Over the past few years most supporters have prioritized the development of our young stars and giving them more senior game time ahead of playing older 'mature bodied' players in the hope of a few extra wins here and there.

In 2009, will the excuse of 'being a young developing group' be acceptable after a loss or will next year be all about the win/loss ratio with selection based purely on performance?

2009 is all about FINALS. Develoment and finals go hand in hand in my mind.
Anything less than a week of finals is no good, and anything more than 2 weeks is excellent.

WINS.

2008 was about development, and we should look to build on the foundations laid this season, not tread water.

We should look to making finals in 09, and giving our best shot. The likelihood is we won't win the flag next year, but we've got to start the tilt in 09.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Development by playing kids to get an average pick after the Gold Coast kills the top ten.

Wins.

What they said!

Wins - with the view to a flag in 2010!! But if we win next year, so be it!

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[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

QFT

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"I had to eat"

2009 = finals

i'd be disappointed if we don't make it lets hope we recruit or trade well to help the cause

WINS from Rnd 1 to Rnd 22 then for 3 of the next 4 weeks thanks with a week off in between.

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

WINS = DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT = WINS.

Both Please!!

FLAGS, FLAGS, FLAGS!!!!!!

Great year for mine. Superb, & thank you Mr Ratten & Co & all the boys & girls. I enjoyed it just as much, should we made finals or not, so from a bloke that hasn't had much to smile about over winter, for a very long time, thank you very bloody much!

The development of the kids, yourself & team, our leaders doing their jobs, intermittently every week. I thought for such a young group you really aquitted yourselves more than I expected you would anyway, so I can only say, well done.

Finish it off with a win this week & cross off yet another of those long now forgotten ill achieved records we had with other teams & that you endeavoured to cross off at the beginning of the season. Mission accomplished there.

BUT, we all know there is more to grow in this team & hopefully you will continue to grow with them. You rarely let me down as a player & you haven't done too much as a coach this season. So I am expecting, as you would be, that next year is about the same as this year, in terms of goals & that is, cross em off as you go.

First is to play finals with this group you can do that easily.

Top 4. Yes, with alot of commitment & hard work & absolute CARLTON unity within the entire group. The type of unity that's won us our flags.

The big one, well we'll just cross off above first shall we.

Again, great season for mine. OUTSTANDING & thank you again!

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"You will always miss 100% of the shots you don't take"- Michael Jordan

WINS

we're a definate chance of making the top 8 so LETS GO FOR IT!

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"You don’t get much more Navy Blue than Stephen Kernahan" - Marc Murphy

Are you kidding, WINS DAMNIT!!!

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Id be more disappointed if they didn't make finals next year, then I was after Round 1 this year...

Combination of both for me.

I expect wins but I also expect to see the younger boys take the next step and not go back in their development as some players have this year.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

Wins but this side won't be at it's peak until 2011, when the core age group hits 24+.

Finals should be our goal with 12-14 wins.

I'd prefer development over wins. I want us to play finals, but we won't win the flag next year and I am happy for us just to get better.

Getting better SHOULD mean finals, but it might not. Our draw and injuries will play a role in this. We had a pretty good draw this year and a reasonable run with injury (a few out, but Fev, Judd, Waite etc have been fit).

Sometimes sides go backwards at a point in their development. So long as younger guys are getting better and we draft for the "future", not the "now", then we are heading in the right direction.

I want development.

How about developing wins

Yeah, developing a winning culture at the club would be my #1 priority for next year ........... I think we have seen some OUTSTANDING development in a number of our young players such as the usual suspects (Gibbs/Murphy, can I say Kruezer considering its his 1st year ???) but also in some of our other younr troups (Grigg, Jamison, Bower). What I want to see is the development of some of our other youngsters next year (Austin/Hampson/Anderson), while a culture of loosing becoming "unacceptable" instead of "inevatable". And I think a combination of the further development of the kids mentioned above, along with a return of Houla/Hadley to the senior team and recruitment of some young guns will get us WELL on the way to FINALS (not a premiership) next year and a FLAG in 2011ish.

P.S I think we are one of the few clubs with a list young enough to survive the "dark years" of the introduction of the 2 new franchises to the AFL.

wins=development.

our development will be judged only by wins from now on. it's not as if we are a richmond ro an Essendon* and rely on our 30+ y.o. to win games for us, if we do happen to win games it'll all be off the back of players who are young enough to play in our next premiership.

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Last edited by true_blue3 on Mon Sep 26, 1981 5:07 pm; edited 92 times in total

Well said, DUC.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

development......




























HAHA! just kidding....wins

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Blues Forever!