THE Carlton Reserves fell agonisingly short in their VFL season opener against Box Hill.

After trailing by as much as 32 points, the Blues were beaten by the siren as a late comeback came so close to a memorable win in the VFL season opener.

Head of Development Brad Ebert spoke to Carlton Media following the game, with a number of positives to take out of the four-point defeat.

On his emotions post game:

“It was a bit mixed I reckon. We’re seeing a lot of growth from a lot of the boys and for us to be in that position, I just felt it was a massive group from where the group had been over the past 12-18 months. There were a lot of positives to take out of it.

“Obviously you want to get away with a win, but the fight, the determination and the ability to stay in that fight with such a young group was a real highlight."

On what worked late in the game:

“We really went in with the mindset to surge the ball. We wanted to take the ball forward, not at all costs, but making sure that if there was an option there we could take the game on. I felt like in that last 15 minutes, that really ramped up.

“We made a few adjustments around players that were inside at the time, players that were ball winning and their ability to drive out of those contests, while guys forward of the ball really fought their battles and brought the ball to ground."

On draftees Harry Charleson and Ben Camporeale:

“Harry Charleson got the opportunity to play on Luke Breust. As an 18-year-old kid coming into the competition, to be able to get exposed to that in your first game is pretty special for him.

“He did a really sound job: you know Luke Breust is going to get himself into a position to score, which he did, but I thought for the most part Harry really fought hard in that role, and he will take massive lessons from it.

“Ben came on in the second half, around the ball he was strong and solid. I think he woud probably admit he took a little while to settle into it, but once he did, he really showed he has the ability not only to play VFL but to play AFL in future. I thought his first outing was great.”

On Jordan Boyd:

“He was good, he was really good.

“He adds penetration and poise behind the ball, especially late in the game when you need someone like that to direct traffic and set the game up. He was fantastic: he tries to bite off a bit, which we need, we need brave players with the ball.”

On debutant Flynn Riley:

“Flynn was fantastic. He’s a guy that has left no stone unturned over the last few years.

“He’s thirsty to learn and get better, and to his credit he is starting to see some real progress in that space. It was a really well-deserved first game and he was going up against some seasoned rucks and he was consistently in the battle.”

On the focuses for the coming weeks:

“There’s going to be more AFL boys coming back in the next couple of weeks, so that’s going to be exciting in itself.

“It probably gives them the chance to get exposed to it, to get that chance to come in and play the minutes they’re required to play, so then they can go straight back into [VFL] Round 3 and be ready to go.

“I think next week [practice match against Footscray] is going to be a good one to be able to get a few guys back in the team and get some consistency and continuity, and then ready to go for Round 3.”

Jaspar Wilson-Keir is a student at La Trobe University, undergoing his Bachelor of Media and Communications (Journalism and Marketing). He is currently undertaking an internship at the Carlton Football Club as part of its partnership with La Trobe University.

Photo credit: Tom McLachlan