Carlton coach Brendon Bolton reviews his team’s 12-point loss to the Crows on Saturday afternoon.
On Carlton's general performance…
“I think this time last year when we played Adelaide, it was a 10-goal loss. It shows our supporters and most importantly our playing group that they’re really bridging the gap on some sides in the last 18 months. That’s huge growth. Aside from our wins, some of our losses – I reckon about four of them – we’ve been in front in the last quarter. So, it shows that we’re bridging the gap and shows that you need to be in those scenarios for the next stage of growth.
“We’ll be able to look at that last quarter really strongly, see what worked and what didn’t, both as an individual and as a team. So that’s a good learning opportunity for us.”
On what went wrong…
“Misconnection with the footy, maybe not taking ground under pressure when required, missed tackles… they’re all the little things. I think that’s what it is in high performance, an accumulation of little things. Our players understand that, but sometimes you have to live it to really appreciate it. We’ll do that and have a good look (at what went wrong).
“We don’t want to have any (losses). But when you get into those positions, they provide a good learning opportunity for the future."
On what changed after the first quarter…
“I thought in the back end of (the first quarter), we started to press and had the game played in our half a little more. There were varying reasons… we tried to use the ball in moments where I thought we could take control with the ball. We turned some balls over coming out of the defensive 50, then they came back and scored… so there were many things in that first quarter (that we changed).”
On playing Patrick Cripps forward…
“I think when we develop midfield depth, we’ll get more and more of that. He’s pushed forward in games this year and he keeps training that area… he’s shown some real growth with his marking up forward. Charlie (Curnow) is another one. They’re both young lads that we should be excited about.”
On their growth as a club…
“In spite of a loss, we feel that as a footy club we’re hard to play against. We didn’t give up the fight today and we played right ‘til the line. Yeah, we didn’t execute at some key moments in the last quarter, but we feel there’s an element of pride (to be felt) against a quality opposition that we were right in the game and we didn’t give up the fight.
“I don’t really put a ceiling on what we’re trying to achieve this year. We’ve got a way in which we want to be perceived and a way we want to play, which is about consistency and pressure. So, I think you’re seeing that. I said I was proud of the boys in that they didn’t give up the fight and I think our members should be proud of them. There’s lots of other things… there’s debut games, there’s some rising stars and the form of our leaders. It can be a little shallow sometimes when a club is growing just to look at wins and losses.
“But I will say, and I say this every time I’m asked the question, we’re here to win every game… but there’s some other signs we’re heading in the right direction.”
