Carlton Supporters Club

Is he any better or worse than Phillips?

I suspect not.

Is he another Phillips, I think that's the bigger question, Pittonet appears to be more durable than Phillips? So that makes me wonder what has held him back if not injuries!

I want them all the succeed when they come to our club, but I'm ultra-cognisant of the toll our apparent lack of progress in this area is taking on Cripps. I think I'm justified in being impatient to find a genuine 1st ruck option, not more support acts. A big midfield presence that can deliver a guy like Cripps some hope!

EFA

Blokes on our list like Murphy, Fisher, Cunningham, O'Brien, SPS, Dow, Walsh, Owies, Polson, Ed Curnow, Gibbons, etc, etc, are easy targets for criticism when things go bad. But they are not heavy bodied inside mids, never were and never will be.

There output depends on the presence of a guy like Kreuzer, for everything he does beside the contesting the tap, winning the tap is almost ancillary. When Kreuzer is in they play better, regardless of SpecialK's form line. Because when SpecialK's feet hit the ground his natural instinct is to hunt the footy and opponents without hesitation. It makes the little blokes stand taller, it makes life a little easier for other potential big bodied mids like Cripps, Setterfield, SoJ, Plowman, Charlie Curnow, etc., etc..

Being good in the ruck and a team winning clearances was never, is never and will never be about just squaring the contest or winning the tap against your opponent.

I'll never accept a ruckmen in the mould of a Warnock or Phillips, because just winning the taps contributes so little to the team. It's one of the reasons why I liked Jones rucking so much in the VFL, and cannot understand how he never had a crack as a 2nd ruck in the AFL. He is not a great tap ruckmen, and won't better many opponents at the bounce or at a stoppage, but when the ball hit the ground he was after it like a rat up a drain pipe!

Doesn't matter how big or small you are if you can win the ball and use it well.

Lachie Neale - 177cm, 84kg.

We got to the football 1st plenty of times at the weekend, even in the 1st quarter.

Use of the football is also influenced by the quality of the ruck and the ruck's involvement in shepherding midfielders from opponents. It's why GWS were so desperate to get Mumford back on the park, he protects guys like Whitfield and Coniglio from the pissweak "hang back and then tackle them types" that inflicted so much pain on us last weekend. People in the media pumped up Oliver and Petracca, but seriously as midfield bulls probably more than 50% of their possessions came from letting a Carlton player try to pick the ball up first. Fair enough, they know they are big enough to inflict pain on smaller mids, and that we lack the pace or strength to do anything in response, they were well coached in this regard.

I've stated before, the current rules reward the pissweak who leave winning the first touch to somebody else.

Who the feck are our midfield and stoppages coaches, how could we have such a wrongly phrased plan?

Is that Barkers role?...and why was Oliver allowed to hold Cripps way off the contest all the time without another team-mate blocking for him or delivering some physicality to Oliver.
Now we have Brett Deledio and Kane Cornes all suggesting Cripps should look elsewhere and given the lack of help he is getting he might start thinking about it..
I watched ex Blue Nick Holman take out Luke Shuey with a lovely bump that left Shuey counting his ribs...when was the last time we saw a Carlton player do that to a opposition player....maybe Robbo?, thats what Oliver needed.

On a separate issue to the ruck debate;

Has Cripps desire to become leaner / faster taken a toll on his well-being and diminished some of his key strengths.

Does he look rundown to other fans?

Doesn't matter how big or small you are if you can win the ball and use it well.

Lachie Neale - 177cm, 84kg.

I feel your pain EB1.

Funny I was think the exact same thing watching the replay, not just Oliver, but the Dees put player after player between Cripps and the football nearly all of it illegal shepherding. I miss Mitch Robinson!