SPORTZ

We are all still quite raw in terms of our emotional reaction after the result of the Carlton game on the weekend.  I know that on Monday, I could not and as a side note, I still cannot, watch or even listen to the commentary about the game. (David King’s comments about the game is laughable, by the way. Because I don’t subscribe to take much notice from commentators who literally only post for one reason – to promote themselves and make themselves relevant).

It still cuts a little too deep.  It is not because we lost, as we played a game where most thought, we had no chance against what is the top team, and we were given very little or no chance in even coming close, in terms of the final score.  We not only came close, but the game was lost in the very final moments of the game. 

I was heartbroken because for a team that no-one gave much hope for this year is proving to be anything but ‘no hope’. I was heartbroken because this year, the players have swept away the darken cobwebs left over from previous years, and shown the footy world, that the Carlton FC is coming out of the doldrums, and forging ahead a new era of the Navy Blue!

In previous years, we would not have played the way we played over the weekend. We would have dropped our heads and mindset and not be competitive at all. This year we are seeing a stark difference in not only our game plan, but in our mindset of what is achievable, even when the scoreboard is not where we want it to be. 

In the past we would have been thrashed, and most thought we would be. They were all wrong. We fought in every quarter and what let us down was, well, inexperience. When at the final siren Robbie Gray did what Robbie Gray does, and kicked the goal that sealed Port Adelaide’s win, I was devastated, but so darn proud of the team. 

All week I said all I wanted to see was a concerted effort to take the game on. To not be complacent, to fight from the first bounce to the last, and while for a time in the first quarter, it seems that we were not focused, our first goal, was just the lift we needed and the pressure was on, for both sides.

You could have been mistaken that this game was two of the top teams playing against each other, that was how incredible this game was and how this Carlton team showed what they are going to be capable of.  

We are not the team that is floundering this year, we are a team that is steadily growing, developing and become a team that everyone will second guess what outcomes will present itself on game day. We must not dwell on the ‘what-if’s’ of the game over the weekend, we have to look at the ‘what-can-be’. Because what can be is bloody well exciting.

The more games we are playing the better we are becoming. The more game experience our younger players are getting with each and every match, the better we are becoming.  We will learn from the inexperienced mistakes made in this game, and become a better, stronger and more focused team when the same scenario presents itself in future games. 

I am damn proud of the team after that game. I am still feeling a little heartbroken, but that is only because I want the footy world to know what the future holds for this team and what achievements they will succeed in bringing. Even though our lack of experience in knowing what to do when a game gets this way, was devastating, how can we not be excited about the future?

It is time to push aside the game on the weekend, and concentrate on the next match/es. If we happen to meet up again with Port Adelaide because we have made it to the top 8 at the end of this rather difficult season, then the same mistakes will not happen again. 

At the end of the day, what you take from setbacks will only make you understand what needs to be done to ensure that these same setbacks don’t happen again. The little bubble of what is possible this season, is becoming a rather big one and its going to explode and when it does…watch out! WE ARE THE NAVY BLUES!

I am damn proud to be a Carlton supporter!

#GOBLUES!

The AFL has come out and stated the Grand Final may not be in Melbourne. It has been suggested to actually hold it in the states that have so far, supported the game by allowing teams to be ensconced in their states in the form of “hubs”. In that respect, the states have been incredible.

The saddest thing so far, has been that we, as Carlton supporters have not been able to celebrate with the players their wins, especially the one last weekend; and support them when they lose. As we are now sitting in the top eight, supporters are getting just a tad excited about the rest of the season and where we could finish up, in a Grand Final. For me, I’m not so sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to see Carlton in a Grand Final, just not this year. Here’s why.

I really believe that the team needs to experience the game’s pressures just a bit more. They need to foster the development of their younger players to give the team depth.  No team can win the ultimate prize of the Premiership trophy if they do not have depth in their playing group. To be able to slot in a player if one player goes down, is imperative if a club is striving for success. No club must rely solely on those that are deemed the “stars” of the team.

