BLUES defender Sam Docherty has praised the resilience of the Carlton playing group following its courageous seven-point victory over Hawthorn on Saturday night.
The win afforded the Blues their sixth for the year and snapped the side’s string of losses that spanned across the preceding eight rounds.
After experiencing defeat from winning positions over the past two months, Docherty said the players’ ability to maintain strong “enthusiasm” resulted in their on-field success.
“It’s been important for us to keep that drive and that expectation that we want to win games,” Docherty told 3AW on Sunday.
“We put ourselves in really good positions throughout the year to have a win in the last quarter and have messed it up for a variety of reasons.
“Although we’ve been losing we’ve been showing some key signs of improvement to the way we play our footy and it’s through those losses that we’ve been able to learn and grow.
“To get that reward for the amount of effort that our young group has put in this year was really pleasing.”
The match saw the Blues put an end to their 14-game losing streak against Hawthorn, with Carlton’s last win over the Hawks dating back to Round 6, 2005.
According to Docherty the triumph was a testament to a strong-minded Blues brigade which featured 11 players with fewer than 50 games of AFL experience.
“For our group to get over that line - the 12 years - it is pretty significant,” Docherty said.
“They've (Hawks) just been a champion team and the way that they've played their footy has been pretty unbelievable for a long stretch of time.
“To be able to get a young group to get over that and break the hoodoo was really good for us.”
The win was made even more momentous with Carlton’s 1987 premiership team watching on from the stands as the past players celebrated 30 years since their Grand Final glory.
“To see them (1987 premiership players) there and to have them there for the win was really significant for us,” Docherty said.
"Winning premierships is pretty hard so that group that won it under some pretty harsh conditions.
"That's (performing in adversity) is what we've sort of modeled our brand on, so to see them ('87 premiership players) there and to have them there for the win was really significant for us."
With 31 disposals at 93.5 per cent efficiency, 15 marks and six rebound-50s, the Blues’ gun half-back was awarded the David Parkin Medal as the best afield during the Round 22 clash.
