arrival want out, then we need to accept this and let them go. Regardless, I support the game and the club, and I want to see us at least have a chance to be part of a Finals campaign for the long haul.

#AlwayGoBlues!

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We Are Not A Broken Club!

First and foremost, despite what some may allude to, we are not a broken club!

What we are and what I have written about before is a club that has been making decisions based on its past glories and the timelines driven by those whose only interest is immediate and definite success. They simply do not care or understand what the club has gone through in the past thirty years. There is no long-term plan, only short-term decisions that will not and never have resulted in any form of success. These people are quick to plaster themselves in the news and on the radio. They are quick to respond and show their self-motivated views, but they do not understand what will make the club successful again.

It will take someone at the club who has the tenacity to stand up and say with clarity that the club needs a five-year plan to turn things around. Based on this, the club has to get and develop its playing group. To succeed, you need to mould and develop young players who need time and space to become better players and to be a club that is feared in the world of AFL. The club has not had that. We have had a culture of knee-jerk reactions based on the impatience of those who are too steeped in the arrogance of the past and do not want to contemplate the modern game unless their agenda determines it.

I am angry and pissed off that there is yet again the call to sack another coach by those very people who have their self interest at heart. I am angry and pissed off that some go to the media and call and say that they speak on behalf of Carlton supporters, they do not and never will. I am angry and pissed off that yet again we have no definitive long term plan to turn this club around.

I will always be a Carlton supporter, but unless the club and supporters get out of this mindset that it has been thirty years since our last success, without understanding how chequered those years have been, we will never see any resemblance of success. Right now, we need to make a plan that is not one determined by definite success in the next few years, but one that will slowly develop into making the club great again.

The club needs to get the decision makers to be on board with a long-term plan to achieve long-term success. It will come with some disappointing performances, but it will also enable growth and maturity in the players who will see success.

I am a passionate and fiercely proud member of the Carlton FC and always will be. Now it is time for the leaders of the club both on and off field to draw a line in the sand and make a plan that will give us the success’s we want.

#GoBlues

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Dear Carlton FC…All of it!

Last night, I attended a gathering where a club in the top eight, together with their coach, CEO, and head of football, outlined their season so far and what it would take to get them to their ultimate goal. It started in 2022 and is still being implemented today. They outlined where their younger players were and where they are now. They knew that to get them to be better players, and a part of that ultimate success, they needed to give them time and space to grow and get in more game time.

They made difficult decisions because they had a long-term plan that was going to be a minimum of five years. They knew that to become successful, they needed to ensure that the majority of their players would have at a bare minimum 100 games under their belt. They said that they knew that supporters would not like this plan from the start, but that this is what it would take to be successful. It is working and something that Carlton has not done for a long, long time.

A power-broker of the club, Carlton, has come out firing, and to be perfectly honest, he is part of the problem and not part of the solution. Together with those in the past, the plan is that there is no plan, just easy, short-term paths that are just based on the arrogance of some who simply believe that the Carlton FC is not like other clubs and the time of old, apply now. It does not and won’t in the modern game.

Those who continue to follow short-term plans instead of long-term ones are quick to adhere to knee-jerk reactions. They are shortsighted and downright blinded by their self-importance.

The Carlton FC has no long-term plan and doesn’t even stick to the short-term one. For some to say that we have no talent in our under-25s is downright ridiculous, for they do not know or care about what it will take to improve these players. At the other team’s function, they understand that it will take time to get younger players playing and performing at an elite level, and they are giving these players time to develop, as they know it will take a long-term plan to be successful.

Those who don’t see it have no fundamental understanding of the modern game. They are symptomatic of the need for quick and easy pathways. They want a straight line trajectory, which anyone in business or who has any semblance of success knows that this trajectory just does not happen overnight. It takes time and a long-term plan, and can be a messy, squiggly line to reach success. Far too many want quick, instant results, which, if they don’t transpire, then delete them and move on to the next road.

If we, as a club, cannot have a determined and long-term plan that may result in some difficult decisions regarding players, then we will never be successful, no matter who the coach is. We must have a culture of encompassing all that a successful club needs and wants…a group decision and a coming together of knowing and understanding that a long-term plan is the only way to become successful. We haven’t had that before, and it is now time to look down that road. It might mean having a little bit more patience, but if you don’t have that, Carlton will never achieve any resemblance to any success.

I will always support the club, but right now, I want to know that the club will support a better understanding of a long-term plan and not yet another knee-jerk reaction.

#GOBLUES!

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Connection!

I haven’t written anything about the game over the weekend, or Carlton for the past few games, even before the Bye round, simply because I ask myself, ‘What is the point?’ No matter what I write about, no matter what is said, it makes no difference because it seems that some supporters, and it looks as if there are a greater number of them, don’t really want to see another point of view, only ones that fit their skewered outlook of the game and the club. That is their right. However, when they turn towards me and what I write about, the accusation is that I seem to have no real clue about what I am talking about. Some say it is because I am a female and some say I am “woke” and delusional.

The point of my writing is to see the game from a different perspective. Not from one that is rife across the many media shows, podcasts, rants on the radio and social media. They all basically state the same thing. I have no issue whatsoever if someone disagrees with me, has a viewpoint from another perspective, and can and does try to change my mind. I am the first to say, you know what? You could be right.

So, what is the point of this piece? Simply this. When we support a sporting club or even an individual in sport, we want that connection to that club or person. We want to be a part of their journey towards ultimate success. We want to be a part of the rise of that club or person. Yet it becomes rather difficult to stand with a club or person when, year after year, that success is one that just suggests that is is out of reach for the club or person. 

It seems that when things don’t go to plan in a way that we expect as supporters, we step back and literally become angry, critical, and often downright nasty.  It is as if this connection to the club or person is one where all rationale and support get flung out the window into a pile of debris that we cannot be bothered to sort out.  We don’t want to know the reasons why success is evading us; we just want success to happen no matter how it occurs. We want that connection back to the club or person with success under their belt so we can puff out our chests and know that we have been a part of this success. This need for a successful connection to Carlton can cloud our view about the murkiness of what has gone on in the past.  It is as if some don’t want to know or understand how this past does and will affect the present and possibly the future if we keep going down the dark road we have previously taken. 

So many aspects of the game, in all scenarios, have changed since Carlton last won a Premiership. For some, they can’t get past how disruptive the club has been since then. As supporters, it is as if there are those who have lost a connection to the club because what has gone on since 1995 has severed this connection because they can’t move forward when they keep alluding to the past.

Some have tried repeatedly to regain that connection with the coaches that the club has deemed suitable to get, but this has also been broken in a never ending cycle that does more damage than good.  We see the players and support them for what they can bring to the game and the club that we love, but when they fail or do not perform in a way that some demand, the only way that some see a solution is to once again, go down that stormy road of sacking yet another coach.  We don’t choose to look at the logic and reasonableness of why something has not worked out during the game; we only shift our focus to one person – the coach. The blame is squared directly at the coach and no one else.  The connection is lost because of the coach. To me, this looks pretty disruptive and quite narrow-minded.

This is why, for me, there has been no point in writing anything because I tend to be in the minority as a supporter. I do see the issues plaguing the team. I do see what needs to be done to make Carlton successful, yet I don’t lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of one person and one person only – the coach. I have thought about this for quite some time now, and to be perfectly honest, I love the Carlton FC and feel a connection to them no matter what a game’s outcome is. I may feel upset that we lost or didn’t play in a way that I expected, but my connection to the club, its players and coaches has never waivered, and it never will.  This is because, since 1995, I have understood where the club’s path went and how, since then, it has not changed until now. 

If we are truly connected as a supporter base to the Carlton FC, then we have to fight for that connection no matter the game’s outcome.  If we decide that the only connection we will have as a supporter is fuelled by the viewpoints of those in the media or others that want to spout derogatory remarks, then the connection is worthless. No connection to the Carlton FC should be determined by anyone other than us as a supporter, win, lose or draw. It may sometimes be difficult, and the game may end up not in the way we expect, but in the end, when that ultimate success comes, the connection we have forged and fought for will be so much more meaningful because we never wavered.

We got four points over the weekend. Simple!

#GOBLUES!

Image courtesy of AFL

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It’s Enough!…And It’s Not About The Game!

In the past few weeks, every day, I contemplated, read, listened and watched the world of AFL and all that it entails, and I’ve come to a realisation and conclusion resulting in this being a post not about the game on Friday, but about the game and the environment it lives in. I contemplated stopping to write, as it was just not worth it. But I was reminded by someone close that it is something that I love to do, and it is a voice that is different, and if I do stop, then the bullies have won, and I refuse to let that happen.


In the past few weeks, I realised that social media, media commentators, and, more importantly, some supporters are fuelled by their own self-posturing. This serves nothing and does nothing other than make themselves seem more prolific, which results in more ‘clickbait’ for them and their ‘brand.’
In the game against St Kilda, a game that was heralded for being one highlighting the need for more understanding and compassion when it comes to mental health, especially in men.  Recently, we saw at Carlton the need for two players to step away from the game for a while to deal with that very factor. Yet at the game, whenever Harry McKay got the ball, the sounds of booing across the ground were mind-boggling.  Here, St Kilda are supposedly recognising the need for greater support in mental health that stemmed from the suicide of one of their own, but supporters booed a player who was dealing with mental health issues.


This week, we have heard about the loss of yet another ex-player who died months after the death of his twin brother.  The authorities were asked to do a welfare check on him, and he was found dead.  The outpouring of emotion from supporters and the media is, in my opinion, at times hypocritical.  Here they are sending their love and support behind a great AFL family and rightly so, but on the other hand, they have no issue laying into other current players and coaches who have been openly battling mental health issues with such vitriol that it is disgusting.


The disgusting vitriol shown by some supporters who refuse to understand the modern game and all that it entails could one day have repercussions that go far beyond the simple words on a page or via a phone call on the air. 
Tom Boyd, who spoke at the St Kilda game, was at the top of his playing career when he had to step away due to mental health issues and the way the media and some supporters bullied and harassed him. I don’t blame him! Coaches, players and everyone involved at a sporting club understand the damage these so-called ‘experts’ of the game can do to a person who is already dealing with mental health issues and clubs have come out and stated that some have crossed the line, yet no-one listens or is prepared to take action because it means less ‘click-bait’. It is low, disgusting and downright hypocritical. You can be upset and angry at losing a game, but it is just that – a game!


Then there are these so-called Carlton ‘supporters’ who are so steeped in the glory days of the 1980s and 1990s that they just don’t seem to want to understand that the modern game and the environment that it is in are entirely different. Or that no other club has gone through the constant sacking of coaches in the past that Carlton has.  Or that the salary cap issue that the club faced sent them back not a few years, but many, many, many years. The utterly ludicrous spoutings from these people are uttered by those who really believe they know and understand the game much better than anyone else could or does. They love the sound of their posturing and voices that their hypocrisy is ‘laid-out-bare’; that one week, the team is the best, the next, the worst. That one week they support a player and the next, they boo them. That one week they support the coach, the next week, sack him.


No, I am not saying in any way, shape or form that the loss against Sydney was not disappointing, but it was not one that signifies the end of the club’s season.  We are not even halfway through yet, and for all intents and purposes, for many ‘supporters, that’s it, the season is a disaster!   After Round 10 in 2024, Brisbane Lions lost five, won 4, and drew a game. Here we are, Carlton, after Round 10 with six losses and four wins.  If you look at it this way, we are only two points behind what Brisbane was last season.  Hey, but we are a terrible team after ten rounds, eh?


The loss on Friday was tainted with very poor decision-making from players and the umpires.  However, I firmly believe that no matter what is thrown at you, you must overcome that and win despite the poor decisions.  To do that takes a step that some are just not ready to do yet because they are not experienced enough, yet.


We are surrounded every day by those who want to hate, belittle, bully, harass and treat others with such disrespect that translates with the nasty vitriol from the media and those on social media.  The world is a smaller and more intolerant place than it has ever been. Yet some want nothing more than to promote this using social media as an outlet, or the radio, TV or newspapers.


What will it take for the media, especially, to realise that their words can and will do damage to a person that could lead to another player walking away from the game permanently? What will it take for them to realise that no ex-players want to coach because of how they are spoken about by the media and supporters? This is not a ‘harden up’ situation; it is so real that it has resulted in some players stepping away from the game for a while. Some may choose, in the future, to not come back. How sad would that be for the game?


Never underestimate the impact words can have on a person who puts themselves out there, whether as a player, a coach, or even an umpire (even if they have been terrible this year). They may deserve our disappointment, but they don’t deserve the nasty, bullying vitriol some believe they have the right to spout. 


Always will…#GOBLUES!

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An Apt Finish!

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do you define who you are and what you are? Do you see yourself as a decent person who respects others and their points of view, or someone who likes to ‘stir the pot’ and believe in the value of your words and viewpoints, irrespective of whether they are valid or not, and who they may hurt? Or do you see yourself as someone who may disagree with others but understands and respects other points of view? Or do you just think of your own self-absorbed notions of what should or should not happen, not only in your life but in society itself?  I ask these questions for several reasons.


I did not post anything about the game we lost to Adelaide the weekend before. There was no need, as I did not think my viewpoint would enlighten the situation, when I believed this was just a stumbling block in a long and arduous season. The game this past weekend was different, and the outcome meant more than the loss in the game before.


I have always stated, and always will, that the season is not a sprint but a marathon, and it changes with every game and every week that passes. I will reiterate that those who publicly called for the coach to be sacked or to trade players because they were just no good have no real clue about what it will take to get to the end and compete for that penultimate prize.


The win over the weekend was one that in the past could have seen the collapse of any team.  Carlton could have capitulated with only one rotation on the bench at one stage, but they did not.  They played in a way that will only sustain them moving forward in the season.  It will let them know that they are good enough and can leap towards cementing their place in the top eight.  Yes, it will come with some setbacks, that is the nature of the game, and these setbacks will only fuel the determination and need to overcome barriers.  We saw this when one player kicked a goal, ensuring an injury-depleted team’s win. It was so apt that that very player was in a game highlighting the need for conversation and action regarding mental health.
The battles that some have with their mental health should never, ever be understated or deemed to be one where that person should ‘harden up’. To lose people because they struggled with mental health is devastating not only to the family but to the wider community.  So, it was so fitting that the sealer of the game was someone who put their hand up, stepped away from the game and focused on making themselves healthier mentally. Of course, I’m talking about Harry McKay.


That celebration after kicking the goal was something that was more than just the fact that he had kicked a goal, but how, with the backing of the club and those in the Carlton supporter community who never gave up on him and what he can achieve.  It was sensational, inspirational and downright magnificent.  We saw Elijah Hollands who had also been struggling with mental health, has been slowly gaining more confidence and is showing that he too, with support, can be the player and person most knew he was capable of becoming. It was as if, for the players, the club and those that supported both on the field and off, smirked at those who just criticised, were negative and at times, nasty, in a ‘shove that’ moment.  I, for one, loved it.


The game against St Kilda was not pretty, but it showed that a wobbly start will not be the definition of a season. That with every game played, the steps moving forward must be taken one at a time. That there may be barriers or blockades that make a team go one step backwards, but if they concentrate on moving forwards with each and every opportunity, no matter who is sitting on the interchange bench, it will only serve the team to know that they are heading in the right direction and that being ‘stronger together’ will out-win those who just want to shatter and distrupt.


Congratulations, Carlton. It was an epic win, and one that, moving forward, can be a stepping stone for more successes. So look in the mirror, Carlton, and know that you are heading in the right direction with the support of those who, like you, believed and never gave up!

#GOBLUES!

Photos courtesy of AFL.

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Nailed It!

Before I write about the game on Sunday afternoon, I want to share with you all that after the game last week against North Melbourne, I wrote a piece but did not publish it.  I wanted to wait and see what transpired this past weekend and the match against Geelong.


I wrote that after watching Geelong play against Hawthorn in the previous round, I saw holes in their game and that Hawthorn were not beaten by a better team, but Hawthorn lost the game with their terrible shots at goals and some silly mistakes.  Hawthorn also played a game that sometimes played to their strengths and sometimes to Geelong’s.  There were gaping holes in Geelong’s back line. I have always said that to beat Geelong, you must not play their style of footy, which is slow and laborious, and counting on their “star” players to step up.  Geelong finds it challenging to counter-act a team that plays a fast-paced, intensive and ferocious style of footy.  They just cannot counter-act that pace in footy that is not aligned with what they want to do and play. I said that if Carlton plays with the same intensity and ferociousness when they played against North Melbourne, even if they are a bottom-side, we can and will beat Geelong.


Sunday’s game showed that this is exactly how Carlton played. Everyone knew that Geelong would not go down lightly, and in the last quarter, they scored the first three goals. In the past, Carlton would have been frustrated and played that way, and ultimately – lose.  But they did not.  They played in a way that was relentless, ruthless and intense.  It was as if they learned from the first four games of the season what they needed to do and achieve in a match to win these pressurised games. Those who stepped up and played with momentum from the game against North Melbourne took steps to ensure that Carlton would not go down without a fight, and that is exactly what they did.


How many times did Carlton pressure Geelong, who kicked the ball out on the full? How many times was Carlton doggedly chasing a Geelong player and tackling them?  How many times did Geelong try to thwart Carlton players and only be handed a hiding when our players got the ball away from Geelong’s forward line?  The pressure that Carlton placed on Geelong showed something I have alluded to since round one – do not count the first games as an indication of a team’s season!


Sure, we won three games on the trot, and the first two were against the lower sides; however, the test was the game against Geelong.  Never underestimate what momentum and learning what went wrong and how to correct it can do to a team as the season progresses.  Those who wanted and proudly splashed over anywhere they could that Carlton has to sack Michael Voss have gone quiet.  I am not saying at all that this changes everything in season 2025; I’m saying that the steps that the club has taken and the growth that it is developing in the team should not be discounted or taken for granted.  What this shows is that with every match played, the team will learn and get better and better.


The team knows what it will take to get that ultimate success. We are not there yet, but we have made strides in a way that some people were too blinded by the start to see what can be achieved in the long race, which is a season.


I have never once doubted this and still won’t, even if we lose some games.  I believe that with every match, the team gets better and will look at their opponent, see the gaps in the opposition’s game and ensure that Carlton fills those gaps.  The team is growing in a way that culminated in a stunning win against a formidable opponent and nailed it! It was moving to see, just as it was moving to hear the silence around the MCG when the Last Post was played before the game.

#GOBLUES!

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A Valid View Mr Scott!

Before I go into the basis of this post, it was good to see the club secure their first win. Although not very pretty, given the number of times the score was more points directed than goals. This win, however, will boost the team and the club up a bit, leading into the sixth round and for the rest of the season. Knowing they are capable and can do the job, with some tweaking and more practice in front of the goals while under pressure, will fuel them moving forward. 


