Mitch Robinson speaks for every Carlton player when he says he’s feeding off the team-driven acts – a case in point, Brock McLean’s call to withdraw in the moments prior to Saturday Elimination Final with Richmond at the MCG.
McLean’s call to declare himself unavailable (because the quadricep muscle in his right kicking leg didn’t feel right in the warm-up) revived memories of another No.14, Rod Ashman, pulling the pin in the countdown to the 1979 Grand Final.
“Ashy” made the call in the lead-up to that game based on his concerns with a tightness in the hamstring. He always said that the fear of breaking down in the first five minutes of that match (won by the good guys by just five points against Collingwood on a wet deck) overrode any urge to play, however great.
Little wonder then that McLean’s decision to withdraw from the Carlton team last Saturday arvo made such an impact on Robinson and co.
“Brock McLean, five minutes before the game, said he didn’t want to risk his ‘quaddy’ and (Nick) Duigan came in and kicked four goals,” Robinson said.
“That kind of stuff gets the boys up and about because we trust in him (McLean) and we trust in eachother.”
Robinson’s committed final quarter showing after the much-publicised goalsquare stuff-up at the weekend was one of the many, many highlights of Carlton’s exhilarating 20-point conquering of Richmond in that cut-throat contest.
Though there have been finals successes for the 24 year-old (he’s participated in four Grand Finals for two victories as a junior back home in Lauderdale) Robinson knows the stakes cannot be compared with what he went through last Saturday afternoon and what he will doubtless go through again come Saturday night.
Of the Richmond final, Robinson put it simply.
“We went in there with a game plan and it came off,” Robinson said.
“It was a four-quarter performance, a lot of pressure involved, and we knew if we stuck at it for four quarters it was going to happen. We believed in our structures . . . and the boys came through with the goods.”
That said, ‘Robbo’ hasn’t had time to dwell.
“You’re on a high for a couple of days, but you’ve got to focus on next week’s game which is Sydney,” he stressed. “The Swans are the reigning Premiers, they are a very good team and they finished fourth for a reason.
“We’re playing them over in their home town too, so we’ve got to get stuck in . . . ”
In the countdown to the Swans game, one thing’s for sure. This team has gained from the fact that five of its past six contests had involved top eight teams – Fremantle, Richmond (twice), Essendon* and Port Adelaide, and they’ll be ready for whatever’s thrown at them at ANZ Stadium.
As the boy from Lauderdale indicated: “A few things have worked and a few haven’t . . . but we’ve taken a lot from those games”.
