Carlton Blues ‘pretty confident’ of returning home after round 12

Carlton coach David Teague says “all indications” are that the Blues will be allowed to return to Melbourne after this weekend’s game.

Carlton has won four of its first eleven games. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Carlton coach David Teague says “all indications” are that the Blues will return to Victoria following their clash with West Coast on Sunday.

The ‘Baggers found themselves stranded in Sydney after losing to the Swans on Sunday amid Melbourne’s outbreak of Covid-19.

Teague said “as far as (he’s) aware”, Carlton will play West Coast at the SCG this weekend as the AFL scrambles to amend its schedule in response to border closures.

However, speaking on Monday night’s episode of AFL 360, the Blues boss said the round 12 game will be Carlton’s last in the Harbour City for the time being.

“All indications at the moment are we’ll fly out either Sunday evening or Monday morning back to Melbourne,” he said.

“(The AFL) is pretty confident that that’ll stay in place.”

Teague said the Blues’ homecoming will be a relief after the squad spent the majority of the 2020 season in a Covid-safe hub.

“The biggest issue often is the uncertainty and when it started it was five days, and after last year, I think most people packed for a lot longer than five days,” he said.

“What the future holds after (returning to Melbourne), we’re not sure. Right now obviously we’re concerned about all the people back in Victoria and particularly the welfare of our coaches and our players and staff and their families.”

The Blues were brave but couldn’t get the job done on Sunday. (Photo by Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

The Blues started strongly over the weekend but, in a trademark of their season to date, invited Sydney to take a gamewinning lead midway through the final quarter.

Teague admitted “there’s a level of frustration” among the playing group as the side heads into round 12 with only four wins to its name this season.

However, the coach remains confident his side is on track to match it with the top dogs in the second half of the season.

“We’re probably showing for periods of games that we can be competitive, but we’re not doing it for four quarters,” he said.

“We’re not doing it for 120 minutes and when we don’t, we’re getting hurt on the scoreboard.

“From an offensive point of view, we’re more than average, but defensively, we’re allowing too many scores and some of those scores are just too easy.

“Some efforts that we addressed over the last few weeks just haven’t been good enough, particularly when you're wearing the navy blue jumper.”