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Topic: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats (Read 18602 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #30
Agree mad...it's a bit like the old "shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic" at the moment. All and sundry getting a game in the midfield when really only Cripps and Walsh are the ones doing the heavy lifting. If we were only playing blokes who deserved a game, we'd have about 12 or 13 running out on the weekend. I'm not sold on Lang but if he's doing okay in the twos then he probably deserves a chance at showing if he's worth keeping.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #31
Agree mad...it's a bit like the old "shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic" at the moment. All and sundry getting a game in the midfield when really only Cripps and Walsh are the ones doing the heavy lifting. If we were only playing blokes who deserved a game, we'd have about 12 or 13 running out on the weekend. I'm not sold on Lang but if he's doing okay in the twos then he probably deserves a chance at showing if he's worth keeping.

Walsh is unaccountable for his direct opponent, then he points the finger at team-mates when the opposition get a chain of possession. We are seeing what he can do when he is off the leash, but not what he needs to do to help the team. At the moment his possessions are not anywhere near damaging enough to justify continually playing him as a free runner.

So I suspect he'll have a massive drop-off in his second year, not unlike Zach Merrett, then he'll come good again in his 3rd or 4th season!

Describing what Lang is doing in last weekends 2s as "OK" is a significant stretch of reality! It would be like describing Dow hitting the football with his leg as an "OK" kick!
The Force Awakens!

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #32
My whole point LP.....dropping one bloke who's not doing much and bringing in another bloke who's not doing much? Our midfield options are so limited at the moment that we're just having to play guys and hope they improve. Our depth has been crap for so long.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #33
My whole point LP.....dropping one bloke who's not doing much and bringing in another bloke who's not doing much? Our midfield options are so limited at the moment that we're just having to play guys and hope they improve. Our depth has been crap for so long.

I disagree with this now. Our problem is kids won't find form in the AFL, and we appear to have disheartened the VFL players by not rewarding good form when they have it. Anyone watching VFL can see who is playing well and who isn't, yet the same old same olds get a game no matter how poorly they repeatedly perform!

I realise you might not get to see much VFL fro WA, but check out the reports from RiverRat and others. You should see this continually repeated and discussed scenario where players are basically played into then out of form before they get promoted! It's a mystery to many of us, it's almost the strongest argument that our club might be tanking!
The Force Awakens!

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #34
Yep LP don't get to see any of it here so I can only really go on the comments on here. So what does that say about the overall coaching and game plan if, as you say, blokes are played into and then out of form? I'd be devastated if we were tanking again given how many wooden spoons and near bottom finishes we've had in recent years. All those high draft picks and we're still sitting on the bottom? How many more years of this is there to come?

I see Kennedy in the VFL for weeks on end while our midfield is struggling and he comes in last week and for the most part he's ordinary. I see Dow and O'Brien struggling week after week but still getting a game. If we drop them, who's knocking the door down in the VLF? Setterfield was brought into the club to be that bigger midfielder type and while he's had two injury interrupted years at GWS, he's now back in the VFL. We brought in Fasolo to add depth and from what I read, he's not doing much in the VFL either.

We had the Mullet/O'Shea/Shaw experiment to add depth and older players to help and they were all an abject failure. This year has got that same feel about it it IMHO. Someone else posted the other day that they need another couple of pre-seasons? Curnow, McKay, Cunningham and Weitering are into their 4th seasons...SPS and Fisher their 3rd. A couple more preseasons and it'll be their 6th and 5th respectively....are we going to have to wait that long?

From that list that Shawny posted, there's probably 8-10 blokes you could easily cull at the end of this year but we've been doing that repeatedly over the last 3-4 years. That makes it near impossible to trade blokes in when you don't have an awful lot to offer up the other way.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #35
Not Setterfield. He did diddly in the 2s from all reports.

I'd give Lang a run....
Oh dear
2017-16th
2018-Wooden Spoon
2019-16th
2020-dare to dream? 11th is better than last I suppose
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #36
Yep LP don't get to see any of it here so I can only really go on the comments on here. So what does that say about the overall coaching and game plan if, as you say, blokes are played into and then out of form? I'd be devastated if we were tanking again given how many wooden spoons and near bottom finishes we've had in recent years. All those high draft picks and we're still sitting on the bottom? How many more years of this is there to come?

I actually think Fraser is OK, if not better than OK, but to me it appears our AFL part is also the wrecking ball for all things Northern Blues!

I see Kennedy in the VFL for weeks on end while our midfield is struggling and he comes in last week and for the most part he's ordinary. I see Dow and O'Brien struggling week after week but still getting a game. If we drop them, who's knocking the door down in the VLF? Setterfield was brought into the club to be that bigger midfielder type and while he's had two injury interrupted years at GWS, he's now back in the VFL. We brought in Fasolo to add depth and from what I read, he's not doing much in the VFL either.

Actually, if I recall correctly Kennedy was looked OK after returning from injury, but then got re-injured in the VFL and we promoted him to the AFL carrying an injury or recovering from another injury off the back of no game.

