david31 wrote:
Agree with a few on here saying this feels like a critical juncture for this group.
The way I see it we are improving the tangibles (talent on the list, game plan, coaching, skills, goalkicking etc). The talent on the list has steadily improved as we have developed our draftees. Our game plan has improved drastically from Bolton to Teague. The skills, although still not great, are slowly coming along - I haven’t seen a Carlton team look as crisp as the Geelong game since probably 2013. We certainly need to continue to improve these areas but comparative to the rest of the competition I think we rate ok. We’ve also got significant upside in this area with a young list, young coach and salary cap space.
However, where the big issue lies for me is the intangibles. The will to win, the win at all costs mentality, the mental preparedness / toughness, the belief etc. Over the past 20 years, us and Melbourne rank about equal last in the competition on this measure. Everyone other club has had more than fleeting moments where the intangibles of their group have been at least solid. The best we had for this was around 2009-2011 and it wasn’t sustainable. This issue is why we didn’t show up for 1.5 quarters in 3 out of 5 games, which we unsurprisingly lost. If we had showed up, we would have beaten Melbourne and who knows in the other two games.
We need to find a way to rectify this ASAP. Otherwise it threatens to derail an up and coming talented list. A group of players, coaches and key off field personnel (head of footy, list manager, head of conditioning) need to lead this. Stop talking about standards and start enforcing them. Set the standard that every player that pulls on the jumper plays with the right attitude and does the hard things (tackle, chase, pressure, smother etc) and, if they don’t, then they can’t play. The time for pats on the back are over and the time for key personnel in the club to look their mates in the eye and demand more is now. If we can’t get this right, I fear we are just bringing through another generation of players that are destined to not fulfil their potential.
Good post. By no means trying to pot shot the captain but it is a shame Cripps' form is a bit off. I think if we were getting his great leadership now, it could really flow on the rest of the playing group. It is all about momentum. The captain isn;'t in great form, especially early in games he is not getting much of it.