Few, however, had as little experience in such a situation as 21-year-old Dylan Buckley.
Buckley had not played in a Carlton win in his first four games.
His mind was going berserk.
"I had people screaming at me from every angle. I really didn't know what was going on. I was just hoping my man didn't get a kick and was trying to help my teammates," Buckley told AFL.com.au.
He didn't doubt the team could win but it was a belief built on faith as much as anything else.
The creative, running defender was important.
When he won the ball he took the game on, breaking up the play and creating opportunities.
So when the team dropped four goals behind West Coast midway through the last quarter he had no choice but to trust his ability and keep taking the game on.
He turned down the volume of a body that was using a megaphone as it screamed to stop and kept chasing.
"You have just got to empty the tank and you never know how hard you can push yourself until you do," Buckley said. "I think we really got the most out of ourselves so we learned that we could push ourselves a lot harder."
Dylan Buckley is congratulated by his skipper. (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media)
The leaders around him inspired him to keep working too, as he noticed them put their head over the ball time after time.
Suddenly that belief turned into goals.
"A few things went our way as we moved the ball well through the midfield and the ball went through the big sticks," Buckley said.
When West Coast had late shots for goal his mind went blank. He was relieved when two of the final three behinds hit the post.
"I didn't know what to do at that point," Buckley said. "I hoped for the best and the footy gods looked after us."
After 16 disposals, four marks, three running bounces, a goal and three hair-raising minutes to finish the game, Buckley finally had a win wearing a Carlton jumper.
He has now started making inroads on his father Jim’s record (164 games with Carlton for 105 wins).
"I couldn't imagine anything better. That was just amazing, the way the boys came together in that last quarter … I can't explain it,” Buckley said.