It was also sad to see Harry McKay go down earlier on in the match due to no fault of his own.  Some supporters have said that he is “accident prone” and that we must trade him. Alluding that the head clash was his fault and this alone is not only ridiculous and idiotic but downright disrespectful. It was a nasty head clash and an accident that left one player unable to continue and be subbed out of a game; he probably was ready to make a mark.  Also, having Brodie Kemp out with what looks like an Achilles tendon injury is disheartening, but it also has its rewards as others now have a chance to step in and step up.


In this week’s game, we get back Marc Pittonet, who can significantly influence how TDK plays and is positioned. Right now, the club and Michael Voss have stated that though the team won, it was not an elegant nor dynamic win and that the mistakes made, especially in front of goal, can be worked on for the rest of the season.


The basis of this post is not about the players or the game, but something that was said by a current coach that should and must be actioned on.  Firstly, I am not a fan of any of the Scott brothers, but Brad Scott said, “In my time in footy, I’ve never seen a coaching group more frustrated with a whole range of things […]. It’s more the way coaches are regarded within the AFL. I’ve never seen a coaching group more disenfranchised with the way they’re treated as a whole.” Then went on to say, “While the game is blossoming and the game is in great shape, the AFL have clearly said what their priorities are – and coaching and football departments are low on that priority list.” More prolific was that he said, “Talk to the Players’ Association about pathways for players into coaching, and their feedback is solid that players don’t want to do it. They see the benefits in terms of the career in coaching versus the challenges it throws up and they’ve voting with their feet and choosing not to pursue it.”
With what went on with supporters insisting the sacking of Michael Voss over the past weeks, Brad Scott’s comments are so valid. 

The way coaches are treated and regarded not only by disgruntled supporters who believe they know what is good for the team and the club but also by those in the media. This constant talk of sacking coaches only after a few rounds shows the sheer lack of respect. It shows a complete lack of understanding about, in Carlton’s case, what it will take to make the club successful. The constant need for knee-jerk reactions shows that Brad Scott is correct; no player would even look or contemplate becoming a senior coach or even an assistant one, given the sheer lack of respect directed to them and the disregard by the AFL to be more proactive rather than reactive.


I have seen and read supposedly Carlton supporters bag the coaches one week, then praise them the next. I have seen supporters become vitriolic and nasty because they sincerely believe they know how or who can make Carlton successful again.  Why would any player in their right mind want to aspire to be a coach? 


Sam Mitchell, over the weekend, at his press conference, made a statement that I am sure commentators will just ignore it. That is, the Hawthorn FC is not the ladder-leading team being touted right now.  That they are not as good as what the media says about them, and the game against Port Adelaide is proof of this. He reiterated that sure they have started off strong, but the game against Port Adelaide showed holes in their team that they have to work on, and with a relatively young side, it will take time.


His comments were a slight dig at the noise that the media make to get a “scoop” or to try and rationalize their own views and opinions, which can sometimes be to the detriment of not only the coach but also the players and the club.


Now, the “media” are stating that TDK has put on hold talks with Carlton as he is weighing up his future at Carlton. The media are reading into a statement that could be a way to get them off his back.  Who knows! Either way, no matter what happens, the narrative surrounding a club, its players and its coaches has become more of gutter journalism than anything else. Brad Scott’s comments about the lack of ex-players turning their hands at coaching is proof that while the job may be one that used to be an excellent pathway into continuing a footy career, the challenges facing players and coaches is the horrendous and disrespectful way that the media and some supporters react in a very public way and the lack of notifiable support from the AFL and the footy world in general.


Carlton will slowly progress over the season, and if it doesn’t and the team takes a step backwards, we must not go down that muddy, murky path of wanting to sack yet another coach. It will get to the point where no coaches want to come to Carlton or even contemplate the idea of coaching because of the nastiness and vitriol directed at them. Who would want to take that on?
Be upset and be angry, but there is no need to be nasty or to want to sack a coach. We’ve been there and done that, and it has not worked out well for the club and the players. It never will.

#GOBLUES!

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A Response!

I wrote a piece in the form of a letter that has had people either agreeing or disagreeing. This has meant that conversations are being made about the state of the club and how it is faring. Yet some don’t seem to get what was written in the letter.


I never in one sentence stated that I accepted mediocrity, yet some are saying this is what the basis of the letter was about. They are incorrect. The letter was about the fact that when the Carlton FC has been faced in the past thirteen years with what is happening now, there is a tendency to go down the path of sacking yet another coach.  The letter was about the notion that we must stop this continual need to expect success after only a few years with a coach, then if that fails, sack them and try again. This is the essence of what I wrote.


I want to clarify that I don’t want mediocrity in the club, and I have never stated that. What I am saying is that successful clubs understand the need for time to make the club a success. It doesn’t happen and never will happen if any club keeps sacking coaches after only a few years, which is what Carlton has done. My aim is to see the club reach its full potential, not settle for mediocrity.


For every match, each player must come out and show why they are worthy of donning the Navy Blue. For the past four rounds, we have seen some do that and others fail. But to continually spout that because the players are not performing, we must sack yet another coach solves nothing. This is the essence of the letter, nothing more.


If some did not like it, that is fine; it is an opinion that might have said if you continually wish for a coach to be sacked, then support another team – stands. I want the club to be revered and admired because of their gameplay, their culture and the way that together, the Carlton FC is one that others fear.  This can and will only be achieved if we strive for consistency off and on the field and develop a culture that doesn’t just throw the coaches under the bus after only two and a half years. 


Hawthorn and Richmond allowed time to develop their culture on and off the field. We must do the same. That was the essence of the letter—nothing more.

#GO BLUES!

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A Letter To Carlton FC & Supporters!

Dear Calton FC & Supporters


While Thursday night’s game against an old foe was not the outcome we all hoped for, it is not doom and gloom.

Those who have plastered social media with the statements of “Sack Voss” are not the kind of supporters a club, any club, needs when their backs are to the wall.  Some expect that after such a long time, a Premiership is a demand that must be fulfilled, and now! This cannot and never will be fulfilled until we insist and demand stability and a culture that includes the mindset of winning.  This can and will only come when the club takes a long-term perspective that involves and encompasses all aspects of the club, including believing in the mechanisms and the workings of the club, including the senior coach. If the club keeps going down the path of sacking a coach when the going gets tough, no matter who or what you bring into the club to try and “fix it, ” it will never achieve any semblance of success.


I am a passionate and dedicated supporter of the Carlton FC and always will, no matter what transpires. However, I do want to see success in the club that has gone through so much in the past. But we cannot allow the wrongs of the past to become what the Carlton FC is seen as being defined as.  If we do, then we will still be floundering at the bottom for many years to come. It might change for a while, that we reach maybe the middle of the ladder or even make it to a final once in a while, but we won’t win a Premiership. Long-term, consistent success that enables the club to raise the Premiership Cup and be a fearsome club for some time will never happen if we continue down this path of knee-jerk reactions.


So, Carlton FC and Supporters, I hear and see your anger and frustration. I understand it, but we must go the course of stabilising the club on and off the field to see the positive results that we want.  We must not be so damned arrogant to insist that this happens in a timeline that comes with the carefree attitude that it must be now or never. The notion that we have waited too long is not one that has been the result of something outside of a supporter’s control but one that has been the complete control of those within the club who demand a timeline that will never happen with the consistent changing of the coach.


I want the club to be successful in all that it entails. But I want the club to do that in a way that sees our success as a long and consistent journey that puts fear into other teams that take us on.  We cannot do that by saying that others will do better if one coach doesn’t work out after a few years.  That is ludicrous. Dangerous for the growth of the club and downright one filled with dogmatic blindness.


So, to those ‘supporters’ who insist that Michael Voss gets sacked or that the Board needs to be swept out and a new, ‘better’ one is brought in, I say, either support the club what is now going through, or leave. Such downright negativity and the notion that the “grass is definitely greener on the other side” will not and don’t understand that what has transpired in the past thirteen years does and always will affect what is happening now.
I, for one, will stand by the club as long as it insists on and ensures stability both off and on the field. If there are bumps in that road to success, and there always will be, as long as they are acknowledged and learnt from, then we will become successful. If we continue going down the road of what has happened before, we will lose at every turn.


Sincerely, and GO BLUES!
A Massive Carlton Supporter.

#GOBLUES!

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What Do We Want To Stand For?

I have waited for a few days to write this. Not because I am angry or devastated by the loss. Upset, yes, saddened, sure, but not in the way that some others are and have been over the past days. The glaring vitriol that has come out on the radio waves and sprawled outside Ikon Park is ridiculous and, to be blunt – stupid!

Firstly, those who state ‘they speak on members’ behalf’ need to get a grip on their arrogance, as they don’t speak for me, nor do I suspect many, many others. They speak on their behalf, on their own narrative and wishes. Yet what these ‘supporters’ want to do is go down yet another path of ceremonious sacking yet another coach mid-way through a season that is only three rounds in because the team just hasn’t performed in a way that we all, and probably the coaches as well, wanted and hoped for.


According to them, the idea that the club should get rid of a coach, and some say get rid of the Board, shows a sheer lack of understanding and rationale.  Here’s why. Out of all the clubs in the AFL, no other club has gone down Carlton’s pattern of behaviour. No other club has gone through so many coaches when things don’t go to plan, perpetuated by a need for instant success. No other club in the AFL has put no faith in their team both on and off-field by stating that after two years, if we don’t win, then let’s try someone else, and if they don’t win, let’s try someone else. If we count Michael Voss, in the past thirteen years, we have had five, yes, five coaches. In that time, the club became filled with uncertainty, disunity, and a culture of non-belief in its team, both on and off the field.  For a club, any club, to come anywhere to the point of any success, you have to have stability and a culture of positivity to ensure any form of success. Carlton has not had that for the past thirteen years, yet some are calling for the club to again go down a path of uncertainty and instability because the end game of success is just not coming quick enough.

I don’t subscribe to the fact that Carlton has not been close to success since 1995, so we are deserving of this now. Rubbish! We are no more deserving than any other club, and given what we have been through in thirteen years, a few years will not make any inroads in attaining this success. It takes time.  But to prove my point, let’s go through each club in the AFL, and I will explain what I mean, with Carlton’s details, last.


Adelaide (joined the AFL in 1991). Since 2012 – 3 coaches. No Premierships.
2012 – 2014: Brenton Sanderson. 2012 2nd. 2013 11th. 2014 10th.
2015: Phil Walsh. (Not applicable).
2015: Scot Camporeale. Interim coach.
2016 -2019: Don Pyke. 2016 5th. 2017 1st. 2018 12th. 2019 11th.
2020 – Present: Matthew Nicks. 2020 18th. 2021 15th. 2022 14th. 2023 10th. 2024 15th.
 
Brisbane Lions (joined the AFL in 1997). Since 2012 – 4 coaches. 1 Premiership.
2009 – 2013. Michael Voss. 2009 6th. 2010 13th. 2011 15th. 2012 13th. 2013 12th.
2013: Mark Harvey. (Intermim coach)
2014 – 2016: 2014 15th. 2015 17th. 2016 17th.
2017 – Present. Chris Fagen. 2017 18th. 2018 15th. 2019 2nd. 2020 2nd. 2021 4th. 2022 6th. 2023 2nd. 2024 Premiers.

Collingwood. Since 2012 – 2 coaches. 1 Premierships.
2000 – 2011: Mick Malthouse. 2000 2nd last. 2001 9th. 2002 4th. 2003 2nd. 2004 13th. 2005 2nd last. 2006 5th. 2007 6th. 2008 8th. 2009 4th. 2010 Premiers. 2011 1st.
2012 – 2021: Nathan Buckley. 2012 4th. 2013 6th. 2014 11th. 2015 12th. 2016 12th. 2017 13th. 2018 3rd. 2019 4th. 2020 8th. 2021 17th.
2021: Robert Harvey. Interim coach.
2022 – Present. 2022 4th. 2023 Premiers.

Essendon. Since 2012, 6 coaches. No Premierships.2011 – 2013: James Hird. 2011 8th. 2012 11th. 2013 9th (Note drug scandal).
2013: Simon Goodwin (Interim coach)
2014: Mark Thompson (Interim coach) 2014 7th.
2015: Mathew Egan (Intermim coach) 2015 15th.
2016 – 2020: John Worsford. 2016 18th. 2017 7th. 2018 11th. 2019 8th. 2020 13th.
2021 – 2022: Ben Rutten. 2021 8th. 2022 15th.
2022: Blake Caracella (Interim coach)
2023 – Present: Brad Scott. 2023 11th. 2024 11th.

Fremantle (Joined AFL in 1995). Since 2012, 2 coaches. No Premierships.2012 – 2019: Ross Lyon. 2012 7th. 2013 3rd. 2014 4th. 2015 1st. 2016 16th. 2017 14th. 2018 14th. 2019 13th.
2019: David Hale. Interim coach.
2020 – Present: Justin Longmuir. 2020 12th. 2021 11th. 2022 5th. 2023 14th. 2024 10th.

Geelong. Since 2012, 1 coach. 2 Premierships.
2011 – Present: Chris Scott. 2011 Premiers. 2012 6th. 2013 2nd. 2014 3rd. 2015 10th. 2016 2nd. 2017 2nd. 2018 8th. 2019 1st. 2020 4th. 2021 3rd. 2022 Premiers. 2023 12th. 2024 3rd.

Gold Coast. (Joined AFL in 2011). Since 2012, 4 coaches. No Premierships.
2011 – 2014: Guy McKenna.
2015 -2017: Rodney Eade.
2017: Dean Solomon (Intermim coach).
2018 -2023: Stuart Dew.
2023: Steven King (Intermin coach).
2024 – Present: Damien Hardwick.

Greater Western Sydney. Joined AFL in 2012.
2012 – 2013: Kevin Sheedy. 2012 18th. 2013 18th.  
2014 – 2022: Leon Cameron. 2014 16th. 2015 11th. 2016 4th. 2017 4th. 2018 7th. 2019 6th. 2020 10th. 2021 7th. 2022 16th.
2022: Mark McVeigh (Interim coach).
2023 – Present: Adam Kingsley. 2023 7th. 2024 4th.

Hawthorn. Since 2012, 2 coaches. 4 Premierships.
2005 – 2021: Alistar Clarkson. 2004 2nd last. 2005 Third last. 2006 11th. 2007 5th. 2008 Premiers. 2009 9th. 2010 7th. 2011 3rd. 2012 1st. 2013 Premiers. 2014 Premiers. 2015 Premiers. 2016 3rd. 2017 12th. 2018 4th. 2019 9th. 2020 15th. 2021 14th.
2022 – Present: Sam Mitchell.  2022 13th. 2023 16th.

Melbourne. Since 2012, 4 coaches. 1 Premiership.
2012 – 2013: Mark Neeld. 2012 16th. 2013 17th.
2013: Neil Craig. (Intermin coach).
2014 -2016: Paul Roos. 2014 17th. 2015 13th. 2016 11th.
2017 – Present: Simon Goodwin. 2017 9th. 2018 5th. 2019 17th. 2020 9th. 2021 Premiers. 2022 2nd. 2023 4th.

North Melbourne.  Since 2012, 4 coaches. No Premierships.
2012 – 2019: Brad Scott. 2012 8t. 2013 10th. 2014 6th. 2015 8th. 2016 8th. 2017 15th. 2018 9th. 2019 12th.
2019 – 2020: Rhyce Shaw. 2020 17th.
2021 – 2022: David Noble. 2021 18th. 2022 18th.
2022: Leigh Adams (Interim coach)
2023 – Present: Alastair Clarkson. 2023 17th. 2024 17th.

Port Adelaide. Joined ALF 1997. Since 2012, 2 coaches. No Premierships.
2010 – 2012: Mathewe Primus. 2012 14th.
2012: Gary Hocking (Interim coach).
2013 – Present: Ken Hinkley. 2013 7th. 2014 5th. 2015 9th. 2016 10th. 2017 5th. 2018 10th. 2019 10th. 2020 1st. 2021 2nd. 2022 11th. 2023 3rd. 2024 2nd.

Richmond. Since 2012, 2 coaches. 3 Premierships.
2010 – 2023: Damian Hardwick. 2010 2nd last. 2011 12th. 2012 12th. 2013 5th. 2014 8th. 2015 5th. 2016 13th. 2017 Premiers. 2018 1st. 2019 Premiers. 2020 Premiers. 2021 12th. 2022 7th. 2023 13th.
2023: Andrew McQualter (Intermim coach)
2024 – Present: Adam Yze. 2024 18th.

Sydney Swans. Since 2012, 1 coach. 1 Premiership (not counting Dean Cox). 2011 – 2024: John Longmire. 2011 7th. 2012 Premiership. 2013 4th. 2014 1st. 2015 4th. 2016 1st. 2017 6th. 2018 6th. 2019 15th. 2020 16th. 2021 6th. 2022 3rd. 2023 8th. 2024 1st.
2025: Dean Cox.
*Note, before Longmire, Paul Roos coached the team for 8 years with 2 Premierships. Before him, Rodney Eade coached for 6 years, 1 Premiership.

St. Kilda. Since 2012, 4 coaches. No Premierships.
2007 – 2011: Ross Lyon. 2007 9th. 2008 4th. 2009 1st. 2010 3rd. 2011 6th.
2012 – 2013: Scott Watters. 2012 9th. 2013 16th.
2014 – 2019: Alan Richardson. 2014 18th. 2015 14th. 2016 9th. 2017 11th. 2018 16th. 2019 14th.
2019 – 2022: Brett Ratten. 2020 6th. 2021 10th. 2022 10th.
2023 – Present: Ross Lyon. 2023 6th. 2024 12th.

Western Bulldogs. Since 2012, 2 coaches. 1 Premiership.
2012 – 2014: Brendan McCartney. 2012 15th. 2013 15th. 2014 14th.
2015 – Present: Luke Beveridge. 2015 6th. 2016 Premiership. 2017 10th. 2018 13th. 2019 7th. 2020 7th. 2021 5th. 2022 8th. 2023 9th. 2024 6th.
*Note, Rodney Eade coached for 6 years, no Premierships.

Westcoast Eagles. Since 2012, 2 coaches. 1 Premiership.
2002 – 2013: John Worsford. 2002 8th. 2003 7th. 2004 7th. 2005 2nd. 2006 Premiers. 2007 3rd. 2008 2nd last. 2009 11th. 2010 last. 2011 4th. 2012 5th. 2013 13th.
2014 – 2024: Adam Simpson. 2014 9th. 2015 2nd. 2016 6th. 2017 8th. 2018 Premiers. 2019 5th. 2020 5th. 2021 9th. 2022 17th. 2023 18th. 2024 16th.
2024: Jarrad Schofield (Interim coach)
2025: Andrew McQualter.

