I would. From the performance of the players, how consistent our pre-season has been has been outstanding. Maybe getting 'Kreuze' back a little earlier and Lachie (Henderson) with his hip … getting that operated. But outside that, I think it's been really good and really encouraging.
Would you agree that a rating like this sets a reasonably high expectation with supporters?
It probably does. The excitement for me is about the depth of some of the players coming in. When you've got Nick Duigan at 26 - I know he's a bit older - and Wayde Twomey … a few players who have been in the system for a while and they're a little bit more mature, I think they come in and have an impact straight away. So from that point of view, I think our depth has increased, which I think will help us maintain our pressure in games.
Senior management and Blues president Stephen Kernahan have publicly outlined their expectations. Is this rating your own way communicating your expectations to everyone?
The club has seen us play in finals for the last two years and we need to raise the bar. That's the next step for us - to win a final. There's no doubt that the club's history has been built on success and from our side of things we need to make sure that we get finals success. It's important that we get that over the next 12 months and especially winning a final will be really critical.
There seems to be a genuine 'bubble' and energy around the place this year. Much has been said about the intensity of the pre-season. What influence have the new assistant coaches Alan Richardson, Gavin Brown and John Barker had in this area?
They've had a fair bit, I think, with their enthusiasm and the way they've gone about it. I think the big thing from the people who have been here - Mark Riley, Matthew Capuano, myself, Darren Harris, and Luke Webster is a new person as well - is, I suppose, the intellectual property. Richo brings what he learned at Collingwood, Essendon and at the Bulldogs; Gav [comes] from the premiership team at Collingwood. Johnny Barker in the last four years has been at St Kilda and Hawthorn and Lukey has been at Fremantle, so the intellectual property that we've got from teams that have played in finals in the last couple of years is something that we're very lucky to get and the way they've conducted themselves has been outstanding.
During the NAB Cup you seem to have tinkered with the defensive element of your game plan. Will this be an ongoing evolution of the side's style of play in 2011?
I think it is. We spoke about Collingwood's press and some of the teams have been something similar in the last 12 months or two years. I think teams will tinker and there will be ways to beat it, but there will be ways to conduct it, whether you use the backs to roll up or how you do it. I think the interesting thing for our team and our group will be to grab the concept and really run with it. I think we had it in place partially last year, but we've ramped it up a fair bit this year.
It would seem the club has recruited a number of players including Duigan, Andrew Collins and Jeremy Laidler, who will be immediately eligible for senior selection, and Matthew Watson looks physically ready for AFL as well. Let's look forward six months and do you think season 2011 will be viewed as the year Carlton 're-engineered' its side?
I think it will with (Bryce) Gibbs going into the midfield more, and Laidler and Collins will really help with our depth and, I suppose, experience. It doesn't put players such as Watson and (Patrick) McCarthy under enormous pressure to come in and play straight up. Last year was a real bonus to have (Kane) Lucas, but I don't think we've got that expectation this year … a lot more depth, a lot more experience. To ask some of our draftees from this year to come up and play, I don't think we have that expectation. So whatever Matthew (Watson) does in year one of his career will be a bonus for us.
Let's talk specifically about some of the new and current players: Everyone at the club seems genuinely excited about getting Andrew Collins to Carlton. What can you tell us about him and what does he add to the side?
"I think his versatility. He's got a great motor, great skills. Even last year at Richmond the game that really excited me was [when] he pretty much got concussion and went back and kicked three goals and they got up and won that game. He played a really big part and was the match-winner on that day. He's a player who didn't play a lot of footy early in his career, had OP (osteitis pubis) for a couple of years, so he's one who's going to really shine. It's only been the last three to four weeks that he's been in competitive training.
Luke Mitchell already looks like a physically imposing proposition. What should supporters expect from Luke in 2011?
We've only seen Luke for about a week in our program and he really threw his body around, a bit like Earl Spalding in the way he ran around at centre half-forward and bashed and crashed. It was only a week in training, but we've already seen that in his game, so he's one who really excites us for his physicality - for a big man he has a presence about him. And his voice, the boys have called him 'The Twig' after junior 'Sticks' (Stephen Kernahan).
