Reading the articles and comments after watching the match against Melbourne on Wednesday night is full of hilarity. Both the media and some “supporters” have doubled down, stating how bad Carlton was and how this will be a signature for the upcoming season.
I’m not sure what part of “practice match” means that all is doom and gloom for the 2024 season? I wrote a note to myself five years ago, where I thought Carlton would be by the end of each season for the next six years, and so far, what I have written (which I will not share) has come to fruition.
To be honest, this notion that a “practice match” will define a club’s season is ridiculous and very naive. What will define any team’s season is not reflected by what occurs at the start of a season, including practice matches, but what that team does throughout a season, especially after the mid-season bye.
To suggest that a practice match has significance to a season is hilarious! To take note of what the media states is hilarious. The whole purpose of the media is to get themselves at the forefront of media in all its forms. They want the “click-bait effect”. That is it. They want you, the supporter, to validate their postering. Because, at the end of the day, the media espouse statements that they know can sometimes be ridiculous, but they get a reaction, which is what they are after.
Anyone with any semblance of what it will take to get a team to be successful knows that the steady growth of the group will enable a team to be successful. It is their depth in the playing group. It is allowing the pre-season to be one of experimentation and giving young players a chance to play in their new teams. It is giving players an opportunity to begin their season from those that are returning after injury, to new experienced players in new teams, to those already at the clubs. That is it. It has no determination at all on what the season will shape up to be.
So before the season really starts, and before you get your “knickers in a twist”, the season starts and finishes, and in between then, there are many games, many scenarios, and there will be disappointments and euphoria. Ultimately, it is never how you start but how you finish. And Carlton proved this last year. Let us be a bit more patient in this very impatient world that we now live in. We are, as a club, in a great position.
Looking forward to Season 2024 and GO BLUES!
SPORTZ 