One of the best criteria for judging the quality and character of a player is how they stand up under finals pressure.
We have at least two games this year to make the call.
There's probably no need to call out those who didn't quite rise to the occasion.
If you don't get mentioned then you have some work to do, and a game to do it in.
I'll start with two and we can add names as we go.
Cottrell
Acres
...stood up.
Martin, Weitering, Walsh. Stood up.
COTTRELLLLLLLL!!!!!
BOG.
Cripps, Docherty and Saad.
Havent been a Cottrell fan but his first half was excellent...
Acres had some big moments and another of my less fancied players in Martin also did the same with some match saving efforts later in the game as well as some handy goals and gave an important one to Acres so credit where its due.
The player I would like to single out though who doesnt get much of a mention is Kemp, looked like he was heading down the path of a typical Carlton youngster, plenty of talent as a U18 player but was in limbo for a while in the twos and looked on the way out. But this year not only has he had a breakout season but he has also become Mr Reliable and has some cemented himself
in the team down back as a defender and I thought he was very steady in his first final.
Walsh, Cerra and Weitering were the players imho who provided the backbone to the win with all three showing this through the season and no surprise they stood up and was good to see Walsh back to his best.
One of the best criteria for judging the quality and character of a player is how they stand up under finals pressure.
We have at least two games this year to make the call.
There's probably no need to call out those who didn't quite rise to the occasion.
If you don't get mentioned then you have some work to do, and a game to do it in.
I'll start with two and we can add names as we go.
Cottrell
Acres
...stood up.
Martin
Newman
Weitering
Me, I stood up as I thought I was about to crap myself in that last qtr....lol.
Martin
Acres
Weitering
Cottrell
Havent been a Cottrell fan but his first half was excellent...
Acres had some big moments and another of my less fancied players in Martin also did the same with some match saving efforts later in the game as well as some handy goals and gave an important one to Acres so credit where its due.
The player I would like to single out though who doesnt get much of a mention is Kemp, looked like he was heading down the path of a typical Carlton youngster, plenty of talent as a U18 player but was in limbo for a while in the twos and looked on the way out. But this year not only has he had a breakout season but he has also become Mr Reliable and has some cemented himself
in the team down back as a defender and I thought he was very steady in his first final.
Walsh, Cerra and Weitering were the players imho who provided the backbone to the win with all three showing this through the season and no surprise they stood up and was good to see Walsh back to his best.
I think that Kempy is looking more and more like a ten year player EB.
Given that he’s being asked to take on much bigger players each week, as he was again on Friday night, Kempy certainly stood up,
Pity about the error that gave up a goal, but everyone has those moments.
I think that Kempy is looking more and more like a ten year player EB.
Given that he’s being asked to take on much bigger players each week, as he was again on Friday night, Kempy certainly stood up,
Pity about the error that gave up a goal, but everyone has those moments.
Mrs G2C loves Kempy and Hollands. Kemp's blemish on Fri was one of few for him this year, he has been mighty and has a very long and bright future.
Mrs G2C loves Kempy and Hollands. Kemp's blemish on Fri was one of few for him this year, he has been mighty and has a very long and bright future.
Yep agree. Kemp has poise and backs himself in to take defensive marks which for young player is a massive tick. Teams very well with Weitering and they play as if they have played 100 games together. Allows Weitering to play his intercepting role and hard to believe the kid is yet to notch up 25 games! Looks every bit of a 200 game player.
Cottrell is a manic player who is dangerous round goal and similar to Motlop has that ability to really lift the team. Very happy with him.
Pity about the error that gave up a goal, but everyone has those moments.
I was 7 rows back from where that mistake happened.
What wasn't really shown on TV was when Kemp handballed to....TDK IIRC, he pointed long telling TDK to clear the 50 with the kick, instead TDK handballed it back to him (when he wasn't ready) and thats why he fumbled (because his arm was outstretched pointing down the line).
Now i'm not blaming TDK for handballing it back to him (thats what rucks should be doing) but had TDK shoved it on the boot like instructed there wouldn't have been the issue.
Of course the blame should probably go to Kemp who should've kicked it first, rather than handball to a ruck in tight space.
But hey, its an anomaly and all is forgiven.
Cottrell
Acres
Martin
Weiters (if there's a step above the top step!)
Walsh
Cerra
I was 7 rows back from where that mistake happened.
