“WE’VE got work to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we need to do it.”
Carlton was left to lament a breakdown in defensive system at the MCG on Thursday night, ultimately going down by 21 points to Collingwood.
A free-flowing first half saw the Pies pile on 11 goals to the Blues’ eight, with the half-time margin of 20 points remaining consistent come the final siren.
While the Blues took the game to the Pies, particularly in the second half, Collingwood’s ease in transition from defence to scoring shots in attack was the main area of concern for David Teague.
Speaking post-match, the Senior Coach highlighted the team defence as “absolutely” the issue from the first half.
“We conceded 11 goals in the first half and it was how easy they got them: you can concede goals, but it was about the how,” Teague said.
“I was frustrated with the way we started in terms of how easy they scored. We want to play 120 minutes of perfect football and we understand that’s not going to be the case.
“But when we’re not getting it right, we’re getting scored against right now and we need to stop that. We need to be stronger in the key moments.”
Carlton was outranked in both the contested possession and tackle count on Thursday night, despite managing to rectify the inside-50 discrepancy which cost the side last week.
The Blues got back to playing their way in the third term, kicking four goals to two and playing the game almost exclusively in their own forward half.
However, it was too little too late for the home side, with Teague resonating with supporter frustration post-match.
“I know our fans will be frustrated and they’re hurting, they’re disappointed — we all are, the players especially,” he said.
“I wouldn’t question our effort. It was more of our mindset of where we went to in certain moments that we allowed them easy looks.
“We need to tighten it up and we need to have more of a ruthless mentality around our defence.”
After two games in the home-and-away season, Teague said now wasn’t the time to lose faith in what the Blues had done or where they wanted to get to.
“I have absolute belief in this group and we will get there,” he said.
“We put pressure on ourselves every week. We wanted to beat Richmond and we didn’t. We wanted to beat Collingwood and we didn’t.
“Next week, it’s Fremantle, and we’re going out there to win. I believe in this group and our coaches believe in this group.”
Teague highlighted the performances of Harry McKay (four goals), club debutant Zac Williams (team-high seven clearances) and forward duo Michael Gibbons and Jack Martin (three goals apiece).
