Our major problem at the moment is that Lewis Young has no confidence in his ability.......and the backline players themselves (Weltering, Newman, Williams Boyd, Kemp) have no confidence in him either after having the likes of McGovern, Saad, Docherty down back who they could rely on. Bring in McGovern for Young and see the difference.
I don’t see that at all. Young’s contested possessions and spoils are comparable with Weitering’s and Kemp’s and his teammates don’t hesitate to give him the ball if he’s the best option.
He was the victim of some good blocks by the Geelong forwards, some poor umpiring decisions and poor play by his teammates up the field, but his game was more than adequate.
Second year blues or potentially just shouldering a much bigger load than last year.
Maybe we should change his number back....
Personally, i think these things are just a function of opposition knowing more about him and matching up accordingly.
It’s probably also a function of playing a more defensive role.
I suspect that Ollie is meeting the indicators set for him and is contributing to team indicators.
There’s a limit to the number of possessions a team can have. When you have players like Walsh, Cripps, Hewett and Kennedy racking up possessions, it follows that other players get fewer possessions and adopt more of a support role.
Zac Williams was subbed out last week, and possibly wasn’t cherry ripe for this game. Leaving aside significant personal issues and time out with injury, he should be given a chance to prove himself. Everyone plays a bad game at some point.
I’ve missed you Paul 🙂
The pile-on that Zac is experiencing probably won’t help 😡
He may not be at his best but he’s not far off and his class and ability show out. All of our defenders are under extra pressure with the absence of Saad and McGovern but I’m more than happy to back them in. Vossy and Sammy will make changes if necessary and Zac may need to freshen up or tweak his role. Either way, he’s a vital cog in our defensive structure.
It depends on the innovation of the Handbagger MC.
It's a fatal mistake to assume a team is crippled by the absence of a single player, many of our own fans said as much about us in the early season absence of Weiters.
A forced change like Stewart going out can cause an MC to become inventive, inventive potentially means a new tactic that opponents have not seen before, and that can be deadly for the opponent if they go into a game unprepared to adapt.
Always respect opponents, and be prepared to adapt.
That was my point LP; Stewart's absence will force Geelong's MC to make changes and/or play a different game style. They will try to use Tuohy in the loose man role but he normally relies on Stewart to create his opportunities. Zac Guthrie will also be trying to cover Stewart's absence but Stewart is more difficult to cover than any of their other defenders, or ours too for that matter.
Geelong turnover game is off the scale this season and they average just over 9 goals per game from turnovers, largely due to Stewart's work. Their turnover game was still effective against the Lions after Stewart went off but today's game won't be in torrential rain and against a flakey opponent. Look for them to set up differently behind the ball and that may very well play into our hands with Charlie, Harry and Tom looking to spread their defence and isolate Charlie as much as possible.
They are billing it as the biggest Geelong- Carlton game since the 1995 grand final. And the conclusion; "If you need a prediction, it’s this: Carlton will be too strong around the ball in the end." I think that's pretty well spot on.
For good measure there's most of another page devoted to an interview with Brian Cook in an article titled, "Billionaires and business deals: The money machine delivering big benefits to the Blues."
Cook starts with, “The true uniqueness I found, in comparison [with Geelong], was just the passion of its supporter base at Carlton – its width, its depth, its tentacles where they spread.”
The Cats win games by field position - they're the best in the AFL at it. Myers, Stewart and Cameron are the link/set up men. Control them and we beat this mob. Stewart is absent but we don't have a tall defender to go with Cameron.
Stewart is Geelong’s most important player and they can’t cover his loss. That has repercussions for them all over the ground.
We didn’t have a tall defender to go with Cameron last season and he kicked 6.1 … but we still won. Vossy and his mates will have cooked up something for Cameron. In fact, I reckon Scott has a lot more to worry about than Vossy.
We need to keep a close eye on Myers. I'd run Cottrell on him and make him accountable. Maybe put Acres on Cameron and make Cameron gut run up and down all day.
Cameron would take Acres forward and exploit his height advantage. You have to play a key defender on Cameron or tag team him.
How do we feel about S Durdin, Lewis and Kemp being in charge of looking after Cameron and Hawkins?? Simple answer, cut off their supply!! Easier said than done. If Weitering is out, our 'next man up' mantra will be tested to the max!!!
We did OK with Weitering missing at the start of the season.
As good as Hawkins is, he does rely on players up the ground and, if we can get on top, he can be starved of opportunities.
Cameron is a different kettle of fish with his ability to win the ball and create opportunities up the ground. While it's not an ideal match up, Young is probably best able to go with him. Alternatively, Kemp runs with Cameron when he plays up the ground and Weitering or Young pick him up inside 50.
Vossy seems very confident that both Williams and Weitering will play.
I mentioned my brother because peacekeepers are the theme of this ANZAC Day. He also served in the Army and Air Force but was very proud of his UN service and very pleased when it was officially recognised.
Seen a video doing the rounds on socials about Jim Park. Didn't realise he was killed in action during world war 2, after having played128 games. Served with a team mate Jim askew.
If I remember correctly, Jim Park was one of 99 Australian troops killed in the battle of Wau. I think that’s where Albo attended the dawn service today.
I was involved in an exercise fighting over very similar terrain in 1972. The “enemy”, members of the then Pacific Islands Regiment, were occupying Japanese bunkers that were still intact 30 years after they were last used.
The terrain is challenging but even more so when some bastards are shooting at you.
Much respect to Jim Park and the other Aussies who fought by his side at Wau, and at other battlefields in the South Pacific, the Middle East, Türkiye, Greece, Crete, France and the Low Countries, Vietnam, Malaysia and the more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Iraq, East Timor and Afghanistan.
And a special shout out to the peacekeepers, including my late brother, Ron, who served with the UNCIVPOL in Cyprus in 1978.
