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

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!

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!

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!

Own the loss…grow from it!

ALWAYS WILL BE – #GO BLUES!

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

Stay Calm!

There is a saying: Stay Calm & Keep Going. With the controversy over the weekend in the match between Fremantle and Carlton, it seems that this is precisely what happened when the eventual outcome came to fruition…and it was not the team that was ahead for most of the game.

The last few minutes of the game were, to put it mildly, really pressurised from all spectrums of the game.

Starting with Charlie Curnow’s ‘one-handed’ mark that kept us in the game to the very controversial decision by the umpire regarding Matt Cotterell’s mark, which led to Carlton being in front at the 29-minute mark of the fourth quarter. The game was, at this point, on a knife’s edge. All Fremantle had to do was regroup, go back to the centre and do what they had been doing for most of the game…dominate. But a rather petulant Jordan Clark, who apparently was swearing at himself (at least that is what he says), but an umpire did not see it that way, and a free-kick was awarded to Matt Kennedy under the dissent rule. He kicked the goal, and Carlton came out the winner.

The debate has been going on about whether the ball kicked, which resulted in Cotterell’s mark and goal, was touched as the Fremantle players indicated. The umpire made a decision, rightly or not, and awarded a mark to Cotterell. Some have said, given the close nature of the game, that the decision should have been made through a video review. By doing so, you are actually taking away the nature of a game that is being governed not by robots but by people, and being human, mistakes can and do get made.

Let’s look at it from this match perspective. At one point in the first quarter, a Fremantle player kicked the ball while it was in the air near the boundary, and everyone could see that it was out on the full. Crippa even stated this, but the umpires tossed it in. Crippa stayed calm and kept going.

Then another Fremantle player got the ball from a handball, turned, and ducked, and a high-head tackle free kick was awarded against the Carlton player to the Fremantle one. Carlton did what Fremantle did not—they stayed calm and kept going.

The point is that throughout the game, all games in fact, the umpire will make a determination based on what they see and believe. No umpire will change that decision during a match. It just doesn’t and should not happen. Yes, we have the technology to determine issues at the goal/point posts, but that is where it has to remain. We cannot allow the game to go further than that in terms of what technology is available. It takes away an aspect of the game where it is more mechanical than anything else. What will determine the eventual outcome of a game that has contentious issues is how a team stays calm and keeps going.

Fremantle had an opportunity to change the outcome if only they had stayed calm and kept going. It was within their reach to do that, but they didn’t. It doesn’t matter what happens at the start of a game, but in close games such as this one, it matters who can stay calm and keep going. Carlton has proven that this is what they are now capable of.

Other teams have to realise that Carlton in 2024 will not go down in a blaze of panic and disarray that was prevalent in their past. They have developed into a team that stays calm and keeps going when needed. The fight doesn’t stop because they are not in front. It stops when the final siren goes. The team’s ability to do that is a revelation in the club’s growth, and the rewards are showing exponentially!

Some are likening Carlton to Collingwood from last year. I wouldn’t say that, as we have a bit more growth to go. We have to know how to combat a strong backline that Fremantle put up, which thwarted Carlton for most of the game. It is here that Carlton needs to learn from this match and become better for it. Understand that other clubs will look at the Fremantle game and see what damage they can do in stopping our forward line. Despite that, it is Carlton’s ability to stay calm and keep going that will determine season 2024. Because it is that aspect of the game that has become synonymous with the club’s success.

Travis Bradberry (an author on emotional intelligence), quotes that, ‘mistakes and pressure are inevitable; the secret to getting past them is to stay calm.’ Never underestimate Carlton’s ability to do just that. So far, in season 2024, this is exactly what they are doing and achieving.

#GO BLUES!

All photos courtesy of AFL.

Pass the Defib!

There is a saying: Be still my beating heart! On Thursday night, it felt that not only my heart but also my blood pressure needed to calm down! As the siren sounded, I wasn’t sure whether to celebrate or call for a defibrillator! I am pretty sure we all felt this way.

