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.
SPORTZ 