SENIOR coach Damien Keeping says his side is determined to finish its season with a win this week, despite finding itself out of the premiership race.
Yesterday’s 35-point loss to Melbourne means the Blues can’t qualify for the grand final, and Keeping said he was disappointed with his side’s lack of endeavour early in the must-win clash.
“We clearly had some issues in that first quarter around our intensity, (and) if you look beyond quarter-time we win the contest,” he said.
“I think the preparation the players put in was really sound, but we’ll look at the pathway we took to get to the first quarter throughout the week.”
The Blues found themselves 38 points behind at quarter-time, but rallied after the break and outscored the Demons 21-18 through the final three quarters.
From that fightback, Keeping said there were some promising performances.
“Georgia Gee played up on the wing today and was really exciting, she kicked her first goal for the Club and I think she showed the potential that we know is there,” he said.
“(Breann) Moody continues to deliver for us, the growth that she’s made from the start of that first season to where she is right now and the way in which she’s contributing is enormous.
“Tiahna Cochrane played her first game in navy blue today which is a great Carlton story… there’s some real positives around those three in particular.”
Despite Carlton's drop in form at the tailend of the season, Keeping said he wasn't interested in tinkering with his side’s strategy for its final game against Fremantle on Saturday.
“I think we’ve demonstrated that when we’ve played the way that we want to, right throughout the season and at various stages throughout games, that we’re able to be really effective,” he said.
And despite having nothing to play for but pride, he has no doubt his charges will be up for the fight.
“We get to travel to Fremantle as a really united group, and we’ve got one more game to really make a stamp and stand for something,” he said.
“I know the character of this playing group is really strong, they’ve stuck together and they’re really united… we’ll grow from the experience today and look to better ourselves.”
Maddison Gay attempts to mark in front of Melbourne's Ashleigh Guest. (Photo: AFL Photos)
While the temptation may be to start looking ahead to next season, Keeping shot down any suggestion that he would be worrying about the future.
“We get an opportunity to go out and win a game, and that’s what our sole focus will be,” he said.
And while his side isn't part of the race for a grand-final spot, he said the closeness of the teams at the top was good for the league.
“I think it’s exciting for the competition to know that there’s a handful of teams potentially that could be there come grand final time,” he said.
“Unfortunately, that’s not going to be us.”
