Carlton coach Brett Ratten isn’t worried that the Blues haven’t won a single pre-season match leading into their round one match against Richmond.
Carlton played a near full strength side against North Melbourne on Sunday afternoon but failed to get a win on the board.
Ratten was more concerned about the Blues ball use rather than the final scoreboard.
“We ran the game out well, we really dominated that (final) quarter. But, as we know in football, if you don’t take your opportunities, you get hurt the other way.” Ratten said post-match.
“We’ve taken 17 marks inside 50 to seven, but we had to work so much harder for our goals. That was the difference, their effectiveness compared to ours with not much pressure on. We turned the ball over a lot more than they did.”
Tall forwards were the flavour of the day with North’s Drew Petrie kicking 7 goals straight up forward and the Blues Jarrad Waite impressed with 7 shots on goal but finishing with just 2 goals and 4 behinds.
The Blues will meet Richmond in round 1 without several key players forced out by injury including Michael Jamison (back), Andrew Walker (thigh), Nick Duigan (thigh), Robert Warnock (shoulder) and Jeremy Laidler (knee).
North Melbourne face a tough task against Essendon in round 1.
