Point (iii) is worth underlining.
We happened to be without Pearce, Treacy and Darcy for the last three games, and those games were against the teams that ended up 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
I feel like some fans believed we were entitled to win those games just on willpower, that we lost because effort was not put in. Carlton went from sure grand finalists to barely squeaking into eighth when injuries hit, why would we think we should be immune from the effects of losing our best defender, best forward and best ruckman?
We have a very talented side that can beat anyone when we’re fit and firing. But then there are a bunch of other teams who can say the same.
I’d like to see us fix our depth issues in the off season. Treacy’s absence in particular was a key reason we didn’t win any of our last three games. We really don’t have a quality ‘next man up’ for him.
And then the last piece of the puzzle is mentality. Starting games too sleepily, not being able to hold onto late leads - these have been issues for longer than just this season, and need to be fixed for next season if JL is to be the man to take them all the way.
