After the announcement during the week that David Teague was now the official coach of the Carlton FC, eyes were then turned to see how he and the team would turn up on Saturday for a game against a much in-form St Kilda and a game classed as a “rubber” game.
If you were like me, I was glued to my computer screen at work and was thankful that I had two screens, so on one screen I was working and the other, watching. I was emotional while watching the Press Conference and took a sigh of relief, for I could not really see any other coach (other than Clarko) being the Coach of the Carlton FC. The reasons for this I have stated in other articles. That being said, I would like once more to state that I have nothing but admiration and wish to send a huge Thank You to Brendon Bolton for laying the foundation of this team and after the weekend’s game, for being instrumental in the team we have now.
This game on Saturday meant nothing to the final outcome of the competition, but it meant a whole damn lot more to the supporters of Carlton and they turned up in droves to the match. The atmosphere was electric and you could have been mistaken for a finals match or a match that determined finals fate, was being played at the MCG.
The roar of the crowd when we kicked a goal. The roar of the crowd when McGovern took that amazing mark, his goals, his tug of his top showing who he is playing for. The roar of the crowd when Murph did what Murph does and kicked that goal from the pocket. The roar of the crowd when Harry McKay sealed the fate of the game from the 50-meter line shook the stadium foundations to the core. The roar of the crowd when a fan favorite across the board – Kreuz spoiled a kick, in what could have been a goal in the last minutes of the final quarter. But it was the roar of the crowd every time Daisy Thomas got hold of the ball and that “voodoo that he do” was so inspirational that there are now calls for Carlton to get him back. But he understands the very nature of the footy world and while I would love Daisy to come back, I understand why he was let go.
Then the other roar of the crowd, the anger from the crowd directed at the umpires was astounding. It was not just a few who protested at the inconsistencies displayed in umpire decisions during the game, it was the roar of the crowd that protested – the whole crowd. When a controversial decision went against Carlton and resulted in a St Kilda goal, you could not hear the cheers from the St Kilda fans, as they were drowned out by the boos from the roar of the Carlton fans. While we are all frustrated and angry at the umpires, a team that is focused on winning despite being thwarted by decisions that were out of their hands will know that it is that win that is all the more sweeter.
However, a team that has had a “lions share” of disruptions in the past, and played a game that in the end would have no bearing on the finals, dug deep, fought hard and put a contented grin on the face of its new coach. The “rubber” game united a club and its fans, the ex-players, and the current players, because it was the fans, the ex-players, the current players that were all united with one very strong voice, we know who we want as our coach, we know what direction we want to go in, and that game showed why, because the direction we want to go is, that we will never give up or give in anymore.
In the past, we would have given up, succumbed to the inevitability of this “rubber” game as it didn’t matter what the outcome was. This match solidified that every match for the Carlton FC is a chance to show the footy world what this group of players is going to be capable of next year. It may not have meant much for season 2019, but it did to the supporters – every one of them and it was a way to say thank you to a player who gave his all for a club that had disliked him once when he was playing for another.
This game may have been a “rubber” game but it mattered. It mattered more than those outside the Carlton FC could ever fathom. The Teague train may have finished its journey to the Carlton FC, but the train of Carlton 2020 is gearing up to roll out of the AFL station with not just a “toot toot” but the screaming sound of a bullet train fuelled by the burning fire and hunger for the possibilities that 2020 will bring. I’ve got my ticket!
#I Am Bound By Blue!
SPORTZ 