The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

Carlton have grown up by appointing Teague

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Guru
15th August, 2019
21

When David Teague was unveiled as the head coach of the Carlton Football Club on Thursday morning, the winds of change had finally swept through Princes Park.

Not only did they blow the selection committee away through sheer weight of results on the field that would have forced their hand, but it blew away a murky smell that has been rotting the club for the better part of 150 years.

For so long at the Blues, decisions have been made by the faceless men – the faceless cashed-up men from the back room calling the shots.

As the years rolled on and the different appointments were made as different coaches were moved on, the fear among the supporters was real.

Who would they try to get next? Which name will they dangle a godfather sized offer too next? This is what Carlton have been after ever since they became a big, powerful club in the mid-1960s.

Ron Barassi, David Parkin, Robert Walls, Alex Jesaulenko, Denis Pagan, Mick Malthouse. All giants of the game in their own right, and have all carried the mantle as senior coach of Carlton over a period of time.

For some success followed, and for some, it went totally pear-shaped. The lure of a name and a messiah has always been a priority to the powers of this club. Unfortunately, this clouded view stunted the Blues from growing and evolving as the competition has in the last 20 years.

The appointment of David Teague brings a breath of fresh air and a new age to the Carlton Football Club.

Advertisement
David Teague addresses the Carlton players

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

A modest 83 games across two clubs with a best and fairest win at Carlton along the way. An honest country lad from Katandra who lives and breathes football. While his name certainly doesn’t have the clout and the draw of a messiah like some of the names before him, the appointment represents a leap into the now.

As David King told Fox Footy, “This is the first time Carlton has joined the AFL in about 20 years”. Three-time Carlton premiership player and club great Mark Maclure agreed.

When Carlton appointed Brendon Bolton, the message was relayed that this was about the process of picking a person who would not only coach but nurture and mould the playing group to a level of sustained success.

While the Bolton tenure ultimately didn’t work and results piled up against him, the nucleus and foundation of a good list and platform had been set. All that was required was for a good coach to come in and continue on the right path.

Whether Carlton were backed into a corner to install David Teague as the permanent coach remains to be seen, but this has all the makings of a very good decision.

Advertisement

The Teague appointment brings an end to the era of just expecting dominance and displaying arrogance at every move.

The Carlton board ratified that when they appointed the coach was right for them – not one with a big name, a recognisable face, and a standing in the game that they initially thought they wanted.

They appointed someone who is authentic and in the modern world. This is a definite sign that Carlton are finally getting their act together and growing up.

From the player-coach of the Northern Bullants ten years ago to being an assistant at three different clubs across the country to now coaching the senior team where the journey began for him, David Teague – with the masses of Carlton fans, players, assistant coaches and media hounds behind him – enters the pressure cooker as a full-time AFL senior coach.

It’s back where it all started for him. We will look back with the benefit of hindsight in years to come and question if it was a knee-jerk decision to a groundswell of support or if he was genuinely the right man for the job.

But the belief is building at Ikon Park as the Teague train has arrived permanently at the station. And with it comes fresh air and fresh belief that something finally feels right at his club.

close