I know a lot of blues fans are hurting, but honestly, this feels like the kind of lumps most premiership teams go through.
In 2012, Richmond lost three games by less than a kick in a row to the suns, roos and blues. They also drew to the power and if Richmond won all those four games, they make finals.
In 2013, Richmond made finals, yay. They then played the ninth placed Carlton and were up by 26 points, only to lose in embarrassing fashion. They lead North by 21 points early in the 2015 final, only to fall in a heap. They got annihilated by Port in 2014. Those losses were incredibly painful, but also instructive.
Then 2016 happened and the team looked like a shambles.
My point is that development is never linear and there's always heartache and disappointment on the way. I think that many young blues players got nervous in the last quarter, having never played in a finals type atmosphere in a do-or-die situation. They'll be better for the experience and this game will help sort out who can stand up and who can't. Collingwood were a more experienced side and many of their players like Pendlebury, Elliot, Maynard, Sidebottom, Crisp, Moore etc. have finals experience. However, Carlton have built a game around contested possession which does stack up in finals. Their spine of Curnow, McKay, Weitering, Young (who I thought played a really good game), Pittonet is good. A midfield of Cripps, Walsh, Cerra, Kennedy, Hewett is deep and good enough. They're also a young side which will improve.
I think Carlton's next step is to find players who can score besides Curnow and McKay. If they're not firing, Carlton don't kick that many goals. Their third best goalscorer this year was Cripps. Thing is, I think Carlton have a lot of the pieces which are hard to find. A spine and a good contested midfield is something everyone needs and only some have. A guy like Stengle who can score through nous and speed would do them a lot of good.
Honestly, I think this is a good year for the blues; they've won 4 more games than last year and their percentage improved by over 20%. If you're looking at season KPIs, they hit a lot of them. Losses like these hurt, and I still remember the painful ones for the tigers. But if you ask any tigers fan if they still cared that they lost all those close games in 2012, I doubt they will as they've seen success. Do we know that the blues will achieve success in the future? No, but losses like these don't prove that they won't in the coming years.
Either this lights a fire under Carlton, or they fall in a heap. If they're like Geelong, Richmond, Melbourne etc. a fire is lit.
In 2012, Richmond lost three games by less than a kick in a row to the suns, roos and blues. They also drew to the power and if Richmond won all those four games, they make finals.
In 2013, Richmond made finals, yay. They then played the ninth placed Carlton and were up by 26 points, only to lose in embarrassing fashion. They lead North by 21 points early in the 2015 final, only to fall in a heap. They got annihilated by Port in 2014. Those losses were incredibly painful, but also instructive.
Then 2016 happened and the team looked like a shambles.
My point is that development is never linear and there's always heartache and disappointment on the way. I think that many young blues players got nervous in the last quarter, having never played in a finals type atmosphere in a do-or-die situation. They'll be better for the experience and this game will help sort out who can stand up and who can't. Collingwood were a more experienced side and many of their players like Pendlebury, Elliot, Maynard, Sidebottom, Crisp, Moore etc. have finals experience. However, Carlton have built a game around contested possession which does stack up in finals. Their spine of Curnow, McKay, Weitering, Young (who I thought played a really good game), Pittonet is good. A midfield of Cripps, Walsh, Cerra, Kennedy, Hewett is deep and good enough. They're also a young side which will improve.
I think Carlton's next step is to find players who can score besides Curnow and McKay. If they're not firing, Carlton don't kick that many goals. Their third best goalscorer this year was Cripps. Thing is, I think Carlton have a lot of the pieces which are hard to find. A spine and a good contested midfield is something everyone needs and only some have. A guy like Stengle who can score through nous and speed would do them a lot of good.
Honestly, I think this is a good year for the blues; they've won 4 more games than last year and their percentage improved by over 20%. If you're looking at season KPIs, they hit a lot of them. Losses like these hurt, and I still remember the painful ones for the tigers. But if you ask any tigers fan if they still cared that they lost all those close games in 2012, I doubt they will as they've seen success. Do we know that the blues will achieve success in the future? No, but losses like these don't prove that they won't in the coming years.
Either this lights a fire under Carlton, or they fall in a heap. If they're like Geelong, Richmond, Melbourne etc. a fire is lit.
