CARLTON went down fighting against the Hawks at York Park on Sunday afternoon, falling short by just five points at the final siren.
While the Blues held the momentum at the main break, they would face a re-energised Hawthorn in the third quarter determined to play the game on its terms.
Defender Dale Thomas, who was one of Carlton's best on the day, reflected the disappointment of the group when speaking post-match on the narrow loss.
“To get so close, it hurts to be completely honest,” Thomas said.
“It’s a game we definitely should have won.”
Late-game scenarios became a focal point of the Blues' preparation following their two-point loss to Gold Coast in Round 4.
Despite a last-minute surge from the Blues, the loss to Hawthorn puts the learnings front of mind for the playing group once more.
“We weren’t able to get that final goal or final shot in the last few minutes,” he said.
“It’s certainly something that we train, but ideally when you’re five goals up at half time you probably shouldn’t get into the position we did late.”
The Blues were on the front foot for the most of the first half leading the Hawks in clearances and inside 50s.
However, the classy opposition were never going to give in the fight, piling on five goals to one in the third quarter to give themselves the momentum heading into the final term.
Down two rotations in the backline with Kade Simpson and Nic Newman taking no part in the game due to minor injuries, the Blues showed great fight but were ultimately unable to match it with their experienced opposition.
“We always knew they were going to respond; we played a pretty good half of footy where we controlled the entirety of that first half,” he said.
“We were probably slow to adjust defensively and as a backline group we went away from the things we were doing really well in the first half.
“I had to pick up a bit of the load there with 'Simmo' and 'Newy' going down. The backline has been pretty solid all year, so we’re pretty composed out there.
“It’s certainly not an excuse, it’s just disappointing to have lost those blokes in the game."
