Pre game postulations: AFL 2021 Rd 7: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

[flyboy77]

People have short memories.  Yes, we have played our best footy, since the mid 90s, under Ratts. And, yes, we were great to watch.  But, he wasn’t shafted.  His time was up.  He had lost the players.  His last game, they rolled over against a joke of a Suns team.  There was no choice.    I don’t agree with the replacement, but Ratts was gooooone.

Really?

I recall a year filled of injuries yet he still went at 50%.

Home and away season

After finishing 5th in 2011, the club entered the season with expectations of reaching the top four in 2012; the club, and coach Brett Ratten, made the bold move of stating this expectation publicly throughout the offseason.[37] Even after the winless preseason, Carlton entered the season as the fourth favourite for the premiership with punters, behind Collingwood, Hawthorn and Geelong.[38] With wins in the first three rounds, including a ten-goal win against Collingwood in Round 3, Carlton became equal premiership favourites, and after six rounds sat second on the ladder with a record of 5–1.[39]

However, the club then lost six of its next seven games to fall to tenth on the ladder with a record of 6–7 after Round 14, which brought intense speculation in the media about the future of Ratten's tenure as coach.[40] Carlton won five of its next seven games to stay in contention for eighth place, but was eliminated in Round 22 after losing and seeing other results fail to fall favourably. The club confirmed in the week following Round 22 that Ratten's contract would be terminated one year early; Ratten remained to coach the final match before departing.[7] The club finished with an even record of 11–11. Recently retired Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse, who was rumoured throughout the season to be the most likely replacement for Ratten should he have been sacked,[40] was appointed as Ratten's replacement shortly after the season.[41]

Across the season, Carlton finished with records of:

3–6 in nine games against the eight finalists, with two wins against Collingwood and one against Fremantle; but, after Round 8 the record was only 1–6.
5–3 in eight games against the four similarly placed teams (those who finished between 9th and 13th, all of whom won between ten and twelve games).
3–2 in five games against the bottom five teams. None of the bottom five managed more than five wins for the season, but Carlton suffered upset losses against two of them: Port Adelaide and Gold Coast.