DESPITE heading into Round 7 without a win on the board, the Blues’ young playing group remains positive and focused according to defensive coach Cameron Bruce.
Carlton faces the task of taking on Adelaide at Adelaide Oval for the first time in history on Saturday night, and Bruce said he was hopeful the Blues’ playing group's hunger for a win would soon pay off as reward for effort.
“The boys have been really positive ever since I’ve arrived at the Club so you wouldn’t think you’re amongst an environment that hasn’t had much success this season in terms of the win-loss (ratio),” Bruce said.
“From an internal point of view, the boys are really positive.
“The most important thing is you have to keep showing the group the little wins, the growth in the style and the growth in the craft of these players. Weekly, we put in little targets for the players to achieve - we keep things pretty simple and we don’t want to over-complicate things with a relatively inexperienced group.
“We’re dealing with some inexperienced players but we are seeing development. We want them to have reward for the hard work they’re putting in. Given their work rate and determination to get better, I’m confident that (wins) will happen.”
Having established a strong backline in his first two seasons, earlier this year senior coach Brendon Bolton declared the side was setting about adding "offensive layers" to their game plan and Bruce said the playing group was improving weekly in establishing the "balance".
“We’ve had a really strong focus on the defensive side of things for the first couple of years and we really wanted to add some offensive layers this year as part of that plan. We spent a lot of time over the pre-season doing that and we’re seeing a level of growth in that area now,” he told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“But as you can imagine with a young group, getting that balance right is really important so we need to continue to do that. It’s not just going to happen over a short period, but we’re getting the ball inside 50 more this year and that’s a sign of offensive development. But we need to make sure we complement that with real quality defensive action.. and defensive system.
“It’s a plan that I’m confident will come off and the boys will play some really well-balanced footy down the track.”
As the team prepares to face Adelaide interstate for the first time since 2010, Bruce revealed the Blues would need to look at preventing the ball getting into the Crows’ impressive forward line.
“This week is a good example of the importance of needing to win the contest - Adelaide are a pretty special side in and around the ball when they do it well so that will no doubt be a pretty straightforward target for our boys this week,” Bruce said.
“For us it will be about winning that contest and preventing the ball from getting in their forward area. We’re not going to move away or deviate from our system though and our defensive structures and what we want to do when the opposition have the footy.
“We’ll have to be strong and connected in defence to deny them great chances this weekend. There’s no doubt they’re a quality side and can move the ball quickly and they’re going to be a real threat.”
The Blues face the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, with the ball bouncing at 7:10pm (local time). Click here to view all the match-day information you need to know for the Round 7 clash.