Carlton. Since 2012, 5 coaches. No Premierships.
2007 – 2012: Brett Rattan. 2007 2nd last 2008 11th. 2009 7th. 2010 8th. 2011 5th. 2012 10th.
2013 – 2015: Mick Malthouse. 2013 8th. 2014 13th. 2015 18th.
2015: John Barker (Interim Coach).
2016 – 2019: Brendon Bolton. 2016 14th. 2017 16th. 2018 18th.
2019 – 2021: David Teague. 2019 16th. 2020 11th. 2021 13th.
2022 – Present: Michael Voss. 2022 9th. 2023 5th. 2024 8th.
*Note the salary cap breach of 2002, set the club backwards with no drafts from the 2002 draft and all drafts of the 2003 National Draft.

This shows that the only really successful clubs, such as Richmond, Hawthorn, and even Geelong, Sydney, and Collingwood, have one thing that Carlton simply does not have: stability in its culture both on and off the field. Carlton (and I’m not going into other clubs) has been unstable and has had no culture on and off the field for quite some time.


Over the weekend, an article in the papers asks, ‘What does Carlton stand for?’ That is probably one of the most insightful headlines regarding Carlton that I’ve seen for a while. Because what does the club stand for if all supporters and commentators keep harping on that if a coach doesn’t succeed after a few years, then sack them. What does this stand for in terms of building a culture in a club that strives for and insists on success both on the field and off the field? What does it mean for Carlton and what they stand for if all they do is fire yet another coach because things have not worked out the way that was hoped for? What does the club stand for if they only see the continual need for knee-jerk reactions? If Carlton keeps going down that path, then they stand for nothing but arrogance and narrow-mindedness and breed a culture of instability and inconsistency.  Carlton will stand for the very thing that has other clubs struggling to become anywhere near successful. 


If Carlton wants to stand for success, consistency, and stability both on the field and off, then it has to stand for drawing a line in the sand and saying, ‘We are not going down that path of continually cutting coaches off because the timeline does not suit others.’ It took Alistair Clarkson five years to win their first Premiership, then another four to win their three-in-a-row.  It took Damian Hardwick seven years for Richmond to win their Premierships. I keep repeating myself because it seems some just don’t get it: if we want to be a continually successful club, we must have the one thing we have not had – stability. The way that both Hawthorn and Richmond developed and grew the culture that made them so successful, is the one thing Carlton has not done.


We must stand for more than these continual knee-jerk reactions when the plan does not go according to plan. If we don’t, then it makes no difference who the senior coach is; Carlton will never, ever attain any success, and what we will stand for is continual failure. I want to be part of a club that stands for what we all want – success. Eradicating the mindset of what we once were takes time. If some can’t wait or have the patience for that, then find another club and if that doesn’t work…find another. No long-term success ever comes overnight. Stand up for persistence, stability, and a mindset that comes with all that, and then we will succeed. If not, no amount of raging phone calls, graffiti or angry messages will ever garnish any semblance of any form of success.

#GOBLUES

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It’s Round 2…not 22!

Firstly, I would like to apologise to anyone who feels I have insulted or let anyone down in this blog.  Or that in your mind, I seem to take a more optimistic viewpoint rather than a negative one. But to be perfectly honest, my patience and tolerance to anyone who has come up with the ridiculous diatribe that has been going on for the past two weeks has tested my patience and tolerance, and, to be blunt, it is becoming a bit farcical.  So, before I go into my views on the game on Thursday, here is my apology: Sorry.


The reason for this stems from when I was heading to the car after the game, and a man behind me said to someone, ‘Well, that was a waste of a season!’ I mean, what? Luckily, I was holding on to the railing as I nearly fell down the stairs. What an utterly ridiculous thing to say! Have we time-warped somewhere that it is now Round 20 and not Round 2? Did I miss the entire season, as this game was the catalyst of the 2025 season?


Sure, we played well for the most part, and there were gaps in our game that allowed Hawthorn to filter and flit through.  Sure, there were missed opportunities in front of the goal, but we are getting there compared to how we played in Round 1.


I remind myself and others that it is Round 2, and the season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have lost the first two games of the season. With each game played, we will get better and more productive in the backline and in front of the goals. But let’s delve a bit more, shall we?


Let’s take Hawthorn in season 2024.  In the first eight rounds, they won only three games! Yes, three games. They lost to Essendon in the first round, Melbourne in the second, Geelong in the third, Collingwood in the fourth, and Gold Coast in the fifth.  After the Bye Round, things changed for the club, and they finished seventh at the end of the season. The team that finished first, Sydney, got thrashed in the Grand Final by a team that finished fifth.  Port Adelaide, Geelong, and even GWS finished above Brisbane and got beaten in the finals when it mattered most.  The point of this is that after two rounds, no one, I don’t care who you are, cannot determine a club’s season based on two games!


Here comes the bluntness. To come out and state that this season is a waste after two rounds is ridiculous. To come out and state after two rounds how terrible the club is and that, once again, we should head down the path of sacking another coach is ridiculous.  I ask the question, who in their right mind as a player or a coach would want to come to a club that simply does not believe in their current people?  Who?  What some ‘knight in shining armour’ that can, in one swoop, fix everything? Are some that delusional?  We can be frustrated and angry, but it is only Round Two!


No club, no organisation, will ever attain success unless it believes in its people and ensures stability. The culture in this situation is not one that is fixed overnight or over a few years; it takes time. Time, it seems, some just cannot deal with it. The toxicity that had engulfed our club in the past is being eroded away, and we have to start changing the culture of the club and team, and this takes time.


No other club in the AFL has gone through five coaches in ten years.  If we go down the road of sacking another coach, that would make it six coaches in thirteen years! I mean, how does this make the club one that is pushing and striving for success, any quicker or faster? Sure, we have waited a long time to become successful, but to assume that another or others will do better is delusional. To assume that by throwing out one to get another one, in the hope that they will turn things around, is delusional. 


I am saddened that we just could not get the win over the line, but I am also heartened by how better they played over the four quarters. With the rest of the season ahead of us, I am sure that things will turn around. If some want to compare Sam Mitchell’s journey as the coach, then it was because the coach before him laid the foundations for what is a successful club both on and off the field. That took time.


So, if some believe that our season is a waste after two rounds, then I am at a loss for words at your rationale. If some want to believe that we should sack yet another coach, then I am at a loss for words at how this makes any semblance of sense and logic.  I keep quoting a statement made by one of the greatest sports coaches in history, Bill Shankly, ‘If you can’t support us when we lose or draw, don’t support us when we win.’ But one of my favourite and most thought-provoking quotes comes from Michael Jordan, who says, ‘I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.’  If we want success, we are going to have to take the bad with the good, even if that means losing a few games. We must understand that what the club has been through in the past affects the present and future and that it will take time to get it right. But given all this, after all, it is only Round Two!

#GOBLUES

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Let’s Calm the White Noise!

No More Knee-Jerk Reactions Please!

Carlton has been in the front of minds and voices these past days since the match last Thursday night, in a game they should have won. Commentators and “”supporters”” alike have likened this round one (yes, round one) defeat as the worst in the club’s history; a bit over the top, to be honest.  I have listened and read from “”supporters”” that in 2025, Carlton is doomed. Again, a bit over the top, to be honest.  To reiterate again, it is round one!


But let’s take a step back a bit. Sure, Carlton has been yo-yo-ing their seasons since the debacle of the salary cap issue. Since then, we have gone through not one, not two, not even three or four, but five, yes, five coaches. Yet some expect, nay, insist that the club becomes once more the arrogant-led one that got them down the path which set them back not one pace, but long, long steps backwards to try and regain its once successful path.  The question I have and will continue to have and also state is that no club, organization or group of people will ever, ever attain any success if they keep on changing a coach or a leader every time things don’t go the way that others want.


Let’s state categorically that the team did not play a game that they had hoped they would play to secure the win. They did not apply pressure, and it seemed they were one step behind the game.  This did not happen towards the end of the season but in round one!  But that does not mean, nor should it, that the club needs another knee-jerk reaction to get rid of the coach and coaches.  This is not and never will be how you set yourself up for any resemblance of success. Yes, I know we have been waiting a long time, but no other club has gone through what Carlton has gone through since its 1995 Premiership.  I know we are frustrated and impatient to be once more on top, but it won’t happen unless we are consistent and stable across the entire club after the instability and unstable organization of having five coaches in ten years.


But let’s go a bit further. In season 2024, Brisbane Lions were after six games, four losses, and two wins. They were deemed to be no close to winning a final, even a Grand Final, before the major bye round. Then everything changed, and we saw what happened at the climax of the season, a major thrashing of Sydney in the Grand Final. 


So far this year, in the Opening Round, Collingwood got thrashed against a very dynamic GWS. Commentators and supporters loaded negatively on their effort with comments such as “too old”, “not physical enough” and that there were questions about them as a team. Sigh! Now, in round one, they, being the commentators and supporters, have labelled them as being one of the teams to beat! The fickleness of both commentators and “supporters” serves a narrative that tries to make these people relevant and knowledgeable. I would have more respect for any commentator or supporter if they said, ‘It’s only early days yet; let’s not get ahead of ourselves’. This must and should be applied to Carlton.

We played a very poor game against a team that we should have, in theory, thrashed. We did not. I do believe, and I don’t care if others say I have “rose-coloured” glasses on, we will get better. It may be a slow progression, but all that matters in the long-term of a long season is that we finish in the top 8.  It has been proven by the Brisbane Lions and even Western Bulldogs in 2016 who finished seventh, that wining a Grand Final is possible no matter where you finish in the top eight.  Sure, it is a slog to get to the Grand Final and ultimately win it, but it has been proven that it is possible if the team’s mindset switches to the point of determination to succeed no matter what or where they end up at the end of the season.  Sometimes, a shock to the system can make a team and players so much better in the long term. The white noise from the outside world of the club is just that, white noise.


So, I will keep my “rose-coloured” glasses on for two reasons. One, it is only round one, and two—I do believe that at the end of the season, the calamity that Carlton started with will fade into the start of the climb to ultimate success. As long as there are no more knee-jerk reactions.

#GOBLUES!

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It’s Round One, Folks! Not the end of the world!


Going to the match on Thursday night, I was filled with nervous excitement.  Into the second part of the first quarter, even though we were well in front, I could see just by looking at the game that we would eventually struggle to win.  Sadly, I was proven correct, and it is not something that I will boast about.  I was disappointed, saddened, but not surprised. Yet, according to some supporters, this is doom and gloom. That we are going to have a shocker of a season. That it is the coaches’ fault and none other. That we should once again, fire or sack another senior coach because we lost a game that we were touted, supposedly, to win against a team that finished at the bottom of the ladder in 2024. It’s round one, people, not round twelve or eighteen or the season’s last round that could determine where we finally end up at the end of August!


It is so disappointing to see “supporters” continually come out when we lose to lay the blame at the feet of the coaches’ feet, get nasty, and throw vitriol towards them. Then, they turn their attention to players who did not perform.  What does this serve in the long term in a season that has just begun? What does it achieve when one week you want to throw eggs and rotten tomatoes at the team and yell at them as they come off the ground, then next week praise them when they might do well?


Judging from the video from Jack Silvagni after the game, the players have taken the blame as they just were not, well, there at every contest. That they fumbled their kicks, hand-passes and game play. However, they know that in one week, this can be turned around. Logic tells us that on paper, we should have thrashed Richmond, but the game is not won on logic or what is written on paper; it is won when the entire team, at every stage of the game, puts every effort into every kick, handball, tackle and mark to get that win.  Sometimes, it works; sometimes, it just doesn’t. This does not mean that the team is going backwards or that people need to get the sack; it means that in a season that has another five and half months left, the only reasonable scenario that the team will now focus on is to correct those issues that plagued them on Thursday; and I know that they will. They will be a different team moving forward than they were on Thursday night.


I don’t care what other commentators say about Carlton, good or bad; they are just doing it for clickbait.  I have not read and will not read any good, bad or ugly opinions by these commentators. If they say Carlton’s season is over in round one, that is hysterical! If they say, Carlton will flounder in 2025 after one game, that, too, is hysterical.  It is the same thing said about Brisbane Lions in 2024. I’m not saying that Carlton will for sure be in the same boat as Brisbane was last year; I’m saying that it’s not the end of the world when we lose a game in round one!


I do not believe the players will accept this game as the benchmark for their season. I believe the players will dig deep moving forward, but it will be not to show the outside world but for themselves. If they dig deep and pull themselves out of Thursday night’s disappointment, then success will be forthcoming, and their actions will prove to the outside world that the team should not be dismissed so cavalierly in their first game for season 2025.


I always am and always will be GO BLUES!

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The Age & Carlton’s Future!

In The Age, an article published today highlights the last thirty years since the club’s last Premiership and interviews the respective coaches during that period.  While it is a bit illuminating, it does not really state the obvious nor the mindset of those at the helm of the club back then. I have stated continuously that the club had a knee-jerk reaction every time a coach failed. Those who were supposed to see the value of long-term development and consistency put their blinkers on and only wanted short-term results.  If a coach did not get the team to perform in a way that the Board saw fit and in a short timeline, then they were booted out.  This manner of arrogancy and instability does not and never will ensure a team any success as resemblance of success.


After reading the article, I have a huge, nay, massive issue with how Mick Malthouse has been portrayed as a hard-done-by person. He is not.  What has been failed to mention was that the very next day after he had achieved his record of being the coach with the most games coached, he threw down a gauntlet and challenged the club to either re-hire him or sack him. This was not done at the end of the season but right in the middle. I heard him saying this on the radio and was on the way to work and nearly ran off the road. I was appalled and livid.  The article in The Age does not mention this aspect at all, and it won’t, but let’s not be blinded by his sheer selfishness and arrogance and neither should we be blinded by how the Board back then were more interested in wanting a Premiership immediately, at any cost.


I have always stated, and always will, that those clubs who are in it for the long haul will garnish the success everyone wants. That is those clubs who understand, from the Board to the Coaches, to the players and the supporters, that in order to hold that Premiership Cup up, you need a long-term, stable and consistent environment to succeed. Yet it seems there are those supporters who, even now, just can’t see past this.


On social media, supporters who say they are passionate supporters will make derogatory comments about a coach, player, or players after a loss, with the mindset that they alone know and understand what will make a club successful. There is no issue with being critical, but being nasty serves no purpose at all, and this nastiness has come from some supporters for whom I have no respect or time. I have even seen “supporters” post that Vossy should be sacked after last year’s performance! Sure, it did not end well, but to be perfectly honest, we did not earn our spot in the top eight, and the loss and failure from last year will only make the players more determined to not go down that path again.


If we want to be successful, then we have to stop the continual knee-jerk reaction every time the club goes into a game slump. The season is not a sprint but a marathon, and it is those clubs that may start off at the bottom but, over the weeks and months, do something that those that are on the top do not do – they learn and grow from mistakes.  A prime example is the Brisbane Lions in 2024.

We have a few players out with injuries, and the lamenting and cries from supporters that we are now doomed is really farcical.  If a team relies on a few to become successful, then we are going to fail.  It is the depth of a team that will determine success, not its few stars. It is the consistency and stability of a club, from the Board to the Coaches to the club itself, that will make the team want to be successful and take that long journey there.


I understand the long haul for success, and now, we have the tools for that.  The article in The Age highlights what has gone on in the past but has not come close to seeing what is now being done to erase that past and come back with success.  I see it, and I know there are supporters who see it, too.  We have to erase the continual need for knee-jerk reactions and concentrate on ensuring stability and consistency. Only then will Carlton become successful.

#GOBLUES!

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Season 2025!

This time, in just over three weeks, the 2025 AFL season kicks off with the traditional Round 1 game – Richmond v Carlton at the MCG, and for most, we are all ‘chomping at the bit’ for the season to start.  While we were disappointed in how Carlton’s season ended last year, we must be heartened by how the team has now developed and grown with new inclusions and those who wanted out.  How with every year, the team’s core group has grown in their mindset and gameplay, and that we are on the rise.


I start this year’s blog beginning with a few statements, that I seem to have to make every season.  The whole idea of this blog is not to point the finger (when things go bad) at any particular player or coach and not to single those out when things go well.  There are so many ‘voices’ in that arena that the footy world does not need another.  This blog is to write from a different perspective but to maintain a sense of respect for both the game and its participants on all levels. 


Now, I am fully aware that not everyone will agree with me, and that is perfectly fine. I have no issue with healthy discussions and disagreements. What I will not accept nor tolerate is those who seek to call me names, be derogatory and even come out with words such as ‘you have no idea’ or ‘you are blind’ or ‘go back to the kitchen’.  I respect all points of view as long as they are backed up by logic and rationale.  I am perfectly comfortable with those that simply do not agree with me. That is the very nature of what a healthy environment for discussing a game that we love makes it the best game in the world.


There will be no tolerance or acceptance from those who seek to be divisive and combative and show no respect for others. There will be no tolerance or acceptance from those who single out players or coaches because they did not live up to someone outside the club’s expectations. It serves no purpose and has no value in figuring out what went wrong and how it can be changed for the team to improve. 


I have seen ‘supporters’ belittle the coaches and players when things get rough, only to praise them when success occurs.  I have seen and heard ‘supporters’ go on the radio making scathing and sometimes insulting remarks against the players and coaches when we played a game that we expected to win but did not.  If this is who you are about as a supporter, then that is your right, but not when it infiltrates this blog.


So, with that in mind, I will never back down from someone who disagrees with my view if they cannot reply with a valid and logical response. Convince me rationally, and I will be and have been the first to say, ‘I was wrong’ or that ‘I agree with you.’


I wrote and have written that six years ago, I put down on paper where I thought the club would be at the end of each season, and so far, I have not been wrong.  I do believe that given that we have waited so long for long-term success, this can only be achieved with consistency and stability both on and off the field, and we cannot expect or assume that, given this wait, it is our time now or not at all.


The game of AFL is one where supporters are passionate about the team they support, and Carlton supporters are no different. Yet we must realize that any success is a long, protracted journey.  Sir Alex Ferguson, considered the greatest football (UK) manager of all time and has won more trophies than any other, managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013, stated, ‘ Success is not permanent and failure is not fatal.’ We should remember this and get excited for the start of the 2025 AFL season, no matter if we win, lose or draw. I know I am!


As always, GO BLUES!

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Carlton supporters: What is it that you want?

I have to ask a question, and that is simply, what is it that you, as a supporter of Carlton FC, want?  The answer is easy for me: I want us to win a Premiership in the not-too-distant future.  That is what I want, and right now, I can see what the club is aiming to achieve in terms of what has occurred during the trade period. 

