News Finals win or bust for Carlton, says Waite

[Sin City]

Finals win or bust for Carlton, says Waite

CARLTON utility Jarrad Waite has thrown his support behind comments made by president Stephen Kernahan, saying that anything short of a finals win will be deemed as a failure in season 2011.

"We know if we do everything right and play our best type of football, we'll go a long way this year. It's just about playing that consistent footy that we want to play.

"It's my second year off a reco so I'm expecting a fair bit out of myself. I'm really hoping to lead the forward line."

Finals win or bust for Carlton, says Waite

 

[wavefall21]

I must admit I'm getting sick and tired of the media constantly asking questions to our players about what we expect of 2011, it's just the same answer every time, everybody knows we want to win a final, there's something in the paper nearly every day about us saying 'we must win a final', the pressure is good but do we need every single player being asked what's expected?

 

[Poseidon]

I would like it if, for a change, one of our players came out and said "yeah we just wanna avoid bottom 4"

 

[krayfesh]

So, like, do the media plan on getting the same quote from everyone involved with the club?

Because I am willing to represent the Carlton supporter base in an interview.

 

[coryne]

We seem to go on and on about a "Final's win", but what if we finish 4th, loose to say Collingwood by 1 point in the 1st rd of finals and then loose Hawthorn in the second rd of finals, with Hawthorn going on to win the premirship ??? Would that be a worse result than winning the first rd of the finals and then loosing in the second ???

 

[Blueboys7]

Is this the 7th article of a player or someone at Carlton saying 'Finals or bust'? Getting tired of it TBH.

We want top 4!

 

[KnaveyBlue]

what if we finish 4th, loose to say Collingwood by 1 point... and then loosing in the second ???

 

[Blue since 72]

Yeah over it TBH. Doesn't need to be said anymore and the idiot journo's don't need to keep asking.

 

[KennyHunter9]

This is annoying and worrying.

Swann and Kernahan have fed this idiotic line to the media and now they ask every player about it at every opportunity.

It's an idiotic line because:

If we do win one final we have an excuse for settling. There should be no limits on this club anymore.

If we win one or two finals and still want to appoint Malthouse or Roos we either have our hands tied or look like hypocrites.

If we lose the first final (say we have a series of critical injuries) then panic will set in and stupid things will happen.

Let's just aim to win every game we play, like every great club. That includes every final.

Enough of this rubbish. Time for Swann and Kernahan to step in - and lead, clarify this and stop putting pressure on players to toe an idiotic line.

 

[KennyHunter9]

Yeah over it TBH. Doesn't need to be said anymore and the idiot journo's don't need to keep asking.

Yes, journos are idiots - dumb, herd-like and repetitious. So why feed them the line in the first place? Time for a new line from the club.

 

[jonesy86]

Why would you limit yourselves by saying a satisfactory year is winning a final?

Surely it's better to aim for the premiership and then at the end of the season if you don't win it, you can say 'ok we were x amount away from challenging for the flag, we need to improve'.

Surely it isn't a good thing if you make the finals for a 3rd year in a row, win 1 final and then say 'we had a good year, next year we will aim a bit higher'.

 

[Aphrodite]

Why would you limit yourselves by saying a satisfactory year is winning a final?

Surely it's better to aim for the premiership and then at the end of the season if you don't win it, you can say 'ok we were x amount away from challenging for the flag, we need to improve'.

Surely it isn't a good thing if you make the finals for a 3rd year in a row, win 1 final and then say 'we had a good year, next year we will aim a bit higher'.

That is what the players have been instructed to tell the media.

But just quietly between me & you, we are aiming for top 4

Imagine a Carlton v Collingwood Grand Final

 

[Naughton]

Given that we've lost in the first week of the finals two year's running by about a kick, aiming to win a final is merely gunning for a slight, incremental improvement.

To be fair though, Swann did say that winning a final was the minimum he'd expect... it hardly paints the club into a corner.

And as everyone knows, when Malthouse becomes available (there is no way on God's green earth he's playing second-fiddle to Buckley - or anyone for that matter) in 2012, all bets are off.

 

[Blue since 72]

I'm more than happy with the 'one game at a time' line TBH. The original comment was more around what Ratts needed to do to keep his job. The players don't need to 'back' any of this up.

Have faith in and stick to the game plan, play hard footy for each other every week and we'll win more than lose. From a coach/player point of view they shouldn't be giving a second thought to playing finals in February.

 

[Poseidon]

Why would you limit yourselves by saying a satisfactory year is winning a final?

Surely it's better to aim for the premiership and then at the end of the season if you don't win it, you can say 'ok we were x amount away from challenging for the flag, we need to improve'.

Surely it isn't a good thing if you make the finals for a 3rd year in a row, win 1 final and then say 'we had a good year, next year we will aim a bit higher'.

Meh, we have to say something to the media. Something reasonable, not "we're aiming for a premiership" although obviously it's what everyone wants.

We can expect to hear this 'finals win or bust' all year long, if we do win a final we will probably hear "ok now lets see how far we can go" and not "we had a good year, lets pack up and go"

 

[Blue Ratts]

As boring and repetitive as it is, what else can the players say? The problem is, if you pullout the old “one week at a time” line it could be as easily be perceived as “you win some and you lose some”. With a young list the expectation is on improvement. How do we improve from last year? Win a final or get amongst it in the top 4. I’m sure the CFC are gunning and hoping for a top 4 and challenge, but realistically finals and a win is a better result than last year and achievable. If we can do that it will help keep the feral supporters at bay to have a real tilt in the coming years rather than a destabilizing change of coach when we are at our prime in list age and experience.

 

[mediumsizered]

Meh, we have to say something to the media. Something reasonable, not "we're aiming for a premiership" although obviously it's what everyone wants.

We can expect to hear this 'finals win or bust' all year long, if we do win a final we will probably hear "ok now lets see how far we can go" and not "we had a good year, lets pack up and go"

Spot on. Clubs have learned from the comments made by Peter Schwab a number of years ago. Comments which ultimately led to his demise.

People need to realise that you don't give the media any ammunition, because they are more than happy to take it out of context.

 

[Dramoth]

That is what the players have been instructed to tell the media.

But just quietly between me & you, we are aiming for top 4

Imagine a Carlton v Collingwood Grand Final

Carlton v Collingwood Grand Final = #17

Collingwood have a shocking record against us in Grand Finals

 

[Poseidon]

Carlton v Collingwood Grand Final = #17

Collingwood have a shocking record against us in Grand Finals

What's our record against them like in finals altogether? Should we feel confident about meeting them in the first round

 

[Dramoth]

What's our record against them like in finals altogether? Should we feel confident about meeting them in the first round

Carlton v Collingwood in finals

I think that says it all really.

22 times played, we hold the advantage of 14 wins to 8.

 

[Aphrodite]

Carlton v Collingwood Grand Final = #17

Collingwood have a shocking record against us in Grand Finals

They haven't beaten us for over 100 years