SPORTZ

What we learn from the past is not to make the same mistakes again. It seems that for some, this message does not get through and the same mistakes are made again, and again.  However, what we also learn is what makes a great person or team – just great.  What defines them in terms of who they are and what they stand for. The past two weeks this concept was front and centre in my mind because of two reasons – the Reunion of the Carlton 1979 Premiership team and this week the announcement of Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead retirement. Both of these events serve as a catalyst for current players and especially those that have the honour of wearing the Navy Blue.

I attended the Reunion function along with over 900 other Carlton supporters. We were privileged to have a player sit at our table and more than that, to hear from some of the players from the 1979 Premiership Team, but none more than Jim Buckley, who is a great storyteller.  Besides telling us some great stories about their lives as Carlton players and some tales of what occurred during that season, the most prolific statement was made by Buckley.

When asked what message you would send the current players of the club, he stated that to remember that you are a team and that you are in this together and that they, the other players, will back you up. That you have to trust that they will be there for you during the game.  The camaraderie between the players was so evident that it was oozing on the stage when the players got together. The way they interacted with each other showed that what makes a great team greater is the bond between the players the pride for playing in a Navy Blue guernsey.  That message is one that is being displayed right now with David Teague giving this same message to the players – play for the pride of wearing that top you get to put on and for the club that it represents, and for each other.  Do that and success will come.

This weekend’s match did not pan out the way we all hoped it would, but we must not get disheartened either, for we are starting to become a team, a union of a group of players who are proud to wear the Navy Blue and fight for it.  McGovern did that, Jonesy did that, Wieters did that, SPS did that, Murph did that, Silvagni did that, Walsh did that, Daisy did that, to name but a few.

 

This game while means nothing with regards to our season, it is one that is a part of the growth of this team since Teague has taken over.  It was never going to happen overnight, it was going to take time and as Teague stated in his press conference, the team has to just learn to play four quarters all the time, every game.  They didn’t this game but with two games left, they have the chance to prove to themselves and to others that they are proud to wear the Navy Blue and that they are on the right track to becoming a team that could be reminiscent of the team from 1979.

This is so emulated in the Hawthorn player – Jarryd Roughead who epitomises what all Aussies love in a sportsman – decency, integrity on and off the field. His retirement must be a celebration of a great player and a great person.  His humility in accepting his limitations this year has been one that all young players should try and emulate.  His capacity to understand the game and his role has been one that is sometimes missing in the realm of professional sport. His focus on putting the team’s needs ahead of his own is something that must be the core ingredient for any team and any player, for it is that which makes a champion team rather than a team that is filled with champions.  Because it can make the ordinary become extraordinary.  Roughead played in such a team. Jim Buckley played in such a team.

What this shows is that don’t be fooled by thinking to have top class, champion players in a team will make them a team to be a champion one – it won’t.  It is those teams that play for the pride of playing in their team’s colours and for each other that become the champion team.  This need to play for each other, not for yourself is what makes a team a champion one.  Carlton has the makings of that and with the right person at the helm, emulating this by the way they carry themselves on and off-field, Carlton will become a champion team.

#I am Bound By Blue

#Teague2020

The task of who will coach the Carlton FC for 2020 has bee heating up with the hashtag of #Teague2020 gaining momentum and support from not only fans but players as well. I watched on AFL 360 David Teague chatting to the hosts and facing questions from them not only about the state of the team since he took over as caretaker coach but of his own ambition to become a senior coach. I thought the way he handled himself with poise and intellect was admirable. You can see if you look at him when they were talking and speaking to Rhyce Shaw of NM, that he is studying and watching intently everyone around the desk, and chooses his words with a level of respect not only for the Carlton FC, but for his role so far and the process of the club and the level of scrutiny regarding the next senior coach for Carlton.  His self-assuredness in tackling questions fired at him not only then but after games since he took over, is one that cannot be overlooked in terms of what you want from a senior coach.

He has proven his ability to coach given the circumstances in which he took over from Bolts who undoubtedly was instrumental in laying the foundations of the young players we have today. He has made a team filled with talent and potential to make them a team that is now hugely respected and at times, feared. Teague has all the hallmarks of the makings of a great coach. His calmness, his openness and his ability not to stutter or waiver under pressure, and he is under pressure. At every opportune moment, the media world pummels him with questions about the future of his coaching at Carlton and he is handling this with incredible dignity.

I have seen him during Open Training and what he is bringing to the playing group is one of pride. Pride in playing the game, their game, their way and allowing them to develop and fight for their place on the team, but he is someone who is bringing back the sense of the players’ hunger to play AFL and for the club.  He is not mincing words and acknowledges what went wrong at the WC game and how much growth the team has achieved so far and what will be achieved for the future. He is not afraid to be tough when needed, a prime example is the dropping of Mitch McGovern to make him earn his spot on the side and not just assumed it was a “given”.

