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After Carlton’s 86-point loss to their fellow developing team, North Melbourne, pressure is building on them to put a win on the board.
Third year into their rebuild under coach Brendon Bolton and there’s been no improvement in ladder positions – in 2016 they were 14th, in 2017 they were 16th, and currently they sit 18th.
Six wins last year, seven in the year before and none this year so far.
Some would say that wins and losses don’t matter, although at the end of the day you’d be hoping that after one year of rebuilding you start to see your team put together some victories.
With captain Marc Murphy out for four weeks, Carlton will need to find something to spark the team against West Coast, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide and then Essendon.
It is hard to see them winning any of those four.
West Coast just beat the Suns by 80 points, while the Dogs have found form in the last two weeks – beating Essendon by 21 points and narrowly going down to premiership favourites Sydney by seven points.
Adelaide had a bad game on Friday night against Collingwood, although by the time they play Carlton the Crouch brothers should be back from injuries to strengthen their midfield.
And Essendon just knocked off Port Adelaide, who were the only undefeated team after three rounds.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
So the Blues could soon be 0-8, which would be disastrous. Bolton will be under pressure, as will the board, who have told their frustrated supporters to be patient.
Carlton could be footy’s next main story if a strong performance isn’t put together against West Coast this week.
A win would be amazing and could give a lot of their young players confidence.
There’s plenty of talent lying around in that team, such as first-year players Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien, who are still awaiting a Gatorade shower and a sense of success at that level.
Earlier in the year, Bolton told fans that he put an emphasis on their offensive play in the preseason but on the weekend against North their efficiency going inside 50 was at just 24 per cent.
It was ten shots from 42 entries which would’ve frustrated the players and coaches after putting a lot of hard work into it on the training track.
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Although I don’t understand why an emphasis would be put on offensive play – Carlton are the leading team for playing on from a mark in the AFL – while gaps are evident in the defence.
Wouldn’t it be smarter to work on going both ways in one plan and building it up so that it doesn’t leave gaps in defence?
If performances like the one on the weekend continue, the successful club that Carlton once was could fall apart. There simply must be glimpses of the ‘bright future’ we’ve heard so much about – as soon as this weekend.
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