“THEY played for their mates.”
Senior Coach David Teague praised the performance of the collective in last night’s 33-point win.
Carlton won every quarter and were comprehensive the better side against Gold Coast, restricting its opponent to just four goals for the game in the win.
Recording their sixth victory from 12 games, the Blues kept themselves in the hunt: but it was the method that pleased the Senior Coach most.
“I just love the way we played, the scoreboard will take care of itself,” Teague said post-match.
“We went out there expecting to win tonight and play our way, and for the majority of it we played our way.
“It was a team performance. Everyone had moments.”
Teague said his team was dialled into the contest, winning the key areas of disposal differential (+94), clearance differential (+7) and contested possession differential (+41).
The only bugbear for Carlton supporters watching from home was the inefficiency in front of goal, with Carlton only managing to kick seven goals from 25 scoring shots and 54 inside 50s (a season-high).
“We didn’t finish our work in front of goal… it was probably the best we kicked to our forwards in terms of kicking to their advantage,” he said.
“The percentage doesn’t faze me as much. It’s about finishing our work and being the team we want to be.
“We did a lot right… [but] we’ve got work to do.”
While Carlton will take on Collingwood next Sunday, Teague wouldn’t be drawn into the fanfare of a clash with the old enemy.
“We’ve got 17 rivals: we want to beat them all.”