Now that this major trade period has ended, while what we have lost has a sense of sadness, it is neither terrible nor catastrophic. Not even one that will send us backwards. On the contrary, it is a forward-looking understanding of what the club needs to do in order to raise another Premiership Cup. Isn’t that what we all want?


Sure, it does come with sadness that players of our club who loved being there and were loved are now no longer playing for the Navy Blue, but that is the very nature of what a hopeful, successful club needs to do, isn’t it? I think it is!


There have been many players not only in the entire footy world but at Carlton that have in the past, by their very dedication to a club and our club, actually deserved and should have earned a chance to play for a Premiership, but it didn’t happen.  Players such as Eddie Betts, Kade Simpson, Andrew Walker, Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs, Ed Curnow, and Matthew Kreuzer, in my view, are players who should have won a Premiership, but it was not in their cards. 


I loved these players and what they brought to the club both on and off the field and I’m so thrilled that Kreuz is still a part of the club as an assistant coach.  Also, seeing Kade Simpson assisting the Hawthorn FC is a great thing to see, as who knows, he could come back to Carlton in an assisting role.  But the point is that there will always be those players that we love who will either retire without a Premiership or move on to other clubs.


These players that move on to other clubs, while some have achieved a semblance of success, Zach Tuohy being one, others have not. It does not mean that we should not celebrate their time at Carlton as long as they acknowledge their time at Carlton.  Jarrad Waite and Lachie Henderson went to other clubs and, while playing at those clubs, grabbed their guernsey right in front of Carlton supporters and did not once acknowledge their time at Carlton. Waite only did so after he left North Melbourne, but not for a long time. On the other hand, we have two current players who have now found new homes. They thanked and acknowledged the opportunity that Carlton gave them and understood that for them to get more game time, they needed to move to other clubs, even if it had a tinge of regret. 


The uproar from supporters over what our list management has done in trading out Matty Owies and Matt Kennedy is, in my view, very short-sighted. I have loved watching these players don the navy blue and play for Carlton, but I understood that they were not really going to be players who would be in our top 22 when we hopefully and eventually, play in a Grand Final.


In order for a club, any club, there are times when the heart must be pushed aside for the head. That there is a need to understand that in the long run, a club needs to ensure longevity in its playing group and to get, hopefully, the very best for the club.  This does mean that we may have to trade away good, not great, but good players for younger players who have more potential. It means that we need to get younger players who we develop to be a part of a hopefully Premiership team. 


I love what we have gained in terms of draft points and picks.  We have the capacity to draft players from a draft group that, in 2024, has the best prospective talent pool that we have not seen in a while.  If that means that we have to let go of players who have been passionate about playing for the Navy Blue but who are not really going to be a part of the growth in the playing group, then while sad, I understand this process.


If what we all want is to raise our 17th Premiership Cup, then unfortunately, it will mean those peripheral players will simply not be there. I love what Owies and Kennedy brought to the club and the team, and I wish them the best for their futures.  But I want to win a Premiership. I want the club to be that fearsome group that clubs come to game day with much trepidation, not just for now but long-term.


This was a good trade period for Carlton. I can’t wait for the draft period and what season 2025 will bring. 

#GOBLUES!

 

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End of Season 2024! What a win!

After watching the Grand Final on Saturday, it proved to me what I have been trying to allude to for a while. 

On Saturday, Chris Fagan and the Brisbane Lions categorically illustrated that it makes no difference where you start a season but how you finish it.  Brisbane Lions had a poor start to the season, languishing in the 13th spot. They then, with determination and passion not only for each other but also for the coach, finished not in the top 4 but 5th.

To then play every finals game, come out and literally demolish what was considered to be a team that just could not lose on a day that mattered most was a testament to the culture and what Chris Fagan and the club were building.  Carlton, in my view, is in the same situation, but what we have gone through in the past ten years should and must fuel the team and club even more.


Chris Fagan went through heartache after heartache for the past six years. Getting into the finals, then getting beaten, then getting into a Grand Final in 2023, getting beaten, lit a fire in the club that culminated in the eventual thrashing of its opponent that no one saw coming in 2024. Seeing Fagan’s emotion as he hugged Lee Mathews was one of the game’s highlights.  It took Brisbane Lions six years, repeat six years, to win the penultimate prize.  Yet, for some Carlton supporters, it should only take a few years, three at the most. 


I am under no illusion of where Carlton stands right now and what it is building.  The past ten years, in which we have gone through five coaches in that time, will never, repeat, never allow a club to become close to being successful. We have been in two finals campaigns in the three years that Michael Voss has been at the helm.  If, after all of this, you still think and believe that we are not building towards becoming successful, then you are not really understanding the modern game and where, as a club, we have been and where we are now.


The expectation from some supporters that we have not won a Premiership since 1995 and that we should have won at least one since that time perplexes me, and I have to ask: why? Why should the club be successful if it keeps changing coaches every time after a few years when things don’t work out the way it assumed they should? Why do some believe that after three years, we should be holding up another Premiership Cup when we have not earned it? If this is what you think, then you have not understood the ramifications of what happens when there are continuous changes at the club in terms of its senior coach. Under what rationale does anyone believe that this is possible? 


John Longmire has been the coach for over ten years, and in that time, Sydney was in the finals for the majority of that period, yet he only won one Premiership.  Chris Fagan has finally won a Premiership for the Brisbane Lions, but it took him a long time to get there. It took him time to get the team the players it needed. It took time for those players to know not only their role in the team but how to overcome setbacks, injuries and demoralising close losses. 


I have read comments from those who profess their love for the club to want to see Vossy sacked.  That he just cannot coach.  If Brisbane Lion’s win shows anything, consistency is one word that permeates a successful club’s culture, not only in the players but in the club itself. 

During the season, the Brisbane Lions had one of the worst kicks at goal, where their scores for points outweighed a goal.  But they never faltered in what they wanted and how they tried to get there. Chris Fagan said before the match that after last year’s loss in the Grand Final, he got the players to write how they felt and what they could do better.  He put those answers in a time capsule, and then, this season, he took them out and read them to the players.  He showed a team struggling for the first part of the season what should fuel them to be determined and never give up, to eventually reap the reward they fought for.  This is what will make a team in this modern game, successful. It will be one that will make Carlton successful. 


We have to stop with the need to think that every time we sack a coach, then hire another, then sack, then hire, this will eventually get us the success we so long for. The modern game of footy requires a long-term plan, not a short-term one. It requires understanding that there will be times when the outcome won’t be one that we all want, but if we keep moving forward, learn from what went wrong, and focus on how to overcome these setbacks, it will furnish the team with a sense of what Brisbane Lions gave themselves: a determination not to repeat the past, but to learn, grow and come out and demolish an opponent who has now asked themselves what went wrong.


I see this potential in Carlton right now.  I see the slow but steady growth and development that will position the team to claim that 17th Premiership.  It may not happen as quickly as some would like, but it will happen. 


Congratulations, Brisbane Lions!

#GOBLUES

All images courtesy of the AFL

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Becoming not a good club, but a great one!

With season 2024 approaching its end, it is here that I reflect on the season in terms of Carlton and look to the future.  I will dissect and comment on certain players and what I see as the makeup of the team moving forward because this is where each club, including Carlton, must now look.


There have rumours abound about how the club is mismanaging its list and weeks ago, there was even the ludicrous suggestion that Christian Petracca of Melbourne would be a great swap for Harry McKay.  These rumours are supposedly based on “facts” and the “information” and “commentary” from so-called experts or those supposedly, “in-the-know.”  Let me state that I do not and never will subscribe to what others in the outside world of the club speculate and state with “certainty” what is happening and what will or should, happen.  Until the club clarifies and confirms, it is all speculation and should not be taken literally. Yet.


With the talk of Matty Owies not going on an end-of-season trip with others from the team, but meeting with other clubs, which could be true, until the decision has been confirmed by himself or the club, I will wait.  But here is my view on this.  I will ask the following question: What is it that the club and supporters want? The answer is simple: a Premiership. We want to be that club that, at the end of the season, holds up another Premiership Cup. It is that simple, really.  Yet this comes with decisions that may cause supporters to be upset and angry.  I ask, why? Again, what is it that we are all seeking?
Let’s take a few steps back into the past seasons. 

There are some ex-Carlton players who, due to retirement or even going to other clubs, have been ones that we supporters have been upset about.  When Marc Murphy, Ed Curnow and Matty Kreuzer all retired, we were all saddened because, without a doubt, these players deserved and should have been part of a Premiership side, but it was not in their destiny.  Then there were Eddie Betts and Bryce Gibbs, who also deserved to win a Premiership at Carlton but decided to leave. This upset many, and understandably, but they left to go to a club that would hopefully garnish them a slight chance of winning a Premiership, because Carlton at that time, was not even a good club or close to being a great one. For them, it just didn’t eventuate. 


Right now, Carlton is a good club, but not a great one. If we want to be great, we must understand that players we love may not be a part of this greatness. Jack Martin will not be at the club next year.  While a good player, when fit, he is not a great player.  He is sporadic in his performance. He is 29 and will be 30 before season 2025 starts. He is not a long-term prospect for the club, yet he could be a short-term one at another whose window is just one step above Carlton.  This is the same with Matty Owies.


Matty Owies is a fantastic player to watch when he is in form.  He is a good player, not a great one.  He is a short-term player for a club and not a long-term one in a team that is right now, again, a good team, not a great one. Could he be a part of Carlton becoming a great club? Absolutely. But what will the cost be to the club’s future and the team’s makeup moving forward?  What is it that we desperately need from him that we don’t already have in our younger players?  Sure, he is ready to go, but for any club to become great, this takes time and a long-term plan, not a short-term one.  We have to look at his type of player and where he could fit in the team.  He kicked over 30 goals this year, and is a very handy player to have in our forward line, but not a great player. I will be sad if he does go, but not angry or furious, as some have stated on social media. For a team to cross that line of being a good one, to a great one, we have to look at a long-term plan and put that in place. 


Now, I love Owies passion for the club and team, and he has been told that the club wants him, but that he just needs to wait until after the trade and draft period. He has been given the go-ahead to see if he wants to move to another club.  If he goes, then so be it. We have to start looking at what holes have been missing that will make us become not a good club but a great one. 

We need more depth in our backline than we do in any other position on the field.  We need more grunt to assist the senior players in the team, Jacob Weitering, Adam Saad, Sam Docherty, Mitch McGovern, and Nic Newman (I have not included Zac Williams, who has played better as a forward than in the backline); who can guide the younger ones, Alex Cincotta, Brodie Kemp, Lachie Cowan, Jordan Boyd who could be a part of our future and need time to mature and grow into becoming great players. 


Then there’s Matthew Kennedy, who is contracted until the end of 2025 and has been told that if he wants to seek more time at another club, then he has Carlton’s blessing.  Again, those not in the “know” are furious about this. He is a good player, not a great one. He has his moments but is not consistent enough to be a great player.  Both Kennedy and Owies have a great passion for the club and the team without question, and I can see them both being a part of Carlton in its push to become a great club. But I also see that they are really second only to others in the team who are either great players or on the threshold of being great players because of their age and have more room for maturity and growth.  So, the club has to make the really tough decision of what to do and how to go about becoming a great club.


Personally, I can’t see either Owies or Kennedy going to other clubs, but I could be wrong.  But if they do, then I will be sad, but I won’t be angry or furious that I, a supporter who has no direct knowledge or information from the club as to what their intentions are during the trade and draft periods.  No one, no matter what they say or comment on, has this insider knowledge. I don’t take much value in what the media or social media commentators predict or state as being what is going on at the club, and to be honest, I don’t understand why some get so hyped up about what is being said by those supposedly “in-the-know” or past players who believe in their own hype and will say anything to get click bait and make themselves talked about.


Ultimately, we want to be a great club and we are not there yet. We will see players that we love possibly move on to other clubs, but in the end, the players know and understand what it will take to be a great club, and that may not include those who have become cult figures or much-loved players. We should not go down the rabbit hole of being so angry and furious at a decision made by a club that only wants to be successful.


I want to be at the end of a season, going to a game that is the pinnacle of the year—the Grand Final. I want to be part of the celebration that comes with holding up a Premiership Cup. I want to have the last weekend in September be one where I have no voice, am dog-tired with little sleep due to ongoing celebrations, yet euphoric because I was a part of that last game of the season where we added another Premiership Cup and can be genuinely named—a great club! That is what I want. That is my view.

#GOBLUES

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Understanding the road to glory!

As the footy world watched the 2024 Brownlow Medal count, most were bracing for the possibility of a tie between two outstanding players or the possibility of a dark horse that has been an incredible player surging ahead. The talk around the media world that it will likely end up either Nick Daico’s outright win or a draw with Patrick Cripps or even Marcus Bontempelli finally achieving a victory that has been alluding him. 

No one saw that one player who, despite his club not faring that well after the major Bye rounds, surged ahead to the point that he achieved a result that will probably not be seen again.  To see Patrick Cripps win with a massive 45 votes, with second place going to Nick Daicos with 38 points, is astounding. To see that Crippa got the votes despite Carlton not winning many matches after the Bye rounds shows the caliber of the player he is.  Yet it was his acceptance speech that I think shows the type of person he is, how he sees the club and its future and what is in store for next year.  It is a speech whose contents illustrate what I have been trying to allude to all of 2024.


He stated that Carlton is a good team but has yet to be great.  He said, ‘I have an appreciation, and I respect every player that goes out and plays. Every time we step out on the footy field, you put yourself up to be judged. That takes a lot of vulnerability.’ He went on to reiterate that at 18, coming from school, you don’t really know what you are doing.  But by putting yourself on the field, ‘you are open to a lot of feedback,’ where there have been times when it hasn’t gone the way that he would have liked and that, ‘you feel the brunt of that.’ But, ‘what it teaches you is, it doesn’t matter what other people think. As long as you are happy with yourself.’ Stating, ‘you have a lot of people in your corner…you trust, which I do. A lot of people don’t have that.’ Where ‘as long as you work hard, (and) come in with a good attitude, you can do amazing things.’


Out of his entire speech, what had the most impact was that he understood what it would take for a team to step over that threshold of being a good club to a great club. He understood that, for the first time in a long time, the club has a culture and consistency in what it wants to achieve and how to get there. ‘I feel like it’s the closest now (to a premiership), but I know there’s a lot of hard work to go, so I’m realistic in that, and that’s why I’ve got a lot of appreciation for the Lions and the Swans, because its hard to get there.’


He then went on to say that ‘we’ve got a bit of work to do, we feel like we’ve got a great culture, we’ve got guys who love coming to work, we’re really close, but there are few things we’ve got to keep levelling up in…But I know with the quality of characters we have in our group I know we can do amazing things.’ It is this understanding of what it will take for Carlton to not only qualify for a Grand Final place but to win one.  He understands what I have written about this season and in the past, that it takes a culture within the playing group and the club itself to even get close to that pinnacle.

This notion that because a coach that others feel is not up to the task when that coach has been one of five in the past ten years, that again needs to be replaced, is not understanding what it will take to achieve this success.


In his time as coach of Sydney, John Longmire has been in the finals twelve times and only won once. In his time at Brisbane Lions, Chris Fagan has been in the finals six times and has not won a Premiership.  Chris Scott has been in the Finals twelve times and won twice.  Ken Hinkley has taken Port Adelaide to the finals seven times yet never won a Premiership Cup. In all four teams, one factor unites them all that does not unite Carlton: consistency in its coaching team. To even suggest that Carlton needs to once more get rid of a coach who has brought the club to a place where it will only go up (in my view) is narrow-minded, arrogant, and destructive to the players and the club. 


We have the makings of a team capable of stepping over the hurdles of being a good club to a great one if we just understand what it will take to get us there.  We need to realize that as supporters, this ultimate success will never happen if we keep changing when the results don’t go our way. This does not achieve a culture of success; it never has and never will.  Crippa understands this, and so does the team and the club.  We, as supporters, also need to understand this. If those out there don’t, then to be blunt – support another team. 


I proudly wear my Carlton gear regardless of the outcome and where we sit at the end of the season. Because, like Crippa, I understand what it will take to get us that ultimate chance to get the success we want. It will be frustrating at times and euphoric at other times, but this journey that we are now on must continue without any fraction within the club. We are now nearing the end of three full years of Michael Voss as coach. In that time, we have been in the finals twice.  We are building a culture and consistency that bodes well for the future. Crippa sees it, the coaches see it, the players see it, and we must as well.

Congratulations Patrick Cripps!

#GOBLUES!

All photos courtesy of AFL

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Consistency & Culture!

I made the trip to Brisbane to see Carlton last week. While it was not the outcome that we all had hoped for, to be honest, it was kind of expected. With each game, I always go with the mindset of a win, even if I know deep down that they will not. I waited for a week to go by just to see what transpired on social media and the media itself, where most of the narrative was predictable.


Before I elaborate, let me state that Carlton’s crawl into the Finals was not earned, but we got there by default. Could we have made it a fairytale outcome? Sure, but it should be no real surprise that we performed the way we did. Was I upset? Not really; disappointed? Yes, but not upset because I did not think we earned our spot.  I then thought about the games last week, this weekend, and the clubs achieving success.  We now know the outcome of the matches going into the Preliminary Finals, and they will be rather interesting because right now, as it stands, there is only one Victorian team. Will I stand with that team for a Grand Final win – no. But I do give them kudos for getting there.


There are three clubs in the top 8 who, in my view, have the ability to be contenders for a Premiership and will be for a while. Two of those teams have shown how strong they are, and one is showing it more and more. Let me explain. 


Sydney, Geelong, and Hawthorn have had one thing the other clubs have not had: a consistently stable environment on and off the field. They all have an inherent history of a culture in their club that enables them to be successful. They have consistency in their coaching and the environment in which they play.  Sydney and Geelong have had the same head coach for over 10 years, and Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell took over from a coach who had been with the club for over 10 years. These three clubs have developed a culture that is ingrained not only with the players but with those around them. 


Clubs such as Brisbane Lions – the coach has been with them since 2016; Port Adelaide – the coach has been with them since 2012; Western Bulldogs – the coach has been with them since 2015. GWS and Carlton’s current senior coaches took over in 2022.  While Brisbane Lions have been knocking on the door in the final series, their last Grand Final win was in 2003, with this being their third consecutive Grand Final win.  They were runners-up in 2023. Port Adelaide has had the honour of being the club with the most finals presence but has yet to have won one. Their last one was in 2004.

The Western Bulldog’s previous Grand Final win was in 2016, and they have yet to show the AFL world any resemblance of being that 2016 team since then. GWS made it to a Grand Final in 2019 only to get beaten by Richmond by 89 points.  Why is all of this relevant? The reason is not one of these clubs has gone through the turmoil and inconsistent cultural landscape that Carlton has. Yet there are those out there who firmly believe that because we are the Carlton FC, the foundations of consistency don’t really apply.


