Carlton Supporters Club

We lack intensity at the contest.  Contested footy is king.  you get first use, and odds are if you use the ball well, you should be able to cut up your opposition.

Intensity is mind set, mind set is the coach.

OK, I think I have a good grasp on where we are going now, and I think the game plan is flawed.

I wondered why we are so focused on moving the ball around the boundary line, why stoppages are a key part of the game plan, and what benefit doing so can have?

I suspect the "sales pitch" for the game plan is that it is designed to get the team late into the season with the most amount of "run in their legs" left to compete in the finals. Almost like planning to run a marathon with a limited resource that you cannot waste too early, so you minimise the waste early by doing lots of stop / start ground work and preparation "around the boundaries."

But I think it is flawed, I think the problem with the plan is that it ignores fatigue caused by other aspects of play, mental fatigue, stress, collisions and frustration. Your legs might be fine but that doesn't mean you aren't physically and mentally shattered. It's not a natural way to play football, it is more like a rugby scrum, wrestle or tug-of-war!

The apparent game plan never gives players a break, they usually teeter between a couple of goals down and a couple of goals up. It's like getting to the lead in the race then deliberately slowing to keep your opponent at your shoulder. You just won't ever see that cruise mode that Adelaide or Hawthorn experience. In my opinion those cruise moments give players a mental break as much as a physical break. Our game plan appears to be relentless burden, a wrestling or boxing match without a bell, just a non-stop slog.

It must be so draining on the players, like flagellation, you bash yourself towards the finals and are relieved if you actually get there!

I think a further flaw in the plan is if you make every contest an arm wrestle, you basically leave your fate to the toss of a coin late in a game. You are hardly ever going to be comfortable because your game plan doesn't allow you to escape the opponent. The opponents are nearly always in the zone with a genuine shot at beating you.

I think our opponents know this, the MM plan is well understood, and all those close loses are an indicator that it is doomed to fail.

Port, Dawks, Adelaide, all appear to do the complete opposite. They do their very best to put the opponents down early, remove the opponents motivation and brace against a potential second wave. If they get that break on a club with a game plan like ours, we have no hope of closing the gap, our plan gains ground one step at a time while the others sprint ahead in leaps and bounds!

We are the Tortoise in "The Tortoise and the Hare", our wins rely on the Hare being a complete idiot!

Finally,the area we lack the most, the creative area of the game, the forward line. How does it flourish under this regime? It must surely wither, is that what we are seeing now?

Intensity is mind set, mind set is the coach.

I disagree.  Intensity is ingrained in the player.

Some players have it.  Others dont.

You can make a player be intense, but it will happen infrequently (sound familiar?).  Some blokes who are built that way just play that way all the time.  They dont need to be taught, or shown, they just do.  The trouble occurs when they can't control that intensity and just play that way all the time without control like a loose cannon.

That energy needs to be there to be tapped into when its required.  Luke Hodge is the epitomy of it.  When the time came for him to face Buddy, he gave him a kiss.  Why?  Because going hard in that moment would have achieved nothing for him or his team.  He harnassed that energy and used it well.  Next 50-50 he draws upon it, and bang throws a hip out to hit an opponent and take the ball because he was built that way.

Chris Judd does it.  He goes hard often and goes up a level precisely when he feels that the game is slipping.  Its a pity it cant be taught.  That competitive edge, but its really hard to teach it to one who isnt built that way from a young tacker.  Have a look at our very own Matthew Watson.  Finds that killer instinct for one game a season and then goes straight back into his shell.

Setanta had it.  White has it.  Most of our blokes dont.

Mate, Port had no intensity at all, they were a rabble. Enter Ken hinkley, hey presto, they have mindblowing intensity. Intensity IS mindset and IMO that falls at the coaches feet, Port Power being a great example. Freo are another great example, look what Ross Lyon has done with the same list as the previous coach.

@LP

it was a concern when we first hired Malthouse. His gameplan at Collingwood was intense and relied on 4 interchange players being rotated heavily (the most in the competition) to keep up that intensity. The Sub rule came in, and here we are, trying to run the same high intensity game plan, with one rotation down... We run out of legs so often, and lead games then just fall away (I even started a thread on it).

@Thry

Apart from being untouchable, what is Malthouse's role then. You have in two separate posts, absolved him of all responsibility and blamed the players (Who aren't blameless I get that). We may as well go in with no coach then?

THIS ^^^^^^
It is all in the mind

Bulldogs players have come out and said the same thing this morning, they are enjoying football under the new coach and they win despite having 3 or 4 of their expected starting lineup on the sidelines.

Regarding Port, for every Port, there is a Richmond, Melbourne, St. Kilda, Western Bulldogs and finally a CARLTON waiting to happen.


We all look starry eyed at the way Port play footy, but we dont have 3 or 4 top 5 draftees not getting a regular run in our team, waiting for an opportunity to prove their worth.

We all look starry eyed at the way Port play footy, but we dont have 3 or 4 top 5 draftees not getting a regular run in our team, waiting for an opportunity to prove their worth.

My analysis of the game plan was, get the ball, kick it to an opponent, miss easy shots at the goals, always be behind your opponent when going for marks, don't run and spread when your team mate has the ball, stand in one position and point your fingers at a team mate and say pick him up, as things go badly do not go in hard and win the ball but hang out and try and tackle an opponent, do not make your tackles stick, and if you do win the ball, don't move the ball forward quickly. It was pretty much what it has been for the past 15 years, despite changes to coaching panel, players and administration. I think the philosophy at the club is that as long as we achieve mediocrity, we are reaching out goals. The target for this year is to achieve mediocrity.   but judging on last Thursday's effort, we will need to work a lot harder to achieve it.