Carlton’s senior coach Brendon Bolton has described the Blues’ 19-point win over flag-fancy Geelong as the Club’s “most gutsy” win this season.
With skipper Marc Murphy going down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, followed by small forward Liam Sumner, the Blues were left with only 20 fit players after half-time.
Facing an uphill battle in the midfield against the likes of Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, Jed Lamb, Matthew Wright, Andrejs Everitt and Dennis Armfield rotated through the middle to give their teammates a chop out.
“I would have thought it’s our most gutsy win because we were two down, and you know the impact of lacking rotations particularly when you’ve only got 90,” Bolton told 3AW’s Sports Today on Monday.
“For our midfield to carry the load between them I thought was testament to a bit of character there.”
Other members of the leadership group such as Sam Docherty and Bryce Gibbs also stood up when it mattered. The pair were recognised for their match-winning performance, named in the AFL’s Team of the Week for the second time this year.
Bolton praised his leaders for their continual improvement and unrelenting effort on match day.
“Our leadership group has been fantastic this year,” he said.
“They’ve challenged us as coaches and we’ve challenged them, we’ve celebrated efforts on both sides as well, and we’re rapt with how they’re going – they’re taking some really good steps forward with their leadership.”
Although the Blues currently sit 11th on the ladder with five wins and five losses, Bolton is fully aware these are little steps on Carlton’s long-term journey.
“We’ve got a mantra of improving each week and there has been some little signs, but there’s still a long, long way to go.”
Carlton takes on the Brisbane Lions this Saturday at Etihad Stadium, with the match kicking off at 2:10pm.
And don’t forget, Bluebaggers, there are still membership packs on offer – it’s never too late to become officially #BoundByBlue!
Head to membership.carltonfc.com.au or call 1300 CARLTON.