For example, when Kreuzer went down, everyone held their breaths. We knew that Tom De Koning was just not ready yet and we needed another big man to take control of the ruck.  We picked up Marc Pittonet, who is growing as a dynamic ruckman, gaining experience and footy smarts, with every game he is playing. He is a revelation in the ruck and has shown his abilities not only in that position, but around the ground.  With De Koning, every training that he is involved in, given his age and his physique, he will only gain more strength and more ability as the days go by.  What we have now is depth in our ruck.

To become a team of power, we need depth. We are slowly developing our playing group and the addition of news players, rookies, we are gaining more and more depth.

The fact that for the game against the Bulldogs, it was not our stars that led the way, but those that were not considered to be “stars” and who are now proving what patience and diligence can bring. There is: Depth.

If you look at our older players and more specifically, Kade Simpson and Levi Casboult.  To suggest that Simmo will retire at the end of this season, is laughable. When you saw him flying through the air to save a goal kicked by the Bulldogs, you just had a sense that he is not going anywhere just yet. Then you have a player, who personally, I have always believed in, yet covered my eyes when he went to kick for a goal; re-emerge as a player that is pushing for All Australian selection – Levi Casboult.

Casboult has always had one of the best grabs in the AFL.  His ability to mark the ball, anywhere around the ground is exceptional. His kicking has become honed, skilled and his knowledge of what to do and where to be, has placed him in the forefront for Carlton. I for one, am rapt that he is proving how good of a player he really is.

When you look at the team we have now, and those that are still to be played, we are growing our depth, but we still need to allow those players who have yet to play senior AFL, time to experience and grow in the game to give Carlton time to become great again. 

This is one reason why I do not want to be in the Grand Final this year. It will not allow the team to become a great team. I do not want, as I have said before, to be the Bulldogs of the AFL, I want to be the Hawthorns, the Richmonds – the team that wins not just once, but multiple times.  To do this we need time. Time to develop, grow and mature not only in the player’s development, but game experience and knowledge.

The second reason why I do not want to be in a Grand Final, is purely selfish. I will be gutted, distraught, devastated that if we make it to the Grand Final this year, I may not be able to attend.

If the GF was to be played outside of Victoria and we could not go, I will be heartbroken. We have waited so long for our club to be successful and there are those who have traveled around the country to attend the games, support the players and for us not to be a part of what we have all wished for, will be devastating. I want to be a part of the lead-up, the excitement of getting ready to attend a much-long waited GF!

I want to see Carlton on top. I want to see them win a Grand Final, just not this year, unless we can be there to celebrate.

But more importantly I want Carlton to become the club that everyone fears before each match, not just for one year, but for many years. To do that, we need to make sure that the team as a collective, gain more match-day experience together and become more and more hungrier to win, then we will see every game as we saw against the Bulldogs. Four quarters of sheer and utter brilliance and joy.

That is what I want!

GO BLUES!

In the past close games would have been a simple case of lost opportunities, but not this year and not this team!

For the second week in a row, Carlton won against all odds that stated we wouldn’t come close, but not this team, not this year.

After a second week in a row, the need for a defibrillator was again on the agenda, but I don’t mind that at all, because it shows how far this team has come in 2020 and how we are now developing into a team where the possibilities are becoming endless.

David Teague in his press conference said that he wasn’t too concerned about the goal/point ratio, only that their pressure around the ground was relentless, and it was.  He mentioned the incredible feats of an emerging star of the game – David Cunningham. Cunners was sensational around the ground and even though his last shot was a tad off the mark, there can be no doubt about his prowess on the ground.

The mention of Levi Casboult, a player I have always, ALWAYS believed in showed how much of an incredible player he is. I have believed his ability to grab the ball anywhere around the ground and in the air would be pivotal for Carlton, and it is.

Teague also said that it was important to show Patrick Cripps, who will be a legend of the game, that the fate of the team should not rest on his shoulders alone. That was proven last year against Fremantle and he is starting to believe it. A young man in years, but with an experienced mindset, Crippa is a true leader of the game. The way he now goes about his game and leadership on the field, proves what Teague has been trying to get him to believe, and this game showed it. A leader in all aspects and the team is there with him. It is not for him alone to take the team to a win; it is THE TEAM!

