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No contacts at the club anymore so I guess the ghost is finally dead. Here, then, is this years opener.
CARLTON – FOOTBALL IS BACK!
Another year finally forgets the lazy days of summer and brings us back to the stuff we all dream about. Footy is back! The break has seen some changes to the list, changes to the coaching staff and some growing belief that its time to get serious.
It doesn’t matter if we can win this year’s flag or not. To me anyway, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we go deep into September. That this list begins to get the experience, the belief, that will take them to the ultimate prize. We need to win a few finals, its as simple as that!
Some things need to change.
We need to stop the easy flood of goals. We need to run hard both ways. We need to take our chances and kick the important goals.
In the Animal Farm of football it is true that all goals are equal but it is also true that some goals are more important than others! Over the past few years we have missed the vitals ones. More than anything I want that to stop.
I cannot wait to watch Warnock this year. The giant woke last year and this year, a year older, a year with a full preseason, I expect him to challenge Sandilands for domination. He may not knock Sandilands off his perch this year, but he will take a huge step towards gaining equal footing.
Then the Kruise will come back and slowly, surely, we will see Carlton get back to what I grew up with. A rucking combo the best in the league. That’s football for me! Hammer might play some cameos, may even become more than that! Imagine if we can find a balance that allows us to field Hammer, Kruise and The Giant in the 1 side. I think this year we will see that possibility, we will see the shudders in the opposition as they wonder how to combat the trio.
This year Judd must not stand alone on top of the pile. This year we need to find that strength West Coast was once famous for. We need our Midfield to be spoken of with envy and awe. ‘Judd, Murphy. Gibbs, Mclean, Simmo…it just goes on and on. How can we ever control them all?’ must be whispered around the stands as the Umpire holds that wonderful leather ball aloft, a gesture of pagan significance, a signal to all the gods. And yes I did say McLean, I think Brock is a link in the chain. I think he will shine. It’s time for them all to shine, to run closer to the colossus that is Judd so that they become a collective rather than a trail.
Down forward its time for the twin pillars - Height and Speed: Hendo and Waite in the air, Garlett and Betts at their feet and the two inbetweeners, Tex and Houla or Tex and Collo or Robbo causing havoc in the gaps between. A forward line that kicks big scores.
Defensively we need Bower and Jammo to stand up. I like Watto but its his first year, still, I like that left foot of his! We need Laidler or White to take that third post and we need Yazz to shine at HB, his speed, his skill, can turn our defense into a real weapon. JR back there as a general and Army’s grunt and run and I think this defense might finally find its feet.
I am excited. This is the year the boys are left behind. The draft picks, the shadows of the bad years, the waiting on new coaches, new kids, new styles…all left behind. This year we become Carlton again.
Just Carlton. Nothing else. No excuses, no hopes, no fears, no excursions into ‘what if’s, maybe’s or next years’… Just Carlton. Just the Old Dark Navies. Just the Mighty Bluebaggers. And that, my Navy-hearted friends, and that has always been what we are about.
So bring it on. Bring on the Tiggies and their redemption. We’ve crucified them before and we’ll do it again! Bring on the Grigga so he can learn the most valuable football lesson ever…never…NEVER depart the Old Dark Navies…The Gods of Football will unravel your dreams, will leave you at the bottom of the tree, a head for our WillIam Tell ability to win!
So Bring on the Bummers and The Second Coming of Hirdy – we’ve heard it all before from the mob with the gut-spilling slash that struts tall but only knows how to crash! Bring ‘em on this year and watch them hit the wall. Watch Hirdy give Bomber a glance, a ‘what the heck do we do now?’ look . Oh I can’t wait for that!
But most of all bring on The Magpies, bring ‘em on fast. We’ve seen them climb high before, we have seen them forget themselves and pretend their putrid dribble tastes like champagne. Oh bring on the Filth and lets smash ‘em back to Victoria Park! They are like bats that come out in the dark but we’re bringing back the light, we’re back on the march, so its time for those flying rodents to get back to their dark, miserable holes and watch us light up the MCG as only we know how!
So bring it on, all of it, all the games, all the highs and even the few lows. This year we are Carlton. No more and no less. With Carlton back I’ll even be able to handle the byes of this new football world!
Go Blues!
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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!
Last edited by dannyboy on Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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