The surge of support for Teague to become the senior coach at Carlton grows every day and is something that should not be overlooked, in any way. Because this has the capacity to be seen from players from other clubs whose time at their club may be on the line and are looking to see where else they could go to. To see a coach that has achieved what he has achieved not only from the playing group, but from the club as a whole, and from the supporters, would be something that a player will warm to. They will feel that they will be stepping into a team at a club that is on the rise and whose playing group adheres to what every footy club wants to strive for – success on the field and off. To come to a club that is breeding a culture of mutual respect and admiration across the board and a deep-seated hunger to put on the Navy Blue and fight for every single quarter. The fans haven’t seen this for a while and since Teague has taken over, that is exactly what we are seeing.

Personally, I don’t want to see a coach who has the mindset of past glories and a game that has maybe passed them by. I want a coach who understands every single facet of the modern game which includes not only the physical health but the mental one as well. I want a coach who understands the modern game on all levels and what this entails.  For some coaches, the game as a senior coach as passed them by but they would be great mentors.

The club stands on a precipice here with regards to who they appoint as senior coach and I like the fact that they are taking their time and probably waiting until the end of the season. But then again, they shouldn’t wait too long because the footy world is watching all the time and there may be a star footy player out there who is looking at leaving their current club and is deciding where to make their next step in their career.  The signing of Teague could be just the nudge that will make this type of player take that next step and nominate Carlton.

But heed some warning here. Australian’s suffer from the “tall-poppy” syndrome and are quick to raise someone up then shoot them down when they don’t live up to the expectations that the public, well, expect.  If Teague is signed, give him the utmost support and time to develop the club and the team we all want. The foundations are there.

I am BOUND BY BLUE!

Sit back, make yourself comfortable, maybe grab a hot drink, some biscuits to dunk, because I want to take you into the land of fairy stories. A land where things may seem real. Where you will be told amazing tales. Be aware though, not all are real and not all of it is true. Yet you will believe that they are because the storytellers will convince you that they know the difference between what is real and what is not.  They will be that one person who is convinced that they have their “finger-on-the-pulse” of reality and can determine the difference between speculation and reality. They can put aside their biases, they can use their magnificent “ability” to come to conclusions about what is going on and legitimately believe that what they are saying is factual and not a fairy story.

I am not talking about anyone else other than the AFL media – the journalists and the commentators in the world of footy.  They are fast becoming one of the biggest fairy storytellers this sporting world has seen and what is more surprising is that they really believe their own hype and their own belief that what they are saying is valid and true.  Yet they are nothing more than fairy storytellers.

As a bit of background, fairy stories grew from a movement in France around the 17^th Century where ladies-in-waiting would tell each other stories. Sitting around open fireplaces, they would base these stories on actual events or experiences but would embellish and infuse in the stories the fantastical and mythical elements to make them more intriguing and exciting to hear.  The AFL media world is not far from this very scenario, but instead of open fires, it is in technology that they gather around. The difference here is that back then, everyone knew they were fairy stories, now, the media believe their own stories. They believe they have the only finger-on-the-pulse, the only ear-to-the-ground of newsworthy information.

A journalist in SA has stated that Adelaide’s Don Pyke met with the Board to get reassurance that he will not be fired, and Pyke came out and categorically stated that this did not happen.  Journalists are stating that Alistair Clarkson has been offered a mega-deal to leave Hawthorn and coach Carlton.  While he may have been offered it in the hope that it could be possible that he leaves a club he has shaped and continues to shape – he is not leaving.  According to another journalist, Brad Scott will be coaching Carlton and this very same journalist came out and stated that the AFL had sent the Carlton Cheer Squad a “please explain” letter about an “incident” back in May.  There was no “please explain” letter from the AFL, yet we are to believe what this journalist is stating as being correct because he is adamant that his story is spot on!

Now another journalist who really should know better, has stated that the players of Adelaide are wanting to get David Teague back to the club to take over from Don Pyke. While this very same journalist could not state with certainty that this happened, they just put two and two together to come with nine!  Now I’m not saying this could not be true, because it could be, but let’s be logical here.  For Pyke to get the sack and bring in Teague, Adelaide would have to fork out $3 million to pay out Pyke’s contract.  That would mean that while the club could afford it, it is a big chunk of money that would eat into what they had to work with to get players into the club. This is a prime case of a major fairy storyteller looking at what is in front of them and, as all fairy storytellers do, maybe embellish just a little to make this person seem more relevant and outlandish and believable.

With three clubs who have caretaker coaches and each proving not only their ability to actually be a senior coach of their respective clubs, each has come out and stated that right now is not the time to deviate from the final matches of the season to discuss this with the storytellers.  But the storytellers have not given up on creating their fairy stories. When SOS met with Ross Lyon it was touted as being a meeting to discuss the senior coaching role.

Some supporters believe that what a journalist or a commentator states is actually true, but for the most part it is just a story, a fairy story.  It is one that is based on speculation, conclusions that they themselves believe based on their “brilliant” powers of deduction (they are not Sherlock).  They look at what is actually real then embellish it just a bit to create a bit sensationalism across the AFL world. Don’t be fooled into what they are saying as being real as the sad truth is that what is real and what is not gets mushed around in the muddied pool of the media world and the need to be the first to break a story or to get it right.