No-one stopped, and we were a man down! Watching how the team rallied and fought for every single ball gives the tingles down the back and having beaten Geelong on their territory and now beating Essendon, is showing the footy world that Carlton are not going away silently. No more so than this: Liam Jones, the unlikely hero after “touching” the ball with his head that made a certain goal, a point. 

https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/afl/afl/liam-jones-falcon-saves-blues!777780

That after a long time of wallowing in the doldrums, Carlton are making inroads and are back!

For this year, this team, even during these unusual times, we are not allowing a disruption to disrupt our goal – to be successful. It is this year, this team that begins this goal.

How awesome is this!

#ALLOFUS!        

P.S. With Collingwood losing, Richmond losing, Essendon now losing…but Carlton wining…how amazing is this!

Eddie Betts’s interview on AFL 360 on Tuesday night was profound, emotional and downright…correct. His powerful statement has resonated around Australia and for the most part, people have not only have supported him, but have more of an understanding of the insidious nature of discrimination.

I listened to the morning show on SEN where the question was asked regarding Sam Newman, whether the host would continue to be his friend and even get him on the radio. He said he will still be friends with him and get him on the radio as the world needs to hear opposing opinions, even if the host does not agree with him. While generally I agree, in this instance I do not and I don’t think many do.

I totally agree that we need to hear all sides of a situation, but hear to Sam Newman’s diatribe of George Floyd’s life and how that the AFL players taking the knee have no real clue about the issues is really something I don’t want to hear on the radio or anywhere else, because Sam Newman just doesn’t get it, and please don’t say I don’t either, because that is where you are wrong. I get it. I have been victimized many times because of the religion I was born into.

The little innuendos, the subtle “jokes”, the comments followed by a laugh, are just like Eddie has said, “it hurts myself, and it hurts my family.” I am not religious in the slightest and this is not the platform to discuss religion, but this is about how society makes a culture feel because it is not theirs. They are seen as different and therefore strange.

I have seen several times a “troll” hiding behind the anonymity of their keyboard and disparage and make claims of their superiority over anyone else, and they think that what they are saying could be seen as funny, acceptable, and intelligent. It is none of these things, it is actually the opposite and shows the true nature of a person.

One person on social media has made the statement that Eddie Betts should just accept the fact that he will be racially abused, as it is part of life and to do anything else will only makes things worse! I was actually speechless because how naive is this statement. Is this what should have happened when women were being abused! When people who are a part of the LGBTIQA+ community were being abused? When people of different colour and religion were being abused? Should we just ignore it in the hope that it will go away. It doesn’t and it never will.

Until someone calls it out for what it is, racism, discrimination of any kind WILL NOT GO AWAY! It will keep on happening and become the norm for it will be accepted because no-one has come out and stated ENOUGH!  Well enough is enough. Eddie Betts and other Indigenous people no matter if they are sportspeople or not, should be respected for who they are, not what they are, and this goes for all forms of discrimination.

We have to shut down those who continue to disparage anyone who sees only what they want to see and the not the person. We have stand with Eddie Betts no matter if you are a Carlton supporter or not, and say ENOUGH!

We should be celebrating our magnificent Indigenous people and their culture. It can start at the sports arena and it can start with a man such as Eddie Betts saying…ENOUGH!

#ALLOFUS!

After a win in this rather unusual season, especially considering who we beat, it makes you think about not only this season but the future.  Then along comes a statement from a coach that really gets to the nitty gritty of what a find this coach is and will be, and I have to say, it gives me chills…really great, spine-tingling chills.

David Teague stated after the Geelong match that, ‘What I really hope is that they start to believe. Belief is a powerful thing. I believe in this playing group.’ I mean how inspiring is that message – that you as a coach, as a leader of the club, believes in the playing group and what they can achieve.

The statement that belief is a powerful tool is exactly that – an exceptionally powerful tool. To know that what a person can achieve is part ability and part belief and he gets that.

