Carlton Capitulate again. Has Teauge’s time run out?
Ando’s Weekly Banter by Matthew Anderson
Who would want to be an AfL Coach? Daivd Teauge former assistant Coach at the West Coast Eagles joined Carlton in mid 2019 and has a 15 -20 win loss record. However, is that good enough?
There are several teams in the competition this year where the question will be asked as whether it is time to get a new coach and Carlton would appear increasingly likely to fall in that category.
Collingwood and North Melbourne are already after only 8 rounds well below the remainder of the teams in the competition and building and experimenting with their team line ups and it would be reasonable to think that Collingwood may well be changing coach and spending the rest of this season trying to regain some form and start building towards a more successful season in 2022. North Melbourne well with their current injury list their is very little any coach can do with them as they simply don’t have the players available at the standard required to be competitive.
Carlton however, are only 1 win out of the 8 and at half time against the Western Bulldogs looked far the better side. The final margin was 16 points. If you hadn’t watched their past couple of matches and only read the score in the paper tomorrow you could well believe it was an respectable loss given the 2 teams respective positions on the premiership table. Carlton the past few of weeks have looked very good in the first half and part of the third quarter either leading or being highly competitive with teams that would be expected to compete in the finals series.The record this season for Carlton stands at 5 and 8 not good but not to bad when you consider past seasons are where they have come from in the past 2 season especially to this season.
The game plan looks good and for other half the game it troubles opposition sides but as the third quarter progresses against a top 8 side the game plan totally unravels. The loss 3 weeks ago against Brisbane looked like a young team that tired out in the second half and were simply over run by a fitter and more experienced side. It looked initially like a respectable loss or was it? The following week against Essendon, Carlton won well against a team that is unlikely to feature in September they played with confidence and they looked like them had learned and improved from their previous week defeat against Brisbane. Looks however, can be deceiving.
Carlton against the Western Bulldogs were impressive in the first have and looked like they would go on to win the match. It was midway through the third quarter and the cracks appeared and alarming comparisons in the similar way they to played the second half against Brisbane could be easily drawn.
The Carlton game plan consistently falling apart against final contender sides raises a few questions. Is it due to the a young side just not being fit enough to implement their game plan for a full 4 quarters? Doubtful as they had no trouble doing it against Essendon who they were expected to win against. Another possibility is they just cant as yet handle the match day pressure when it counts against superior performed and more experienced teams. Again looking at their season as a whole to date that would seem also unlikely to be the cause of the fade outs in the last half of the match.
After watching Carlton on the weekend it would appear that the reason they are failing to win when they are in a position to do so is not due to their skill errors or fitness but in their belief in themselves. To be over run by a superior team on the day is one thing, but Carlton dropped away all over the ground when they were challenged and the game was there to be won. They appeared that they didn’t believe in their team system of play when pressure was applied to it and instead of attempting to respond to the pressure they were simply and far too easily brushed aside with little resistance. The tv camera flashed into their coaches box and showed their coach David Teague with his chin resting on one hand on his desk and his facial expression was completely blank. Almost as if he was bored watching the game.
Carlton are still well within reach of eight so now is the time 8 games into the season to look at what is best for the club to give it the greatest chance of featuring in the finals this season. After Saturday’s on field performance and the coach that looked less than enthusiastic about watching the game let alone coaching it, maybe it Is time now for a change at Carlton. Teams often change coach after a bad run of losses. However, after Saturday’s performance and what appeared to be lack of belief and drive in the Carlton football players and coach maybe now is the time for Teague to go. Re-ignite the energy and belief in the players with a new coach and save a season that appears to be rapidly slipping away.