CARLTON went toe-to-toe with the reigning premier on Thursday night, and but for a few moments could have emerged from the MCG with the four points.
That was the biggest takeaway for Senior Coach David Teague, who challenged his troops to “handle the moment” after a game which he believed saw many positives emerge.
Despite losing the forward territory battle to a persistent Richmond, Carlton wouldn’t lie down on opening night, drawing within four points of the defending champions with five minutes to play.
However, Teague said the ability of the Tigers to rise above and take their opportunities in key moments was the difference.
“There were a lot of positive signs to come out of the game, but I think the one that jumped out to the coaching group was Richmond’s ability to handle the moments,” Teague told media post-match.
“I thought Richmond handled some really important moments better than us.
“I had a lot of confidence in the guys that ran out today to get the job done and we believed we had a team to win the game tonight. We gave ourselves a chance, but we didn’t make the most of some opportunities.”
It was a game of two halves for Carlton, with its ability to convert inside 50s into scoring shots (over 60 per cent conversion) keeping it in the game but often unable to get the ball out of its defensive half freely (Richmond had 30 forward-half turnovers).
The margin blew out to 25 points come the final siren with the Tigers piling on three quick goals in the final minutes, with Teague reiterating that his side needed to be “a 120-minute team”.
“I thought at the end there, we gave up a couple of goals where you’ve got to fight tooth and nail,” he said.
“i looked down and our fans were there for 120 minutes. We have to make sure we play for 120 minutes.”
Teague believed that Carlton’s fans - who were back at the MCG for the first time in over in a year in limited numbers - would’ve liked what they saw on Thursday night.
However, he said the players and coaching staff were under no illusions of what they’d need to do to take their game to the next level.
“I think our fans would’ve seen a group that really cracked in. But right now, against the best, we’ve got to get better,” he said.
“I don’t want to get too caught in the numbers: we didn’t win, they were too good for us and we’ve got some areas to grow. We’re looking forward to that, we want that challenge.
“I sit here with a lot of belief in this playing group. Yes, we’ve got a lot of things to work on and we’ve got to do it, and I know this group will. I know they’ll work hard.”
Teague confirmed that Jack Martin was incredibly likely to join recruit Zac Williams as inclusions next week, but said it was too early to make any call on Jack Silvagni’s “sublux” shoulder injury.
