Sydney’s Daniel Hannebery tackles Carlton’s Heath Scotland during the AFL Round 16 match between the Carlton Blues and the Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne. Slattery Images
It was for all intents and purposes a horror day for Carlton at Etihad Stadium yesterday. The Blues were humiliated on the scoreboard, young gun Kane Lucas badly damaged his hamstring and Andrew Walker is facing some serious time on the sidelines for a crude head high hit.
The siren simply couldn’t come quick enough and when it finally rang and put an end to the misery, the Carlton spin-doctors quickly swung into action.
Brett Ratten sat in the coach’s box for an unusual amount of time after the game looking both shocked and bemused at his side’s insipid performance.
Strangely though when it came to his post match media conference, Ratten’s optimism and positive critique on the game was slightly confusing, and hardly befitting of the result.
“We won the battle after half time” he said
Now I’m not sure if it’s just me but seriously give me a spell Rat’s…why aren’t you putting any heat on the players?
This was Carlton’s big chance to cement a spot in the top 8.
Perhaps the Blues hierarchy sensed the media bubble waiting to burst following the intense scrutiny Matthew Knights was under last week and probably will be again this week, and decided to pump out as much positive rhetoric as they could.
But make no mistake, Carlton is in the middle of a mid-season form slump that is threatening to completely derail their season. And if they don’t quickly find some answers the spotlight will shift away from Windy Hill and over to Princes Park.
Carlton’s embarrassing 39-point defeat at the hands of the Sydney Swans has the Blues hanging delicately onto eighth spot on the ladder, but only by percentage.
When Ratten was asked if he felt any pressure about his position as senior coach he scoffed at the suggestion
“No, not at all, how many of you in the room tipped us to make the top eight, none…am I correct?”
“You’d think from all the talk we are in the bottom four, that’s the thing I scratch my head about. I still smile about it”.
But he certainly wont be laughing if the Blues do end up missing the finals.
And while he did admit his side was down a little on confidence, he seemed to safely deflect anyone questioning the Blues credibility.
Interestingly he also took responsibility for galvanising the group ahead of this weekend.
“The onus is on me. The coach is the person in charge of the place”.
I’d love to hear what Carlton supporters think but in this case I don’t think it’s up to the coach at all, the amount of costly turnovers and horrible skills errors from the Blues were almost unforgivable, not to mention the lack of pressure around the stoppages.
Mentally they didn’t come to play, and as a group I think its up to the players to fix it.
However there are of course a number of on field issues Ratten must address too.
Carlton still has a major deficiency up forward, and without a big strong target is finding it increasingly difficult to kick a winning score.
Until they find one, it’s hard to see them pushing deep into September for a very long time.
Also the back line is leaking far too many goals and in quick succession. They desperately need to learn how to balance defence with attack, otherwise the Blues are in danger of heading down the same ill-fated pathway as Essendon both on and off the field this year.
As we know when performance doesn’t meet expectation, the media, supporters and even the players can quickly turn on a club and its coach, and in this case Brett Ratten has managed to dodge a bullet.
But another couple of losses and I doubt the football world will be as forgiving.
Justin Rodski
Guest
Just for future reference, for "all intensive purposes" has become completely acceptable as an idiomatic expression for saying for "all intents and purposes" Sure it's not exactly Queen's English but "wowzers" as you have so eloquently put it, thats not the idea of writing a conversational opinion piece either. Anyway you will be happy that Andrew Walker has escaped sanction from the match review panel. Clearly its the Etihad surface that needs to be reviewed....
Michael
Guest
"Intensive purposes"??? Surely you're taking the p*ss here Justin?? Repeat after me; "intents AND purposes". And you're a full-time, professional journalist - wowzers... Here's a scoop for you, too; Walker & Carlton will contest any charge because the ground underneath his right foot shifted about 30cm as he tried to pull-up, causing the contact. [Michael - that was missed in the editing process; our fault not his. We all make mistakes mate. Thanks for the tip; updated now. Ed.]
Richard
Guest
Don't know what it is, but seeing Carlton struggle just adds a sparkle to my day.
Doughboy
Guest
What Charlie said.
Redb
Roar Guru
8th spot is wide open. Will Adelaide or North Melbourne knock Carlton out?
LK
Guest
As a Swans fan I'm not sure how much to take out of yesterday. Carlton were soooo poor. I've never seen Ted Richards dance around or brush off tacklers like that. The Blues still can make the finals but they have to get some momentum quickly.
Charlie
Guest
At no stage was this year ever meant to be our chance at a premiership and anyone who thought it was our time was either crazy or deluded (or both). Very few people tipped us to even make the top 8 this year. We sacked our full forward, someone we kicked to over 35% of our inside 50's entries, which meant a whole new forward structure and game plan was implemented. Add to that we still have the 3rd youngest list in the competition. Next year we may start challenging for the top 4 (but probably won't get there) but in reality 2012 would be the earliest that the Blues could mount a serious charge towards the cup. As for your assertion that Judd will soon be past his prime - he is 26, turning 27 in September. With his skill and core strength I would give him at least another 5 years of top-class footy (and probably another 1-3 of just very good footy) - plenty of time to lead the Blues to one or more premierships. Maybe next time you could base your opinion on fact instead of mindless drivel.
bradford
Guest
i've been patient with my blues, but the last two weeks have been horrible. i have supported ratten, but maybe i've been wrong. what is wrong with jarrad waite? he is so angry, looks like he is wanting to hurt his opponents - best way to hurt them is to beat them waitey, not belt them.
Redb
Roar Guru
On the grounds that Essendon are in worst shape than Carlton I take little joy in the Blues token efforts as a football team. Ratten like Knights does little to inspire the faithful let alone his men on the field.
andrew
Guest
I said it here a few weeks ago... I will say it again. Carlton will miss the 8. They have 8 wins now, should beat the Bombers, might beat West Coast, and will lose the rest. They have two trips to Perth in the last 6 rounds. Who agreed to that?
Forgetmenot
Guest
This year and next year are meant to be Carltons big chances at the premiership. They let us know something was brewing down at Princes Park, but it looks like now they added a few wrong ingredients. Judd will be past his prime soon, and Carlton will simply be a club that had great potential and failed to capitalise on it at all. They really are the Carlton Blues.. and are old and dark.