AFL 2021 GWS v Carlton: Blues lose again to put pressure on coach David Teague
The blowtorch has been turned up several notches at Carlton after another disastrous loss. Which key Blues will be feeling the most heat?
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An under-performing Carlton is still selling itself on potential.
It’s been the same story for a while, and David Teague was at it again on Friday – explaining how the club’s key personnel hadn’t been in position for long and effectively just needed more time.
Teague was referring not just to himself, but also football boss Brad Lloyd, list manager Nick Austin and even high performance guru Andrew Russell, who have all arrived from other clubs.
A new president, Luke Sayers, is also incoming and he has rolled up his sleeves early to oversee the recently announced football department review.
On this point, third-year coach Teague is right, although to his credit he at least conceded success “hasn’t happened as quickly as we would’ve liked”.
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An eighth-straight year without finals awaits the Blues after a ninth loss in 13 matches on Saturday night, this time by a season-most six goals to an understrength Giants side outside the top eight.
It begs the question: when won’t it be enough for Carlton to just have building blocks in place?
Beyond the off-field crew, the Blues have All-Australian-calibre bookends (Jacob Weitering and Harry McKay) and a young stud midfielder (Sam Walsh), while they spent big to attract two half-backs (Adam Saad and Zac Williams).
Tom De Koning looks promising, too, but there are mainly only glimpses from him so far.
Charlie Curnow is arguably better than any of them, but his last appearance was in mid-2019, because of a problematic knee issue.
There remains tentative industry belief in Carlton’s direction despite its ongoing struggles and the various questions about prized draftees such as Paddy Dow, Sam Petrevski-Seton and Lochie O’Brien.
Another first-round draftee, Brodie Kemp, hasn’t been sighted at AFL level because of injuries, while David Cuningham was starting to show some signs before his cruel ACL rupture.
Jack Martin picked the Blues in 2019 when he left Gold Coast, as did Lachie Fogarty last year as he sought greater opportunity after being stuck behind veterans at Geelong.
The return on Saad and Williams hasn’t justified the outlay yet, but they’ve already outperformed another rich signing in Mitch McGovern, who’s rarely fired in navy blue.
The Patrick Cripps of the past two seasons remains perplexing. No VFL/AFL player had more contested possessions or clearances than Cripps through 100 games.
At half-time on Saturday night, the co-captain had just five of the former and, most shockingly, none of the latter as Carlton found itself in a five-goal hole.
A Blues supporter group poked fun recently in a Tik Tok video at Cripps’ “we’re back” exclamation in August last year, after they comfortably accounted for Gold Coast.
The evidence, as the @blueabroad video highlights, is that Carlton “absolutely” was not back. Wins have followed in just five of the Blues’ next 18 outings.
If you don’t laugh, you cry 😔 pic.twitter.com/nVUJIPuYTF
— Blue Abroad (@blueabroadmedia) June 9, 2021
Complicating the process of projecting where Carlton is heading – setting aside the shiny objects in the cupboard – are the regular on-field problems that rear their ugly head.
The previous most common talking point was the horrific mid-game lapses that cost the Blues valuable wins on high rotation.
Now, it’s about the unacceptable defensive breakdowns. Teague says the problem isn’t the system but rather the execution of it.
The focus is again on how it’s being taught.
The Giants played keepings off and took an extraordinary 138 marks (120 uncontested), the most Carlton has conceded in both categories since Round 9, 2019 against the same opposition.
The Blues already ranked in the bottom four in the competition this season for pressure factor and post-clearance pressure factor, but they tracked below even those averages at the weekend.
Their pressure factor against GWS of 161 fell an embarrassing 19 short of the AFL standard, while their post-clearance pressure factor of 144 was 21 off.
Twelve Carlton players failed to lay a tackle to half-time and the side was out-tackled 45-20 to that stage, then 79-41 by night’s end.
“We’ve had a few disappointing ones, but that’s right up there,” Teague said afterwards. “It was very hard and very frustrating to watch.”
Former Hawthorn star Jordan Lewis, who the Blues reached out to about a potential board position, was also worried with what he saw.
Lewis’ concern centred on Teague and his ability to get the best out of Carlton.
“Is David Teague that person who can motivate this group when they’re down and out?” Lewis asked on Fox Footy.
How the Blues handle the Marc Murphy situation will be intriguing as well, with the dual club champion still five matches short of reaching 300 but having already been dropped twice this year.
Everyone and everything at the Blues is on notice – and there will need to be some substance soon.
CAMERON DEFENDS GREENE AFTER LATEST REPORT
Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron is standing by Toby Greene after the controversial star’s latest disciplinary indiscretion.