Only believe in what the clubs come out and state even if they themselves change what they say from one week to the next. Due to circumstances in this world of a game that is based on the success that a club brings on the field, this is the only source that has their fingers on reality and not clouded in the pages of fairy stories from the media.

I am BOUND BY BLUE!

 

This past weekend has been an amazing weekend of footy. Not just in footy wins (or losses) but the over-riding sense from fans that the umpires and the AFL are just not getting it  – the discontent that fans are feeling about not only the game but the umpiring of the game.  Yet despite this, the sweetest victory is one where “the man” may have stuffed up big time, may have completely shown incredible bias towards one team over another. May have even not really understood the rules and gives a free-kick that is either not there, soft or is not sure why they blew the whistle and need confirmation from the other umpires.

The lead-up to the Carlton vs Adelaide game was one that was seen by the AFL world as a game that was one-sided: Adelaide would win.  If you looked at the tipping in The Age, only two people tipped Carlton to win and not by much.  With the Big Kreuzz out, it was going to be Andrew Phillips to take over as the main man in the ruck and he did a stellar job and even scored a goal.  With Zac Fisher out of the game due to illness, Paddy Dow stepped in.  The team was set, the ball was bounced and in the first half of the first quarter, it looked like the AFL world had gotten it right with regards to Adelaide forging ahead to ultimately win the game.

Interestingly, Adelaide had been one of the teams who are efficient in their scoring, yet Carlton, since Round 12, had outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points per game that resulted from possessions that came from their forward half.  After five minutes into the quarter, Adelaide had scored two goals. But a goal from Crippa put the score back to six points, then Taylor Walker scored and the Crows were again twelve points ahead. Matthew Kennedy and Darcy Lang scored a goal each and the score was even.  With two behinds and another goal by Taylor Walker, then a behind by Will Setterfield, a goal by Jack Silvagni, followed by a behind from Levi Casboult, put the Carlton team ahead at the end of the first quarter and from then on, in the second quarter, the third quarter and the final quarter, Carlton were ahead in every sense.

Carlton won the disposal count – 385 compared to 343; kicks, handballs, efficiency inside 50. The club was leading in hit-outs, clearances, center clearances, stoppage clearances, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, marks, marks inside 50, contested marks. But there were a few areas in which we were behind, one which was one we could control and one which we could not.  Our turnovers were 74 compared to 62.  Panic and being unsure of what to do and who to kick to results in turnovers.  The great thing about that is that even though we did turn it over, we never really stopped there because we tried and tried to get the ball back and more often than not, it worked.

The area that we had no control over was the free-kick count and that 27 to the Crows and 19 to Carlton.  Now I am all for the human error factor when it comes to umpiring in any sport, but this year, the umpires are getting it wrong so many times and it is hurting the game substantially because they are putting themselves in the forefront of the game and are effecting the game in ways that the AFL world should be wary of.

Fans of the game have the, on the whole, the utmost respect for the umpires and the job they do, in the past that is. But now, with the total lack of consistency, the farcical Score Review that saw what was a goal, not being paid and those in the Score Review box, not even paying the slightest bit of due diligence and halt the game and do what their job is: to ensure the integrity of scoring is upheld. Together with the huge discrepancies of free kicks in a game, and not just Carlton games,  the umpires are losing the fans respect.  Yet despite all this, Carlton (and Essendon) showed resilience and a determination that had been missing for some time and basically told “the man” – screw you, we are going to win anyway and they did.

For Carlton’ supporters it showed what the team had been missing for a while, a hungry need to win, no matter what and despite being thwarted, this need never wavered. To become a team, a great team, no matter what is thrown at you, how you respond determines the outcome and Carlton responded.

The end of the season draws near and Carlton; could though mathematically and if all the cards fall in exactly a very certain way, make the top eight; will end the season knowing that this club is on the rise. The fans can see it, the coaches can see it and the players believe it. Because they won despite the barriers placed in front of them from “the man” and that makes this win against Adelaide, all the sweeter.

I Am BOUND BY BLUE!

I had an idea recently and it was that what I write will now be available to be heard.  I will be recording my writing and all you need to do is click on the link and you will be able to hear my pieces if you don’t want to read them.

On the weekend, I was fortunate enough to travel to Sydney and be a part of the crowd that saw Carlton lead every quarter and win in Sydney under rather blustery conditions.  This was the last interstate game for the year and even though I missed the Fremantle game, I have had the privilege to travel around Australia to watch the team, Win, lose and no draws. I met up with some amazing people from interstate who are just as mad and passionate about the club as I am and have traveled to these games with fellow Cheer Squad members who have become family to me. I have sat through teeming rain, freezing temperatures and lately blusteringly cold winds that ensured that no banners would be going up for that game, and I have loved every minute of it. Through the highs and the lows, the people I have met and made friends with along the way, are etched into my memories of 2019 interstate trips.  However, it is this trip to Sydney that made me realize what has actually been achieved since Bolton was sacked.

