Having established a 30-point lead early in the final term, Carlton was overrun by the fast-finishing Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in a gut-wrenching end to the season.
As painful as that experience was, Judd feels it will prove helpful when the Blues take on the Sydney Swans in a do-or-die clash on Sunday.
“I just think in finals you just can’t afford to take your foot off the pedal, whether that’s in the first quarter for 10 minutes or the last quarter for 20 minutes like happened last year,” he said on Monday.
“That whole time the group has to be concentrating and pulling in the same direction.
“We got a lesson from last year, but by the same token, we also played some good footy there for three quarters. Hopefully some of the players will take some confidence from that.”
Consistency of effort has been the mantra all season long at Visy Park and Judd didn’t deviate too far from that script when he spoke to the media alongside coach Brett Ratten on Monday.
He certainly wouldn’t be drawn into discussions on just how far he believed this group could go in September.
“I think it would be just great for this group to win a final,” he said.
“It would be a great reward for all the hard work that the players and the staff have put in during the season and it would be great reward for our fans as well who, in the last decade, haven’t had a lot of finals to go and watch.
“For them to be able to see a finals victory would mean a lot to people.”
Judd will play his 14th finals match on Sunday and he’s keen to ensure his younger teammates fully grasp the opportunity that lies in front of them.
“I think it’s just really important to keep reminding the players that this is a really exciting thing that we’re a part of,” he said.
“You walk around the club and you see a player like Matthew Kreuzer, who is so respected by the playing group, and he doesn’t get chance to pull on the navy blue guernsey this weekend. I think it’s just important that nobody takes it for granted.
“It takes a lot of hard work just to get to the finals and now’s the time to really enjoy it and make sure that we perform as well as possible.”