Greene was a key player in his side’s 36-point win over Carlton at Giants Stadium on Saturday night, but was reported for striking Nic Newman in the third quarter and also made contact with an umpire.
While the striking incident occurred off the ball, the force of the swinging fist to Newman’s midriff appeared to be insufficient to warrant a suspension and there was certainly no malice in his subsequent brush with the umpire.
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But that won’t necessarily spare Greene the wrath of match review officer Michael Christian given his chequered disciplinary past.
The 27-year-old has been charged 18 times for six games suspended and over $27,000 in fines.
“I think in the last couple of years, Toby has gone a long way to tidying up a lot of those things,” Cameron said.
“When I have a look at it, I’d be really surprised if there’s anything in it.
Toby Greene has been reported for this incident.
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 19, 2021
DETAILS ðŸ“: https://t.co/X1zFEbhRQMpic.twitter.com/KqdxtZQSCv
“He’s really tidied up in that area and let his footy do the talking and let his leadership do the talking.
“I’m not too concerned about it, but I’ll keep making sure that he’s addressing all the areas of his game and what he can improve on.
“Footy’s a tough game and there’s always going to be some niggle, there’s always going to be some things that are going to happen on the field.
“But I’m really proud that with every game he plays he gets better and better in this area.”
Greene admitted it had been an error in judgment on his part.
“It was a bit silly,” he told the Seven Network.
“Hopefully it’s just a fine there, but we’ll wait and see.”
Cameron also hadn’t seen Greene brush the umpire’s chest when he spoke to reporters following his side’s sixth win of the season, but didn’t back away from his support of his stand-in skipper.
“Toby’s such a passionate player … that’s what we love about him,” Cameron said.
“I love his passion, I love the way that he goes about his footy, I love the way he’s leading.
“There’s a lot of good things and a lot of right things going on with Toby Greene at the moment.”
The incidents were a sour note on an otherwise resoundingly positive night for Greene, whose four goals included a stunning torpedo punt from inside the centre square after the first-quarter siren.
“I’ve never actually practised kicking torps or anything, so I’d probably say it’s a fluke,” he said.
“I never practise them, a few of the boys do, but I just figure I’ll never kick one so that’s probably a bit of luck that one.
“I was going to have a drop punt but I thought it won’t go in so I had a crack at a torp and it came off.”
TEAGUE CONCEDES BLUES ARE IN ‘REAL PIT’
Carlton coach David Teague concedes his underperforming Blues are in a pit of poor form after Greater Western Sydney handed them their heaviest loss of a disappointing season.
With the spur of a recently announced independent review of the club’s football department and the physical and mental rest of a bye, Carlton had every opportunity to come out firing against the inconsistent Giants on Saturday night.
But Teague’s men offered little fight in a listless first half in their clash at Giants Stadium that ended in a 36-point defeat – their fifth loss in a six-game stretch that has doomed their season.
The Blues trailed all night but at least fought back to be 12 points back late in the final term.
It was a rally that offers little comfort to a fanbase that had entered the season optimistic about a return to the finals after a seven-year absence, but finds their team languishing in 14th spot on the ladder with a 4-9 record after 14 rounds.
“Right now we’re in a real pit … we’re not playing great football, we’re not playing with confidence,” Teague said.
“There’s little patches where we move the ball OK and defend OK but we’re not doing it consistently enough.
“To get out of that you’ve got to work hard and have honest, accountable feedback and we’ll do that.
“We’ll be really strong and clear with the boys about what’s happening and then you’ve got to work really hard.
“That’s our challenge and we need to buy into that and roll our sleeves up because today they out-tackled us too easily.”
Despite picking what Teague thought was a “tough” team, Carlton lost the tackle count 79-41 against a side that could only muster a draw against lowly North Melbourne last week.
Teague conceded he would have to conduct his own review of how he educates his players on his defensive systems after the Blues conceded more than 100 points for the seventh time this season.
As for ‘playing the kids’ for the rest of the season with finals not on the cards, Teague has learned painful lessons from the club’s recent history.
“We’ll look to change because we’re not getting the job done, but in terms of the age it will be the people who are putting their hand up and playing well (in the VFL),” he said.
“This club in the past has probably gone down that path and (young) guys may have got comfortable in just getting games, but we want you to work really hard, we want you to be in great shape.
“We understand that it would be frustrating for (our fans) right now but we think if we continue to work hard – we’ve got to get better – but we think we’ve got that in us.
“We understand their frustration and it’s warranted because we’re not performing the way that we should be.”