As I walked to the car, the swell of the crowd cheering and singing, and some guy (in a Carlton jumper) yelled to the crowd if anyone could find Dusty as he seemed to be missing. Now I am pretty sure that said Dusty Martin played a decent game, kicking two goals but only 16 disposals. His abilities helped Richmond achieve something that they starkly missed last week. By the time I crawled into bed, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. With no voice, I woke this morning to the thrill of the fact that in two weeks, in two games, with pressure mounting against us, both from the opposition and of our own doing, we did not crumble but fought damned hard and achieved a result with a victorious yell!

This game was so frustrating to watch. It was also one of the most disappointing games to be umpired on both sides. The frustrating aspect was that, for the most part, the lack of scoring accuracy was our own doing. The turnovers, the panic at kicking near the goals, and the sheer lack of pressure towards some of the opposition were frustrating and made the blood pressure crawl up steadily throughout the game. Yet, on reflection, the team should be and must be praised for fighting every step of the way to become winners. Here’s why.

It has to be said that we have a somewhat depleted backline. Given that we have significant players out, it means that players, like pieces on a chess board, have to be shuffled around to fill the gaps that major players usually have no trouble filling. This means the club must look for depth in its playing group. While I am a strong, firm proponent of a team having depth in their playing group, it should never be underestimated that the job involving the “backup” players, will always pose issues for the playing group.

However, it is a significant feat for the club that despite the pressure of the game by Richmond and ourselves, we did not give up nor give in. I think it is pure genius in Thursday’s game and the one last week that in the dying seconds of the game, Charlie Curnow went down back and together with a stellar game by Mr Patrick Cripps, the team held on.

This type of game play and determination to win is needed for a team to succeed in a season. We are two games in, and thankfully, we have a bye to recuperate and hopefully see some players come back into the team. No matter what transpires, the team is in a great position to achieve success. We saw it last week and saw it again this week. But, please, Carlton, can we have at least one game without calls for defibrillators?

GO BLUES!

All photos, courtesy of AFL.

Revelation!

The excitement for the start of the AFL 2024 season was palpable for Carlton supporters. We had traversed the path of Finals in 2023, and it gave us a hunger for more and the knowledge that we are on the right path to ultimate success.

With the bounce of the ball, it began, and it seemed for a while that this path that we were going on was not living up to our expectations. I am not interested in what others have specified, that is, what the outside noise makers have stated, only what we, as a club, are endeavouring to achieve. Then something happened. A switch. A light bulb moment. Or just a revelation.

In a few moments, we went from being five goals down in the first quarter to still being five goals down in the second. Then, after the half-time break, the team proved they were no one-season-hit wonders. Brisbane scored one goal, Carlton seven!

We had the Brisbane team spooked. In the end, it was a much-maligned Harry McKay (who I have to say I have always believed in) who took an incredible mark near the end of the last quarter, and every supporter with their hands on their heads in anxious anticipation, waited. But the doubters were sent back to their dens, and Hazza did what I have always believed he could do…slot it through! His goal put us in front in the dying minutes of the game!

But then our anxiety went from relief to panic again. We were down in our backline with Docherty subbed out injured. But the team did not allow panic or disarray to infect the game. They came, they swarmed, and with every ball in play, players made sure that not one Brisbane player could get within a metre of the goals or even a point.

The smothers. The tackles. The kicks away from the Brisbane goal area proved far too much for the Lions, and the moment the final siren went, despite and against all odds…Carlton came away with a win that still brings a tear to my eyes!

It was a revelation for supporters, but much more than that, it was a revelation for the team. They achieved what in the past would have sent them down a losing path. Despite losing major players before the season and during the game, the team, using their depth in the group, proved that they are a team to fear. They came together, banded together, and worked together.

Yes, it is only the first game, and the season is a long one, but we cannot and must not underestimate that the significance of winning against the Lions, in their den, is nothing short of a revelation! This win sets up the team to know that ultimate glory can be achieved in circumstances that may not be perfect. That with a unity of purpose, they can allow that quiet niggle of success that lies in the pit of their souls, soar to the top. For the players, the win was a revelation that they can achieve whatever they want to accomplish – together!

