Carlton will be disappointed after last weekend’s game, just like we were against Richmond. I am sure they will rebound strongly and read that they were forced to take their mouthguards to training this week, so we expect them to come out firing. Their form over the course of the year has been better than what they showed on the weekend and with wins over Geelong and St Kilda so far this year, their best football is very good.
The pace of their midfield, especially in the dry conditions at Etihad Stadium, has been a focus for us during the week. It’s hard to talk about Carlton without mentioning Chris Judd. The Western Bulldogs tried to nullify Judd’s impact but he still racked up plenty of ball. The important part is that they were able to shutdown the other outsiders in Simpson and Murphy and reduce their influence. It is always a hard task to stop players such as Judd and Ablett, so it can better to spend your energy on some of the other players that benefit from their play.
If Judd and the rest of the Carlton midfield get on top then it gives their dangerous forwards every opportunity to score. Lachie Henderson has been a good leading forward for them as well as Setanta O’hAilpin. Jeff Garlett, Eddie Betts and Chris Yarran work really well as small forwards together. The Bulldogs were able to shutdown most of them on Sunday, so we will be looking to do the same thing and hope they don’t rebound against us. Our backline has been really strong and Nick Smith played a terrific game on North Melbourne’s leading goal scorer Lindsay Thomas, keeping him to just one goal. Nick has been a fantastic stopper for us all year, along with Heath Grundy, Lewis Roberts-Thompson and Tadhg Kennelly, who are all back to some really good form. They are getting support in the air and helping each other every week.??
We return to Etihad Stadium this weekend where we have played some good football, beating North Melbourne in round four. I think it will be a good change up to get out of the boggy, soft conditions that we have had here training and playing at the SCG. ??
There will be some selection dilemmas this week with the return of Marty Mattner from injury, which means that there will be a disappointed player that will make way after a good game on the weekend. It was fantastic to see Brett Meredith get his chance against North Melbourne and he certainly made the most of it, showing plenty of class with his possessions. We also have the options of Jesse White, Lewis Jetta, Sam Reid and Lewis Johnston, who have all been pressing for selection in recent weeks with good form in the reserves. ??
The key thing we take from the win over the Kangaroos is effort. Effort is all important in football and last weekend we managed to turn our form around with improved effort across the whole team. ??
With effort also comes determination. A fantastic example of determination last Sunday was Rhyce Shaw, who wasn’t having a great game, but certainly showed some form with his two goals towards the end of the match. To be able to throw your players around and still have that determination to get over the line was the difference between a win against North Melbourne and the disappointment of Richmond. ??
If our improved effort can continue on the weekend against the Blues, then so too can our winning form.