Toby of old returns as Giants torpedo listing Blues
The good and bad sides of Toby Greene were on display as Greater Western Sydney saw off a late challenge by Carlton to ease to a 36-point win at Giants Stadium.
Good Toby kicked four goals, including a sweetly timed torp from long range, to help secure Saturday night’s 16.6 (102) to 9.12 (66) win.
But bad Toby got reported and made contact with an umpire.
Greene went into the umpire’s book for striking Nic Newman in the third quarter, but the star forward would be unlucky to miss next week’s clash against Hawthorn given the force of the blow to his opponent’s midriff.
“I haven’t seen the incident, but I will say that I think in the last couple of years Toby’s gone a long way to tidying up a lot of those things,” coach Leon Cameron said.
“When I have a look at it, I’d be really surprised if there was anything in it.
“I’m not too concerned about it.”
In their first game since announcing a wide-ranging independent review of the club’s football department, the Blues gave the review panel plenty to contemplate.
Carlton are to be commended for finding a way back into the game to trail by 12 points early in the last quarter, but coach David Teague was left wondering where that effort was in a largely dispirited first half.
“It’s disappointing … I thought they smacked us around the ball, particularly in the tackle count,” Teague said.
“Our ability to go in and win the ball was OK, I think we won the ground balls, but after that they just beat us.”
Toby Greene has been reported for this incident.
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 19, 2021
DETAILS ðŸ“: https://t.co/X1zFEbhRQMpic.twitter.com/KqdxtZQSCv
There was a lot to like for the Giants, who had plenty of contributors as they boosted their finals chances, with Jacob Hopper, Isaac Cumming, Lachie Whitfield and Tim Taranto all prominent on the ball with Jeremy Finlayson booting five goals.
Matt de Boer was sent to young star Sam Walsh for the first three quarters and the master tagger took the honours before the hard tag was released late.
Matthew Kennedy and Patrick Cripps led the Carlton midfield, while Harry McKay kicked three goals.
GREENE GOES LONG
Greene was mobbed by jubilant teammates after he sent his side into the first break with a 20-point lead in spectacular fashion. The star forward marked 55m out then went back to take a set shot as the siren sounded. He let loose a stunning torpedo punt from inside the centre square that split the middle and hit the boundary fence on the full.
HELLO HARRY
Coleman Medal leader McKay was one of several Blues to start slowly. He didn’t register a stat in the first quarter, but took his season tally to 39 goals with his first kick of the match.
However, it would be his side’s only major in a term where things went from bad to worse for the under-pressure Blues, with McKay’s bounce streaming into goal going out of bounds at right angles and an ill-disciplined 50m penalty given away by Patrick Cripps just a couple of examples of the sort of night the visitors were having.
On the flip side, the Giants ended the quarter on a high once again, with Cumming and his teammates celebrating his first AFL goal that gave them a 30-point lead.
TACKLING THE BLUES
Carlton was on the wrong side of a lopsided 45-20 tackle count at halftime. “That’s just an effort thing … the Giants are just a bit hungrier to win the ball and lay tackles,” Richmond great Matthew Richardson told the Seven Network broadcast.
HARRY HEATS UP
The Giants led by as much as 39 points after kicking five goals in a row, but McKay kicked back-to-back majors as the Blues summoned an unlikely four-goal blitz. The margin was 18 points as the final term got underway and Marc Pittonet gave the visitors a sniff with the first goal.
But Greene’s third and fourth goals, either side of Finalyson’s fifth, secured the Giants’ sixth win of the season.
SCOREBOARD
GIANTS 5.3 8.4 11.4 16.6 (102)
BLUES 2.1 3.4 7.10 9.12 (66)
PHELAN’S BEST
Giants: Hopper, Taranto, Greene, Whitfield, Cumming, Finlayson, Haynes.
Blues: Kennedy, Cripps, Docherty, Weitering, Pittonet, McKay.
GOALS
Giants: Finlayson 5, Greene 4, Himmelberg 2, Briggs, Kelly, Hopper, Cumming, Lloyd.
Blues: McKay 3, Owies 2, De Koning, Fogarty, Pittonet, Fisher.
INJURIES
Giants: Kelly (ankle).
Blues: Nil.
REPORTS
Greene (Giants) for striking Newman in the third quarter.
UMPIRES
Chamberlain, Gianfagna, Mollison.
VENUE
GIANTS Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 J. Hopper (GWS)
2 T. Taranto (GWS)
1 M. Kennedy (Carl)
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Originally published as AFL 2021 GWS v Carlton: Blues lose again to put pressure on coach David Teague
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