Carlton Supporters Club

And here is the main issue. No offense mate. This is totally the wrong way around. It's like trying to get into the Australian Cricket Squad and you're not from NSW...

You cannot set standards if the seniors are not going to be measured and replaced on the back of their OWN performances.

What would you rather have:

1. You keep players in the seconds and they  ONLY get a chance due to injuries, horrendous ongoing performances by a non leader player, where finals are a no chance, or its their first-ever senior game.

2. You make the SENIORS accountable by setting benchmarking standards with the coach and leadership group. If they are not met, you're dropped. Dead simple. As a result he spends time in the seconds..probably hell bent to get back in, and a seconds player is brought in hell bent to play a blinder and staying in the seniors. Standard set. Rinse and repeat.


Keeping option 1 going is one of the reasons we have no depth and our kids have no real experience. We bring em in expecting miracles and when the season is over and we never learn. In the meantime big teams blood youngsters as part of a strategy.

How do you know this?

We beat up on a team with 25 games average less experience and an average age 1y 8 mths  younger. A wins a win, tick. We were expected to win and we did, another tick. But thats about it. Lets not get carried away, lets see if we can repeat that this week agains the filth.

This is what happens when you turn over the list.
You get kids who are not quite ready yet and blokes who are but are perhaps not up to it.
Menzel is injured.

You could also throw Daisy into that list, but yes he is injured too.

People don't want a quick fix....but they do.

It all starts in the midfield and cheats.com.au have a 'big' midfield. Our midfield is scrawny. Hiding looming.

We have only two bigger bodies in the midfield - Dinger and Cripps. Judd is an extractor.

Then look at the rest of our midfield/on-ballers - Gibbs, Simpson, Murphy, Tutt, Smith, Graham, Curnow, Thomas, Ellard, Carrazzo - all lightweights against midfields that have been growing in size and strength for a few years now (and we recruit a Rookworst (sorry mate) as a mature pick who is 7 kgs wringing wet!!!). And we lost a real wrecking ball at the contest in Robbo, although in many people's opinions he had to go, who came in to replace this level of commitment and mongrel? No-one. Surely we can all remember times when the game was slipping away from us and Robbo would do something sacrificial that lifted his team mates... do we have any bloke now at the club who has this instinct (as identified by Parko)?

I don't think our midfield is scrawny. Quite the opposite really. Bell, Cripps, Carrots, Murph, Gibbs, all are big
bodied. What we are is one paced and slow.

I am beginning to believe it is not our forward line or backline that is the problem but rather a feeble midfield.