The month that changed the Carlton Football Club

The beginning of the 2015 season was filled with such optimism from Carlton officials, players and supporters alike, only to have their hopes dashed within five weeks of season beginning.

The Blues fell to Richmond by 27 points in Round 1, a team that they had only lost to twice since 2008. They then went to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles, and after a fast start, the Eagles dashed any hopes of a competitive game with former Blue Josh Kennedy obliterating the Carlton defence with 10 goals in his side’s 69-point win.

Round 3 proved to be a more competitive match against bitter rival Essendon, however the Blues were unable to capitalise on their chances. Carlton had four more scoring shots than the Bombers but fell 21 points short of their opponents, placing further pressure on coach Mick Malthouse to inspire a four-quarter performance from his team.

In Round 4, the Blues overcame a slow start to record a comfortable 40-point win over Saint Kilda in New Zealand, providing supporters with a glimmer of hope for the rest of the season as the club had improved slightly from its poor early season performances.

With the improvement somewhat seen, the Blues went into Round 5 against Collingwood in an excited manner. It was to be Malthouse’s record-breaking game for most matches coached in the history of the AFL. He was up against his former side, and after a competitive start the Blues completely fell away from a rampant Collingwood. Carlton players bemused the football public with the amount of errors that they made and the lack of pressure they applied as the Magpies ran out winners by 75 points.

In what was supposed to be a special night, the Blues made it an infamous one for the club, and it placed further pressure on Malthouse to improve his side’s results. The club was unable to play competitive football over the next month, with a loss to the bottom placed Brisbane in Melbourne, a 78-point drubbing at the hands of Greater Western Sydney and a lacklustre performance against Geelong, in which the Blues would lose by 77 points.

Over those three losses, captain Marc Murphy, former number one draft pick Bryce Gibbs, defender Andrew Walker and hard runner Chris Yarran were not their typical silky and efficient selves, with the Blues having to rely on ageing veteran Chris Judd, Tom Bell, Kade Simpson and Sam Docherty to do the bulk of the work.

On the Tuesday following the game against Geelong, Malthouse openly criticised the board of directors in a radio interview. He disliked their decision to make a call on his coaching future after the club’s bye in two weeks. The coach thought it idiotic that the board would make him wait instead of making the decision immediately. It caused a series of events that led to Malthouse’s 715-game coaching career come to an end within a matter of hours.

When John Barker was announced as interim coach, not many people saw Carlton adapting to a new game style and succeeding, it was seemingly going to be an extremely lean finish to the season for Carlton.

The club fans were quite happy in Barker’s first game against Sydney in Round 10, even though the Swans would win by 60 points. The Blues seemed to lift their tenacity and pride in playing for the jumper, which is what fans wanted in previous weeks.

In the next round against Adelaide, it seemed as though things were just getting worse for the Blues, with Chris Judd injuring his knee in the opening minutes and being stretchered off the ground in what would be his final game of football.

However, the Blues would nearly cause the upset of the season, losing by nine points in an incredibly intense encounter with the Crows. Carlton officials and supporters were disappointed with the close loss in which they had their chances to steal victory, but they realised that in prior weeks they would never have even come within two goals of a team placed inside the top eight.

Carlton would head into the bye with one win from its ten matches, but it seemed as though they were striving to finish the season in a strong and competitive manner.

That competitive attitude was seen against 2014 preliminary finalists Port Adelaide in Round 12, where the Blues would hold off a fast finishing Power to cause a stirring upset by four points, proving that they could match it with a quality team, even if they were not playing their best football. John Barker certainly seemed to be working wonders at the club.

The club officials, fans and the media alike remained worried however, wondering if the Blues would be able to back up their solid performance against Port Adelaide and record back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a year.

They would be matched against bottom placed Gold Coast, who were dealing with their own off-field issues. The Blues would dominate the second half and run out 34-point winners, proving that the players could produce a four-quarter effort in consecutive weeks.

Over the time of Barker’s short reign, the Blues have increased their output with their average disposals from Barker’s first game at the helm in Round 9 to the club’s most recent game in Round 13. From Rounds 1 to 8 the Blues averaged 332.5 disposals per game, and from Rounds 9 to 13, the club has averaged 381 disposals, a large increase of 48.5 disposals per game.

Carlton’s disposal efficiency has also increased during Barker’s month as coach. It has risen from 70.25 per cent under Malthouse to 71.25 per cent under the interim coach. The increased amount of disposals and disposal efficiency should also lead to higher scores and a higher combined work rate.

This is exactly what has happened, with the Blues averaging an extra 18.125 points per game under Barker, rising to an average of 91.25 from 73.125. The work rate of Carlton has also improved, with the club’s tackle count also rising since Round 9, increasing from 53.625 under Malthouse to 61 per game under Barker.

It establishes that the Blues are working extremely hard to bring respectability back to the club that equally holds the record for most premierships won.

Even though there is still a mountain of work to do for Carlton, it seems as though the club is striving to bring their fans more success under John Barker, and if these improved results and statistics continue the interim coach may just find himself in the senior position next season.

Other clubs will need to be weary of Carlton, as they will be able to cause some stirring upsets during the rest of the season.