Earlier this week Brett Ratten sent his first ‘From the Coaches Box’ Members Only Email and we have made this available on the Carlton website to show what members will receive during the season.
Click here to join as a member in 2011
Members, to ensure you receive your weekly “From the Coaches Box” email during the 2011 season, check you’re my Blues Account and make sure your email contact details have been provided to the Club
With the pre-season training campaign now behind us, and the opening round of the 2011 AFL home and away season now fast approaching, a tremendous sense of anticipation undoubtedly prevails at Visy Park.
It's patently clear to me that everyone at Carlton - from the President and members of the board, through to the administration and of course the coaches and the players - have seriously committed their energies to what we all hope is a good news story for this Club through 2011.
As Senior Coach and as a former player, I am truly mindful of the great expectations placed upon this great Club by our valued Carlton stakeholders. So it's with genuine keenness that I write to you to advise that of a Monday morning from the opening round onwards expect an email from me reviewing the weekend's match and offering an insight into what is happening in the inner sanctum.
On Saturday night, Etihad Stadium provided the backdrop for the opening round of the NAB Cup, in what doubled as a unique triple-header involving three of the AFL's inner-city strongholds. From my perspective, it was tremendous to see more than 40,000 football people turn out in support.
Though we did open up slowly in the first hit-out against Richmond, we came home strongly to record a comfortable 18-point win. Similarly, we started tardily in the night's third contest, but found a way back into the contest, only to go down by seven points in the finish.
Without doubt, the slow starts cost us - and yet, there were good signs when we started to get our hands on the ball and really got our game going.
A win and a loss over Richmond and Collingwood respectively means that we'll now be participating in the NAB Challenge series, with the next match penciled in for the weekend of February 26/27 - and as NAB Challenge series matches are staged at regional centres around Australia, our players will turn out in either country Victoria or interstate venues in two weeks time.
To that end keep tabs on the Carlton website, which will publicise the details as soon as they're released by the AFL.
Of course, the Carlton Football Club's weekend activities weren't confined to the NAB Cup fixtures alone, with Sunday's Hyundai Blues Family Day attracting 5000 supporters to Visy Park. All senior players were in attendance for the taking of the official Team Photo, and they immersed themselves with the Family Day activities through the day.
The Club also took the opportunity to welcome the fathers and mothers of our newly-listed senior players in what was Carlton's 'parents induction weekend'. Importantly, the weekend afforded the parents the chance to meet with members of the Club's football administration, witness first-hand the state-of-the-art facilities at Visy Park, and, on Saturday evening, take in all the action of the NAB Cup at Etihad Stadium.
Yesterday the players travelled to Benalla for what is a two-day Community Camp, involving a series of community visits and the staging of a super clinic at Benalla Oval on Monday afternoon.
Well, that just about wraps it up for now. Thankyou for taking the time to take in the weekend's events, and I look forward to your on-going support of and interest in all things Blue through 2011.
Speak soon,
Brett Ratten
Member #1018372