What wasn't really shown on TV was when Kemp handballed to....TDK IIRC, he pointed long telling TDK to clear the 50 with the kick, instead TDK handballed it back to him (when he wasn't ready) and thats why he fumbled (because his arm was outstretched pointing down the line).
Now i'm not blaming TDK for handballing it back to him (thats what rucks should be doing) but had TDK shoved it on the boot like instructed there wouldn't have been the issue.
Of course the blame should probably go to Kemp who should've kicked it first, rather than handball to a ruck in tight space.
But hey, its an anomaly and all is forgiven.
That’s footy!
Our defence is usually such a well-oiled machine that the odd mistake, like Newy’s kick that missed Marchy, stands out like dog’s balls.
And, that brings me to Caleb, who certainly stood up on Friday night. A very underrated player is Marchy.
De koning stood up too.
Walsh's spoil in the last quarter deep in defence was amazing. Longer vision shows how much ground he covered to get there. Sydney player wouldn't have thought he was under pressure.
That’s footy!
Our defence is usually such a well-oiled machine that the odd mistake, like Newy’s kick that missed Marchy, stands out like dog’s balls.
And, that brings me to Caleb, who certainly stood up on Friday night. A very underrated player is Marchy.
I'm a fan of Marchy, but that was his fault, not Newmans.
Marchy was waiting for the ball to get to him (or even going back slightly) rather than going to meet the ball. The Sydney player attacked the ball by coming to meet it and thus got the turnover.
Newman could have found a better option, sure. But Marchbank could've stopped the turnover by meeting the ball too
I'm a fan of Marchy, but that was his fault, not Newmans.
Marchy was waiting for the ball to get to him (or even going back slightly) rather than going to meet the ball. The Sydney player attacked the ball by coming to meet it and thus got the turnover.
Newman could have found a better option, sure. But Marchbank could've stopped the turnover by meeting the ball too
Yep, 100% agree.
The media and BT slammed Newman, I hear BT even grilled Newman about it post match, but it was a stupid call because the kick wasn't that bad it was the player waiting for the footy and not attacking it that caused the turnover. Coaches would be absolutely livid with what Marchbank did and 100% fine with the Newman kick, in fact they would tell Newman to keep doing it because it's that type of kick that pulls apart the opposition setup.
There is no waiting for the footy to come to you especially in finals, the fact that there should be no waiting for the footy to come to you in AFL at any time, which just reinforces the idea that waiting / hesitating creates an opportunity for somebody else to step in!
I noted Owies did the same at one stage, squatted to give birth rather than run at the footy, that stuff does my head in because it let's a defender float back into the space free of fear and without hesitation. Which raises another issue, "H" went off injured, in that contest it should not have been "H" being escorted off, his problem was he didn't hit the player dropping in the hole hard enough. "H" needs to spend some time watching Johnno Brown, if players like McCartin are going to float in front of him they need to pay a price.
Was a risky kick that didnt pay off.
Hard to pay out on either, but occasionally you will make an option without expecting the ball to come your way (we were kicking it to the wing on the Olympic stand side almost exclusively during the game, and so were Sydney.
Marchbank should have come to meet the ball once the kick came to him, but he wouldnt be the first player to think it would make it to him, without knowing his opponent was that close.
Once the guy with the footy elects to take a risky kick, he cant absolve himself of the outcome of any adverse actions.
Once the guy with the footy elects to take a risky kick, he cant absolve himself of the outcome of any adverse actions.
If they stop taking risks it's a loss by a thousand cuts, you can't win by being risk adverse.
I thought we'd only get two weeks of "Who stood up?" in a final....silly me :-*
Looks like we'll get at least three weeks so...
Who stood up Week 2
Acres stood up (again)
Cripps stood up (although they tried to knock him down)
Walsh stood up....
I thought we'd only get two weeks of "Who stood up?" in a final....silly me :-*
Looks like we'll get at least three weeks so...
Who stood up Week 2
Acres stood up (again)
Cripps stood up (although they tried to knock him down)
Walsh stood up....
I'll add Weitering, Pittonet and TDK to that trio and all players contributed even the sub Hollands with his little cameo role at the end which was important.
Yep
Add on as many as you'd like. ;)
It gives us an idea of who stands up to finals pressure.
After last night the better question is, who didn't.
Even our worst player stood up.
