CARLTON forward Brad Fisher says the Blues are ready to prosper after experiencing some dark days in recent times.
Sunday’s 23-point win over Collingwood at the MCG, which broke a 14-match losing streak stretching back to round 11 last season, has given the Blues’ 2008 season a much-needed shot in the arm.
After a drought-breaking victory in front of almost 78,000 fans, Carlton’s key forward spoke of the magical feeling that comes from winning a match - and the yearning to experience it again in the coming weeks.
“It’s definitely been a long time between drinks, but we’ve been chipping away a long time now, and it’s good to get a bit of reward for that,” Fisher said.
“You forget how good it is (to win), and you feel a million bucks coming into the changerooms after the game when you’ve had a win.
“There were a few boys in the centre who hadn’t sung the song, ‘Ratts’ (coach Brett Ratten) included, and I know how much it meant to him. We were just rapt to get a win for him.”
This week, Ratten’s side faces a struggling Melbourne on Sunday. While the Blues would be a strong chance to improve to 2-3 on the season against the down-on-form Demons, Fisher says his side won’t be getting ahead of itself after registering just its first win in 15 matches.
“We’ve done the hard yards for long enough and lost enough games of footy that we’re not going to get complacent, that’s for sure,” he said.
The 24-year-old made his debut at the Blues in 2003, and while his time at the club has coincided with one of the bleakest periods in Carlton’s history, Fisher says he can see things changing for the better.
“There’s been some pretty dark days,” he admitted.
“I suppose mid-way through last year, it was rock-bottom. It was like a morgue around the footy club.
“But we got some great signings over the pre-season … we knew the place was going forward.
“There have been a few dark days, but hopefully we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.”
A Blues loss to Collingwood on Sunday would have set a club record for most consecutive defeats, and Fisher was relieved to avoid being part of an unwanted piece of Carlton history.
“I suppose you have to take it a little bit personally if you’ve played in most of the losses or all of the losses, so it’s something I definitely didn’t want to be part of,” he said.
“We had a lot of self belief today. We said before the game ‘It’s a defining moment in our season’, and it was just great to get the win.”