What we have been lacking is the very thing that makes clubs such as Sydney, Geelong, and Hawthorn have in droves—consistency, a positive culture, and the understanding that to get to a Grand Final and to win it takes time, patience, and a determination to exceed both on and off the field. We have not had that mindset for a long time now. Yet, it is something that we are building. Yet there are those who just do not get this.


At the game, I witnessed supporters abuse not only our players but coaches as well. How does this make the team or anyone want to perform or do better? Does this work in your home or work environment? I understand the frustration and the need to vent, but to be so aggressive both at the game and on social media achieves and does nothing positive.

The need that some have that other coaches from other clubs would be better is hypocritical at the least.  When those who, on the one hand, in the past, praised the coaches and players are now doing the opposite, again, I ask, what does this achieve? To be labelled “muppets” by some supporters who attack others for supporting our coaches and players is downright disrespectful and, again, achieves and does nothing.  To be told that Chris Scott would be a better coach than Michael Voss is hysterical, as these people just don’t seem to understand what he achieved and how long it took him to achieve anything resembling success – a Grand Final win. 


If we want to be a dominant club, then we have to learn from the clubs that are consistently dominant. They are solid in their coaching team and may tweak it; they are backing their senior coaches as they believe that consistency in their abilities will furnish the club with a solid foundation of a winning culture, both off and on the field.  To keep going down the path of giving a coach three years to turn everything around when we have had 10 years of flip-flopping coaches will never, ever garnish the success that we all crave.


If others just can’t handle that, maybe they should turn in their memberships and support a club that is currently successful, and then when they falter, go support another club. I still wear my Carlton scarf and top and have no hesitation in doing that. I support the team, the club, and its endeavours to become a consistently successful club that is rich in its culture both on and off the field. I understand that it takes time and tweaking along the way. But we have the foundations for success; we just need to understand and respect the process to get there, given where we have been. This need by some to keep changing coaches does not work, never has and never will.

#GOBLUES!

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Don’t Underestimate Us!

When the week starts after the Bye for finals, that little bubble of excitement, knowing that your team is a part of the buildup – gets bigger and bigger with each passing day as you move closer to the game.  It makes no difference how you got there; the fact that your team is there is pure excitement. (It beats sitting back and watching other teams become a part of that race to the ultimate prize).


It has been reported that Sam Docherty is going to be a part of the team that heads up to Brisbane.  Nothing shouts resilience, determination and a sheer will to be a part of that finals campaign.  Some say he should not play because he is recovering from another ACL.  Yet he has been training and running in a way where he definitely should be in the mix. Whether he starts or is the sub, he definitely should be there. The reason is simple: what he offers as motivation and leadership should not be underestimated, whether he starts or is the sub. If he becomes the sub, he brings leadership and respect both on and off the field, which will only prove to be a positive influence. His ability to actually make a difference on the field and off should not be underestimated. I agree with the decision to include him.


Some in the media have stated that Brisbane Lions will smash Carlton. Here, I disagree. If we get back, which we will, some of our previous injured players, then the game becomes one that is firmly placed in our hands.  Our match against St Kilda was one where we had several inexperienced players who have not had the luxury of developing over time in high-pressure AFL games.  Playing in the VFL is vastly different from playing in the AFL. Some did step up, but they need more time to grow and develop to continually perform under that pressure at an AFL level.  


In this regard, no one must underestimate the impact that having Docherty back on the team and these younger players will have on the game and the team as a whole.  To come out and state categorically that Brisbane will thrash Carlton is misguided and misinformed. In this season alone, we have seen those teams that should have won lose and those that should have lost win.
The Bye before the Finals begins is one where a ‘reset’ button has been pressed.  Do not underestimate how this can and does impact the games moving forward.  How having allowed injured players to recover and build up fitness should not be taken lightly. If the injury is minor enough, their ability to heal and train at full pace is something that the Bye ‘resets’ for Finals. 


We know that these players can play under pressure and in a Final. We saw it last year. The path on Saturday is ours for the taking, no matter what others may say or predict. However, win or lose, what we, as Carlton supporters, must and should emulate is the same thing that Sam Docherty does: dedication, commitment, and unwavering support for the team and what it wants to achieve.


I’m going to be there, and that little bubble of excitement is brewing with each passing hour, win or lose!

#GOBLUES!

Image courtesy of Carlton FC.

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3 Seasons into 1

I don’t know about everyone else, but I was and still am pretty emotional right now for all the good and rather frustrating reasons.  I know that there are voices around regarding how Carlton had the game in their hands and lost it in the last seconds. How it was a game; they should have won but didn’t. How for some, including Carlton supporters, that the match against Brisbane Lions will be a loss of epic kind.  Here is my view.


I have always believed that the season is not just one, but three in one.  The proof is simply in the physical evidence of season 2024. 


From the start of the season to the main Bye rounds, Rounds 12 to 15, the ladder showed that Carlton was second. Sydney had won 13 of its 14 games. Carlton—10, Essendon—9, Collingwood, Fremantle, GWS, Geelong, and Port Adelaide had all won 8. At the bottom of the ladder, Melbourne—8, Brisbane Lions, Bulldogs, Gold Coast, and Hawthorn—7.


Now, after all the team’s main bye rounds, things changed.  It was not until Round 19 that things went pear-shaped for a few teams (Carlton being one of them), and things blossomed for others. We saw Carlton drop to 4th. Brisbane Lions rose to 2nd after being 8th.  GWS rose one spot. Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn began their rise.  While Essendon dropped down.  At round 21, Carlton had dropped to 8th spot. Western Bulldogs rose to 7th, and Hawthorn hovered around. Essendon dropped down to 9th.   Sydney, who had been the outright favourite, began to lose games.  Instead of being two to three games ahead of everyone, they were now only one. Collingwood, touted as the red-hot favourite, was now 11th.


Carlton had their fair share of major players out with injury.  It meant that the rest of the season rested on those players who, for some, had either not played any senior AFL games or just a few. It meant that for the game on Sunday, the team was up against the very team that had beaten Geelong and was now determined to seal the fate of their opponents – Carlton.  They wanted to inflict disappointment of chances lost and conclude their season on a high note. They were up against a depleted and inexperienced side (for some) who did not have the luxury of time and experience to furnish themselves with how to combat the pressure that St Kilda plied the team with.  In the end, it came down to a game that we all could only watch and hope. An opposition team that we didn’t particularly like, but for a brief moment, we all were Port Adelaide supporters.


As the final siren went for the Fremantle/Port Adelaide game, Carlton said a big, hearty thanks; our chances and hopes were back in play again. Now we have a week off to regroup and hopefully get some of our injured players back, who had, before the major bye, got the team to be in a position to be in the top four.


What I am alluding to is that with each bye that a team has, it is a way of re-setting the game. It is a way to give those with injuries the chance to recover and return. It is a way to literally start again.  This season has shown that there is no way anyone can comfortably state with certainty what will happen in every match.  The way some clubs began at the beginning of the season, has not given them a sure-fired path into the finals.  We have seen losses from clubs that should not have lost. We have witnessed wins from clubs that took us all by surprise. 


Either way, in every scenario, it is not what transpired in the past but what a team must and should be looking for in the future. What they can control now will ensure that when the time comes, they will have the opportunity to erase past mistakes and, hopefully, achieve success. 


I am and always will be a firm believer in the power of positivity. I do not and never will subscribe to the notion that what was terrible in the past will be the same moving forward. It achieves and does nothing.  I believe the team will reset and regroup, and with some of its major players back into the team, it will give the opposition a sense of fear.  The season has now reset itself, and the Finals campaigns for all teams involved have begun. 


I know that Brisbane Lions will be fearful for the simple reason that Carlton will be out for redemption. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again. But win, lose, or draw, we have to and need to support the team and the club and know that they will be doing everything in their power and ability to ensure success.

#GOBLUES!

P.S. Said I would. Each week we are in the finals, another flag goes up outside my home!

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Determination! Leadership!

Before the match on Sunday, I waited nervously.  All I wanted to see from the match was that the team, whoever was playing, gave it their all, at every moment of the game. I wanted to see the young, inexperienced players that came in take on the game. To show that they have not only worked hard for their chance but why they were chosen in the first place. I wanted us to win, of course, but more than that, I wanted to see the heart back into the team. Not only did this happen, but so much more.


Before I continue, after the match, I read with laughter some of the comments posted on social media, some from non-supporters, but those that gave me a real laugh were from some who are supposedly Carlton supporters. These comments ranged from “we should not be celebrating a mediocre performance.” That “Voss cannot coach and needs to go ASAP!” That certain players who are just beginning their careers need to be “traded at the end of the season and are useless.” It seems that for some if we lose, it proves their point of how weak we are and how pathetic the coaches are. And if we win, well we are still weak and pathetic.  It seems that these so-called “supporters” are not real supporters, or they are either trolls from other clubs or just cannot see what others can.  It seems that no matter what the outcome, we are a useless club.  To those, I say, “Jog on, mate!”


The team on Sunday consisted of two debutants, as well as players who had played a few games and were brought in to fill in the gaps of our injured star players.   The average age of the team was 24.5 years old. Of that, eleven players are under the age of 25.  Thirteen players have played less than 50 games. This means that if they had played all games, they have only played for two seasons or less. Nine players have come from other clubs. While they have been in the system, their time at their previous clubs did not meet the expectations that these clubs perceived these players were capable of. But at Carlton, they are showing what they are capable of.

In this team, nine players have played over one hundred games, with only one player over two hundred – Patrick Cripps. Of those who have played over one hundred, six have come from other clubs.  Only three players have played more than 100 games, including Crippa, Weiters and Walshy, who have been at the club since they were drafted. There is a point to all of this.


In 2022, Geelong’s winning Premiership side, out of 46 players, eighteen had played over 100 games, most above 200.  Six had played between 50 and 99. Seven players had played 50 or less.   The ones who had played the most games, were prolific in garnishing the club a Premiership. Geelong is still one of the oldest playing groups and have more AFL game experience.


Collingwood’s 2023 win saw thirteen players who had played over 100 games, with four over 200.  Seven players had played between 50 and 100 games, with fifteen playing less than 50.  Five of that squad played in the Grand Final and had played less than 50 games. Those who played 100 games are either in their late twenties or early thirties.


Why is this important? If we look at the team that played on Sunday, most of our playing group has played less than 50 games at the AFL level. The average age is below 25.   This is a vital factor in why the game on Sunday was magnificent, and showing a level of positivism in the club and the team itself that anything can and is achieved with a steadfast determination and self-belief.  Sure, it was against a bottom side, but it was a side that had come off from a two-game winning streak, and we were not only playing at their home ground, but we had dropped out of the eight. Our morale was low; theirs was not. Our team was decimated by injuries, with substantial missing players. Theirs was not.  

But what was so significant in this game was the constant pressure, no matter where the ball was. What was so significant was that the game was Carlton’s to shape and mould, and the team had more to gain and, at the same time, more to lose. The team showed what it means to be a team. It showed that together with a leadership group that surpassed all expectations can and does inspire. From soccer-like goals to unexpected defenders suddenly kicking multiple goals. To players who had been faltering, suddenly showing what they are capable of and why the club believed in them in the first place. But it showed so much more. It showed that a passionate determination to push yourself and play in a way that can only lead to success is one that should never be underestimated. Yes, it was against a bottom team. Yes, the last game of the season will be very important. But this game, this win is a catalyst moment for the club: that if there is a belief and a will to do all that you can to become a winning side, no matter who is there, the result will be just that – a win. 

It allowed less experienced players to develop and grow to become better players. It allowed new players to experience the intensity level that an AFL game provides. But more than that, it gave the club a chance to show that no matter who is in the side, the game is on our terms and that a win is something that we can control. 

#GOBLUES!

All photos courtesy of the AFL

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Stronger Together! Mean it!

As I packed my gym bag for my afternoon session after work, I thought about the T-shirt I took to wear and what the words on it stood for. I pondered its meaning and significance. It seems that the words on the front may mean something to me, but I’ve realised, to some, it is just lip service. I’m talking about the “Stronger Together” T-shirt, which has also been a phrase put on other merchandise.


When it came out, after the club’s momentum last year, supporters snapped it up as they all wanted to be a part of the “stronger together” campaign.  They all felt that they, too, believed in this mantra and wanted to show the world how “stronger together” the club is.  Now, when the club is faltering, it seems that some are storing the merchandise away because now, when the club needs supporters to be “strong” and do it “together”, it doesn’t fit their narrative anymore. They are only prepared to be “stronger together” when the club rises, not when they are not.


How hypocritical is this?  Do supporters feel that now that the club’s narrative has changed, where there is an even more vital need to be “stronger together”, this mantra is only worthwhile spouting when the club is successful? What underlying meaning do the words “stronger together” have that I am just not seeing because now the club is not as successful? Am I missing a hidden phrase or word that implies that “stronger together” is only when the club is successful does this phrase have meaning and a purpose?


I wore my T-shirt and matching jumper and am not ashamed to show my support. The words “stronger together” mean that together, we can create a strong and supportive environment that enables the club to know that there are those out there who support it in its endeavours to become a strong club, one that we can do together.


If you only see this as being a mantra when the club is rising, then it shows, to me anyway, the true nature of who you really are. Because as the saying states, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” which implies that when conditions become difficult, those with a strong will and character are more determined to succeed and support those that are down, to rise them back up . Michael Jordan stated that, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”


Success does not come in a way we want or in a certain time frame. If we have embraced the phrase “stronger together” in the past, we must also embrace it now. When it is needed the most.

#GOBLUES!

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Perspective & History!

Let me say a few things. Yes, I was guttered about the result on Sunday. But, and there is a but, I understand where the team is and where it is heading. Now, you may disagree, but that is fine. But if you do, don’t state that ‘I am delusional’ or ‘blind’ or ‘have no idea’ etc. etc. etc.  Using one word or a few words to state how you disagree proves nothing to me as it does not prove anything. If you disagree, I want to know why and maybe I can be persuaded.
I have repeatedly stated where I think the club is, and I have not changed. Sure, we have been decimated with injuries, and that plays into how we are faring so far this year.  But let’s take a step back and rationalise this. 


Firstly, Michael Voss has been a Head coach since 2022. Before that, how many other coaches did we have in the past ten years? Five!  If we take this further, let’s look at those teams in the top eight in order.  Sydney – John Longmire has been Head coach since 2011, thirteen years.  Port Adelaide – Ken Hinkley has been Head coach since 2012, twelve years. GWS – Adam Kingsley has been a Head coach since 2023, and yes, he has only been in that role for just over a year, but the previous coach was Leon Cameron, who was there since 2014, eight years.


Then there is Geelong—Chris Scott has been Head Coach since 2010, nearly fourteen years. Yes, he won a Premiership in 2011, the year after he took over from Bomber Thompson, who had been coach for ten years. Yes, he took the club to a Premiership in 2022. It took him another eleven years to get the club to Premiership contention.


As we move down, Brisbane Lions—Chris Fagan has been Head coach since 2016, nearly eight years, and has taken the club to a Premiership but not won. Fremantle—Justin Longmuir has been at the helm since 2019, nearly five years. Before that, Ross Lyon, who had been there for seven years and took them to a Grand Final, did not win. 


Western Bulldogs—Luke Beveridge has been Head coach since 2015, nearly nine years. Before that, they had Brendan McCartney for two years, Paul Williams for a year, and Rodney Eade for six years. Sure, they won a Premiership in Beveridge’s second year as coach, but their season has been up and down since then.


Lastly, Hawthorn—Sam Mitchell took over from Alistar Clarkson in 2022. Clarko had been Head coach since 2005, for sixteen years, and took the club to four Premierships. He won his first three years after taking over, and it took him another five years to win three straight.


Now, let’s remind ourselves of Carlton’s journey.  Brett Ratten, from 2007 to 2012, five years. Mick Malthouse 2013 – 2015, two years. Brendon Bolton 2016 – 2019, two and half years. Then David Teague from mid 2019 to 2021, two and half years.  Since 2007, we have had five coaches. We thought we would give a coach a few years, and then if it doesn’t work, we could sack them and try again. And if that doesn’t work out, sack them and try again. And if that doesn’t work out, sack them and try again. 


We went through the salary cap breach in 2002, which set the club back ten years. So, if we take it that we had to start our rebuild in 2012, we have turned over coaches and not had consistency in the club and the team for twelve years. It makes no difference whatsoever about the talent in the club, as we have seen some of the best players at Carlton, and not one of them has won a Premiership at Carlton.


To flood social media and the media as a whole spouting their disgust and anger at the team and the club itself shows that there is, in my view, no fundamental understanding of what it will take to get a Premiership cup.  Sure, be upset, be guttered even, but to be angry and not support the club anymore is a blinkered view of an arrogance that is steeped in an era that is no more and never will be if we take the attitude that we have been taking by the turnover of coaches.  I don’t get nor understand this notion that there is an expectation that because of last season, it is a given that we have to be in the top eight. We are not the only club to have great players, and the competition has become a very, very close one. 

I just don’t understand this feeling of entitlement that some have just because we have not won a Premiership for twenty-nine years, that given that past that we have gone through, well, it is our right to win one when we have not earned it yet. This need to bag and boo players and coaches achieves nothing positive only to vent our own frustration. It does not incentivise anyone to do better. It never has and never will. 


To plaster vitriol so that it makes us feel better solves nothing. I was upset by the loss, but I was more upset about the reaction of some who had no fundamental understanding and didn’t want to understand the club’s unique situation.  We may not make it to the Finals this season, but we have the core guts of being a team that will make it. We just need to know that consistency in our coaches, our players and, yes, our fitness and stamina will get us there.  If you can’t support a team when they are down, then you don’t really have the right to support them when they turn it around and become the team we all want to see.

Now, SEN has posted a post about how Carlton has let the supporters down for a long time. That is accurate, but it doesn’t mean that we have this expectation of success when the club has not been prepared to go for the long haul. If they don’t, this will be a repeatable occurrence nobody wants to be a part of.

#GOBLUES!

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Momentum & Support!

After the game on the weekend, I took some time before I wrote something. I wanted to see what was being said, written about and discussed not only by commentators but also on social media.  There were some good points, bad points and some downright nonsensical, disruptive and very nasty comments made.  While these did not surprise me, they made me think that maybe I was seeing something completely different and that perhaps I was on my own here in terms of how I saw the club and the direction it was going.