You can be the most amazing player in the league, but it you don’t believe it, you will not achieve the goals you want. We saw this during the game at Geelong and this was clarified by their coach, Chris Scott who has said something is not right down at Geelong.

When I first read Teague’s statement, I really did get a bit emotional, because he states succinctly what I firmly and have always believed in: that if you have the will, the drive, results will happen. If you believe in your abilities, then results will happen. If you never give up, no matter what is put in front of you, results will happen.

I have always believed in the Carlton FC, no matter what they have been through. There have been times when I have wondered about the direction they were going in, but I have never stopped believing in what this club can achieve if only the players believed it themselves.

For a coach who has now solidified the club in a way that I have not seen for a while to come out and say this, is one that we, as Carlton supporters should get emotional about. At a luncheon last year to celebrate a Premiership Team, when the then interim coach was asked to say something, not one person remained seated. The thunderous applause and cheers and cries for ‘Teague’ reverberated around the function room. It was emotional, inspirational and one filled with pride. We believed!

David Teague’s words that are now circulating on social media have more power than anyone can really fathom, because not only does he believe in this playing group, but he is making us believe in this playing group. I’m not saying that it is perfect, but perfection does not garnish results that we want to see.  

Being great does not mean getting the best of the best if these bests don’t believe, as their best just falls by the wayside of missed opportunities. Being the best, means believing in who you are, what you are and knowing that those around you believe in you as well.

I hope that the players will start to believe as belief is a very powerful tool and I believe in this playing group as who knows where it can take us. But it will take us further than we could ever anticipate right now. Belief is a powerful thing!

#ALLOFUS

The footy started this past week and while we, the fans could not be there for the games, it was great to see it back. But what has tarnished this great game of ours and the re-start of the season was the racist attack on one of footy’s greats – Mr Eddie Betts.

I could not, like others, believe that someone could post something so vile and really ignorant, given the current climate that is sweeping the world. The person who posted this said that his account was hacked. Is that now going to be the catch-phrase of our world, that an account was hacked! I have tried to work out what type of people keep posting these things and while I have my own theory, the bigger issue is that we as a nation must stand up for our Indigenous people and what they have had to endure since we ‘graced’ their shores all those years ago.

Then I thought about it more and we, the ‘white’ people of this country have so much more to do in order to make our Indigenous people a vital part of our society in all aspects and to rid ourselves of people who belittle, taunt and are generally racists bullies hiding behind their screens and the catch cry – I was hacked.

We have to make the Indigenous culture a vital component of our education system. We have to stop stereo-typing Indigenous people into an area that is more negative than positive. We have to start celebrating a culture that gave us this great game of ours. We have to start becoming our own great country by celebrating and acknowledging the incredible culture that the Indigenous people have and live by.  We have to treat them with dignity and respect as we would with any other culture or religion, or creed or sexuality. 

The easy way in which some people believe that it is their right to post something that portrays a person in a way that has been over the weekend, shows more about their level of intelligence, education and respect. Does it mean we should just ignore them and hope they go away, ABSOLUTELY NOT! But what we have to do is wipe the slate clean and start again, yet always ensuring that the atrocities of their past are not swept under the carpet of well what was done, was done and nothing can be changed.

We must honor those that were at the mercy of a brutal regime that saw our Indigenous people as nothing more than what this person tweeted over the weekend and we must stop this once and for all. We must honor the Indigenous history that has shaped not only our country, but our sport. 

Being silent won’t help. Being aggressive won’t help. Being a part of a movement that places our Indigenous people to the forefront of what makes our country great, will help.  Teaching our children about the Indigenous culture from Prep right to Year 12 should be mandatory.

We have an amazing opportunity to show Eddie Betts and others not only in the footy world, but in our society as a whole, that we want to change. That we want to become a society that respects, admires and knows all that we can about the Indigenous culture, where our great game came from.

I stand in total unity with you Eddie Betts and every Indigenous person. I respect and admire who you are, your history, and your culture. While we cannot change the past, we sure as hell can make sure that the present and the future is one of respect, admiration and pride for our Indigenous people. It will, as Carlton’s slogan states, is going to take ALL OF US!

