THE commitment and determination to stick to the Club’s long-term plan has been one of the most pleasing aspects to emerge this season, according to senior coach Brendon Bolton.

In what has been a challenging year for the Blues, the Club has not deviated from its path, with every director, player, coach and staff member remaining steadfast in their approach.

Speaking to SEN Breakfast ahead of Carlton’s clash with the Giants, Bolton reiterated the Club’s united position, while noting the importance of constantly reassessing the processes involved.

“I think when you go into a club you have a plan and I think the thing I’ve been so pleased about, is under adversity, you get challenged and it makes you cross reference and check how strong you are in all your philosophies and the way in which you’re going about it as a club. We haven’t deviated because we’re steadfast in this plan,” Bolton said.

“So, what it has done is reinforce that. It doesn’t mean that we don’t check off the way in which we’re going is the right way, but we’ve stuck to it and haven’t deviated so that’s what I’m pleased about.

“I think we’ve got the most games into 18 to 21-year-olds by a truckload to anyone in the competition, which we feel – it was a big part of our plan – will pay us back.”  

Carlton has blooded 10 debutants this year, including first-round draft picks Paddy Dow and Lochie O’Brien, as well as Patrick Kerr, a tall leading forward in only his second year.

Dow and O’Brien have shown glimpses of their talent throughout the season, with Dow receiving a Rising Star nomination in Round 14 against Collingwood and earning an AFL Goal of the Year nomination in the Blues’ win over the Gold Coast in Round 19.

While the Blues had time to enjoy last week’s victory against the Suns, Bolton’s attention quickly turned to Sunday’s game against the Giants, stating he and his coaching team are continually looking at ways to improve and receive feedback from the players.

“I think that’s high performance, you look inside at what you can do better and that’s the challenge. We never want to get too high or too low, so we make sure we keep looking at ourselves and our systems and the way we’re going about it,” he told Garry Lyon and Tim Watson.

“As a club, we’ve continued to do that. We understand there’s been some challenging realities, but never once has it been an excuse.

“Quite regularly the leaders talk about my coaching in leadership meetings and I challenge them – that’s a high-performance environment and that hasn’t altered.”

Focusing on the positives week-to-week has been key for Carlton, with Bolton highlighting the growth of the team’s young and emerging leaders, including Sam Docherty, Patrick Cripps and Jacob Weitering.

Although sidelined with an ACL injury this year, Docherty has taken it upon himself to gain new skills in coaching, while Cripps has taken his leadership to another level in the absence of skipper Marc Murphy and Weitering has pushed himself through games to regain good form.

“Docherty has jumped into a coaching space to make sure he’s kept a really strong connection to the playing group, so I’ve noticed him step up in many ways as a person. He’s got a totally different perspective than he had 12 months ago,” Bolton said.

“Cripps didn’t have ‘Murph’ out on the oval, so he had to step up and lead and there’s been some exceptional growth there.

“We’ve also seen that Weitering’s form over the last 12 months has been a little bit up and down and that comes with a lot of scrutiny, but if you see the way he went back with the flight in the last few minutes of that game, and the last two weeks he’s fought his way through that – so I’ve been pleased with a lot of our boys.”

While the senior coach remains purely focused on the last four games of the season, Bolton said he’d start to engage with Stephen Silvagni and the recruiting department as the trade and draft periods draw closer.

“I’ve got to be really mindful at the moment that we’ve still got four games to go and I’m not going to get too distracted with that, but there’s no doubt I’ll throw myself in with ‘SOS’ at the end of the year,” Bolton said.

“Right now, my role is to talk about the needs and the types of players; have we got enough depth in a rebound defender, if there is enough depth through the midfield in terms of inside mids or outside mids, so I’m having those conversations regularly, and then the boys will be going away and trying to put their order together in that space.”

Carlton takes on GWS this Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium, with all the action kicking off at 1:10pm. With only three games left in Melbourne this year, make sure you head along and support the team. Purchase your tickets here.