Game Review

Carlton would lose this high scoring game by a single point at the Lake Oval.

Blues need a lift!
What's wrong with Carlton? That's the question many people, especially Blues supporters, would like to know after the team's poor start to the season. After five rounds Carlton are languishing at the bottom of the ladder despite the pre-season promises by club officials of a return to their former greatness. The Blues missed the finals last season, but their decline as a force in League football was not expected to last for too long. They recruited Ian Stewart as coach this season and George Harris returned to the club with a new look committee. Things were starting to look rosy for the Blues again. Their pre-season form was quite good and everyone at the club was confident of a successful year. So where have they gone wrong?

It is very difficult to find specific reasons for their poor form so far this season. Certainly the loss of Ian Stewart as coach has affected the team but they weren't firing when he was there. Top Carlton players are right down on form and appear to be lacking in confidence. It was thought that getting an outsider like Ian Stewart as coach would stimulate and revitalise some of the older Carlton players but that was not the case. Players like Walls, Jones, McKay and Jesaulenko have been struggling and their task is not going to be made any easier now, because they are going to have to adjust to new coaching methods again for the rest of the season. This is going to throw the whole side off balance because Carlton, when they appoint a successor to Stewart, will have had four coaches in the space of three years.

I dont believe that there are too many old players at Carlton. Age is just a condition of the mind, and if these players could regain enthusiasm and confidence they would still be valuable assets to Carlton. It isn't age that is their worry. It is the fact that they have been members of successful Carlton sides for so long. They aren't approaching the game with the same endeavour they did a few years back. The Blues have got several promising yound players in their side, but they need the experienced players firing to lift them up the ladder. One way they can lift their side is by shifting Alex Jesaulenko out of defence. Jezza can be easily kept out of the game on the backline, and should be moved to the centre or the half-forward line, where he is still capable of making his presence felt.

Another thing Carlton must do is recruit some stronger type of players. They have got too many players at the club of a similar lighter build, and are getting brushed aside too easily. Carlton are certainly at the crossroads and their performance over the next few weeks could make or break the club. - Doug Wade Inside Football.

Team

Milestones

50 Games: Graeme Whitnall
Last Game: Peter Bedford
Last Game (Carlton): Robert Walls