#ALLOFUS!

https://www.afl.com.au/news/449709/-being-silent-hasn-t-worked-thoughts-with-betts-after-disgusting-racist-post?fbclid=IwAR1pervDw45HBNiN9f5rSuAwW_VqPkVj3Cdk6L7cGcUO6NL4tfOCGZgZ7K0

The Covid19 has thrown not only a spanner in the works of the AFL season – both men and women, it has thrown a rather large, dynamite filled drum the size of Thor’s hammer, in the works.  With the AFL playing the first round with no supporters, it made for a rather soulless atmosphere of a game that, let’s be honest here, is nothing without its supporters.  It showed how the game can be played with the players celebrating a goal, taking a tackle, a mark, whatever, but it means not much really to the actual game because, without supporters, it is nothing more than a few people getting together to play a sport.

There is a TV show on paid TV called The English Game. It is about the rise of football in the UK and how it became not just a game for the “toffs” that played it, but for the people who supported it. It became a game that gave the local townspeople pride in their team and respectively, their town. It enabled lower class towns to challenge and beat the “toffs”. The pride the people felt and still do for their team was far more reaching than the actual game itself.  In the series, a team was spurred on by the support the town gave to the team and that team eventually won a Premier League cup.  Our game, Footy, is no different.

Sure, you can have players run around the ground playing the game, but it means nothing if supporters aren’t there, spurring their team on, through the challenges faced during a game. I understand that we all want the game to start up again, but at what cost?  The “hub” factor that is being touted around makes no real sense to me as a footy-loving supporter.  It will be like in the TV series, just a bunch of people running around, playing a game for no-one. This is, however, in fact, a momentous opportunity for the AFL. Here’s why.

Nevermore so than this time right now, there is an opportunity for the AFL to understand, appreciate, and respect the most important aspect of the game, besides the players – the fans. It is those people who pay memberships, go to the matches no matter where and no matter what the weather is or the cost, and who turn up, shout out, cheer and push their team to succeed.  It is not the corporates, those who sit in the boxes who are the backbone of the game – it is the supporters. Without the supporters, the members, clubs are nothing more than a bunch of toffs playing a game exclusively for themselves.

Right now, the AFL has not a golden, but a diamond opportunity to shift the game back to where it belongs – the supporters. It has an incredible chance to make them the focus for the future, for without them, the game, the clubs are nothing. The AFL must, I repeat MUST put the supporters and members in the forefront of any plans moving forward. It must speak to them, listen to them, and do all that they can to make them the most important factor of the game if the game is to be successful again.

The game will never go back to where it was, it can’t, for now, because of the huge impact this pandemic has had on the game. But let’s ask ourselves, do we want to go back to before Covid19 or do we want to move forward and make the game one that is what it should always be – for the people.

The AFL has a great opportunity here that it should not squander.

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

Without a doubt, this Covid-19 virus has sent the world into shock, disbelief and we are all now facing a future that is not only uncertain but dramatically changed…forever.  The way the powers-that-be handle this situation will be a testament to how we, as a nation, will recover and re-grow from this.

When the first round of the AFL season took place, it was one that received very mixed reactions, from “glad that footy is back” to “should not have started in the first place.” We saw great games of the AFLW season which, unfortunately for this season could not be completed and there were no Premiers for 2020 declared. We saw that around the world, people have been logging on and watching any sport, which has found them watching our game – AFL, and they have loved our game. It is weird, confusing and a bit scary that season 2020, when so many supporters of all clubs, especially those that could see a rise in their club, was now at an end. 

This sport is really a code that is so steeped in traditions, history and that family attitude that bind the love we have for the game, the club we love so much and the players in it – including the coaches, administrators and everyone involved in a club – with each other.  This is displayed in the very essence from the ones who week in and week out, give up their time to support their club in any way possible. I’m talking about the Cheer Squads. As one who is involved and a proud member of the Carlton Cheer Squad, I am struggling to think that the camaraderie and that family feeling that our Squad has built up, means that for season 2020, we won’t be together for a while, and this goes for every  Carlton group, and interstate groups.

