Carlton Supporters Club

I was trying to make the same point, that it wasnt a GREAT game.

I thought he was decent when he had the ball is probably what I was trying to say but happy to agree with you it wasn't a great game hence he didn't get votes from me.

The problem with Cunningham (and I think most folks can see it) is that he does these things in games that make you think...'wow, that was classy.'
He's a 'cut above'
But then he goes for long periods of the game without any impact.

Just keep playing him for the time being.
His upside is greater than most of those other fringe players.
Hopefully those 'wow' moments will become more frequent.

The problem is that Pittonet's clearances are kicks off the ground or blind kicks/handpasses in the general direction of our forward line.  His ruckwork is poor and generally ends up with an opposition clearance.  It's really worth watching how De Koning in the VFL (and even Casboult) is able to direct his hitouts so that a midfielder gets a decent opportunity to drive the ball forward.  I don't know how "hitouts to advantage" is defined but most of Pittonet's taps don't result in us getting a clearance.

The other problem with Pittonet is that he is not taking marks around the ground and, when he "helps out" in defence, it often ends up with him blocking Jones or Weitering.  He certainly tries hard, but there's a reason why he only played seven games in four seasons with the Hawks.

I think he goes okay in the ruck but doesn't do much else.

Can a team afford to rely on a ruckman who doesn’t have an impact around the ground?

I’d be happier if Pittonet was able to nullify the impact of opposition rucks but I’m not seeing that.

How can it be that when we hit the lead against a top team, after so many years of struggling, that our team is full of dread instead of excitement.

How can it be that they are not energised and invigorated by the situation of leading?

Who did this to us, and / or who is doing it to us?

I re-watched the game and you can see the change in some of our players, even before the Dogs had scored their second goal in the comeback run on. Our players looked to have dropped their heads, like they knew their fate and that their role wasn't to win. They looked nervous, suppressed, defeated even!

Somebody or something at our club is dropping the ball, we have a bad influence somewhere in the system!

It's corny but true!