I’m not going to go on about how great the game was, and it was because that’s been handled by others. I’m not going to go into detail about the way the players came out and from the very first bounce, were determined, dynamic and played four quarters of the game that saw Sydney trying to play catchup. I’m not going to discuss how when the score was close or when Sydney was in the lead for a short time, that the players did not give up or give in and we won every bloody, damn quarter.

The most significant memory of this game was one that was completely out of my hands because I didn’t orchestrate it, Sydney’s weather did.

My flight was delayed from departing Sydney at 7pm to 8.50pm.  Luckily, I had access to the Virgin Lounge and set up my laptop and proceeded to have something to eat and do some uni work.  The flight that I was on was also the same flight as the team’s, so I was “stuck” in the Lounge with the Carlton crew.

So here I was sitting at a long table, working when I noticed that a few seats down, Liam Jones and Harry McKay were watching Jones’s mobile phone.  Taking a sneak peek, I saw they were watching the Essendon/NM game.  Getting out my iPad, I opened the AFL app and watched it.  David Teague leaned over Jones and McKay commenting about watching a game on an iPhone.  I said that he is quite welcome to watch it with me on the iPad.  He sat down next to me and we were watching the last three minutes together.

Couldn’t help, had to do it, I told him congratulations on the win, it was a great win and just shows what playing four quarters of a game can achieve.  He humbly said, thanks and he agreed. Plugging in his laptop, he was watching a replay of the game and opposite him and I was some of his assistants and stats people. They began chatting about the game, then Teague called Harry over and showed him a mistake he had made during the game.  The way he spoke to the players and others around him, was an eye-opener. He was respectful, down-to-earth and the players showed him that same kind of respect and admiration.

As we boarded the flight finally, I watched as the players and crew made their way to their seats. The camaraderie between players, Teagues and the others was something I hadn’t seen before. It was like being amongst a group of people who had genuine respect, admiration, and care for one another. I know this was because of a win, but it went deeper than that.

The delay of the flight afforded me the chance to see the players and the coaches interact in a way that I had not seen before and the relaxed way they mingled with each other.  Thinking about this and the way the players are playing, I realized that it was the easy-going, calm and respectful way that Teague is as a coach and a person, where the sheer joy of just playing the game, is something he is bringing back to the team.

You can see it with a player such as Jack Silgavni who I have always believed to be a great player given time.  You can see in seasoned players such as Ed Curnow who is showing what type of player he really is, under Teague, and this includes Levi Casboult, who for me, has one of the most reliable grabs in the game.  What Teague is giving to the playing group is the freedom and confidence to play the game in a way that made Carlton select them in the first place.  There will be times where we will lose not because of anything else other than lack of experience. But as Teague has said in the past, it is those times where the playing group that is, in essence, a young and inexperienced group, will learn from this time and grow and develop into being that very player that selectors saw when they were chosen.

To make a club great, you need to lay the foundation and I believe that Bolts did just that.  He took a shaky, run-down club and laid the foundations, as it was with him that we got the players we have.  This should not be taken away in any shape or form, but it is with a coach such as Teague who is taking that next step. In building on that foundation and creating something that is showing tinges of greatness and wonderful memories for this club.

Is he the man to do the job long-term?  After witnessing what I saw on the weekend, I am leaning towards a massive YES! His positivism, his way of speaking to everyone, including a very hoarse and tired supporter, that is calm and full of respect, I am leaning towards a massive YES! The way he goes about doing the coaching job, the subtle way of just getting the job done irrespective of the result, I’m leaning towards a massive YES! As others have put it, Teague’s training wheels on the bicycle of coaching should be taken off, and I’m leaning towards a massive YES!

Memories of great games, great interstate trips and meeting great people, are made of this stuff. That accidental, unplanned event that can turn a long day into a day filled with wonderful memories and seeing first hand what the right man for the job can do, is what makes the memory of Saturday’s game all the more – well memorable!

I am #BOUNDBYBLUE!

I have watched the last two minutes of the game between Freemantle and Carlton over and over and over and over again. I have watched the sequence of events that led up to the last two minutes over and over and over again.  I shouted with joy, screamed with elation, but it was the last 30-odd seconds of the match that made me tear up and this was for one reason and one person only – Marc Murphy! Here’s why.

We were down four players, but not just any players. We were down Crippa, Hazza, and Cunners before the match. Then after only just 12 minutes into the first quarter, Charlie went down. The noise around the AFL world was that it would be impossible for Carlton to be able to counter the fact that one of the most exciting and talented players in the game was not going to play for a team that was languishing at the bottom. Then with Hazza out, then Cunners and then Charlie – we would have no hope of even coming close to Freemantle and that was really proven in the first quarter. But then it changed. By the time of the end of the first half, Carlton was only ten points down. In the third quarter, we were down by 12 points.  Now here’s the kicker. Everyone did not believe that Carlton could sustain this pressure that the commentators were saying, in the fourth quarter with one man down. They were wrong.

