It's the same story every week for Carlton: Near enough isn't good enough.
For the third week running, the Blues have gone down fighting in their plight to put a number on the leaderboard.
After two consecutive losses to kick off their 2019 campaign, Carlton suffered another case of deja vu and succumbed to the Sydney Swans in front of a home crowd at Marvel Stadium.
The winless Swans meant business from the opening whistle, sending the score out to a 31-point margin late in the third term. But the Blues, who once again refused to go down without a fight, brought the difference down to just a 13 point margin in the final quarter.
Ultimately losing the match by 19 points to the steadfast Swans, Blues coach Brendon Bolton conceded that Carlton need more than just belief to get them over the finish line.
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"Close enough is not good enough," Bolton told reporters after the match.
"I don’t want to blur that with the absolute inner drive from everyone in our club; the coaches, administrators and players.
"There is a lot of strong belief but not accepting close losses - that’s three now."
We showed fight in the last quarter to get back within reach, but the Swans held their nerve.#BoundByBlue #AFLBluesSwans pic.twitter.com/dxSJePjO1Q
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) April 6, 2019
After being handed the wooden spoon with just two victories under their belt in 2018, the 0-3 start to the season has fans fearing that the horrible history will repeat itself this year.
Despite the troublesome trend, Bolton believes that the young side is on the cusp of a bounce back.
"The past is irrelevant," he said.
"This game, this contest is more important.
"We are chasing a win as hard as anything. There is no blurriness.
"We can’t let that distract the process of getting a win. It will turn."
Regardless of the scoreboard there have been moments of brilliance for the young Blues, where individually, the numbers tell a different story.
After Liam Jones was given the mammoth task of manning up against the great Buddy Franklin, the key defender kept the Swans star goalless in the second half.
"I thought Liam was fantastic,” said Bolton
“A fantastic one-on-one and I’m sure the crowd who were here today would have enjoyed that contest. It was a bit like the old days, a fair few more one on ones.
“I think his confidence doesn’t get built over just this one game. Jones’ game today is an accumulation of pre-season, JLT and his first two rounds.
“He and Weitering have been really strong back there. You can’t just got and perform like he did today on the back of just wanting to.”
Meanwhile at the other end of the field, young forward Harry McKay took six marks on his way to break a 21st century record.
The 21-year-old has taken 15 contested marks so far for the Blues, breaking the record for most contested marks taken in the first three rounds of a season.
Can mark the old @harrymckay_ #BoundByBlue #AFLBluesSwans pic.twitter.com/7aVv1jGo0D
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) April 6, 2019
The Blues will head to Queensland next week for their clash with the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday, April 14 at Metricon Stadium.
