Carlton Supporters Club

Storm games are always fun to watch like SOO, it's because it's Vic versus NSW, the NSW fans and NSW media give Storm hell. Storm are hated by the NSW teams, as far as I can tell it's because Storm did exactly what the NSW teams have been doing for decades, but they did it better than the NSW teams.

NSW talk up Origin like it's the pinnacle of the sport, but far from it, many of the best of the best do not even get to play SOO because they are Kiwis or Islanders.

Queenslander's like Origin because they are perennially labelled underdogs and as being the weaker squad by the NSW apparatchiks, yet Qld keep handing NSW it's hat and coat on the way out the door.

Regulars here will know of my love for Storm coach Craig Bellamy, if he ever wants a break from the 24x7 of NRL, Carlton would be well advised to give him a walk up start as a director of coaching. Forget the other names floated, they are B-Grade by comparison! Bellamy often takes unknown 2nd or 3rd division talent, rejects from other clubs, and the games troubled stars, and turns them into the opposition's worst nightmare. Bellamy is expert at building a reliable base around the top end talent using players other clubs do not want!

I was interested in something Harry said in his latest podcast, he says those headphones he wears in the pre game warm up are not playing music, they are noise cancelling to block out the noise from the fans. That doesn't make sense to me. We often talk about how the pressure at training is different (non existent) to playing in front of crowds from a noise perspective. I've often thought that shots for goal practice at training could be done wearing headphones playing loud crowd noise to help simulate the environment (maybe they do this already). Sure the pressure of the game itself is not there but the noise would be at least. I would have thought Harry would be taking the opportunity to practice his goal kicking in the warm up with the crowd noise (and distraction) as opposed to cancelling it.

The heat is on over here in the West on Simpson and the Eagles because of their performances in the last 2 and a bit seasons. We belted them but realistically, are we much better off at the moment? They have about 16 of their starting 23 out with injuries so they have some excuses, and some poor list management hasn't helped. Calls for sackings from the top down....CEO, board and coach or a combination. Fans are losing it.

We had 4 picks in the top 20 in 2015 and got Weitering, McKay, Curnow and Cunningham. The first 3 were/are AA level players in recent years. Then we've had Walsh and burnt top 10 picks on Dow, O'Brien and SPS. Not to mention long term deals on pretty big $$$ to bring in Martin, Williams and McGovern...and given up top 10 draft picks to bring in Saad and Cerra.

And after all that, we're likely to be in the bottom 6 by the end of this weekend with really only one "genuine" win this year over Geelong. The two wins over North and WCE are meaningless.

We've shown in the last two seasons that our best is good enough. Even the first 15 minutes last night, we absolutely dominated that game....and still lost by 5 goals. Yet something just has to be wrong internally at the club for this to just be almost like we're back where we started. We have the players....we have/had nearly a full list to choose from for last night's game....yet we look so far off being a top 8 side it's not funny. Some bits last night were just about laughable...it's that sad. To see McGovern and Weitering fly for a mark and spoil each other 40m out from the opposition goal. To see blokes just continually turning it over. If we were happy to drop JSOS for a couple of weeks of poor form, then McKay simply has to go this week. Lost count of how many marks he fluffed last night and when he DID get it, he couldn't hit a pig in the bum with a frying pan.

Melbourne and Essendon in the next two weeks with likely 4 or 5 blokes out injured.....we're seriously looking at a bottom 4 finish now....after everything that last year promised.

Winning ugly is something we were managing today.
You can do that by playing 'OK' and kicking straight.
It releases the pressure, and keeps you ticking along while you work out your other issues.

Now, since we can't kick straight, we are adding to our problems, not solving them.
Its created external noise, giving our players the yips and killing our confidence.

Indirectly, it has become our biggest problem.

I suggested we do it last week, i demand we do it this week.
Drop Harry.

He is a liability.

He is dropping marks. The ones he takes he can't kick. We are wasted our entries inside 50 going to him. He is useless once the ball hits the ground.
So why are we playing him??

Harry out. Bring back SOJ as 3rd tall and let TDK play from the square.

Cripps, i don't care what miracle you can perform during the week on that ankle. Have the week off champ. Bring Dow in.

Hewitt....will be forced to have a rest. Bring Ed in from the sub vest.

Newman....will be done with a hamstring....bring back Cincotta after his efforts in the 2's.

Hollands....will be an out. Bring back LOB

Durdin....needs a rest. Bring in Fisher and reward his effort in the 2's.

If Kennedy needs a rest, bring in Fogarty.

Give Cowan the sub vest.


OUT: Harry, Hollands, Hewitt, Durdin, Newman, Cripps, (Kennedy)
IN: SOJ, LOB, Ed, Fisher, Cincotta, Dow, (Fogarty)
SUB: Cowan.

You were right Thry...what was I thinking?