Carlton Supporters Club

Dow's strength at U18 level was his ability to burst away from stoppages and blow past defenders who usually didn't have the strength to drag him down. He was continually running and doing what he liked, didn't need many tricks or evasive skills and never had any composure at the end of his runs and just sprayed the ball. But when you get it 40 times a match no one was complaining if at least half of his disposals went in the right direction. He kicked a lot of goals for a mid too and hence he looked like a ready made player who would suit us. The problem is he has never adjusted his game from U18 level or gained the nous and awareness needed and I'm bemused what our assistants and VFL coaches have been doing with him.
He has needed so much more senior football and patience to bring him up to speed and change how he plays...LDU has had that at North and become a player, we have just given up on Dow and let him become a zombie with no identity at the club or at senior level. Its just been a complete development debacle.....

Interesting you say the three butchered the ball, I agree about previous weeks but Acres ran at 96DE% for his 25 touches (of which 24 are listed as effective) which is outstanding.

Our problem wasnt what Acres was doing with the ball it was what his opponents were doing and both J.Daicos and Sidebottom had their usual days out on the wings against us again.
An interesting stat was the metres gained.....J. Daicos was at 680m, Sidebum at 332m and Acres at 116m...Acres must have been handballing to himself because he wasnt advancing the ball much.

Our problem wasnt what Acres was doing with the ball it was what his opponents were doing and both J.Daicos and Sidebottom had their usual days out on the wings against us again.
An interesting stat was the metres gained.....J. Daicos was at 680m, Sidebum at 332m and Acres at 116m...Acres must have been handballing to himself because he wasnt advancing the ball much.
Our best was Charlie Curnow who was a touch below 600m....carrying the forward line and working his guts out, he can be proud of how he is playing.

The non-selection of Dow is a mystery. If they weren't going to play him, why not just delist him in October last year and pay him out...similar to what West Coast did with Zac Langdon who they recruited from GWS. Like most, I'm a huge critic of the guy but there must be something fundamentally and majorly wrong with what he's doing in the VFL that is stopping him from getting a game at the moment when the team is struggling. Yes, there's a big difference between the standards...but getting 40 possessions must mean at least he's getting to the ball? Our delivery into the forward 50 couldn't be any worse. Credit to the guy for keeping his head up and fronting up each week and working hard in the VFL...he could've very easily just pulled the pin.

Im actually worried about Doc getting up.
He pulled up and was rubbing his right hammy and then went off and they were rubbing his left !

Cramping

More than anything, the thing that I would love to see with our group this Friday night is a concerted effort to focus on trust in each other and leadership.

We know that they all know how to kick, handball, tackle, run, mark and so on. But this really does look like a group bereft of trust in themselves, trust in each other (which destroys any opportunity to build confidence) and strong on-field leadership.

We have been doing plenty of things to undermine trust... silly misses on goal, dropped marks, poor handballs, silly choices/options - all symptoms of a lack of trust/confidence. A vicious cycle. The result? Playing safe, slow footy. No risks or boldness. Easily defeated/deflated.

To be candid, and I declare my bias having come from a military background/environment (Navy), I'd get a retired (you're never an 'ex') Navy Seal into the place to put these blokes through the exercises/disciplines required to build trust and leadership. Declarations of 'working harder' are rubbish, not to mention the implication that we've not being working hard enough. There are no issues with effort. 'Working smarter' would be more appropriate. And this cr@p about not getting too high or too low is a recipe for beige. The skill is to limit and contain the big highs and lows. Allow the highs and hurts for a time, then harness.