Carlton went down to Brisbane by 18 points in round six. Photo: @CarltonFC Twitter
David Teague’s side competed hard against a firing Brisbane outfit, but lapses in the second quarter cost Carlton a vital four points in round six.
Carlton lost the second term 48 to 14 in the scoreboard. In the three other quarters combined they won the scoreboard battle by 16 points.
Ball retention was a key issue plaguing the Blues in that period, as the Lions’ pressure around the football and zoning defence was too much for Teague’s men.
It’s a problem that Teague is aware of for Carlton after round six of the season.
“We gave away free kicks, we gave field position, then we couldn’t get speed into the ball and they pinned it in their half,” Teague said of the second term.
“Our ability to play the same way for four quarters [is an issue].
“I thought we went a little bit away from our way.
“We didn’t get speed into the ball, we had trouble marking it, winning the ball and finding a mark then getting speed into it.
“We were forced to kick back to a contest and they kept turning it over in their front half.
“I’m not sure how many inside 50s [we had]. It wouldn’t have been more than six or seven for that second quarter.”
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While acknowledging the issue is one thing, these lapses have proved difficult to fix. Teague says it’s about getting back to the players and making sure they are provided with tools from the coaches box to maximise output .
“We’ll chat to the players around why did that happen,” Teague said.
“And then we’ll make sure we keep giving them a chance from a coaching point of view, educating them and helping them.
“[Our players] tried hard, we saw the effort was there, but when Brisbane got on top they hurt us too much.”
A blockbuster round seven clash with Essendon awaits Carlton. It has now dropped to two wins and four losses on the season.
The road back into contention looks ominous for a side whose pre-season ambitions were finals footy in September.
“We have a great challenge in Essendon next week. That’s what we need to prepare for, and learn from this week, and then improve again,” Teague said.
“We need to play better for longer.”
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