It seems that I am taking a view that is on the whole positive in its position and not all the doom and gloom that others are seemingly taking. I do admit that this is my nature in life. To see things from a different perspective and for the most part, a half-glass full, rather than one being empty.  It seems that, for the most part, I am in the minority, albeit a very small one. Maybe I am wrong.
I just cannot understand why others don’t see what I see or try to see in the development and growth of a club that has, for the past ten years, been one of instability, inconsistency and breeding a culture of entitlement that repeats every three years when the going gets so tough that there is a need to change hoping that this time, it will work in a time-frame that is, in a sporting arena, virtually impossible. 


A few comments in previous blogs state that supporters are like this because it has been 29 years since our last Premiership.  That is not in question; what is in question is that I cannot think of another club that went down the quagmire of the salary cap issues that set this club ten years backwards.  Then we changed, and changed, and changed, and changed, and changed again our coaches because some strongly believe that it is our right as the Carlton FC to achieve what has to be achieved in a time frame that is simply not possible. 


But enough with the need to reiterate that what has gone on in the past does have a massive effect on our present and future, I will state something that I wrote before the major Bye. It has to do with momentum.


Let me say that while I was disappointed and even perplexed about Saturday’s game, the only thing that really upset me was the reaction that some seemed to have regarding the coaching team. Some even suggested that Michael Voss would be sacked at the end of 2025. For some, maybe he should be sacked now!


Before the major Bye, teams such as Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, Geelong, GWS, and the Western Bulldogs were struggling.  Even last year’s Premiers were languishing. I have often stated that it is not how you start a season but how you perform after the major Bye Round. It is the momentum you gain by not being the very best at the beginning but how you progress after every match, and that translates into how you perform after the Bye. 
In season 2023, we saw this in full action with Carlton.  Sitting fifteenth before the Bye Round to finishing in the top eight, the team’s momentum and determination showed what is being shown in the teams now sitting in the top eight. 

We are seeing a Sydney Swans team, which was touted as Premiership favourites for most of the season, falter and now only be one game ahead of four teams below them.  Who would have imagined that the game against Port Adelaide would see this team not score at all for the first half?  We saw Fremantle get beaten in the last seconds of the match by a team outside of the eight.  Yet we believe that because we are Carlton, it is a given that we will not succumb and beat a team that is not only our life-long foe but one that is gaining momentum after a poor start.


I’m not going to point fingers at the team, as plenty of others do that, and this is not the point of this blog.  There has to be some rationality in thinking and unmitigated support and positivism directed not only to the club by supporters but within the club as well. This will only happen if we understand that what we have been through is not going to be something that will change and suddenly become what we want it to become in a few years. 

We have to have the momentum to know that right now, we are on the right track. Sure there may be a few steps backwards, and it might not happen in the time frame some want, but it will happen. It is up to us as supporters to do just that – support, no matter what the score is.


If we want to build a club that is a force, it takes time and patience. It will not occur with the constant barrage of nasty negativity and the need to change when things don’t pan out the way they should in the time frame that we want. This will never achieve any kind of successful momentum. I know we have not had the success we crave for quite some time, but since 2023, our momentum has slowly grown, even if we have had a few setbacks. But hey, maybe I am alone here, but it will not stop me from keep on believing this. 

#GOBLUES!

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Dear Supporters!

After the weekend, after looking at the match results and discussing this with friends, I firmly believe and stand by what I have always thought and written about. Carlton is not in the same position as it was three years, two years, or even one year ago; it is better. Many will not agree, so be it, but hear me out.
Sydney has long been touted this season as the team to be in the Grand Final. As I have stated before, its coach began coaching the club in 2011. In that time, they have won a Premiership—once. They have been in the top eight for all except two years. Again, they have won the Premiership in thirteen years—once. Yet Carlton supporters expect the team to win it in just two years since Michael Voss took over.


Geelong’s Chris Scott has been head coach since 2011. When he took over from Mark Thompson, who resigned at the end of 2010, he was gifted a playing group that he did not shape nor mould, but he was handed a playing list that did win a Premiership in 2011. It then took him until 2022, another eleven years later, to mould and develop a Premiership team. Yet Carlton supporters expect the team to win it in just two years since Michael Voss took over.


Collingwood’s Craig McCrae took over as head coach in 2022, and though he did win a Premiership in 2023, he took over when Nathan Buckley, who had been the coach in 2021 after trying to get the team to a Premiership since 2012 when he was appointed. The club did not go through five other coaches in that period that Carlton went through. Yet Carlton supporters are expecting the team to win it in just two years after a tumultuous previous eight years.
Let’s go further. Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley began his coaching at the club in 2013. The club was featured in the top eight at that time, but he did not take the team to a Grand Final win.  So, in that period, he has gotten the team to become successful but has not garnished for the club that ultimate prize. Yet Carlton supporters expect the team to win it in just two years since Michael Voss took over.


Then there is Justin Longmuir, coach of Fremantle. He took over in 2020. In that time in 2020 the club finished twelfth. In 2021, they finished eleventh, and in 2023, they finished fourteenth.  They had consistency in their coaching team as their previous coach, Ross Lyon, had been head coach from 2012 to 2019. In that time, he had taken the club to a Grand Final only once, his record had been that he took St Kilda to two Grand Finals, loosing both. Yet some supporters expect Carlton to win the ultimate prize in just two years since Michael Voss took over, given our tumultuous past.


The point that I am trying to make is that, yes, we have the talent. Yes, we have the ability to go all the way, but we should not be so cocky to assume that because of all of this, we should be and must be Premiership favourites, given that we have not had consistency in our coaching and, therefore, game plan.


I understand that we have been waiting a long time to come close to touching that Premiership Cup, but it will never, ever be achieved if we keep changing our coaches, believing the next one will do better. History has shown it won’t work.  You have to have consistency in the coaching group, especially the head coach, to instil in the players a belief and a culture that ensures that they will get all the support they need and facilities to ensure that each player that pulls on a Carlton top, has the tools to be a champion.
Those who call up and say that other coaches will be better than Michael Voss are, quite frankly, delusional and narrow-minded.  They don’t understand what it will take to get the club back to where it wants to be if you believe the grass is greener on the other side.


Do we want to be a club that wins one year and falters the next? Do we want to be where Collingwood is sitting now? Where the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne are sitting now? Or do we want to be where Hawthorn and Richmond were?  Alistair Clarkson, the coach of Hawthorn from 2005 until 2021, won the Premiership in 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The club went from fourteenth to eleventh, fifth, and second.  Clarko was revolutionary in his mindset and began his role understanding that the club needed a sweeping change in both its playing group and its culture. His achievement in this area is one where the club rose, faltered, and then rose again for three successive years.  He understood that consistency on the field and off would be critical to achieving success.


Richmond’s Damian Hardwick was its coach from 2010 to 2023.  In that time, they won the Premiership in 2017, 2019 and 2020.  In 2010 Richmond were second bottom of the ladder. It took the club seven years to finally develop and grow enough to become Premiership winners. Hardwick was at the helm of the club for thirteen years.


In both Hawthorn and Richmond cases, the coaches understood what it would take to become a powerhouse club, yet supporters expect Carlton to become this type of club under a coach who has had to remould the club after a tumultuous time when the hiring and firing of coaches is dependant on a whim. Despite all expectations, he took the team to the finals in 2023, falling short yet seeing real growth on and off the field.


Supporters should not expect Carlton to perform differently or more so just because it is Carlton. There is a need to understand that long-term success does not just happen over a few seasons; it takes time and consistency both on and off the field. It takes maturity from its young players, and it takes more than just being a star of the game. As supporters, we need to understand this. If some out there don’t see it, that is their right. If their fickle nature means that after a few years of being a head coach of a club who does not live up to your expectations, only to get rid of them, you are free to leave. It takes courage and dedication to become a successful long-term group, and I firmly believe that we are heading in the right direction despite what others may say.

#GOBLUES!

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Disappointed? Yes! Giving Up? No!

Firstly, let me say I am disappointed and a tad upset. But I am not and never will disregard supporting the club as it makes strides in its bid to achieve the ultimate prize. After a match, I go on social media to see how others react, and it surprised me that for one Carlton group, the admins had to switch off comments due to the sheer nastiness and vitriol directed at players, coaches and the club.  Under the guise of ‘venting’, they believe they have the right to make their feelings tainted with nastiness and self-entitlement public. 

While there is no issue in vocalising an opinion or view, there is if it has the underlying theme of name calling directed at players, coaches and the club.  Regarding the ‘self-entitlement’, some believe that the club ‘owes them.’
This is a sporting club that we support. There will be many highs and just as many lows, and we have gone through many, many lows in the past. We are now starting to slowly savour the highs that come with consistency in the administration and coaching of the club and also amongst the playing group. Sure, it needs tweaking, fine tuning, solidifying, but it does not need those out there sinking to a level that does and achieves nothing except for the sole purpose of venting based on a nasty undertone. Let’s focus on the progress we’ve made and the potential for even greater success in the future.


Behind me sat a ‘supporter’ who, after the third time that they made a derogatory comment directed at our and the opposition players, I turned and gave him a rather nasty look. I noted where he was sitting; if he had made one more comment like that, I would have reported him to the club and the stadium. There is no need at all, in any way, to behave like this. We can be critical, disappointed, upset, and angry, but the names this man called players are deplorable.  Another supporter yelled at the umpires, vocalising their anger, but did not stoop to the level of name-calling. 


I have stated before that five years ago I wrote a timeline of where I thought the club would be for the next five years. So far, I have not been wrong.  The reason is that I understand and look not at the short-term success of the club, but the long-term.  I don’t expect others to see it this way, but this is what I believe based on the evidence before me.  I have no issue if others don’t agree, and that is what makes this sport or any sport exciting: we can all have different views and opinions, but it should be based on the evidence and not on emotion. I understand that we are all emotionally tied to the club and what it means for us, but that alone will not make a club successful in the long run. Let’s stay committed to our long-term vision for the club. 


Season 2024 is proving to be one of the closest we have seen for a long time. There is no guarantee which club will eventually make it to the Grand Final.  There have been losses from clubs that should not have lost and wins where clubs should not have won. Why should Carlton be any different? 


We are a club slowly building to where it eventually wants to be. If we want successful longevity in the game, we have to understand that sometimes it just does not work out. But there will be times when it all starts clicking into place, and the memories of our losses will fade into the past.  The game on Friday night showed that we are not quite there yet to achieve this long-term success. We are making strides, but we are just not there yet.


We have to also stop with this name-calling directed at players and coaches. We can be upset, angry, frustrated and disappointed, but not nasty and derogatory comments directed at the club and those who want to strive to be successful.


Always: #GOBLUES!

Image courtesy of the AFL

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It Ain’t Pretty…but hang in there!

After the game on Sunday, I had to take some time to think.  Not only about the game but what I could possibly say that could or would provide some context about the game and the eventual win.  I did not want to go down the same usual path that I had done in the past; I wanted a new perspective.


The game was frustrating to watch, and even though we won, it was only a win due to the pressure in the third quarter, which should have been the same pressure in the first half.  We played a game in the first half based on fear and immaturity of our game decisions.  We played a slow-paced one that is not really what Carlton has been demonstrating in the past.  But yet, it is to be expected that teams will have watched our game plan and tried to combat the onslaught it has been delivering for a while. 


Despite the setbacks, our team has shown remarkable resilience. We’ve had to cope with injuries to key players, but this has only served to highlight the depth of our squad.  If we’re to be serious contenders at the end of the season, we need a squad that’s not just skilled, but also determined to secure the ultimate prize: a win and a Premiership.


We have seen clubs blast ahead before the major Bye and some falter who shouldn’t have really faltered. We have seen clubs struggle and fall after the major Bye, and others who were struggling before are now surging. This was always going to be the way, and we are seeing the competition become what we all love about this game: no real contender that can be guaranteed to be in the Grand Final of season 2024. That is exciting to witness and be a part of.
For Carlton, our games after the Bye have seen us falter and struggle a bit. Yet it is these teams that can regroup and become the team they were before the Bye and forge ahead at the pointy end of the season. 

It may be one that will have losses, but it can also have wins that may be frustrating and full of pressure, but a win is a win.  It makes no difference how a team gets to the end to be in a position to play for that ultimate prize; it is that they got there.


In this modern game, being a powerhouse of a club consistently and all the time will not and does not work for the team’s benefit.  It is the steady crawl to the end. The sometimes setbacks. The sometimes injuries. The sometimes unfathomable games that involve surprise losses and wins will make the team not only better but more resilient.  These clubs will benefit in the long-term for that ultimate achievement: a Grand Final win.


I know we have been waiting for a long time to see our club get anywhere near competing for that prize, but given where we have come from, we are making strides.  Are we there yet? I think we need a bit more steps to take that leap from mediocrity to ultimate glory. But we are on the right trajectory, and pressurised wins witnessed on Sunday against a team that we maybe should have blown away will only make the team hungrier and more determined.  It is these traits that will make a team a championship one. As the image states: together we write our own history.


I want the team to hold up that Premiership Cup. But I don’t want it to be a one-off fluke. I want long-term consistency. If we strive for that, we can be a team that was once feared before all the past turmoil took hold. We can rewrite history. I may be the only one who thinks like that, but hey, I am quite happy to stand alone in this regard.

#GO BLUES!

Image courtesy of Carlton FC.

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This Will Not Be Popular…but I don’t care!


I went out on Sunday, and a stranger who saw me wearing my Carlton scarf (proudly) yelled out, ‘That was embarrassing, wasn’t it?’ I smiled, said, disagreed, and yelled, ‘Go Blues!’ It was not that I was embarrassed. I was disappointed, sure, but not embarrassed.


After the game, I looked at the comments made by ‘supporters.’ I put that word in parentheses because what was written shows me that they are not supporters in any way, shape or form.  The language used and the vitriol aimed at both coaches and players illustrate how fickle they are and why, for them, it is only in the success that they will support. The suggestion that some have made to get rid of the coach, get rid of some players, and replace some with others when you don’t know why they were not selected in the first place is ludicrous!


I understand the frustration and the disappointment, but to suggest that we are a ‘disgrace of a club’, that there are players that should be ‘booted out of the club’ together with some of the coaches, as was mentioned in some of the social media, is hilarious, to say the least, and a lack of complete understanding of where the club is situated right now from where it has been.


This club’s journey cannot and should not be compared to other clubs. Tell me one other club who has gone through five changes in coaches in ten years? Name one other club that crawled through the quagmire of the salary cap issue to try and become a success again, only to chop and change coaches when the timeline did not suit some.  Which other club has gone through this? Not one! Yet some supporters are arrogant enough to believe in the hype that we are Carlton and better than the others in terms of what can and should be achieved in a fixed amount of time; their time.


We have not had consistency, clarity nor a decent culture at the club until Michael Voss stepped in.  He stepped in September 2021 and had a full season as senior coach in 2022. In 2023, we went from being fifteenth to finishing fifth! Nobody thought we could or would, yet we did.  In 2024, we have solidified what Vossy and the team have been working on regarding consistency, connection and strength. It takes time to change and to grow when a team has had so many changes. For the team to become what the coaches believe they can become.  There will be great peaks of success and also deep chasms of failure. In each case, the team and the club learn from what this entails. It will give them more knowledge and understanding to give them the success they strive for.


Why are we so special that because it is Carlton, this growth has to be at a pace set by unrealistic expectations that do not consider where we have come from?  For any club to be consistently successful, it takes time. Yet it seems, for some, time is not something that should be relevant to Carlton’s journey so far. 


We have the talent and capabilities to be a great team, but we are still learning how to achieve that. We are traversing a road that has the capacity to end in success, but there will always be kinks in that path and pitfalls that we don’t see coming that can either make or break us. 


So, it does not bother me one bit that this view will not be popular or acceptable, and I can guarantee that some will think it is laughable. Fine. Go for it. It just shows me that instead of having a debate about views and opinions, you choose to laugh at it without any rationale. It proves that you are the type of supporter I don’t respect and never will.


We all want that ultimate success. We were all disappointed in the past two weeks. But I am not embarrassed, nor will I sink to the level of nasty vitriol directed at the club. I know I am not alone.


Always #GO BLUES!

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A Lesson to be Learnt!

The loss against GWS was and is a great lesson to learn.  It is a game that will be viewed by the club in its entirety for all the good and the bad.  Yet for some, it seems that all is doom and gloom at the club just because a team got the better of us in a season where we have been a better team than we were last season and the season before.


Heading into the pointy end of the season, rumours are rife as to who is likely to stay, who is expected to go and who is likely to be pursued by other clubs.  That all of this coupled with the loss, the club is “imploding.” In all these “likelihoods”, there is one element of truth: journalists and commentators have nothing else to write about and do so for their own relevance. But while others, to their detriment, see the negatives, I see the positives.


We are not the same team we have been in the past; we are better. But to get better, you need to have setbacks, times when things don’t work out the way you had hoped. It is in these moments that you need to take stock of where you have been and what you can do for the future to change these setbacks.  Nobody in the world can be and should be doing everything right every single time, as that does not allow reflection on how to improve. It makes people believe they are the best and there is no need to learn from mistakes.  It is these people who will never achieve any semblance of complete success because they are too arrogant to see past their own specialness. It is those who see what went wrong, learn from it and grow from it.


I am not saying we should not be upset, but we should not belittle coaches, players and others because they just did not perform in a way that we categorically expect. Every game is a journey into becoming more experienced, more knowledgeable and have a more understanding not only of our own abilities, but that of our opponents.  In order to do this successfully, we have to and must sometimes be disappointed. In this respect, this disappointment can be the catalyst of learning in a way that will make a person and a team stronger and more able to combat onslaughts and barriers to our performance.  This is what Carlton will take from the loss at GWS.
The noise from outside the club flips on the toss of a coin, and it is there to rile supporters up in a way that makes them feel validated in a world where one week, you’re a star; the next, you’ve imploded, only to become a star the next week.


Nic Newman stated in an interview that the team was “not paying too much attention to the outside noise” and that “football is too volatile to predict anything.” He stated that Michael Voss advises the players to “block out the punters and remain present.” This was reiterated in 2023 when Voss said that “touching base with the playing group every week” where the team “has a strong grasp what can and can’t be achieved,” where “needing unity and confidence to put the pieces together.”  This seems to have sunk in well and truly for the club. Newman also stated that this is showing as how well they are performing so far. He said that they are keeping “our focus narrow and look at what’s right in front of us rather than looking too far ahead.”


The club has the pieces to make it a successful club, even if the pieces sometimes get lost or damaged.  The club will pick up these pieces, examine them and make them work again in a way that will benefit each individual no matter where they sit in the game.  It will be a way to learn, grow and understand how to ensure these pieces are not lost or broken in the future.  That is what a successful club does and will do. We are not different.
It’s not just in our sport but in life in general. It’s about taking one step at a time, maintaining our focus on the next game rather than getting lost in what could be possible in the future or what happened in the past.


