I went to the game today and saw the Swans do what they do year in and year out - use precision kicking and accurate handball under pressure, whether on the back line or forward line, to win the game.
On the other hand I saw Carlton, despite having so many first round picks, butcher the ball by hand and foot as they have on so many occasions this century. Despite the number of coaches and skill coaches the priority for Carlton players with the ball seems to be:
a) Where possible, whether in defence or attack, kick to an opposition player who is by himself
b) Kick the ball short in front of the oncoming Carlton player so that the opposition player can sweep up the ball or create a stoppage
c) Use the chaos theory - just slam the ball on to your boot so the opposition won't know where it is going, and neither will the Carlton players
d) always handball to a teammate who is under maximum pressure.
Seriously, I'm over it. As I said once before, I've followed Carlton for 74 years and always thought the dark years of the club 1948 to 1967 would never be repeated, but I see no relief in sight in this century.
As others have said: is the club in a collective mental state where winning games is unachievable?
Ed Curnow in our 22 just means we will never be a top side. His kicking now is as bad as it was on day 1. He puts forwards under pressure all the time causing turnovers . Lets's hope the new players improve quickly.
I'm worried about Charlie Curnow's maturity. When he first came to Carlton it was exciting to see him win the ball and burst away it. I never knew whether it would go to a Carlton player or to the opposition but I thought with a few years under his belt we would maybe see emerging signs of a Wayne Carey coolness under pressure.
He is still exciting to watch but when he gets a mark or takes possession and runs off he still doesn't seem to know what he is going to do with it. He is still just as likely to kick it to the opposition and the ball rebounds out of our forward line. I know I may sound harsh but I want to see him kicking to a leading player rather than being close to a brain fade.
Daisy appeared briefly with commentators at a match last weekend. When asked why he was limping he said that in the final seconds of our match his leg, just below the kneecap, was cut by a bootstop and he had needed 4 stitches.
The fact is that FFA would bury the AFL in a heartbeat, given the chance. It's one code that won't get a cent out of me.
Maybe you have forgotten that application several years ago to hold the world cup in Australia. At the time of its application the FFA expected the AFL to hand over its grounds as required and not to play competition football in the year preceding the cup being held! Arrogance of the first order.
Hi, everyone. This is my first post, although I've been an avid reader for several years.
I went to this game hoping that I would see a few players who would play well enough to push for inclusion in the firsts. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of the same old same old. We seem to have recruited many players over the years who are unable to rise above mediocrity.
The player who really impressed me was on the opposition side - Jason Holmes on their rookie list. He was recruited in October 2013 from the United States and is an ex-basketball player. According to the Record he is 203cm and weighs 99 kilos. In the game today he showed mobility, speed and athleticism that Casboult, Wood and Warnock can only dream about. In addition, he kicked and marked well.
Perhaps in future our recruiters could look across the Pacific as well as looking to Ireland.