For us, the Carlton Cheer Squad, it is more than a love of a team, of a club, it is a love for each other. We have become a family.  We fight, celebrate, argue, care and love each other like a family. We support each other when the chips are down and are there when there is a time for celebration.  I haven’t seen my “family” for a while and through the good and the bad, I bloody miss them. I miss the anticipation we all feel the day before a game. The messages sent to confirm times to meet at the ground. The discussions on who is going to do what on the day. The organization we share in getting the banner on the ground, laying out the floggers, the flags and giving at times, people who feel so honored to step on to the playing field and be a part of the rising of the club’s banner. I miss all that.

I miss the chants, the banter between the opposition, the times when we would either get soaking wet, or sunburned, but we would still celebrate and commiserate – together.

I’m not sure when we will be allowed to start again and reignite all this. I’m not sure if 2020 will be a year that we can or maybe we won’t be able to.  Maybe the whole world, including footy will be re-set and start again in 2021. No matter what, all I know is that I, together with all Cheer Squads, across the board and clubs, are feeling quite despondent right now, for we have been waiting for this all summer.

Everything we ever knew about footy will change from season 2021. Everything. It won’t be the same as it was before, it can’t.  We can’t just pick up where we left off. Players, coaches, and staff will have to pick up the pieces of their careers and literally start again. We will see some not come back; some come back with a vengeance and maybe some will come back and be the player no-one saw coming. But what I do know is that the family that is the Carlton Cheer Squad will be there no matter where and under what circumstances or conditions. Because we will be there in the good, the bad and the bloody ugly, and this, right now is ugly, and we are a family and that is what families do. Well, we do!

I am Bound By Blue!

While one season started, sweltering under the summer sun,

The joys that this brought can never be undone.

Seeing the girls in all their mastery, and majestic ways,

Made us all the more excited for the middle of March, and the start of AFL days.

It begins on the Sunday before, filled with excitement and anticipation.

I would go to sleep knowing that tomorrow I would be swinging into action.

Monday I would bring out my bag, making sure that all was in place.

My memberships ready to go, my beanie, scarf, and raincoat, just in case.

The media would be filled with what will be ahead, the start of this great six months.

Social media ablaze, the pros, cons, the speculations, bombard us on all fronts.

On Tuesday I would head to work, greet those who like me are eager and in the know

Of the importance of what is to come today, tomorrow.

On Wednesday the nerves would rise just thinking about the next 24 hours,

And how the start of this time, is not just mine, but ours.

Thursday would arrive and my concentration would be waning fast.

The time had arrived, the summer-long gone and well in the past.

That afternoon I would be heading to the ground early, for Cheer Squad duties follow,

And I would join in with placing flags, organizing the banner and be anything but mellow.

The Siren would blast, the cheer would roar and my emotions would be spilling over.

The long wait for this time to arrive, the love we have for our club, would all bring us a little bit closer.

But 2020 was not to be, and it is out of our control.

For a virus has shut the door to all of this and we are hurting, as an industry, as a whole.

For we cannot join in the melee that is the start of the AFL season, a sport that I love and adore.

I can’t be part of a world that is so uniquely ours and one that shapes our every contour.

But I may not be there to scream and cheer, and high-five supporters and players alike.

But I will be damned if I will let this interruption encroach on my excitement with this bloody virus strike.

So, join me when your team plays, wear your guernsey’s with pride and passion,

And let the players know that this will not deter us at all, in any way or fashion.

No matter where you watch, yell at the screen, curse the umps, scream out ‘ball’ and jump for joy when six points are scored.

Let the players know, female and male, that the grounds may be silent, but we are still and will always be on board.

As the siren sounds on Sunday night, then Thursday night next, hashtag the words #IAMTHERE and show your colors with pride.

Let the footy world know that we are united, so together, with all of us, we are with you on this very bumpy ride!

For I AM CARLTON. I AM FOOTY.

#IAMCARLTON