In the 20 years since VFA legend Phil Cleary took Coburg to back-to-back flags, the club has made just one Grand Final and six other finals appearances where it generally hasn’t progressed past the first week.
And, for most weeks this season, Carnell has counted as teammates Richmond players with 100-plus games’ experiences, including in recent weeks Joel Bowden, whose AFL career runs to 260 games. From seemingly such an embarrassment of riches, the Coburg Tigers somehow find themselves fighting with a group of clubs for a position in the top eight. If that’s weighing on Carnell, just 21 when the club entrusted him with the captaincy, then he’s camouflaged it very well . The way Carnell looks at it is that he’s just one of many young players willing to chip in to help the Coburg Tigers achieve success.
“I’m enjoying it – there’s a great bunch of blokes down at the club. The thing is that we are all young, so I don’t see myself as the youngest captain in the VFL. I’m an average age for my club,” Carnell said. Carnell, a member of the leadership group for the previous two seasons, was appointed when last year’s captain Paul Shelton moved on. He noted the only difference between him and other members of the leadership group was that he got to toss the coin before the match. What Carnell and for that matter Coburg Tigers’ fans, are wrestling with is how wildly fluctuating the club’s form has been this season, especially with the glut of experienced Richmond players named on any given week. After Port Melbourne inflicted a heavy defeat in the round 10 split fixture, Carnell said much soul searching was done, with a more basic approach considered the best way forward. “We just decided to strip it all back and not get ahead of ourselves. We want to be a topfour team this season, there’s no doubt about that,” Carnell said.
“But for us to do that we have to start beating the teams around us on the ladder.” Such a challenge immediately confronts the Coburg Tigers, who play in the next block of four games the Northern Bullants, Williamstown, Casey Scorpions and Box Hill Hawks. “We’re going to find out pretty quickly where we are with a month of football like that,” Carnell said. “But the mood around the club is that we’re still shooting for that double-chance.”