The fourth quarter shows what I have been saying for a long time, that a great team needs depth in its playing field. That is the ability to step up when the stars of the game are not on the field.   But then at the 20.11minute mark, the magnificent Simmo slotted a goal from the side. Then two minutes later, Kennedy kicked a goal. To top it all off when I was on the edge of my seat, and yelled and screamed when at the 26.03-minute mark, Daisy celebrated in the only way Daisy knows how as he soccer-kicked a beautiful goal. We were in front. But not for long because ten seconds later, Fremantle’s Sam Switkowski slotted in a goal.  With only just over a minute left the commentators were on the edge of their seats and I was nearly falling off mine and it was this last minute that made me tear up and get emotional as I have done every time that I’ve watched this part.

Back in the center, with Silvagni on Fyfe and Ed Curnow freer to move around the ground after the center tap.  This change in positions, putting Silvagni on Fyfe was genius.  Krooz taps the ball out, it gets fumbled along and but it is Jack that soccer kicks the ball out to our forward area and the ball eventually goes out of bounds. Back in, the ball is tapped out, Gibbons soccer kicks it.  Then Casboult has the ball, fumbles but manages to handball it over to Fisher who taps it and is collected by Murph who with his experience, composes himself and kicks what is probably the most incredible goal of the year (to my mind), and it is the joy on his face that gets me teared up.  The reason is simply that for most of that play it was perpetrated by players who for quite a few, should be either dropped or traded away. I have never believed that.

Krooz is in my mind one of the best ruckman in the competition and can change the game with just one tap.  Then to put Jack on Fyfe is as I said, genius. I love Jack not because of his name but because of his determination and his ability to throw his body into the game.  He has been given a bad rap and I still believe that his role is not forward but towards the midfield and down back.  He put the pressure of Fyfe and stifled him.  His kick towards the forward line in that last minute was from a player who given more time will become even better.  Then to have the ball placed in the hands of one of the most reliable grabbers in the game – Casboult, who if you look at his face, did not for one second give up on trying to get that ball out of the pack.  Then the tap by Fisher who could have tried to grab it was brilliant. Then the mindset of Murph who could have walked away from the club and game, to be composed enough to turn and kick and slot it in, was the stuff of legends.  I teared up.

If you look at the fourth quarter, it was the sheer grit and determination of players who have been criticized and given the thumbs down by supporters, but what you don’t understand is that it is these players that can change and shape not only a team but a game.  This is the stuff that makes a young struggling team become great again. This is why these players are pivotal in ensuring that Carlton becomes great again.  Maturity, composure and the ability to dig deep, fight like hell and never give up.  They showed this in the last quarter and it will become what some are saying, the match of the season.

This game defined us a club because not for the win alone, but how it was won. Without our stars, with one star down in the first quarter, the rest never gave up, didn’t stop believing and showed that Carlton is not down and out yet.

Do I believe David Teague is the coach that Carlton must sign? Ask me at the end of the season. If he can continue this way, then absolutely because he has given the players a new lease on the game and the capacity to play for what we all want them to play – for the privilege of wearing the Navy Blue!

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

This weekend has been a catalyst moment not only for Carlton but for the AFL as well. The issue of the stadiums monitoring fan behavior took front and center of the AFL world with the proliferation of not only fan discontent but with commentators and the media pulling up the AFL and stadiums about this.

On Sunday on SEN the General Manager of Marvel Stadium came out and stated that maybe they had gone too far with regards to the policing of fans.  Gerard Whateley on SEN on Monday came out and stated that the fans were right, the stadiums have gone too far and that even though there was no official directive from the AFL, fans are not so sure. There are not many times when I agree with Whateley but when he stated that the AFL is probably not being open with the fans and have lost their connection with the fans, I agree completely with this.  The AFL as an organization has lost touch with the fans and what they want. As stated in a previous article, we are the major stakeholders of the game, not the corporates, the TV rights, the commercialization of the game – WE ARE! Without us, there is no game, no AFL, nothing. The AFL stating that they have their finger on the pulse of what fans want is rubbish. They don’t.  Maybe this weekend will show the AFL power-brokers that it is time to listen to these major stakeholders more than they say they do.

With regards to the game against the Bulldogs, it was a fantastic game even though we didn’t get the result we wanted. In the end, it was the fact that for most of the game, we just weren’t competitive enough.  Hitting social media, it is incredulous that there are some who come out and state which players in their mind should go. That players such as SPS, McKay, Silvagni, Murph, Dow to name a few are not AFL standard and should go.

I had a discussion with a friend of mine who stated that the mistakes the boys made during the first half were because of a directive from the coaches. I told him; I don’t agree. The reason is that look at the age group and the experience of the players compared to other teams.  Look at how players of a certain age group have not gained enough senior experience to make logical and practical decisions with regards to what to do on the field. So, I did a little experiment.

I did a player stats spreadsheet comparing our team to a team that is already peaking – Geelong.  I didn’t want to compare Carlton to say GWS or Richmond or even WCE, but to a team that is on top of the ladder and is Premiership favorite as that is where we want to be.

