Carlton Supporters Club

Our kids all have shown something (except Polson who is the only real worry).

I liked his tackling efforts in the game a couple of weeks ago. He seemed to make a few stick which is unusual for our team.

I think its hard to compare.

Where we are at means its hard to get a read on players and their abilities because of how few experienced heads we have in the team.

In the past, where a Kane Lucas or a Matthew Watson joined a rather settled lineup, they looked like they had no idea what they were doing and didn't display even a snippet of the ability that half of these guys do.

Our kids all have shown something (except Polson who is the only real worry).

Now its about how we develope them as a unit and as individuals.

No light, no tunnel, just a drop of positivity in an ocean of bullcrap expectations.

One rising star nomination doesnt make a player.  He has effectively been picked as one to watch moving forward as he has a future.

That should be the minimal expectation that we have on our youngsters.  Instead, we seem to have the opposite.  We are so entrenched in failure we have no idea how to recognise success.

You wont see a proper club patting a bloke on the back for a rising star nomination.  They will simply give the guy a pat on the back and on we go.

"Games into kids" isn't as important as "games into kids together" and at the moment circumstances (injuries, selections) are preventing that on many occasions.

Polson looks OK at VFL level, I think if he was at a club surrounded by the right type of player he is capable of doing a Caleb Daniel type role at AFL level. He's probably easily the smartest of the smalls we have drafted, but he doesn't have any natural physical advantage.

If we look back at some of the threads of the past though, you'll find that many of 'our kids' of the past all had games where there was some genuine excitement...where they showed something.

http://www.carltonsc.com/index.php?topic=1375.0

http://www.carltonsc.com/index.php?topic=945.0

...and one of the most insightful comments from the Buckley thread was this one.

"Games into kids" isn't as important as "games into kids together" and at the moment circumstances (injuries, selections) are preventing that on many occasions.

Maybe, and I hope for him he turns it around, but his limitations seem to be plentiful.  Zach Fisher is your Caleb Daniel type.  Polson is more Honeychurch (without the natural ability at the moment).

I'm quite aware of what happened in the various games this season.

Paul, what we don't know on here is what exactly the coaching panel is trying to achieve in each game within the reset cycle. And that is the point - we are in a reset cycle - is a normal tactical approach always being applied or are selection and game plan decisions being made based more on list and player management/development considerations? Those not part of the inner sanctum would not really be in a position to know, but can only surmise.

No I don't agree about that, in my opinion Fisher is already well beyond anything Daniel has or can deliver, Fisher just doesn't get the recognition Daniel gets.

I think you've pre-judged Polson. If you watched VFL regularly there is no way you could be positive about McKay or Macreadie and also negative about Polson. At VFL level Polson has them comfortably covered on so many levels other than dimensions. His work ethic is equal to Graham, and his ball use is probably better, he just doesn't get as much of the football yet.

I suspect as the years pass, players like Weitering will replace Rowe, and that shift in team balance will create opportunity for players like Polson. But it may depend on how our list looks ignoring Fisher, Kennedy looks slow, Cripps is slow, SPS is not fast, Dow is inside, and O'Brien is outside. Not sure how Polson fits if he wants midfield as a role.

We don't know.
The expectation is that we go out each week always to get the win but some of the selections over recent times gives the impression that there is another agenda...experimentation and player development.
If that's the case it's a gutsy strategy because eventually patience wears thin if results aren't forthcoming.
If the club is united and understanding of the approach you're on pretty solid ground even in the face of supporter unrest.
Where it can come unstuck is if the lack of success leads to a group, who think they can do better, taking advantage of any discontent to rest control of the club

Irrespective of how we rate players, my list shows that Polson is currently one who is the only real question mark about being an AFL capable competitor which is why he is the only one that worries me.  Macreadie could turn out to be a bust, but his AFL form last year was solid enough to show that we have our key position players sorted for a few years.

I can only judge them as they play relative to each other, and side by side in the VFL, it's Polson that looks closer to AFL than some of the others.

But I no expert, in fact I'll assert based on the McKay / Kerr selection situation I know nothing at all!

One concern I have, is which player does Kerr really compete with for a AFL spot?

Who does Polson really compete with for that matter?

It may not be a level playing field!

I've heard the club and coaches throw around terms like honest, hard working, good character, but I'm yet to see this in the selection policy. I appreciate team selection is complex issue, but it must surely follow your ethos.

I was bemused by all of these decisions regarding dropping players, but none of them were overly surprising as they didnt really hurt the opposition enough.

If you read the pre-game thread half of the forum questioned the selections and why we dropped two small pressure forwards and replaced them with an inside midfielder and another half back flanker.

Just like the suns game when we replaced Kreuzer with a small, that left Casboult in the ruck.

Terrible selections that cost us both games before they even began.