We, as supporters, should and must do and act the same. Sure, we can dream, but the control of that dream is out of our hands, and all we can do is concentrate on the “now, not the later. ” We must not worry about what could happen in a few months time or those that stay or go. All we can do is support and know that given where the club was a few years ago, the growth and the lessons learned will only benefit each player and the club, no matter who they are, for the future.

Happy birthday Michael Voss.

#GOBLUES!

All photos courtesy of the AFL.

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Through The Mist…

An eerie mist hung over the ground. The surroundings were blanketed by a grey curtain tinged with the coolness of the air. The lights on, blaring onto the field. Onlookers scattered or put on weatherproof shields to protect themselves.  On the stark greenness of the ground, a battle was ensuing that some could see was the epitome of being one-sided. The mist grew darker and darker, but the battle of one side would not stop the onslaught. In a battle, some take the stance of singling out certain participants for their fearlessness, determination and swiftness of foot. Their sheer talent that has been growing from the start. Their leadership, tenacity and will to ensure everyone on their side plays the game that they know they are capable of.


Many praise these leaders, these shining beacons of a side. This is not what this blog wants to do. However, in this particular battle that occurred on Sunday afternoon, I want to do just that. Point out and celebrate what I think that a club that has been faltering, understand that while the leaders and the talented drive a team, it is those on the peripheral, on the fringe, that no one really expects or sees as someone who can do more than fill in, when necessary, then go back to being on the outside, waiting to be brought back in again.


For me, on Sunday, there were two players who, over this season, have been the type of players that I love to watch, and I feel a sense of pride in knowing that others in the club saw something that we are seeing now. One never gave up on his dream, while the other felt their dream had faded into a nightmare they wanted so badly to wake up from.


This need to never stop pushing himself to become what he has always wanted to be: an AFL player. But not just an AFL but a much-needed, sought and much-required player that the team cannot do without. I’m talking about Alex Cincotta.


His story is one not laced with a direct pathway into fulfilling his goal to become an elite AFL player, but one that was the result of utter determination and a deep-seated need to do all that they could just to play at an AFL club at the elite level.


We all know that Cincotta had setbacks. A knee reconstruction. Being overlooked in the Draft Period in 2019. Spending time on Geelong’s VFL list but did not get to play a game until later 2021. He had joined Carlton’s program, but then the Pandemic hit the world and shrouded us like a grey mist on a cold, dreary day.  But this would not stop Cincotta from doing everything he could possibly do to just try and get inside the door of being an AFL player.


A carpenter by trade, he camped out at Power Fitness in Geelong and worked to get his body back into shape. He also worked with ex-coach Brendan McCartney of the Bulldogs to enhance his footy IQ. He was then invited to trial for the Carlton twos. There, he would work all day as a carpenter, and when all the senior Carlton players had left, he would hit the gym.


A sliding door moment came when Zac Williams was injured, and the club needed a player of similar ilk. They turned to Alex Cincotta who was selected in the 2023 pre-season supplemental draft. In that time, when all his hard work and determination paid off, he did not rest on his laurels and continued with each and every game to put in that same effort and show what he could be capable of. He has proved with each game that he is a vital link in a team that is reaping the rewards of what consistency, determination, connection and an unwavering need to be the best can and does achieve.


Luke Hodge said after he retired that before he got drafted, he was never seen as a player of any significance. He was an overweight cocky person who did not put in much effort. He said it was Alistair Clarkson who saw something more. Who changed a player from obscurity into one now seen as one of the top players of a club that achieved greatness. It is these players that can be the difference between failure and success. It is these players that no one sees as being anything of significance, to be just that and more.


Another player is, of course, Elijah Hollands. Given a second chance by a club that not only believed in him but supported him in a way that made a much-maligned player and person into a key player. Having gone down a path that could have seen him sink into the depths of obscurity or notoriety for all the wrong reasons, he was supported, encouraged and given a chance to become what not only he wanted to become but what others knew he could become.
It is these players that, together with the “stars” of the game, develop a culture in a club that believes in all of its participants. That supports and believes in any player who pulls on the navy blue guernsey.

Alex Cincotta and Elijah Holland’s stories are ones that shows the difference of this Carlton team from previous seasons. It is one that is driven by support from all players directed to all players. It is one where each player feels as if their contribution matters in the eventual outcome. It is this attitude that will make a winning team and a successful one. It is the attitude of the Alex Cincotta’s and the Elijah Holland’s that will make a team that has been fraught with setback after setback, a successful one.


At the end of the game, darkness enveloped the ground, and the grey mist faded into the night. The battle was over and won. It was time to celebrate and move on to the next battle. But this time, this team is doing it together in a way that we have not seen for a long, long, long time. Suffice to say…

#GO BLUES!

P.S This photo has to be one the most amazing photos taken in the game this season!

All photos, courtesy of the AFL.

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Determination. Unwavering. Connection!

After the game on Friday night, social media was ablaze on how some commentators labelled Patrick Dangerfield’s tackle on Sam Walsh as one that was a tackle, but where Walsh “milked” the head banging to the ground. My issue with that is that, pure and simple, both arms were pinged, and the player had no way to brace for the fall. Commentators say Dangerfield tried to mitigate any damage, but I can’t see how. He was subsequently given a one-week ban, and we are waiting to see if Geelong will be disputing this.


Then, on Saturday, Steven May from Melbourne was accused of the same thing. But this one was different. It was staged, and May was not flung to the ground in the same way that Walsh was. May was spun around; he had complete control of his standing until Eddie Ford spun him, not aggressively, but carefully. They both fell. May’s head was nowhere near being thumped to the ground, but he then put his head on the ground, clutching it. This was a case of genuine staging and he should receive a fine. If he was clutching his head, then protocol suggests that he should be under concussion rules. But he was not.


Dangerfield’s tackle, on the other hand, was aggressive and instant. His body pushed Walsh to the ground, both arms pinned so he could not brace the fall. There was no time between the tackle and his head on the ground.  It was not the head hitting the ground that Dangerfield got caught out on; it was the result of him grabbing both arms and pushing Walsh to the ground. It’s very different to the May one. 


That being said, the game itself was one in which, in the words of Michael Voss after the match, the team not only knew their roles and their part in the team but were connected because of this very mantra of what role each player undertook. It was not a singular person who took the game under their belt, but the whole team that was connected to play their game, their way, together.


We have not witnessed such a strong connection within the team for a long time. We saw it starting to take shape last season, and now we are reaping the fruits of that labour. We are observing a remarkable growth from some players who only last year, some supporters were suggesting should be traded out. We are witnessing the patience and unwavering determination from a coach who for some last season and even this season, believe that is not the coach for Carlton and should be sacked. (I do have screen shots of those by the way).


The reason I am highlighting this is because these supporters do not and will not comprehend what it takes to make a team play the way they did on Friday. It was not a close game as some thought, but a thrashing. Becoming a team that played the way that Carlton did on Friday night is a journey. It requires an unwavering determination to be a team that connects with each other on the field and off. It necessitates continual training and growth to become a player that produces the results that were shown on Friday night.


The players stepped over the line of mediocrity to become more than many thought they were. But it doesn’t stop there. Vossy said during the week that after every game, it is time to move on from that result and to focus on the game ahead. Sure, you can learn from your mistakes and even from your successes. Still, each week, a new team presents a different scenario and a team that is unwavering in its determination to be successful, to be connected, will be the team that comes out winning.


Carlton showed the AFL world the growth and development, the determination and the unwavering connection that has made them a threat to others. Some may not like it. Some may disagree, but at the end of the day, when the final siren goes, it is the result that counts. The ability to kick the goals. The ability to defend when necessary and the ability to not let opponents and the umpires cut the unwavering determination and connection that the club has. Exciting, isn’t it?

#GOBLUES!

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A Team Based Win!

I don’t usually write about specific players after a match. The reason is that there are enough voices in that arena, and there is no need for another one.  However, the game against Essendon on Sunday night was, for me, the only thing that I wanted to write about.  The reason is that it proves one thing: I think Carlton is this season (and I have stated before) – they are not the team they were last year; they are better!


The game against Essendon was for both sides, simply a battle. It is a long-established battle between two clubs that, for supporters, dislike each other. That for a while, friends become enemies.  There is an expectation that our “stars” of the game would become the heroes. That they would be the ones that would catapult the team to a win.  But that was not necessarily the case in this game, and that is what this piece is about.


If we look at the statistics of the game, our “stars” produced a great game, but their figures were well below their usual ones.  Sam Walsh 22 disposals, Jacob Weitering 13, Partick Cripps 19, Charlie Curnow 11, Harry McKay 8, and Adam Saad 20.  But what is more impressive is that it was a combination of players, both “stars” and the peripheral players, that played in a team-spirit way that dominated the game and sealed the win.


Without a doubt, Tom De Koning played an outstanding game even if he did not win in the centre clearances. It was his ground ball usage and subsequent clearances that made him one of the top players in the game. I have always believed that a ruckman can be great at the centre clearances, but how they play around the ground determines the actual impact. He was impactful and dynamic in getting the ball to the midfielders, which resulted in a chance to score a goal on many occasions.  Yet, for me, it was not just him but those other players who had an impact that resulted in the win.


It was those such as Elijah Hollands, Zac Williams, and Alex Cincotta who stamped their mark on the game in a way that made the team exciting to watch and see where they could go as we moved further into the season.  It is Lachie Fogarty, Mitch McGovern, George Hewett, Mattie Owies and Corey Durdin.  These players showed that you don’t need to be considered a “star” of the game; you have to be a passionate, determined and focused player willing to be a part of a team and know that you, too, can make a difference.  This was the case on Sunday night.  And for me, the vital aspect of the team that had been missing in the past.


Footy is not a singular sport. It is defined by a team mentality, commitment and support. It is one where each player on the field not only knows their role but knows that the outcome does not rest on a few shoulders but everyone’s.  For me, that is one of the most exciting aspects not only of the game but also of the growth of Carlton FC. 


If we can bring this attitude moving forward to the games after the Bye, we are in an exceptional position to win the ultimate prize.  I will state this again: we are not the team we were last year, but we are better. Far better. We are a team, not a bunch of individuals playing for themselves.  This is damn exciting to watch and be a part of!

#GOBLUES!

All photos courtesy of AFL

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Determination = Success!

The true testament of an organisation’s success, including a sporting club, is not just the talent and abilities of those representing it, such as players, coaches and administrators; it is more than that. It is how the person at the helm of such a club, in this case, determines the environment in which those who represent it perform not only on the field but off it.

It is the determination of the very culture of the organisation that will lead to success. It is how the participants react and find their place within the organisation that will see eventual success. The reason that I am stating this is because, on Thursday night, we saw a group come together in a way that illustrates what unity, a positive culture and being there for one another can actually achieve.


I watched the game again, feeling less stressed because I knew the outcome. I watched it more intently than live because it allowed me to see how Carlton took the game on after the third quarter in a way that shows what I have always believed the team to be capable of. I saw players not play for themselves but for the team. I saw players back each other up and support each other when needed. I saw camaraderie, encouragement and a sense of experience and maturity that has, in my view, been building since Round One.


I said at the beginning of the season, through the close wins and devastating losses, that with each game and every mistake, the players will gain more knowledge and understanding of the game than they realise. This knowledge and understanding will come to fruition, and given their intensity during a match, they will reap the rewards. It did on Thursday night.  


For most others, there was the belief that Carlton would lose against Port Adelaide, given the history and the fact that for them, they just could not see it any other way. Now, I know that I do not tip against the team, no matter what; I just can’t do it. But to win against PA, they would have to take their game to another level. If they are determined to do better than last season, they need not just to win against PA but to win by a lot.


The fact that the game was on a knife’s edge during the first half showed they were not ready to give up. In the second half, they played in a way that not only would they not give up, but they would fight for every ball, mark, tackle, and shot at a goal. They did this in a way that proves what I have always believed: Carlton is not the team they were last year; they are better. 


Sometimes, in sports, you must see the depths of despair before you can understand and act to ensure that it does not happen again. They did this on Thursday night. Moving forward, Carlton comes up against a very in-formed Essendon. If they take the same mentality against PA to the upcoming game, it will reap the rewards they have been fighting, playing and striving for.


I do believe in the club, the direction it is taking, and the culture that it is growing amongst the players, the coaches, and the administrators.  Now it is time for all, not just some, supporters to grasp that.  We must see that the team is better than last season. The coach at the club’s helm understands what it will take and how to achieve that ultimate success. I see it, and it came to the fore on Thursday night.

#GOBLUES!

All images courtesy of AFL.com

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This Has To Stop!

Right now, in our society, we are surrounded by hate. It is not just hatred directed at other cultures and religions; it is also hatred directed towards those in our game—the AFL. I witnessed this during the game against Gold Coast.  

Now I understand that in the game on Saturday afternoon, the umpiring was, to put it mildly, deplorable.  It was inconsistent. It was skewered one way. It was downright bordering on cheating. However, putting that aside, it showed a maturity amongst the Carlton players not to let that dissuade them from their ultimate goal – to win. I have always been a firm believer that no matter what is thrown at a team, it is how they respond to the obstacles that will serve them in the long term, the final siren being one of celebration, not of what could have been. The team showed a level of maturity that has been lacking for a while at the club, and for this, I applaud their ability to rise up and win, despite the terrible umpiring.

I will not go into specific instances, as we all know, including coaches, commentators and social media, that this game, in particular, was very poorly umpired.  What the solution is, I have an idea: make umpires full-time and not part-time employed.  Make them accountable should the need arise.

I understand, and so should others, that umpiring the game is a human position whereby adjudication is open to interpretation, sometimes correctly, sometimes not.  This is not the issue. The issue is that it is inconsistent and sometimes favours one side during a game over another. A team will have legitimate issues if it plays against two teams – the opposition and the umpires. Yet, how a team rises above that will eventually determine how a team finishes at the last siren, even though it should not get to that point.  

Now, the reason I have said that we are surrounded by hate is that I was sitting in a member’s area, and the vitriol and language used by one particular supporter who is a member was directed not only towards the umpires but also towards our players. It was abhorrent and totally uncalled for. Yet it seems that in our society right now, hate has become the buzzword and action that some believe they have the right to verbalise and shout out. 

I understand that we get frustrated towards the umpires, but that does not mean we need to sink to a level that this supporter was going down to. It does not give this supporter the right to shout out what they did to an umpire who was directly in front of us.  I got up and yelled at the umpire, but I said, ‘There are two teams on the field,’ and ‘Do your job.’ But this other member belittled, degraded and called him names that will not be written here. The interesting thing was that when a Carlton player performed in a way that was contrary to the umpire’s decision, he just sat there, scowling and did not celebrate as everyone else did.

This supporter then directed a diatribe of horrible language towards one of our players. The said player was directly in front of us and could hear every word.  I know that there have been others who call themselves ‘supporters’ who have also behaved this way, and then when they jump off in their support, they are quick to jump back on again when it suits them. I do not and will never understand the hatred directed towards a player who is playing for our club, or for any club, for that matter. I do not and will never accept this type of behaviour. Luckily, someone told the supporter to show some respect. The supporter became slightly more silent, but the damage had been done. 

The point of this article is that there is so much hatred around in our world, and it is spilling over into the game that we love so much. It’s not that the person is a passionate supporter because when we won, they just sat there, sullen and looking angry. 

The point is that sure we are passionate about the game and our club, but in the scheme of what is going on in our lives, it is just a game. Sure, we want to see success, but it cannot come by sinking to a level that is downright derogatory, insulting and disrespectful.  We cannot allow supporters to belittle, insult and say comments that are either racist or denigrate people. We cannot allow this level of hatred to infiltrate our game. It is bad enough it is in so many aspects of our society.  We have to be just like the team, rise above the walls that get put up around us during a game, and win in a way that shows that we are better than what gets thrown at us.  

#GOBLUES!

All photos courtesy of the AFL

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Disappointed – yes. Expected – yes!

About five years ago, I looked at the club, where it was heading, and what it had in terms of its talent with the players we had.  I wrote down where I thought the club would be at season’s end. So far, I have not missed.  I will not dissect players’ performances, as I have said before; that is something others do. This is a different view and perspective on the team.  

Recently, a post about AFL coaches was posted on social media.  To my mind, one of the best coaches in the past ten years has been John Longmire.  He became the coach of Sydney in 2010. He has been at the helm of the club since then, and in that period, the club won a Premiership in 2012.  The club has missed being in the top 8 twice, 2019 and 2020.  So, in 13 years, his consistent leadership has put the Swans in a position to vie for a Premiership and has only won it once. 

Carlton has had since 2010; if we are to take a comparison that aligns with Sydney, is on its fifth, yes, the fifth coach.  We have not had consistency across the board when it comes to the direction of where the club wants to go and how to get there. Yet there is an expectation that given the talent we have, and we have exceptional talent, the club, now in its fifth coach over 13 years, will achieve a way of playing that Sydney has taken 13 years to perfect.  

Sure, we have injuries, but it should not mean that this should be the excuse for losing. The depth of any playing group has to be one where no matter who is out, they can fill the spot, maybe not in the same way, but it can be filled. However, perfecting a pattern of players and their abilities and what they can bring to a team requires not only talent and fitness but consistency in training and coaching. Where each player understands what will be expected of them and, given time and maturity, will deliver on those expectations.

How can any club achieve what we all want Carlton to accomplish if there has yet to be consistency in the end goal regarding its coaching team? Just look at how many coaches we have had over 13 years.  If a coach such as Longmire wins only one Premiership in 13 years, what do you expect Carlton to achieve when Vossy has only been in charge since 2022? 

I understand that the game was disappointing, but let’s be realistic here; we are just not yet ready.  We are making exceptional strides in getting there, but it is going to take time. I know that some will say we’ve waited for so long, and the time is now. Rubbish! If we had had consistency in our coaching team, then sure, that is a legitimate statement. But we have not.  

Today, I went out for a walk with my Carlton top and hat on. I was unafraid to show that I am a loyal and true club supporter. To lambast the club based on Friday night’s performance against what I consider a real contender for the Premiership is very narrow-minded, in my mind. We must stop this expectation that the club is better than the others in terms of its growth, because we have not had consistent coaching and therefore, a consistent game-plan, for a long time. We have it now, but it will take a little more time, and we need to be a little bit more patient. We need the consistency of what a consistency and belief in our coaches can and do bring. We will get there.

#GOBLUES!

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Take the 4 points!

Four points is four points, and no matter what transpired during the match, we got the four points in the end.

Social media and commentators have gone “off their chops” about how Carlton managed to scrape through. How Stephen May protested that the ball was touched, so because he protested, it must be so. Given that the Score Review held up the game for a while, the actual score was allowed to be a goal, and that did not sit well with not only May but also commentators who have stated that because he protested so much, and he doesn’t do this often, it must be touched. That is quite laughable, really, because how many other players say they touched the ball, and then a goal was allowed? Are they any more credible than May, or is it just because it’s a Melbourne player?