For the first statistic, the average number of senior games that Carlton’s list has played, including Rookies, is 61.21, for Geelong, it is 77.  That means, on the whole, Geelong’s list has 15.71 more senior games under their belt compared to Carlton. If we break it down, even more, the number of players who have played more than 60 games at Carlton is 13 at Geelong it is 17. For more than 80 games it is 12 games at Carlton, compared to 15 at Geelong. For those players over 100 games, it is 15 at Geelong and 9 at Carlton.  When you look at these figures, you can see that our lack of practical efficiency in our game is not because of lack of skills, it is because of inexperience.  Geelong has 6 more players with more than 100 senior games under their belt – 6 more! This is a huge difference because this lack of experience is what is letting the team down.  But not to the point of being dismal.

The issue for some ‘supporters’ is that Carlton is a laughing joke with having given away their number one draft pick. We don’t need nor require a player with no senior AFL experience, we need experience. We need players who have played at a senior level to boost not only our stocks with regards to depth but on the field. To give the younger player who has less than 100 games under their belt, a chance to develop and gain more experience. We need those extra 6 players with experience and to do that we have to allow those players who have less than 60 game experience, to develop, grow and make mistakes.  We need to allow those players who have less than 50 games under their belt, which is 20 at Carlton compared to 18 at Geelong more time. Because at Geelong, they have 6 more players with over 100 game experience.

The game against the Bulldogs was an incredible game to watch and one that shows that given the right circumstances with regards to the coaches, star players become star players and determination from the less experienced players can get a team over the line.  While we didn’t win this time, given our lack of senior experience and now that we have a game plan that allows players to play their game, in time we will become the Geelong of the game.  Give the boys time. Allow them to make the mistakes they are making, because given the players’ stats compared to Geelong, we are not that far off and we don’t need the first draft pick, we need experience, senior game experience.

We have the young talented players in our team, give them time to develop. It does take time and we have the base, we just need to build on that.

Enjoy your week off Boys!

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

The outcome of the game – Carlton vs Brisbane Lions was a catalyst moment not only for Carlton but for the game itself. The media coined the win to be ‘a win for the ages’ considering the week the club had with the exiting of Brendon Bolton, and the divisive choice as senior coach David Teague. The end result was a game that showed the footy world what this team can be capable of.  But the biggest and most important aspect was the 19^th Player.

Who is the 19^th Player? The fans, those that support the team no matter where they are on the ladder or what is happening to their club. Who show up every game no matter where it is. Those who because of distance, watch and cheer and rally behind the team. But this is for the 19^th Player who was part of the game against Brisbane.

To be a part of the crowd for that game was incredible and so emotionally charged. I watched as when a call was given against one of our players it wasn’t just the Cheer Squad that stood up and voiced their views, it was everyone. It wasn’t just the Cheer Squad that celebrated the amazing second, third and fourth quarters. It was everyone.  It wasn’t just the Cheer Squad yelling out ‘CARLTON’ it was everyone. It wasn’t just the Cheer Squad starting chants, it was everyone.  Being a part of that made me choke up because after the really terrible week the club had gone through, seeing so many get behind the boys and the club was something to behold.

Then after the match when reports came through that a fan had been ejected out of the stadium it started an avalanche of fans voicing their concerns about the AFL’s handling of ‘boisterous’ fans and others.  That an umpire didn’t like what a fan called him. That opposition fans didn’t like the way a fan celebrating a win and so reported it to security.  According to the AFL, they have not given the grounds a directive on how to handle fan behavior, yet the grounds are still making a determination on what constitutes ‘acceptable’ fan behavior.

As yet the AFL has not come out and eased the concerns of the fans in this regard and in this respect, they are ignoring the most important aspect of the AFL – the 19^th Player – the fans.  They are placing more resources and revenue into re-designing their logo, or opening an office in a country that will never become an important factor or growth in the game. Without the 19^th Player, the AFL has no game. Without the 19^th Player, there is no atmosphere, no wonderous fan support for a team put through the mill then coming out on top.  The extreme support that the 19^th Player has on a team and the game has been pushed aside by the AFL and made to feel as if their position in the game is not valid or acceptable.

The umpires must be respected that is a given. The umpires must also be held accountable for decisions that can and do affect the outcome of a game. When the free-kick count is so unbalanced for one side the 19^th Player being a major stakeholder of the game, voices their complaint and that voice is shut down, this is not right. This protest must not be one that is aggressive in nature such as racist, sexist, homophobic or incites violence, but it is one that nonetheless must be allowed.  Make the umpires professional. Pay them a salary that not only keeps umpires in the profession but entices others to want to become one. Make them accountable and give them the required training.

The premise that the AFL is now putting in ‘spies’ to purge the crowd of those fans that are deemed too loud or too ‘boisterous’ is making the game more clinical and is not what the game of footy is. This is fast becoming an issue where the 19^th Player is being told what they can and cannot say. The 19^th Player is being sanctioned for just being a fan of their team and the sport.  The game against Brisbane Lions is proof that the power of the 19^th Player is one where players respond to and it can boost their game and make it what it was at that game – a ‘game for the ages’.

If you don’t believe me, read this:

https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2019-06-12/harry-soaks-in-electric-win

 

#BOUNDBYBLUE

P.S Thanks Bolts for being who you are and what you brought to the club. You nourished and made leaders of the club. You were for the club and its supporters. Thank you.

