Carlton champion, three-time premiership player, Mark Maclure was the guest speaker on the evening and he spoke about what Carlton and importantly what the Carlton guernsey meant to him. Mark said the Carlton Football Club taught him the lessons of life, but said the lessons were not taught by the coach, but by his fellow players.
He is adamant that it is important, as it was for him and his fellow players, to pass on this culture and lessons in life to the next generation of players and believes that this was lost around 2000. Thankfully he believes it is returning.
He said players before him had told how Barassi came to Carlton with a philosophy and a message – ‘to improve and to change the way you do things or you’re not going to get any better’. And one of the things that was passed on to us, not by the coaches or anyone else, but seriously by the players, was to continually improve. It wasn’t written into any contract, It was a case of ‘When you go to training you do what you have to do to get better, and whatever you do has to be competitive, so that when you become competitive with each other, it’s so easy to be competitive with the opposition.
Maclure said he believes Carlton lost that for some time but is starting to get it back – the capacity to compete at every opportunity and he is really enjoying what he is seeing.
The key points he made in his address to the players were:
Be bold. Stand up for what you think is right – he thought this was highlighted by Brett Ratten and the match committee in round one when they picked four first gamers, three from the rookie list. Something that had never been done before, it set an early standard.
Everybody’s Equal – It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you’ve got or what position you play, you treat everyone equal and with great respect.
Be selfless – If you are going to win a premiership, or be a competitive side, or a team that’s revered by the opposition, ‘selfless’ is right up there at the top end. The respect that you win from your peers fro being selfless is just unbelievable.
Leadership – Overused in AFL but Carlton has one of the best leaders in the competition. Importantly leadership does not come from the senior guys only, it can happen anywhere and it is when you set an example for others to follow
When it’s your turn to go – They don’t write that in your contract. They don’t write that anywhere but it’s an absolute must. Don’t let yourself down, your family down or your peers down.
Honesty – This is the most powerful, to be honest to yourself. When you stand there, look in the mirror and say ‘I thought I played a pretty good game’. Well, actually think again sometimes and say, ‘What could I have done better?’ Be honest and fair with yourself and your teammates.
Maclure said Carlton had been through five or six years that had tested everybody in every way, shape and form. The change has come from a lot of hard work. Importantly he asked one thing from the players and that was for them to pass on the work ethic to the next generation of players.
Brett Ratten also spoke to the players and sponsors on the year ahead and what was required. He said that finals was the objective and if Carlton did not play finals in 2009 it would be a very disappointing season. He was certainly pleased with the start to the season but wanted everyone to be aware that it was only two games and there was a lot of work to be done before we would be in a position to judge the season.
Adding to the evening was a comedy segment from one of Carlton’s biggest supporter, Dave Hughes. “Hughesy” was fantastic and the Nova radio breakfast host and star of Channel Ten’s ‘Before the Game’ added the professional entertainment to the evening.