Then some say a Carlton player was given a free kick because they “staged” their head hitting the ground. A tackle was done; now explain this to me: how is a player supposed to stop their head from hitting the ground given the tackle it was? He had one hand on the ball, the other has pinned. Showing a bias during commentary proves to me, at least, why I have little or no respect for said commentators who cannot leave their bias at the door. Who favours one team continually. The game had issues all over the place in terms of illogical umpire decisions. Yet these are not discussed by commentators. So, besides that, let’s take apart the game and see it for what it is. For me, the game proves that we are not the team we have been in the past. Here’s why.

In the past, we have been a club that has languished near the bottom; Melbourne has not.  In 2020, Melbourne finished 9th, we 11th. In 2021, Melbourne finished 1st, we 13th. 2022, Melbourne finished 2nd, we 9th. In 2023, Melbourne finished 4th, we 5th.  Before 2020, we were a consistent club that was on the bottom of the bottom. Yet while Melbourne did finish 17th in 2019, we finished 16th, but that was one minor hiccup. 

Simon Goodwin has been the senior coach for Melbourne since 2016, and Michael Voss has been the senior coach since the end of 2021. Vossy was appointed senior coach after what had been a tumultuous period for the club in terms of stability in its senior coach. While Melbourne has had stability in where it finishes, even winning one Premiership, besides 2019, the club has been knocking on the top eight door for a number of years, Carlton has not. It has only been in the past two years (not including 2024) that the club has been either in the top 8, or knocking at the door. Yet commentators and some supporters think that a club’s success, given the players they have, is simple and easy. That they have the knowledge to ensure that a solid lead from the start would be enough to secure a win. To do that, it takes time to learn, persistence, and a shock to come close to losing to know what to do down the track for the rest of the season. 

We have been contending for the past two years and will continue to contend, given the players we have and who we could possibly acquire in the future. But for any team to step out of the turmoil that plagued Carlton in the past, consistency in its coaching group and administrators and a sense of this consistency in how to go about securing wins will ensure eventual success. 

As mentioned earlier, this blog is not about singling out players from any match, although on Thursday night, some truly stepped up. It’s about a team that was once at the bottom, but is now steadily and diligently making strides towards that ultimate win. Thursday night’s victory against Melbourne was a testament to this progress. 

On my way home, I overheard someone saying that if Carlton supporters believe this was a win to be proud of, then we are disillusioned. I couldn’t disagree more. I am far from disillusioned about the team and our current position. We have a lot to learn and grow in season 2024, and this will only make us a stronger team after the Bye. We are in a better position now than we have been in the past. So I will gladly take the four points and smile at the win,  because I know where we have been and where we are headed. 

#GOBLUES!

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Let’s Take A Deep Breath!

First, let me say that I was disappointed with the loss on Friday night, yet I am not gutted, angry, furious, etc., as some are. The only thing I am disappointed in is the reaction some fans are spouting on social media, when the fact is that we have lost two games against top sides. But let’s step backwards for a moment.  

This blog focuses not on players, coaches, etc., but on the game as a whole. It is how I see it. If some want to have a view about players or coaches, there are plenty of other blogs, views etc., that deal with that. 

We have lost two games (I’m not including the Adelaide game), where the opponents were both Premiership teams from 2022 and 2023.  We didn’t get thrashed, we lost, and at times, it was a loss that was our doing. However, we are in Round 8, and based on what transpired last season, what matters is not how well you do now but how well you do after the Bye Round. 

Make no mistake, solidifying a team in the top 8, anywhere before the Bye Round, is enormous and can make the difference to the run towards the Finals.  Yet, with each brick wall the team comes up against, there will be a chance to knock that down slowly. And I think that this season, that is precisely what we are doing. Coming out full gung-ho from the start for a team that for the past has been languishing at the bottom does not enable that team to slowly grow, become better and stronger, where in the long-term of a season, this will enable players and teams to be stronger, more resilient and develop a stamina that will take them into the Finals.  This is what the club must focus on.

Right now, as the ladder stands, we are sitting at the bottom of the Top 8. For some, that is catastrophic. For me, this is not. Given the season’s length and where the club sits right now in terms of what it wants to achieve, our season is not looking that bad. Sure, there is room for improvement, especially in our backline, but again, growth, maturity and learning from errors will make the team stronger and better.

We are not the team we were years ago when pressurised games resulted in thrashings. Sure, we need to focus on some aspects of the game, but we are getting there, and with each and every game, win or lose, the club will make strides toward eventual success. It might not happen at a speed that we want, but it will happen.

This season’s competition is closer than it has been for a while, making for a better game. After the Bye Round, it will separate the ones that are capable and the ones that are not. Carlton has shown, as displayed in season 2023, that you should not count them out now or do so at your peril. Because in the lyrics of the song St. Elmo’s Fire, ‘But maybe sometime if you feel the pain, You’ll find you’re all alone, everything has changed, Play the game, you know you can’t quit until it’s won, Soldier on, only you can do what must be done.’ I do not think that the club is going to quit until the success that it seeks is achieved. We have hit a roadblock, a snag, a detour, call it what you may, but in the end, we will be back on the right track. This I believe!

#GOBLUES!

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AFL…be serious & consistent…

A very telling article has come out from Hamish Brayshaw, and it should and must be both applauded and actioned.  It is brutal. It is to the point, and it is absolutely spot on.

The whole issue regarding high-head contact is being fiercely debated in the media, and some say that each high-head contact should be rated according to the action. Some in the media have stated that Toby Greene’s suspension should not have happened.  Jesse Hogan’s suspension was overturned because he threw a fist against another player’s head, and it was deemed to be negligible.

We have seen the AFL come out quite categorically stating that high-head contact in any form must be seen in the long term and what damage it can and does do to a person, and therefore, the offending player must be suspended. But then again, a character reference can get certain players off but not all. The sheer hypocrisy surrounding this is mind-blowingly unfathomable.

I agree with Hamish Brayshaw, who states that the game right now on this issue stands on a precipice of confusion, and the direction the AFL now takes must be one of consistency, no matter who it is. If the AFL does not adhere to its rulings, such as high-head contact and a player has a suspension but gets overturned because of intent, or even if the player is not concussed, or even due to good character, then more and more people will back away from not only playing the game but supporting it. The damage in the long-term from high-head contact in sports is profound and startling. How many more players will in the long-term suffer the effects of concussion, and the offender gets a slap on the wrist?

To subscribe to what the game was and how this issue was handled back in the 1980s, even the 1990s, is ignorant and misguided.  Back then, there was no fundamental understanding of the long-term effects of continual high-head contact on a person and what it does to their brain. Should we just accept that players will get concussions or be hit in the head and allow these players to then suffer the consequences of brain damage in their later years? Absolutely not, and neither should anyone.

In Hamish Brayshaw’s open letter, he brilliantly stated the double standard that the AFL is facing in this issue. Past players are suffering. Greg Williams has said that he cannot remember much of his life: his wedding, the birth of his kids, or even winning the 1995 Grand Final. Danny Frawley committed suicide, and it was found that he, too, suffered the effects of concussion and CTE when an autopsy was performed.  Shane Tuck also took his life and it was also found that he too suffered from the effects of continual concussions.

How many other players must be feeling the effects of brain damage that will not show up until they are dead? For those in the media who say that some high-head contacts are negligible, they should and must, in all honesty, shut up. They are not the ones suffering; maybe they will only really understand when they eventually suffer the effects or know someone close to them suffering.

The AFL MUST stop this nonsense of unsureness about what constitutes a high-head contact. If any person hits the head, no matter how or why, that offending player must be suspended, irrespective of their character.  If a concussed player is out, the offending player must be out for that same period. If a player is not concussed but plays on, the offending player must be suspended for at least one week, no matter their character or not.

If the AFL is serious about this, they must read and take action on all the points that Hamish Brayshaw has raised. 

#GO BLUES!

https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/former-player-hamish-brayshaw-tears-broken-afl-to-shreds/news-story/1e7172c9d0930db3b3e2c1d082d6db35

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Disappointing – yes…but…

To say that the match on Saturday was disappointing is while true, I do agree with Vossy’s sentiments. However, despite the terrible umpiring (and it was awful) and despite the inaccuracy not only in the goals department but also in our turnovers, it is Round 7. 

Yes, we should have won that game, but despite the terrible decisions made by both umpires and some of the Carlton players, the team should and will take some clarity and understanding from this game.

Media have actually come out and stated that Carlton was playing against two teams yesterday: one from Geelong and one from the umpires. While this is true, a team must and should not rely on this when it comes to endeavouring to win a match. A team must put that aside and play according to their game to win anyway. The lack of clarity and consistency by the umpires did not help, but our lack of consistency and clarity by the players who panicked when they shouldn’t have and turned the ball over or fluffed the goals is, I feel, the reason that we lost. But then again, it is Round 7.

Sure, right now, Geelong is on the top of the ladder, unbeaten, but I do think that given the age of the playing group’s major players, the toll on their bodies will come into it long-term in this season. Players who are younger struggle during this season, so older players, such as those in Geelong, will suffer more. A body cannot sustain the type of pressure teams place on them continuously, and there will be other teams who do that, and for Geelong, there will be repercussions. And it all comes down to what will happen after the major Bye.  If Geelong loses some of their major senior players, it will come down to their younger, less experienced players, and we know that without the guidance of the older players, a team will not be the same. Remember, it is only Round 7.

I would much rather Carlton lose a few before the Bye and learn and grow from the losses, than games after the Bye round. After the Bye, games become more vital in the bid to not only be in the top 8 but also to vie for a top 4 position. To be in a position where Carlton sit right now, is going to be beneficial. Let a team grow and get better with every game before the Bye and then hone what was learned and developed afterwards to make a strong pursuit to the top 8 and, hopefully, the top 4.

The next few weeks and the game against Geelong was and is always going to be fraught with challenges. How the team addresses those will be paramount to how they will finish the season, but it is not a definite outcome in Round 7. 

There was much to like in the game against Geelong, but there was also much to dislike. With two losses under our belt and given the game we played against GWS, we have the capacity and ability to be better than we were against Geelong, and I feel we will come out a better side for it.

Round 7 has taught the team that they should not be rattled by the under-performance of very questionable umpiring decisions. They must and should learn that to be better, they must rise to the challenge ahead and win despite poor umpiring. We have the team to do it. They have to believe they can. I certainly think they do and will.

Losing such as this is not a “graceful” loss, as has been stated in past seasons by coaches; it was disappointing and a loss of the team’s own making. But with this loss, given the players we have, it will make them a better team and a much more hungrier and, dare I say it, angrier.  

#GO BLUES!

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15 Minutes!

On Saturday morning, I was walking along the Yarra in Kew. Two men were coming in the opposite direction, one wearing a “sports” cap. As they walked nearer, I could see that the taller one had on a Carlton cap.


I was wearing one, too. As they passed, the one wearing the cap smiled and said, ‘Go Blues.’ I replied the same thing. It was then that I realized I had said, ‘Go Blues’ to none other than…Stephen Kernahan! It was then that I felt, that today would be a good day.


From the first bounce of the ball yesterday at Marvel Stadium, I knew we would be fighting hard to beat a very in-form GWS. After last week, as I had written, this match would determine where the season’s path would lead us. For the first quarter, it was back and forth. In the second quarter, it was more back. We were down nine points. At one stage, we were down 21 points. But in the third quarter, all it took was 15 minutes of sheer fight, grit, determination and a pressure that has now become synonymous with the Carlton in season 2023 and now 2024. Because that is all it took – 15 minutes!


In 15 minutes, Carlton produced some of the most scintillating footy that they have been lacking for quite some time. It was as if, for 15 minutes, the pennies started to drop. In those 15 minutes, Carlton FC showed what a team of players who were so determined to honour the guernsey they were wearing, and they were not the team from last week. And all of this on the back of having some of our major backline out from injury. Because it shows what I have stated for a long time – DEPTH!


Having depth in a playing group is paramount to being successful. It makes no difference who the team stars are and who were on Saturday because no star player can do it alone. It takes a team and it takes depth in the playing group to allow just 15 minutes of carnage! That was what happened on Saturday. Sure, there were players on the ground who really stood up, but they could not have done it alone. There were stellar performances by key players, but key players need those in the background in order for them to show what they are capable of. Crippa and Walsh both stated after the game in an interview, that sure they played well, but it takes a team to win and that was what happened on Saturday, and it took just 15 minutes.


Last week’s setback was one that I think the team needed (as I have said before); how they responded to this weekend’s match will set them up for the rest of the season. This win has been not one step but quite a few steps forward. It showed what they can be capable of even if some major players are out, and all it took was 15 minutes.


Having this depth in the playing group, allowing major players to show what they are capable of, and the team’s “not giving up” attitude will ensure their achievable success in season 2024. It took depth and 15 minutes. Great win, Carlton. Great win! Knew it was going to be a good day!

#GOBLUES!

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Own the loss…grow from it!

Five minutes into the match, I realized that we would struggle to win. It was not that we weren’t capable; it was just that, for some inexplicable reason, I felt we would not win this time. Yes, it was disappointing. Yes, it was gut-wrenching. But no, I am in no way worried or concerned. I have said before that five years ago, I wrote down where I thought the club would be in the next six years. So far, I have not been wrong.


I understand where the club sits right now and what it must do to be the success it wants to be. But let’s be realistic here. We lost in Round 5. Not Round 15. Not Round 20, but Round 5. Yes, we lost to a team that had yet to win a match. But again, it is Round 5.


In the modern game, it is never about what happens before the major Bye Round but what happens after that. Carlton showed it in 2023, and they will show it again in 2024. But what is more important is what happens next.
For the next round, we will be playing against a team that is not just pushing but bombarding the competition in a way that has yet to really make them successful since they were formed.


For the first time in their history, I really believe GWS could go to the very end. They now have a culture and a team that could do just that. They are also a few years ahead of Carlton in terms of this.


The game on Saturday was like a slap in the face. A kick in the guts. It sent the team back just one step, and for me, it was a step that needed to be taken. I am a firm believer in owning up to your mistakes because only in this can you ever grow and become a better person and player. A few seasons ago, the team would have retreated into their shells and fallen into a spiral hole. Now, the team will do the opposite, and I really think that GWS should be worried.


Adelaide came out firing. They had more to prove not only to themselves but to their supporters. Carlton was on the back foot for the entire game.
But it is now time to regroup, reconcile with what happened, and take a step forward, which I do think they will. It is now the time for the club to understand that they are not the team from a few seasons ago; they are better. They will need to learn and understand the mistakes made on Saturday, own them, and work on them. I do think that this is what will happen.


I care not what commentators or others in the media and social media say; I only care how Carlton responds to the game on Saturday. Given the way Vossy and his team have handled the team so far, this loss will only make them a better side.


I am under no illusion as to where the club sits right now or where it will finish. I do believe that the seeds were sown in 2023, and in 2024, we will see the fruits of that labour. It is only Round 5, and what the team will learn and gain from this loss will only make them a better side. I do think GWS will be worried because they know what the club is capable of and what will fuel them in the game next Saturday.


ALWAYS WILL BE – #GO BLUES!

P.S Welcome back Mr Sam Walsh…first game, massive stats!

Unity!

With the AFL season over and a very deserved winner of the Premiership 2025, it is now time to focus on what the clubs will be doing during what will be a frantic and frenetic trade period.


I have written many times, not only this year but in previous years, that a successful club has not only a winning formula on the field but one off the field.  This incorporates a level of culture, respect and integrity from everyone at the club, including supporters.  It also shows that no matter how many ‘stars’ you have at your club, it makes no difference if you do not have a mentality at the club that is a team-oriented one, rather than an individual one.


In season 2025, we have seen how this plays out, especially in teams that not many (not me) believed could or would win the ultimate prize – a Premiership. If you watch the game objectively without any preconceived viewpoints or notions after the Bye period, you would see that Brisbane encompassed what it would take to once again win the final game of the season.  You would see how the team is led and guided by a coach and coaching team, who understand the immense capacity of unity and what it can bring to a group of individuals, not only within the playing group but also among other coaches in the club. 


This aspect has been missing from many teams, including Carlton.  But right now, given the stance that the Carlton Board has now reiterated, that they are not going down the same path again as they have in previous years with previous coaches.  When the Board and the CEO stated that they are not going to sack yet another coach despite the disappointing finish to the 2025 season, was, in my view, a line in the sand for the club. It was one that shows in a positive way, a direction and a change in the club’s history of knee-jerk reactions, to understand what it will take to get the club to the next level in terms of success.


So far, Carlton has seen two players sign with another club, not for any other reason (in my view), other than financial gain. To go to a club that has yet to prove a change in its culture off the field and to see the utter disparity between a few players compared to the majority is a display of why, in my view, St Kilda will not be closer to winning the ultimate prize for a long time.  Sure, they may sit near the top of the bottom eight, but they will not win a Premiership anytime soon. In fact, North Melbourne and Gold Coast Suns are closer than St Kilda and even GWS. 


The talk right now in the trade period for Carlton is that Charlie Curnow has stated that he wants out of Carlton.  To be engraved in the history of the AFL, holding up that Premiership cup, takes a team. A team of players who play for each other and know that not one player is more important than another.  If a player with another four years left on a contract wants out of a club, then that player must realize that it is not a simple case of just walking away. For Curnow to leave, it will have to involve a deal that encompasses not only high draft picks but also players. Yes players! Or a single player from a club that the club does not want to trade because of their caliber. Could it get done? Sure. Will it? Probably not, and that is something that Curnow has to come to terms with and realize that he could be part of a club that has changed their mindset in terms of what it will take to become successful.  Or he could go to a club that is either a long way off from being successful or one that is far too arrogant to hold up that ultimate reward anytime soon. 


Carlton has been a club that, for the past ten years or so, has lacked a clear direction on what it needs to do to become successful. It has had far too many knee-jerk reactions. Far too many egos and toxicities that include not only on the field, but also off the field. It is now time to draw a line in the sand and say to everyone, from players, to coaches, to administrators, to the support team, to supporters – all supporters, to step over the line and become a team where everyone strives to get the club back on top.


We must stop the disrespect from supporters towards players, coaches, administrators, and other supporters. We must stop the continual need for knee-jerk reactions when outcomes are not fulfilled within a timeline that others believe should be met. We have to stop realizing that even after 30 years since our last Premiership, we deserve another one without putting in the hard work from players, coaches, administrators and supporters.


The Brisbane Lions have shown what unity can do to a team. It is now time for this unity to be a part of Carlton’s DNA. 

#GOBLUES!