Round 5, 2008

The blaze of publicity surrounding the new Carlton midfield is starting to pay dividends on the scoreboard, with an in-form Brendan Fevola enjoying improved delivery into the forward line and kicking bags in the last three games. The star full-forward spoke to Mike and Dan about his soccer goal against the Demons and the team’s performance in 2008.

Fev, that's 3 big weeks of goalkicking in a row - is the delivery better this year or are you just in good form?

I am pretty happy with my form, but I think we are playing better. Oh and it helps with Juddy in the midfield also Stevo is back and that’s been freeing up Murph, so yeah I am pretty happy at the moment.

During the warm-up on Sunday you were struggling to split the middle from the Olympic pocket, then you bobbed up with 7 straight. Were you just getting your eye in?

I was hoping the opposition was thinking I was going to have a bad day! No, really it’s funny how it happens, but I’ll take that every day of the week if it means I kick straight and we win the game.

You have kicked them from everywhere this year, from set shots, on the run, and even a flying scissor-kick against Melbourne on the weekend. Do you have a target as to how many goals you'd like to snag this year?

Nah not really, and it’s not about me or Fish or anyone kicking goals, my targets this year are about the team and everyone agrees that’s the most important thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to kick a ton, but it’s more important to me that we win games of footy.

You received the nickname “The Shag” a couple of years back when you had dreadlocks. That was also the year you kicked 84 goals? Do you lose your mojo when you cut your hair really short, a bit like Samson?

• laughs* I think I cut it during that year, and was thinking about doing it again, but while things are going good and we are winning I might leave it as is!

You and Eddie Betts seem to have quite a little competition going to see who can harass the defense most - do you two practice that together, or is it just that you both have a hunger for laying the tackle and putting on the chase?

I’m beating him at the minute….no look, Ratts is really big on it and it’s really important that not just Eddie and I but everyone on the ground keeps up the chases and tackles, it can be a barometer and it was on the weekend.

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about teams tapering their training to reach peak fitness levels later in the season rather than the beginning. Is this something that Brett Ratten has bought to the club for 2008?

Not really, Justin Cordy heads up the fitness side and Ratts leaves it to him. We are a young team and you will see the majority of our players’ body shapes change and mature over the next couple of years, so he has an important job and I think he is doing a great job.

You have had a number of coaches during your time at Carlton, Parkin, Brittain, Pagan and Ratten. How are you responding to Ratts compared to other coaches?

Ratts is great, he demands spirit and he really believes in us. I played with Ratts and he is a very similar coach to the player he was. He has stood by me and I am really looking forward to working with him over the next few years to get Carlton back to where we belong.

You have only got another 12 goals to kick to go past the goalkicking record of Alex Jesaulenko, the other famous number 25 for Carlton. Have you ever met the great man and how will it feel to surpass his goalkicking record?

I didn’t know that stat. I’ve met Jezza a few times, he was a star and he’s one of the greats around this Club. (Details of Carlton’s highest goalkickers can be found on the Blueseum website )

In the forward line structure you worked in tandem with Lance Whitnall for many years. Who would you like to see step up to the plate at Centre Half Forward now that Lance has left the club?

Yeah I think there are a few options, although footy is changing and maybe you don’t need a specific Centre Half Forward. Fish can play a role, but look for Hartlett and Jake Edwards to step up. The big “Kruuuze” could play there as well, so there are a few options.

You've got one of the best fullbacks in the league this week in Rutten. Do you plan for a specific opponent, or just plan to play your own game?

He is a great player but I will just play my own game.

Next week will be the 4th MCG match in a row. How have the players been pulling up post match - an AFL captain said on radio last week that parts of the ground are extremely hard.

I suppose that’s to be expected these days, it has been a little hard, but everyone’s in the same boat.

Are you looking for a tug-of-war rematch with Cameron Cloke after the recent Carlton Kids Footy Clinic?

Yeah, we were beaten by the kids a couple of times!

Is there anything that we should know about any of your teammates? Anyone who pays too much attention to their personal grooming?

Yeah, 3 Votes – A. Walker, 2 Votes – J Bannister, I Vote – R Houlihan.

After some promising signs in the first three weeks of the season, Carlton has finally made inroads in 2008 on the back of consecutive victories against Collingwood and Melbourne. Brendan Fevola has struck a rich vein of form, and his 22 goals in the past three games have been largely responsible for getting the Blues back on track and sitting half a game out of the eight. Fevola’s match-up with former All Australian Full Back Ben Rutten will be a highlight of this weekend’s home game against Adelaide and will go a long way to determining the outcome.