This week we have seen, once again, Carlton splashed across the pages of the news. Dale Thomas, who has been a player that has put his heart and soul on the line for the team, get a Leadership Group sanction because he was apparently drunk during a Carlton charity event.  Now the media and ex-players who are commentators are coming out and saying that he should not be picked again in the senior side, that he should never play AFL footy again. Really? Do you know hypocritical you all sound?  I mean, come on, what are you now bullies? Because this is what you are sounding like.  Here’s why.

In 2013 Buddy Franklin, then at Hawthorn was reported by The Age that he intimidated a person while he was drunk in a bar.  He did apologise but the media did not get to the point of saying he should never play AFL again.  Then in 2014, he was interviewed by police as the car he was driving crashed into five cars. Now while he was breath tested and it came up with nothing, it did not state whether he was under the influence of any substance. Not saying he was, but the media did not go to town on him in the same way that they have with Thomas.

In 2019 Steven May apologises to Melbourne players for drinking during this season. While he was injured, he was not put through the mill as Thomas has been.  Jack Watts was reported as being videoed snorting a white powder that was while legal as it was Wisen Pulver. Given the issues surrounding illegal drugs, why didn’t the media state that he should not play AFL again? In 2018, North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin sustained injuries while drunk and stepped out in front of a motorcyclist.  In the same year, Jodan de Goey had been banned indefinitely by the Collingwood FC because of a drink-driving offence.

An ex-Collingwood player, Dane Swan has come out and stated that to demote Thomas to the VFL by the Carlton Leadership Group is not acceptable and he should never be picked again for the senior side.  Georgia Love, a former reality TV ‘person’ (I would not call her a star), has put on Twitter that to her, he has had more than 3 drinks.

This barrage of ex-players, media’s constant comments is coming across as hypocritical and bordering on bullying.  The media has sunk to the level where they are fast becoming a problem not only for clubs but for the players themselves. They believe in their own hype that they are just reporting the news when they are actually going much further.  They believe they have the insight and the first-hand knowledge of a situation and believe that their commentary is valid, succinct and sound.  They are judgemental and hypocritical and are there for one reason only – to make themselves seem relevant to the community.

Their ‘journalism’ is becoming more along the lines of gutter ‘journalism’. They seek not to report the news but to make judgements on it. They are not interested in the bigger problems of the AFL and the game because it is something that is governed by the big organisation that is the AFL. They are not interested in commentating of the state of grass-roots footy, or the state of the umpiring, or fan violence; or even that the women in the AFLW are not paid nearly enough what they should be paid.  They pay lip service to the issue of mental health in players because they harass, barrage and bully players so when they do come out with mental health issues, they have empathy and wish him well. So, in this respect, they are bullies.  Picking on an incident and someone because it makes them feel good.  That is a bully.

Now I am not condoning the action of Dale Thomas, I think what he did was wrong, but it is not front-page newsworthy or warrant the hypocritical comments from the media, ex-players and an ex-reality ‘star’.  How debased and low are these people stooping just to get their face on social media and the media in general.

Then on SEN this morning, Garry Lyon and Tim Watson interviewed Michael Lombardi, an NFL expert.  It was an interesting interview until they asked the question about what he thinks about the Thomas incident.  He stated that it was a problem because there was no inherent culture in the club. They did not tell him that he had been sanctioned. So, they left that out because it makes the club, Carlton and Thomas look even worse. Great job guys!

We are a society that is quick to judge, quick to condemn and quick to show all the nasty, negative aspects of society on media and social media and not focus on the bigger issues.  The media and ex-players, and so-called reality ‘stars’ have a lot to answer for in this regard and they are the ones pushing this nastiness and negativity to the forefront.  They are hypocrites and bullies.

Dale Thomas did the wrong thing, he was sanctioned by the club’s Leadership Group, let’s leave it at that. To call for him not to play AFL anymore is laughable and hypocritical.

#BOUNDBYBLUE

I am quite sick of what is happening with footy at the moment and it has nothing to do with the state of Carlton right now, even though I am not really impressed with their performance. But that is not the basis of this article even though I will touch on it very briefly.

I don’t get angry very often. In fact, probably only about a few times a year. But this year, I’m getting angry, frustrated and sick and bloody tired of the state of the game right now, across the board. From the AFL as a whole, the MRP, to the so-called unbiased media whose only goal is to make themselves more prominent in the media world, to the umpire fraternity, to so-called supporters and fans who take to social media to spout hateful things about players, coaches and administrators.

So, let’s start from the top – the AFL.  I love this game called footy but the AFL with all their tinkering, micro-managing and the constant changing of rules where even the players don’t understand, are ruining the game that I love so much.  Fans are getting frustrated with the AFL changing the rules constantly believing that this will make the game a better one.  They have become arrogant and self-centred in their own belief in their superiority.

All I have seen is the frustration felt by players, clubs and supporters who have no idea what the rules are.  We used to know. We used to be able to state with certainty what the rules were. You hit above the shoulders and make contact with the head; you get rubbed out a minimum of 1-week. Well, that is ok as long as you are not from some clubs where players become ‘protected species’ and no matter what, they get the ok to do it again another week.