We had the Mullet/O'Shea/Shaw experiment to add depth and older players to help and they were all an abject failure. This year has got that same feel about it it IMHO. Someone else posted the other day that they need another couple of pre-seasons? Curnow, McKay, Cunningham and Weitering are into their 4th seasons...SPS and Fisher their 3rd. A couple more preseasons and it'll be their 6th and 5th respectively....are we going to have to wait that long?

From that list that Shawny posted, there's probably 8-10 blokes you could easily cull at the end of this year but we've been doing that repeatedly over the last 3-4 years. That makes it near impossible to trade blokes in when you don't have an awful lot to offer up the other way.

In respect to Weitering he looks fine, but he's had less interruptions than Charlie and far less than McKay. SPS has looked good in patches and I suspect Fisher is carrying an injury because he's looked the goods in the past as well. Personally, I think this idea of having them play through adversity is bogus, it's more likely they will become Pavlov's Dog than a Performance Athlete!
The Force Awakens!

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #37
Early in the season I thought Weitering was pretty good but last week he looked like last year.....totally lost and regularly outpointed. As for injuries, every club gets them....we simply don't have the ability or depth to cover them. We got in the high performance fitness guy from Hawthorn and from memory had 3 blokes do hamstrings against the Hawks. We regularly have blokes out with injuries including young guys like Kennedy, Cunningham, Marchbank etc.

We'd all love to have the answer but for now it's another wasted year IMO and another spoon headed for the trophy cabinet.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #38
Case Study:

Patrick Naish was picked up in the 2017 National Draft (father / son 34) by Richmond. He has spent all his time in the VFL, been in the best players this year 5 out of 8 games and is Number 1 for disposals and handball receives for his club. They believe that he will make it, but at the moment they are able to bide their time and let him develop both physically and with a game sense, due to their senior's list.

Lochie O'Brien was picked up in the 2017 National Draft by Carlton. He played 18 games in 2018 and 6 so far in 2019. He is physically under developed and has found it hard to impact any game he's played in. He has been played partly to accelerate his progress and partly though necessity, due to our senior list.

This same comparison can be made with so many of our players.  Dow, Fisher early on, Stocker, even Will Setterfield coming off a knee reco with all the experience of 2 senior games behind him and thrown into senior football and expected to magically 'flick the switch'.

Other sides due to their list maturity and skill can afford to take the slow, cautious, development path.  Unfortuately we don't have that luxury......and with that comes pain. 

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #39
I actually think Fraser is OK, if not better than OK, but to me it appears our AFL part is also the wrecking ball for all things Northern Blues!

Actually, if I recall correctly Kennedy was looked OK after returning from injury, but then got re-injured in the VFL and we promoted him to the AFL carrying an injury or recovering from another injury off the back of no game.

In respect to Weitering he looks fine, but he's had less interruptions than Charlie and far less than McKay. SPS has looked good in patches and I suspect Fisher is carrying an injury because he's looked the goods in the past as well. Personally, I think this idea of having them play through adversity is bogus, it's more likely they will become Pavlov's Dog than a Performance Athlete!

Fisher has been tagged in several games this year and obviously clubs rate him as our second best mid IMO but he has found the going tough with the extra attention and bigger bodies manning him up.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #40
Fisher has been tagged in several games this year and obviously clubs rate him as our second best mid IMO but he has found the going tough with the extra attention and bigger bodies manning him up.
So why isn't Crippa blocking for his little mate? Cripps should be dropped. ;D ;D
2017-16th
2018-Wooden Spoon
2019-16th
2020-dare to dream? 11th is better than last I suppose
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #41
So why isn't Crippa blocking for his little mate? Cripps should be dropped. ;D ;D

Trade him out. Bloody boat anchor. ;)
This digital world is too much for us insects to understand.

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #42
So why isn't Crippa blocking for his little mate? Cripps should be dropped. ;D ;D

The problem is Walsh having a free running opponent, it means they got someone extra to sit on or roll off players like Fisher and SPS.

We are all super excited about Walsh, opponents don't give much of a stuff about him yet!
The Force Awakens!

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #43
The problem is Walsh having a free running opponent, it means they got someone extra to sit on or roll off players like Fisher and SPS.

We are all super excited about Walsh, opponents don't give much of a stuff about him yet!
Fish and Samo need to extract the digit, push through the tags and lift. They have been passengers for a large chunk of the year.
2017-16th
2018-Wooden Spoon
2019-16th
2020-dare to dream? 11th is better than last I suppose
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time

Re: Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 11: Carlton vs the Drug Cheats

Reply #44
Fish and Samo need to extract the digit, push through the tags and lift. They have been passengers for a large chunk of the year.

If you add to that situation this uncomfortable fact;

All our midfield tactics seem to contain,

 - First receive the ball from Cripps........
 - Cripps gets the ball.......
 - After Cripps gets the ball.......
 - Once Cripps gets the ball..........
 - When Cripps has given the ball..........

But lacks,

 - If Cripps doesn't get the ball...........
The Force Awakens!