Motlop, despite his low stats, with his chasing pressure and tackling, along with two clutch-goals. Newman, the everywhere man. McGovern, got a lot of the ball and had an insane high kick-to-handball ratio, he generally does. Took about all of the 17 kickouts and was near faultless at it. He was also at the contest in the goalsquare, at the other end of the ground, when Acres took the matchwinning mark and goal too.
Thre great thing is, I don't think we can say that any of the 22 didn't have a dip when their time came. Some have had more moments than others, but what keeps it all together is the preparedness for each and every player to do their bit.
If we accept that this has come from the Voss philosophy, it bodes well not just for the next week or two, but several more seasons.
Well it's over...but at some stage through the final series we had lots of players stand up to show they're more than capable finals performers.
Week three...and of course Walsh is there again
I'll add
Marchbank (please stay healthy in 2024) stood up
and
Boyd (good selection) stood up.
There are a few more.
Add them on.
Well it's over...but at some stage through the final series we had lots of players stand up to show they're more than capable finals performers.
Week three...and of course Walsh is there again
I'll add
Marchbank (please stay healthy in 2024) stood up
and
Boyd (good selection) stood up.
There are a few more.
Add them on.
It was a very brave effort by our boys who never gave in but looked very fatigued by the end.
Boyd was a really pleasing surprise package, for me anyway.
I wouldn't like to point the finger at any one of them for not standing up tbh.
It was a very brave effort by our boys who never gave in but looked very fatigued by the end.
Boyd was a really pleasing surprise package, for me anyway.
I wouldn't like to point the finger at any one of them for not standing up tbh.
Yep
It's not really a case of 'who didn't stand up' though.
It's more about those who showed a bit under finals pressure.
If you don't get a mention you may have work to do, but circumstances also play a part.
Some would suggest Curnow wasn't significant but that could be more about how the ball was delivered, opposition tactics, double and triple teaming.
What we're looking for are players who can not only handle finals pressure but perform at close to their best.
Going forward next year we'll be able to say..."I don't have any doubts he can stand up to the pressure of finals"
Well it's over...but at some stage through the final series we had lots of players stand up to show they're more than capable finals performers.
Week three...and of course Walsh is there again
I'll add
Marchbank (please stay healthy in 2024) stood up
and
Boyd (good selection) stood up.
There are a few more.
Add them on.
The selection committee pulled the right strings for a change.
Well it's over...but at some stage through the final series we had lots of players stand up to show they're more than capable finals performers.
Week three...and of course Walsh is there again
I'll add
Marchbank (please stay healthy in 2024) stood up
and
Boyd (good selection) stood up.
There are a few more.
Add them on.
McKay.
Yep Harry stood up.
Despite his wobbles vs Sydney his game against Brisbane was very good.
I'm wondering if voss rotated the squad as much to ensure as many players as possible got a taste of finals heat football without compromising the ability to win.
Internally I think they gave us every chance whilst surrendering that we were unlikely to do much this year and still blood players into the finals fold where and when possible.
Going into this season, we had about 6 senior listed players with finals experience (Ed curnow, Mitch mcgovern, Blake acres, adam saad, george hewett and Zac williams) and now we have about 27 who know what it feels like to win a final. That's an achievement itself.
Boyd was terrific last night - he’s a gutsy guy and doesnt seem to take any crap which I love. Hollands is the same.
Thought McG had a reasonable finals series.
Acres of course was unbelievable but I didn’t notice him as much last night.
Thought Doc also had a great series.
Weiters too.
Some would suggest Curnow wasn't significant but that could be more about how the ball was delivered, opposition tactics, double and triple teaming.
Charlie just needs to work more when he doesn't mark it. If he can't he has to make sure it comes to ground. Just don't get outmarked where possible. Matty Lloyd was today saying what Sheedy would do. He told his forwards never to get outmarked. Do it once and they were forgiven, it happens a second time though you were joining Sheeds for a chat on the bench.
Charlie never had to worry about that much during the season but with the pressure of finals balls are much tougher to mark. It takes alot more work to make sure the opposition don't mark it.
With who stood up most of them did. They all contributed at some stage, some more than others. Some stood up big time. Hence why we got to week 3. We were dead man walking yesterday after such a brutally hard first 2 weeks.
Charlie just needs to work more when he doesn't mark it. If he can't he has to make sure it comes to ground. Just don't get outmarked where possible. Matty Lloyd was today saying what Sheedy would do. He told his forwards never to get outmarked. Do it once and they were forgiven, it happens a second time though you were joining Sheeds for a chat on the bench.