How good is it to be a Carlton supporter?

Bring on 2024! GO BLUES!

All photos, courtesy of the AFL

A Practice Match…is not the benchmark of a season!

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!

Pre-season 2024!

The pre-season training has begun for all clubs, and there is speculation about which team will be where by the end of the season. These are the same speculations from others, where, every year, they get it wrong in some way. Last year, it was Geelong’s flag to lose. Others could not see anyone contending for the coveted Premiership cup other than Geelong. When it came to Carlton, it was basically unanimous that they would languish once more in the bottom eight.

I have been asked many times at this time of the year who will win the Premiership. I said this last year, the year before, and will repeat it: no one can predict who will win until after the Bye round.

Teams that boom ahead at the beginning of the season are no guarantee that they will be in Premiership Cup final contention at the end when it matters. Injuries and other matters come into contention with this regard, and it is those teams that are fit, healthy and have the stamina to finish the season at the top, that will be in contention. It comes down to not only physical wellbeing but mental as well. The body may be in peak condition, but the mind may not.

I watched a documentary about the Australian Open and how Rafa Nadal was two sets down in the final in 2023, and where everyone was contemplating when to leave when, despite a nagging injury, fought back and won against all the odds. I watched the documentary about Adam Goodes and how a star player was beaten down by the mental toll directed towards him when he was playing. While both instances are direct opposites, they clearly show the heavy toll mental capacity can take to determine success.

In the news, Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver is battling a personal battle and may be unlikely to start playing in Round One or beyond. We have seen in the past that other players either leave the game entirely or take time off because of mental health. We have seen coaches take a step backwards because of the toll on their mental health. But the issue is not how they deal with this but how we, as a supporter of the game and our club, deal with it.

I have seen in the past supporters “go to town” on our own players and coaches because of a performance that was not up to their standards. I have seen on social media how the barrage of abuse and vilification is directed towards coaches and players by so-called supporters. These supporters then praise and glorify these same people when everything goes the team’s way. Should it not be that we support, no matter what? We cannot say with our hands on our hearts that we are passionate supporters of a club if, given a chance, we deride and hurl abuse at a player, a coach or even an administrator.

No matter what club or team you support, these are, in the end, people. Sure, they are professional sportspeople who get paid a bit to play, but they are still, in the end, just people, and the way we treat them on and off the field reflects on us as a person.

Mental health, especially in men, is one where it should be a safe place to exist, knowing that supporters and the clubs will put their virtual arms around a person and say, “We support you.” It must be a place where people like Clayton Oliver can take a step back from a game he loves and focus on getting his mental health under control. Whether we like him or not, he is a person, a young person who is battling right now, and we must support him.
The game is nothing without the players, the coaches, the administrators and the supporters. It is a collective that makes this game so dynamic and such a wonderful place to be in. We cannot step down into the gutter of abuse just because they play for another side or are battling mentally. It makes no difference if it is in the AFL or the AFLW.

A question posed on GOLDFM’s Facebook page asked if you could change one thing about 2023: what would it be? I replied, Collingwood, winning the Premiership! Sure, I hate Collingwood and Essendon, but I will not vilify nor hurl abuse at a player just because they play for them. I have seen over the years the effect this can have on a person and will not stoop down to that level.

I would love it if, at the start of the new season, we stopped with the barrage of hate directed towards a player, coach or administrator just because they either play for another club or for Carlton and just didn’t perform how we felt they should. Or if they are of a different culture, in all forms. Or who they identify as, in terms of their gender.

I doubt it will happen, but hey, I can dream and hope. I hope Clayton Oliver and others who are battling mental health come out of their dark tunnel with a better, more hopeful view of their world. The game should be a safe place no matter what and we, as supporters can be a part of it.

GO BLUES!

P.S. How cool is this image of Jack Silvagni!

All photos courtesy of AFL.