I'VE GOT to say that last week's game over the Brisbane Lions was one of the strangest, but best wins I've been involved with.

We started off well and everything was going along fine and we were up at half time, but then they really turned it on in that third quarter with nine goals. It was a bit of a shock to the system I don't mind saying, but it was really great how the guys were able to absorb that and still come away with the win.

We thought we were in a bit of trouble to be honest. They couldn't do anything wrong in that third quarter; they were all hitting targets, they were kicking goals from everywhere, but we knew that if we got a couple early in the last quarter then we had come back from that sort of position before.

We knew it wasn't beyond us, but considering the way they played in that third term, we were probably a little fortunate to still be in with an outside chance at the last break.

But we've played some pretty good footy interstate this year and we're really confident in most situations in the last quarter these days.

Ryan Houlihan was pretty fresh having been out for so long and it was great to see him have a real impact and kick a few goals in the first quarter. He's always been a class finisher and his effort was a real boost to the side and a credit to the way he's worked to get back on the field.

Clokey was good up forward as well. I think he's really starting to find his way up there and is another big fella aside from Fev who can take a big grab. He took a bit of a speccie over Daniel Merrett and it's the second week in a row he's been able to get a bit of ride. He's definitely letting everyone know that he is capable of getting his big bum up off the ground; I think he's pretty happy with himself at the minute and I hope his form continues.

It was good news to hear that the club is looking to extend Ratts' contract in the off-season because he's been great since he took over; he's really got that old Carlton spirit back in the place and he's the driving force in our turnaround in fortunes here and interstate. He's done a great job so far, but he's still learning and will keep getting better as time goes on.

Everyone's talking about this week's match against Hawthorn and, make no mistake, we're certainly planning to come away with a win. We've gained some respect this year for winning some games against good sides and if we do everything right we're confident we can finish the season on a winning note.

Fevy kicking 100 goals has obviously been a bit of a talking point amongst Blues supporters and he'd need a few things to go right for him, but you never know with big Fev; anything could happen!

A few people have asked me if knowing you're playing your last game of the season allows you to give a bit more, but it's just not the case. If you're fair dinkum about your football, and you need to be at this level, you give it absolutely everything you've got every time you cross the line.

What it is is an excellent opportunity to go out there in front of a big crowd and play some good footy before we take a bit of a break and come back for what will hopefully be a successful 2009 season.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.