I am sick and tired of the umpires who simply have no integrity for the game. Point being that on the weekend of the St Kilda v Carlton match, there was on the ground an umpire who was an ex-St Kilda player. The AFL and the umpires go on about protecting the integrity of the umpires, where’s the integrity in that! Don’t come to me and say that an umpire, no matter who they support or used to play for are objective, that is rubbish. If a judge presides over a case where he has some connection, he recuses himself. The umpires should do exactly the same. I’m not saying that this would have made a difference, but it could have. Umpires are human beings with human traits, and it is ludicrous to think that they don’t come with a little bit of biases.

The umpires need to be held accountable and the way they interpret the rules. I have the greatest respect for them as a group and I understand that it is a human faculty where there can be human errors, I understand this. But when there is a lack of consistency in a game or when they make themselves present during a game; something is not right.  The role of the umpire is to allow the flow of the game and ensuring that players are protected, and the rules upheld as much as humanly possible and there will be times when they get it wrong. However, they are to be the referee that hovers in the background and not push themselves in the foreground.  They are not doing this.  I really believe that the umpires should be made full-time and professional. They need to be continually trained and monitored and to be held accountable. It needs to be a career that starts from the VFL and up to the AFL. Where a person enters the profession knowing that they have a full-time job that encompasses training, accountability and are renumerated accordingly and they need to show a bit of integrity – if you played or support a certain team, you don’t oversee a game with that team in it.

I’m sick and tired of listening to the rationale of the MRP and Christensen giving one player a suspension, then another doing exactly the same thing, nothing. Where’s the consistency in the rules regarding that?  Why doesn’t the President of the AFLPA come out and defend other players that have been wrongfully fined or suspended that is not a player from his club? He did that last year because it was a Carlton player. I haven’t seen nor heard of him come out and say anything for any other player from any other club.

The AFL believes that fans and supporters are idiots, they really do. I do not subscribe to the calling of umpires, players etc. that go down the path of racist, sexist, homophobic, aggressive and violent diatribe, but I have a huge problem with the AFL trying to stifle the voice of the fans. We are the major, I repeat MAJOR stakeholders of the game. Not the advertisers, not the media, not the corporations, WE ARE! Without us the AFL has nothing. It has no game, no forum, nothing, yet we are continually policed, charged ridiculous prices for tickets, food and made to feel that we are paying for the privilege of going to a game. WRONG!  The fans, together with the Cheer Squads, are the ones that the AFL must appease. Because you can have all the roaming signs on the ground as much as you want, you can have the corporate boxes filled, you can hike up food prices and entry tickets all you want, but without the fans you have nothing.

I am sick and tired of the media and their complete and utter disregard for what is true. In the newspaper today, Jon Ralph in the Herald Sun posted an article about the mid-season draft with the heading ‘Jailbird Picked’ then went to Carlton’s first pick, Josh de  Luca. It implies that he was a jailbird! The news breaking last week regarding the Carlton Cheer Squad was deplorable news really and should have never been made to be what it turned out to be when all it was that a person told a journalist who should have checked first beforehand, but thought only of their career and how it would look good on their resume.

I am sick and tired of the media and commentators who come out and state facts about Carlton and the club and have no idea or clue. I’m sick of them bullying and barraging the club and not to others. What about Melbourne who were touted as being top 8 material, are they splashed across the newspapers? Are their coaches, players and admins brought under the scrutiny of the media world? What about Essendon? They were also going to be a ‘team to beat’ in 2019, why isn’t their club, players splashed across the news? Why aren’t journos such as Caroline Wilson debating these teams so publicly and so full of vitriol? Why because no matter what they say or believe, they do not leave their bias at the door, they take it with them and cannot objectively make comments without showing how bias they are.

I am sick and tired of those on social media who believe they have the insight and knowledge about Carlton when they are just forming their opinions and then when someone disagrees, they can’t argue their case, they just block you or resort to nasty, derogatory remarks. What cowards.

I am sick and tired of the constant violence at the games. It should not happen, but it seems to happen more at the MCG and why? There is a complete lack of security at the game for fans. They are non-existence. They need to be more pro-active than reactive. They must allow fans to be fans but step in when called in and not wait until it gets to the point where fights happen.

I am sick and tired of the state of the game right now because as a supporter who loves the game, the atmosphere, the whole aspect of this sport, it is nowhere near the game that it should be. Not even close and the AFL, the commentators, the media, the umpires must investigate how what they do and say affects the very core of the game.

I am sick and tired of where Carlton is right now, but I do believe in their ability to overcome this.  I am sick and tired of people calling and speculating the sacking of a coach mid-way through a season when history has shown, it solves nothing.  He stated from the outset a 5-year plan, this is the fourth year!

I am sick and tired of players who put themselves above the club and the game. You get to play for a club, you get the privilege of putting on a guernsey where supporters love, show respect for that – play for that. Play for the pride of being at one of the greatest clubs and don’t allow the umpires, the media, the commentators dictate the game – play it on your terms.

GO BLUES!