The longest finals drought in Carlton’s illustrious history must end this year. That is the message from Blues’ coach Brett Ratten, who last year finally steered the AFL club onto an upward path after six seasons at or near the foot of the ladder.
“We want to raise the bar further, 12 wins to play finals is the rough indicator, we won 10 last year, so 12 wins, that’s our aim, to play finals,” Ratten said.
“We haven’t played finals for a long time (since 2001) and now we need to put that pressure on the group to make sure we do.”
The belief that 2009 will be the breakthrough year is clearly growing, fuelled by a promising pre-season campaign.
A NAB Cup thrashing of North Melbourne, regular season finalists last season, followed by a fighting win over reigning premiers Hawthorn, built confidence.
Pushing 2008 runners-up Geelong close in a semi-final loss was possibly even more significant, given the Blues fielded a side that was a shadow of the team that will take the field when the premiership season begins.
“It was a great belief boost for everyone, for the coaches in the younger players, it showed some of the depth we do have at the club,” Ratten said.
“It was not just that it built confidence from a team point of view, but overall from a club point of view we got a lot out of that game.”
Ratten said the pre-season showcased a team that was physically and mentally stronger and more mature than in 2008.
That is no surprise, given the Blues are almost uniformly young, with no 30-year-olds among them and just seven players over 25.
The scope for improvement is obvious in all divisions, particularly the ruck, one of the club’s weaker areas last year.
Teenager Matthew Kreuzer and 20-year-olds Shaun Hampson and rookie Sam Jacobs will be better, while 22-year-old ex-Fremantle recruit Robert Warnock, still recovering from a foot injury, adds depth.
Cameron Cloke, shorter than all of those players, carried much of the ruck load in 2008 but Ratten hopes he can be used primarily in attack this year.
“Cameron has shown playing in the forward line, again (against Geelong) he did a fair job down there marking a few high balls and getting shots at goal,” he said.
“I think he’ll probably play fairly much forward, with times in the ruck, depending on whether we go for a smaller running team because we’re playing on a bigger ground.”
Freeing up Cloke could help solve one of the Blues’ notable concerns, an over-reliance on gun forward Brendan Fevola.
Fevola looks set to continue the form which took him to 99 goals last season.
The worry was no other Blue notched more than 25 majors.
“When you’ve got a spearhead like him you tend to go to him a bit, but we just don’t want to make it all to him and not much to everyone else,” Ratten said.
The Blues’ obvious strength is the midfield, captain Chris Judd and veteran Nick Stevens backed by fast-rising stars Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs, already two of the club’s most important players despite their youth.
Shaun Grigg, 20, appears ready to become an important midfield contributor, while draftee Mitch Robinson will force his way in at some stage.
Fellow draftee Chris Yarran, a quick skilful forward, is also set for a first-year debut.
Carlton’s most vulnerable area is defence, the club frequently conceding big scores last year and at times struggling to contain opposition power forwards.
But Ratten backed emerging tall defenders Michael Jamison and Paul Bower to hold down key roles, backed by more experienced pair Jarrad Waite and Bret Thornton.
He said like most of the squad, Jamison and Bower would benefit both from added physical strength and extra experience.
“Across the board it’s been a real win for us there, but the evidence will be in our performance through the year,” he said.
CARLTON
Coach: Brett Ratten
Captain: Chris Judd
Last five years: 11-16-16-15-11
Premierships: 16 (1906, 1907-08, 1914-15, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981-82, 1987, 1995)
Star five: Chris Judd, Brendan Fevola, Nick Stevens, Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs.
One to watch: Chris Yarran – He’s new to the AFL and only 18 years old, but the slick forward was a star playing senior football with WAFL side Swan Districts last season and could provide some exciting moments.Ins: Michael Jamison (rookie elevation), Chris Johnson (Melbourne), Rhys O’Keeffe (North Adelaide, SA), Mitch Robinson (Tasmania VFL), Caleb Tiller (Murray U18), Robert Warnock (Fremantle), Chris Yarran (Swan Districts, WA).
Outs: Cain Ackland (delisted), Clinton Benjamin (delisted), Luke Blackwell (delisted), Ryan Jackson (delisted), Aisake O’hAilpin (delisted), Darren Pfeiffer (delisted), Jason Saddington (retired).
Best line-up:
B: Paul Bower, Michael Jamison, Bret Thornton
HB: Shaun Grigg, Jarrad Waite, Heath Scotland
C: Kade Simpson, Marc Murphy, Nick Stevens
HF: Simon Wiggins, Brad Fisher, Ryan Houlihan
F: Eddie Betts, Brendan Fevola, Andrew Walker
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Bryce Gibbs, Chris Judd
I: Cameron Cloke, Andrew Carrazzo, Chris Johnson, Richard Hadley
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