Morgan,
Carlton put more pressure on in the second half which was reflected in the scoring. Mind you, had we kicked straight we would have outscored them still but the difference was as you say, the lack of pressure. Thats why I'm not getting all worked up over how we went other than it was enjoyable.
The upside for me was the clear indication that the core of the squad is AFL standard and with the right structures and tactics, we WILL do better than we have displayed so far. Having two talls forward (which has been called for by a number on here) will actually work. We have Taberner, Cox and Apeness that can go forward and be effective marking targets. We can have Mundy and Fyfe filling both inside mid and marking half forward roles and we have Ballas, Walters and Matera who can crumb effectively off the taller blokes.
We should have faith in these guys to get the job done by keeping a functioning forward structure. All the hand wringing that has been directed at the squad as not being good enough has not been true. The squad is better than some on here have been saying.
Just about everybody has enjoyed having a functioning forward line, especially myself and we should stick with it even against the good sides. Yes, we will get scored against but gradually we will improve to the point where that will become uncommon. These blokes will grow into those roles if we let them.
edit: Fully agree on CamMac. He has shown himself to be a terrific third tall. Asking him to be the sole tall forward has been unfair. Stand him next to Cox and Apeness next game and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 2 or 3 goals. Thats what he was good at at GWS and he hasn't lost his talent just his form