Did Wayne Carey’s words to the Giants last week inspire them or was it just coincidence?

I posed the question on radio station SEN1116 this week to the listeners: who would you want to be invited into your club to speak to the players and why? The board lit up. Every single one of the callers were Carlton supporters. The Blues are languishing. A deepening sense of desperation at all levels more evident as each week passes. The suggestions from the listeners, were fascinating in their quality and variety.

As poignant as any of the calls was from a supporter who I know simply as Mark. He spoke eloquently about the pain of the supporter group was so significant that he offered up the suggestion that a Carlton member talk to the players. I asked him whether he personally would talk to the players if the club asked him and he answered without hesitation, “yes”.

Lenny Hayes.

Having people outside your club’s inner sanctum to offer some words of emotion or inspiration has been a card played over and over again by footy clubs at all levels. I could rattle off a dozen from my time at the Bulldogs over 18 years. Sometimes they missed the mark; other times, they were pretty good. A couple of times, they were very special. Garry Lyon was asked by Peter Rohde in 2004 to come and speak to our struggling Bulldogs team who were facing the Saints the next day. Garry spoke passionately, the sentiment was powerful and it all centred around one word: “Try”. Garry thought it to be the most underrated word in footy. The simple message inspired us to a great, unexpected win.