Patrick McCarthy is physically a different proposition to Watson and Mitchell. What are his greatest assets and will Blues fans see him playing senior footy in 2011?
I'm not sure if he'll play senior footy in his first year. He'll be monitored with how much we put in physically as he has had an interrupted pre-season. He's one that gives us great versatility. At 196cm he can play on talls and smalls. He's a bit like (Dustin) Fletcher with his Go-Go-Gadget arms. He's got a great reach and reads the game really well as a centre half-back or half-back flanker. He might get some games towards the back end of the season, but we're just a bit unsure early doors.
There are high expectations for Mark Austin as a defender and fans are keen to know if he can finally overcome his history of injuries.
He had a few hiccups and did a hamstring after the Christmas break, which was just a small one, so he missed 21 days. The versatility of those talls will be really important and Mark understands that. He's looking for a big year. He's been around the system for a while, it's time that he broke in and cemented a spot, so he really knows where he has to go with his football. He's done most things during the pre-season and done most things well.
The general media consensus is that Robert Warnock is critical to the side's fortunes this season. It's no secret that last year he was criticised for his attitude towards training. What has turned him around?
I think he's taken some feedback on board. I thought his last six weeks in the season was fantastic. From a club point of view, we've seen why we recruited this player and this is what he can do. He has been the best-performed player in our pre-season, from the start of pre-season right though until now. He and (Michael) Jamison have stood out further than any other player and (I) have been really impressed with the way he has gone about it. We expect him to have an enormous year this year.
In previous interviews you have discussed a scenario that has Matthew Kreuzer playing as a ruck-rover alongside Warnock in the ruck. It's a potentially imposing proposition. Do you see this strategy as being revolutionary in the way Anthony Koutoufides revolutionised the game?
Maybe. With the rotations and the sub, that has brought that tactic on maybe. We'll just introduce Matthew back into the team, whether it's down forward, in the ruck. We'll see how he goes early doors, whether we put him straight in as a ruck-rover or something like that. But it's something that we can add to the mix and maybe throw a headache at the opposition. It's something that we've had a chat about and we thought about. While you've got all of these players that you have to make versatile, this is one way that we can use Matthew to his strength, and that is to hunt the footy up and chase the ball, which he does extremely well.
There is a huge amount of expectation (media and supporters) around the re-introduction of Bryce Gibbs into the midfield. Do you think this is warranted and does it put unnecessary pressure on Bryce?
I think with the high draft picks the expectation is pretty high generally outside the football club, of any club - it doesn't matter what player it is. I think Bryce has shown he has the versatility to play half-back, half-forward, middle, but we think he can really add to our midfield. I spoke before about Laidler and Duigan and some of the players down there. Simon White will be back fit this year; he's had a very good pre-season. We'll get those players back, which will allow Bryce to come back into the midfield.
Ryan Houlihan and, to a lesser extent Jordan Russell, have been much maligned during their respective careers. Both have come through and both will reach career milestones in 2011. Can you tell us how you feel about this? Russell was elevated to the leadership group this year. And could he be captain of Carlton one day?
He could. Early doors he asked to be in the leadership group. We spoke about getting his own game right before he could lead others. He's done that in the last couple of seasons, especially the back end of 2009 [when] he had a fantastic finish to the season. He really came home in the best and fairest and showed how he can really play and then he backed that up in 2010. He's one who really develop in being a vice-captain or captain down the track, so we'll just see how he goes in the leadership group this year. 'Hoops' (Houlihan) was taken around pick 80 and to play all the games that he has - he reminds me a bit of (Matthew) 'Skinny' Lappin, not having a big build but having great skill. To get to 200 games is just a great achievement.
Finally if you had to put a label on Carlton's brand of footy in 2011, what would it be?
Uncompromising. I just think [in] our mental attitude and the way we go about our games we need to be a lot more rigorous in saving a goal. Across the group we need to be a little bit harder and maybe a little bit more ruthless in our approach for victory and the way we go about it. So hopefully when they say 'Carlton were uncompromising; they wouldn't give the team an inch', win, lose or draw … that's something we'd like to be spoken about after games.
