Carlton Supporters Club

Mcevoy wasn't the Ben Mcevoy?

Practice match or not.  We had "16" Listed players and we could not get a win.

I would be worried by that.   Out of the 16 that played, you would think that half of them would show something.  By all accounts, not many did.

Worrying signs

Positive performances

Jason Tutt - I would have selected him ahead of Smith on Thursday - Clem isn't ready yet - Tutt is good to go

Mark Whiley - very good inside but hard to know how much was due to Levi's well directed hitouts and how much was due to his positioning and ball winning ability - looks and moves a bit like Priddis - something to work with

Ciarin Byrne - dashing defender with strong attack on ball and opponents - occasional brain fade and not as good a kick as his two compatriots but looks likely to make the grade

Blaine Johnson - didn't impress me much last year - looks rough around the edges but had a decent go today - seems to have improved - good ordinary footballer?

Dennis Armfield - typically hard working performance - nothing we haven't seen before

David Ellard - quieter than I would have expected but was not given much of an opportunity to run through the midfield - looks fitter and sharper than in recent seasons

Levi Casboult - more rucking than forward and was very effective at delivering the ball to his midfielders - Mick said he is out of form so his inability to hold marks in good conditions was probably indicative of this

Matthew Watson  - I have never been a fan but he showed some noticeable improvements in his movements, his acceleration and his fitness - also looks leaner - still unable to achieve anything in a pack situation and didn't set the world on fire but he appears to have found a position that suits him CHF - lots more movement from him than at FF which allowed him to be isolated on an opponent much more often and he was able to take some contested marks when the ball was kicked to his advantage - disposal was only so so - for a supposed elite kick, he is not very effective at kicking to advantage - still has lots of limitations so giving him a positive review might be more of an indictment on most of his teammates - but hey, it is one of the few times he has given me cause to hope.

Nick Graham - gathered possessions but didn't do much with them - on a par with last year's form

Not ready yet?
Blaine Boekhorst - maybe I was expecting too much but he seemed to be a bit of a straight ahead player who lacked the power to break away

Nick Holman - played in defence and was clearly focused on his defensive role - no obvious improvement from last year

Matthew Dick - didn't seem to do much but I was not sure of his role - might have been defensively effective

Tom Fields - solid unit - played as tall defender - not quite tall, strong or fast enough - tried hard but too often beaten in one-on-one contests

Dillon Viojo-Rainbow - played in defence - seems a likely type but might need a bit more time

Billy Gowers - a rookie who looks to have something - at least he knows how to find the ball

Jayden Foster - played at FF - needs time

Brad Walsh - rookie who showed little


Disappointing
Dylan Buckley  - not much to see here - was expecting so much more - especially since he was often the plus-one in defence

Thank you, Ye Rat O' the River.

Especially agree that Smith's fitness wasn't up to a senior gig. Silly risk when we had Tutt, Ellard or Armfield available.

Thanks, RR. Not what I want to read, but papering over the gaps is not going to improve us.

[1] Whiley appeared to run out of legs to me, following the stats. Not surprising as this is his first game after some weeks of injury. I would like to give him a senior game, but we should wait a week or 2?

[2] Where would you play Tutt? He appears to me to be a little better up the field, but we are calling out for a small forward.

Ellard, Armfield and Byrne made the flight to Perth Crash.

It will be a good opportunity for Walker to get a run under his belt against gentle opposition.

and not Tutt or Levi?