Charlie never had to worry about that much during the season but with the pressure of finals balls are much tougher to mark. It takes alot more work to make sure the opposition don't mark it.
Fair enough Laj. His ground level abilities are also very elite, he can crumb them as well as mark them.
Yep Harry stood up.
Despite his wobbles vs Sydney his game against Brisbane was very good.
I'm wondering if voss rotated the squad as much to ensure as many players as possible got a taste of finals heat football without compromising the ability to win.
Internally I think they gave us every chance whilst surrendering that we were unlikely to do much this year and still blood players into the finals fold where and when possible.
Going into this season, we had about 6 senior listed players with finals experience (Ed curnow, Mitch mcgovern, Blake acres, adam saad, george hewett and Zac williams) and now we have about 27 who know what it feels like to win a final. That's an achievement itself.
McKay worked his arse off as a CHF, took some telling marks around the ground and his kicking wasn't the worst we've seen. 2.2, a goal with a snap and drop punt. Hit the post with one punt kick that was no dolly either. I think I remember him poking at his drop punts earlier, rather than kicking through the ball. If he does the latter, that will help him kick more punts, as he has a naturally long kick in any case.
Fair enough Laj. His ground level abilities are also very elite, he can crumb them as well as mark them.
In such situations we needed to do what other sides sometimes do with their key forwards, give him the odd run through the midfield to get him into the game. Get his hands on the ball because he is number one for efficiency of kicks into the F50 in the competition. Throws out the opposition too.
Over the three finals
Walsh
Weiters
Doc
TDK
Newmy
Gov
Add Boyd (surprisingly to me) yesterday.
In such situations we needed to do what other sides sometimes do with their key forwards, give him the odd run through the midfield to get him into the game. Get his hands on the ball because he is number one for efficiency of kicks into the F50 in the competition. Throws out the opposition too.
I know the thing is about smalls and pressure these days, but you always need at least one, preferably imo two, guys to mark or bring the ball to the ground. Lemmey will take time, but looks by the sounds of things a lead-up CHF. Put Harry M to FF and Charlie to a pocket or even a midfield rotation and woah man! Look out!
Think we are a bit tough on Charlie, he is a major reason we are where we are and achieved the impossible from where we started mid season. The finals footy being played has been tough contested non pretty scrimmage stuff which isnt the formula for kicking a lot of goals or feeding a full forward of Charlies class with opportunities. He gets double teamed a lot and our other forwards should be making more out of that fact and I thought it was a mistake dropping Owies who leads and creates another option which helps Charlie imho.
Think we are a bit tough on Charlie, he is a major reason we are where we are and achieved the impossible from where we started mid season. The finals footy being played has been tough contested non pretty scrimmage stuff which isnt the formula for kicking a lot of goals or feeding a full forward of Charlies class with opportunities. He gets double teamed a lot and our other forwards should be making more out of that fact and I thought it was a mistake dropping Owies who leads and creates another option which helps Charlie imho.
Yes, it seems a lot of people take my Owies / Motlop mistake comments as bashing Motlop, but it's not about Motlop being poor, it's about what Owies brings that Motlop doesn't, and Charlie and Harry suffer because of it.
The tell was early in the game when we were dominating, and Motlop and Martin were flying against Harry and Charlie instead of crumbing. Owies would have either been front and square, or drawing a defender away from the contest, not taking them to it!
Yes, it seems a lot of people take my Owies / Motlop mistake comments as bashing Motlop, but it's not about Motlop being poor, it's about what Owies brings that Motlop doesn't, and Charlie and Harry suffer because of it.
The tell was early in the game when we were dominating, and Motlop and Martin were flying against Harry and Charlie instead of crumbing. Owies would have either been front and square, or drawing a defender away form the contest not taking them to it!
Owies plays taller and is a good leadup option and makes defenders accountable plus he is a good kick for goal and tackles like a demon. My point is that I think Owies being in the team works better for Charlie, he may not be the most talented player and have his limitations but as a cog on the forward line I think he supplies a bit of oil to the engine that makes it work smoother for Charlie.
Bit like Brisbane with McCarthy and Collingwood with McCreery, Melbourne with Melksham...not big names but things just work better when they are in the team....
My point is that I think Owies being in the team works better for Charlie, he may not be the most talented player and have his limitations but as a cog on the forward line I think he supplies a bit of oil to the engine that makes it work smoother for Charlie.
