MATTHEW Kennedy says bringing a strong contested game will be crucial for the Blues in their clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
While the midfield bull was sidelined during Carlton's loss to the Suns in Round 2, if his performance in Sunday's clash with Hawthorn is anything to go by (29 disposals, 14 contested possessions, four tackles and a goal), he will bring much-needed midfield grunt this weekend.
He spoke to Carlton Media about the Blues' loss to Hawthorn, the team's injuries, his form and the focuses leading into the Suns game.
On the season-ending injuries:
"Losing two on the weekend - both 'Fish' (Zac Fisher) and 'Jonesy' (Liam Jones), who are two really good players, was really disappointing. We were down on rotations once again, but we had the resilience to play the game out and in that third quarter we really put up the fight. I think tired legs got to us eventually but I'm really proud of the way the boys fought it out to the end."
On his performance:
"Personally it was a pretty good performance. I think 'Patty' (Patrick Cripps) has been a big person to lean on this year. I chew his ear off a fair bit, and work on a few things like ground work with him. He's a contested beast so to learn off him is great. I've been doing a lot of craft work with Tim Clarke, Brent Stanton and Dale Amos. The coaching group we've got around us is really strong and that's helped me and my game personally to slowly develop through the year. Obviously I had a bit of a slow start with injuries but I've got a bit of a continuity in my body now which is good, so I'm feeling that I'm getting a bit of growth in my game."
Matthew Kennedy was a strong contributor against Hawthorn, amassing 29 disposals. (Photo: AFL Media)
On the coach's messages:
"The main message from 'Bolts' (Brendon Bolton) and the coaches is nailing fundamentals and values. It's basically knuckling down this week and working on all of our craft and sorting that out first so that we can then move into systems."
On the last clash with Gold Coast:
"Obviously watching the boys lose to Gold Coast last time was disappointing and not being able to be out there and help them out was frustrating. I think from that game we've learned and seen how they've played. They're a very contested team and I think that's where they got over us last time. Our basic skill errors cost us a bit more than the scoreboard showed. If we bring our inside contest to them and nail our basic skill errors it will go a long way to getting the result."
On the team's morale:
"The team morale is really good at the moment. Having only the one win has been pretty frustrating and hard in itself but I think the group is just getting stronger the more outside noise and pressure that is being put on us. We're a really close-knit group. Training is still fun and enjoyable and we put more pressure on each other at training in demanding the best out of ourselves. I think results will come - it's just a matter of time and getting blokes fit and on the park. Playing together will help with that as well. There's still a lot of positive signs and the group can really see that and that's why it's so positive and vibrant at the moment even though we haven't got the wins on the board yet."
Carlton will face Gold Coast from 7.25pm AEST at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
