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Despite opening loss, Carlton shines light on a brighter future

Patrick Cripps was the standout in 2017. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
25th March, 2016
28

Carlton weren’t meant to make it a contest. It wasn’t meant to be a down to the wire thriller. Richmond were not meant to rely on fourth-quarter goals from Jack Riewoldt and Sam Lloyd to steal victory.

It was meant to be the night where the Tigers roared over a young Blues outfit and finally announce their ambitions to charge into the top four this season.

Clearly, the memo got lost on the way down Lygon Street.

Yes, the Blues ultimately walked off the MCG on Thursday night empty handed. But despite the four points going to the Tigers, the real winner of the season opener was Carlton, who provided their fans, and more importantly themselves, a glimpse into the future, one that suddenly seems a lot brighter than it did previously.

The baby Blues were led by a couple of old heads, as Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs showed the football world they still have the talent to perform at an elite level.

Even Andrew Walker provided some highlight reel material with a routine one-handed grab midway through the third term. Kade Simpson returned to his best, racking up 31 disposals on what seemed to be a throwback Thursday night for the Blues.

Although, while Carlton should be encouraged with the performances of their veterans, the young crop of baby Blues were able to show the club’s future is in extremely good hands.

Patrick Cripps silenced any doubt that he may be set for a second-year slump, showing his ability to dominate within the packs is as good as anyone’s. Cripps led the Blues in contested possessions (17), clearances (10) and pressure acts (21), while still using the ball at a 74 per cent efficiency rate.

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Cripps possesses a certain amount of poise around the pack that is only seen from the league’s true elite, a group that last year’s best and fairest is quickly making his way into.

He proved last year that he has all the tools and potential to develop into one of the AFL’s best. It seems as if he just got better over the summer time, a scary thought for the rest of the competition.

The hype over number one pick Jacob Weitering was questionable in pre-season. However, after just one game, that hype is warranted.

You would be forgiven for thinking Weitering was playing in his 100th game rather than his first against the Tigers. There was no panic or hesitation from the rookie, rather he displayed the calmness that his coaches and teammates have marveled at throughout the pre-season.

Finishing with 17 touches and using the ball at a ridiculous 94 per cent disposal efficiency percentage, Weitering was able to reassure any Blues fans that may have thought Josh Schache was the better choice for the first pick. Weitering looked incredibly relaxed in front of over 75,000 at the ‘G, and Carlton fans should feel that same sense of relaxation when he eventually has a bad game. The kid is a future All-Australian backman.

Even the supporting cast, such as Sam Docherty, who used the ball at an 83 per cent efficiency percentage, Sam Kerridge, who followed up his eye-opening NAB Challenge with 24 touches in his actual Blues debut and Blaine Boekhorst, who showed flashes of his talent, all played games that should fill Blues fans with optimism rather than uncertainty.

The players weren’t just the only newbies in Navy Blue last night, as Brendon Bolton had his fingerprints all over Carlton’s season opener.

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Coming from a Hawthorn side that are known for their lightening quick ball movement and using ferocious defensive pressure to force turnovers, Bolton got his Blues to channel that same mindset against the Tigers.

The Blues were more hungry than the Tigers on Thursday night. They’re boisterous pressure and tackling exhibition was something unforeseen from the team last season. However, with 51 tackles last night, they played with a hunger for the footy that is necessary to win football games.

While they ultimately lost the tackle count and lost the contested possession count by two, Carlton created 37 forward-half turnovers, their most in 14 years. Richmond were rattled. The Blues squeezed every bit of comfort out of the yellow and black and pressed the Tigers into sloppy football all night long.

And when the Blues forced those turnovers, they ran. Boy, did they run. The coast-to-coast ball movement was a thing of beauty, as Carlton created countless scoring opportunities from a fearless brand of football and ball movement.

“There were some really good things there to build on,” Bolton said. “We had enough midfield supply, some of our ball movement troubled them and I thought our defensive action was really sound.”

Carlton aren’t going to win a lot of football games this season but if the season opener taught us anything, it’s that they might not be the laughing stock everyone thought they would be.

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