Fans have short memories, they make a big deal about Charlie marking in D50, and Martin as well, but Owies was deep running pretty much the whole season and regularly, starting as our small forward, was found next to Weiters or McGovern deep in D50 when teams tried to run off our forwards and Mids. That gut based effort wins you games, not the flash stuff that catches fans eyes!
Fans have short memories, they make a big deal about Charlie marking in D50, and Martin as well, but Owies was deep running pretty much the whole season and regularly, starting as our small forward, was found next to Weiters or McGovern deep in D50 when teams tried to run off our forwards and Mids. That gut based effort wins you games, not the flash stuff that catches fans eyes!
Agree... the players I mentioned in McCarthy, McCreery and Melksham all share that same work ethic you dont associate with a lot of forwards and Owies has that same approach. McKenna and Coleman really hurt us running loose from half back and we needed a bit more discipline from our forwards to prevent that.
McKenna and Coleman really hurt us running loose from half back and we needed a bit more discipline from our forwards to prevent that.
Every time I saw the Irishman running loose I thought about that MC decision, he was basically left unchecked.
Not sure Owies could have gone with him for 4-qtrs, but he wouldn't have got his way so freely.
Over the three finals
Walsh
Weiters
Doc
TDK
Newmy
Gov
Add Boyd (surprisingly to me) yesterday.
How could I forget Sherrif and Cotters.
Yes, it seems a lot of people take my Owies / Motlop mistake comments as bashing Motlop, but it's not about Motlop being poor, it's about what Owies brings that Motlop doesn't, and Charlie and Harry suffer because of it.
The tell was early in the game when we were dominating, and Motlop and Martin were flying against Harry and Charlie instead of crumbing. Owies would have either been front and square, or drawing a defender away from the contest, not taking them to it!
LP. it raises the question: why were they flying for the mark against Harry and Charlie? In the early matches of a season it is perhaps understandable, but at the end of the season it's just not on. When it happened yesterday it looked as though Motlop and Martin had no idea of their roles on the forward line, hence my remark in an earlier posting about the lack of direction from the forward coach.
I questioned Marchbank over Kemp v Lions. Marchbank fumbled early on but improved across the 3 finals. Kemp held his own extremely well given the number of games he's played.
McG was another who grew into the series. Until he got pummelled last night that is 😠 (looked dangerous and he clearly suffered significantly)
Our wingers, led by the Sheriff, played important roles.
The real surprise for me was Boyd. He has improved as he's got more games, which is terrific. What I didn't expect was an almost faultless performance in a preliminary final. Given he's only played how many games for us?
How amazing to have 27 players in the finals series. Great result for the club 👏🏼
I questioned Marchbank over Kemp v Lions. Marchbank fumbled early on but improved across the 3 finals. Kemp held his own extremely well given the number of games he's played.
The real surprise for me was Boyd. He has improved as he's got more games, which is terrific. What I didn't expect was an almost faultless performance in a preliminary final. Given he's only played how many games for us?
Boyd could turn into a Sinclair/Coleman/Daniel type, and that is a clear missing piece to our defensive run. Throw in Williams as well and the run out of our backline will certainly improve.
That's the key to unlocking the Charlie and Harry double-headed mosnter - get the ball in deep and fast for lots on one-on-ones.
I think with the list we have and the tactics we displayed so far, it's unlikely the fringe players get 24 games, it will become a horses for courses approach, finally we are in a list depth position to do it. For that reason I doubt and expect you won't get guys like Boyd, Fogarty, Kemp, Cincotta, Cottrell, Owies, Motlop, playing 24x7 throughout a season fit or otherwise. The MC will be judged on how well they are managed.
Fans often have messiah syndrome, they think somebody is going to front up and make all the difference. But the list is built, the basics are in place, it all becomes a matter of incremental improvement, work ethic and some good luck. Many of the players who "stood up" did so because they were the right peg in the right hole on the day.
I'd have to say, it was the MCs strongest performance for the whole season, and that helped Boyd.
With who stood up most of them did. They all contributed at some stage, some more than others. Some stood up big time. Hence why we got to week 3. We were dead man walking yesterday after such a brutally hard first 2 weeks.
Totally agree with this - I swear I saw wheelchairs on the bench at some stage, our boys had been beaten up over the past month or so and it showed on Saturday.
Disappointed, but not gutted. We had a great season and expectation for next year has increased 10 fold.