First of all I would like to apologise to the fellow patrons at the Riversdale Hotel. A hoarse voice post-match tells me that I did not sit quietly sipping my beer.
As to your question, I think so. In the first game of the season IIRC MM said post-match that the team had failed to implement his game-plan and in the last quarter he relaxed its application. The last quarter against Port seemed to me to be Carlton players not applying a pre-ordained game plan. Rather, it was Carlton players "playing football". That is, going in hard for the footy, looking for the best option (whatever the game plan might have been) and if in doubt kicking it long down the ground to the next contest. Doing this, the players got instant rewards and increased confidence.
It is reasonably clear to me that when we apply the "MM game-plan":
(1) the opposition are expecting us to kick long down the line and are well-trained to outnumber us in that part of the ground;
(2) as a consequence the ball gets turned over and fired back into our defensive zone with all sorts of spaces open for opposition players to run into; and
(3) we lose confidence. A player faced with the need to kick the ball "long down the line" in following the game plan "knows" that this isn't the best place to kick the ball and confusion sets in.
Before the game there were plenty of posters expressing the view that "fading" in the last quarter, and at the end of quarters, was a Carlton trait (looking at you ODN). I disagreed with the implication that we were less fit than other sides. I believed that last quarter fades was simply the consequence of chasing tail all day (and diminishing confidence). IMO Port have shown this year that they are one of the best last quarter teams in the competition (having been the worst last year). The fact that we ran all over Port in the last quarter should give confidence to posters that in this department we are at least the equal of the best sides. And with McLean back in we will be even stronger.
