Stephen Silvagni admits to frustration but remains confident Carlton’s list build is on track
CARLTON list manager Stephen Silvagni admits he is frustrated by recent results but is adamant the club’s rebuild remains on track despite criticism from Blues greats.
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STEPHEN Silvagni was in the airport lounge in Brisbane watching Carlton capitulate to Fremantle in the first half last weekend and was wincing.
He had seen an under-18 championship match and planned to catch the Blues game before flying home.
“I can say I wasn’t that thrilled at what was happening,’’ he said. “It wasn’t good.’’
He’s not the media connoisseur, Silvagni, but he knew they’d be coming.
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As the Blues limped to their 11th loss in 12 matches this season - and this was the worst - talkback callers swamped the radio stations and the commentary was aggressive, on game day and over the coming days.
Goalless at the half, it was horrid to watch. Not as stunning as West Coast’s dormant first half against Essendon on Thursday night, mind you, or even Adelaide’s 1.3 kicked against Hawthorn in the second half, but kicking Carlton to death is trendy.
Silvagni understands and accepts supporter frustration.
In a rare interview - and for a brief moment - Silvagni the Carlton list manager became SOS the competitive and passionate footballer.
“The club doesn’t tolerate lack of effort,” he said.
“We’ve had some games and if I’m a Carlton supporter, you walk away and say, ‘That effort’s not great’. That was pretty much the first half last week. You walk away not happy and we’re not happy that happens. We don’t accept that.”
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He remembered legendary coach David Parkin, when Parkin returned to coach the Blues for the second time in 1991, declaring what it meant to play for Carlton.
“David said - and we’ve been doing this over the past two or three years here - he said, ‘Who wants to play for Carlton and who’s good enough to play for Carlton?’ And these times generally tell you that. It’s not about individuals, it’s about team.’’
Silvagni sounded like the two cantankerous and concerned Carlton greats, Robert Walls and Mark Maclure, who were so pained by last week, they launched at the club.
“Wallsy is Carlton at heart and sometimes you make calls and say it as you see it right there and some of the stuff he said is absolutely right,” Silvagni said.
“There’s other stuff, where maybe he needs a little bit more information You make statements like that when you see the lack of effort. Mark’s the same. They all care.
“This is the hardest thing. The media will have an opinion and they see what’s there. But until you live and breathe working in a football environment, in a football club, there are so many variables and so many reasons why things happen.
“We’re informed with all the information. We understand why some things are happening, not all of them, but a lot.
“We can’t explain the lack of effort. Our two previous games against Geelong and Sydney, we were in wining positions. I don’t know what changed. If you don’t bring effort, good luck with game style and systems. Fundamentally, if you don’t bring effort you’re done.”
It is Wednesday and Silvagni is sitting in the Carlton boardroom, below and to the right of Jamie Cooper’s oil painting of Carlton’s Team of the Century, one of two pieces of art which hang in the boardroom. The other is of Dick Pratt.
The team painting drips with richness and achievement, a staggering contrast from where the Carlton Football Club is positioned today.
Silvagni does not make excuses or offer apologies.
“You ask me if I’m frustrated ... I get frustrated, blood oath I do, but am I concerned? No. Because we needed to bring young talent in the door,” he said.
“There’s always going to be variance in opinions, but the majority of Carlton supporters, I believe, are realistic to know what’s happening here.
“The club has been really strong.”
The Blues are under fierce examination. Extricated from Greater Western Sydney, Silvagni was appointed list manager in December, 2014 and Brendon Bolton as coach at the end of 2015 and together they have gutted the list.
It is football’s version of the killing fields.
Forty-two players are gone and only seven of them - Tom Bell (Brisbane), Lachie Henderson (Geelong) Nick Holman (Gold Coast), Billy Gowers (Western Bulldogs), Zach Tuohy (Geelong), Dylan Buckley (GWS) and Bryce Gibbs (Adelaide) - remain on club lists.
Their plan was to go the draft as promised, trade for draft picks and bring in journeyman for cheap to help fill holes and support the kids with mature bodies.
The results - Bolton has a 14-39 win-loss record - has the coach being questioned about performance and execution and Silvagni about his list management.
“You know what, it’s healthy (to be questioned) because it keeps you honest, it keeps you working hard and makes you more determined,” Silvagni said.
“I’ve been through this before (at GWS).
“I’m confident because the club is strong. We’ve mapped out a plan and we’re sticking to that plan. We’ve got a really good structure in place, a strong board, a strong coaching group, got an exciting list, got some really good leaders coming through who are young, we’ve got some older guys like Simpson, Kreuzer, Murphy, they want to see success.”
Talent is improving slowly at Carlton and the age and experience is dropping rapidly. That’s what you get by playing kids.
But the defeats stack up when you’re best players are not playing.
They lost John Nicholls Medallist Sam Docherty to injury before the season, skipper Marc Murphy has played four games, Matthew Kreuzer has missed three games, Levi Casboult four games and promising young players Caleb Marchbank and Tom Williamson have played four and zero games respectively.
Three of those players - Docherty, Marchbank and Williamson - are creative and would be starting defenders, while Murphy is the second most influential midfielder. When Kreuzer and Casboult don’t play, the team looks like a scrawny bunch of malnourished teenagers.
Injuries hurt every club, but when you’re best players are out and journeyman such as Cam O’Shea, Jed Lamb, Aaron Mullett and Sam Kerridge fill the breach, the talent levels drop.
Overall, they have 20 recycled on the list.
That all started before Silvagni got there. To be frank, the list which Silvagni took over, which had been decimated by the trading of senior players and the drafting of unfilled youthful talent, was wretched.
Silvagni won’t point fingers at the former coach Mick Malthouse or list/recruiting manager Shane Rogers.
“I’m not worried about the past, all I can do is control what’s now,” he said.
Yes, mistakes were made, but don’t forget Rogers took Cripps at No.13, which was a genius selection.
From the start, and central to the process, was the national draft.
“Everyone’s view was Carlton has never embraced the draft ... never embraced the draft,” he said,
“And you get one pick every 18 selections, one, so you have to understand.
“We all knew three years ago the challenges we faced. Have we done everything right? Probably not, people can question some stuff but we had to rebuild and the way to rebuild is you need to embrace the draft. We needed to get some early picks and to get picks you have to trade players out.”
Among the dealing, Lachie Henderson went to Geelong for a future first rounder, Tom Bell to Brisbane for a second rounder and Troy Menzel to Adelaide for pick No.28.
In 2016, they traded up to get to pick No.11 to nab Charlie Curnow and traded out Chris Yarran for pick No.19.
In 2017, they traded Tuohy for a future first rounder and traded picks for Caleb Marchbank Jarrod Pickett, Harrison Macreadie, Williamson and Pat Kerr, all of whom have played senior footy.
Compare that group to 2014 when the Blues drafted Blaine Boekhorst, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, Clem Smith and Jayden Foster, none of whom are at the club.
From the 2010 draft, a group which would be in the 26-27 age group and should be the core of today’s team, not a single player is on the list.
Clearly, inroads are being made, albeit slowly and painfully.
The Blues are in the free agent market and they will target midfielders over the 24 months. “Our salary cap is a in a very good state,” he said. “Whether it’s free agency, or trades, we’re looking at all avenues.”
Amid the external gloom and vitriol, Silvagni says he’s up for the challenge.
“I can tell you, we’ve got a big responsibility and we don’t take it for granted,” he said. “I’m passionate about getting it right and there’s 17 other clubs trying to do the same.”
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