Q1-What did Bolton really think going into this last game? Did he expect the possibility of a 100 point thrashing or did he expect the kids to put on a bit of a show? I'm sure he'd hoped we'd put in a gutsy effort with a team of blokes putting in for their mate. The final margin would be irrelevant. As it turns out, what he'd hoped for didn't occur...and the final margin just highlighted that fact. He'll be very upset with the lack of effort.
Q2-Has that result influenced the selection process for upcoming games? Yes, i think blokes who are unwilling or unable to put in effort will be spending more time in the 2's. Be that young, old or otherwise
Q3-No doubt youngsters will benefit from game time… but is that more beneficial when you’re surrounded by more experienced players? There is a balancing act. Young players learn what to do off senior players. The more young players, the less senior players and the less learning they can do. I've got no problem with bringing in kids, but we probably should have dropped a couple back for some of the recently promoted ones.
Q4-What do the senior players feel about being surrounded by such a young group? How do they feel about carrying an extra burden with the knowledge that they may not be around to taste any success? If you spend too much time thinking about the future, the don't spend enough time focusing on the now. They should be focused on doing their role, which includes helping the kids coming through.
Q5-How do experienced fringe players feel about being passed over for selection to get games into kids? The message for these guys is “You’re finished!”…how does that affect team dynamics? They may not be the future but they are the “here and now” and as such can be a positive or a negative influence depending on how they’re managed. How do they feel? Depends on the individual. You can be a Laidler and sook it up and get sent packing. Or you can be an Armfield who knuckles down and earns a spot in the leadership group. I've been banging on about the culture of this club pre-Mick and this is an example i've used to explain why we've kept the players we have and delisted others. We need the right character in our players and we need to weed out ones that are not.
Q6-Despite comments to the contrary, wins don’t seem to be important at the moment and it’s all about development. But how long can folk hold the faith while that process occurs? Wins are not important, effort is. Bring effort and wins will come. Wins are a byproduct of effort. With effort comes development, belief and confidence in the whole direction the club is heading.
Q7-How good a match day and tactical coach is Bolton. He has wraps on him as a developer of character. What’s he like as a developer of footballers. Whatever happens long term with Bolton as our senior coach, he is the right coach for now. Whether he can take us to a flag, or even close, he is fixing the culture. Get that right and we'll be better placed to understand if he can actually coach on match day.
Q8-Are we asking too much of Weitering and Cripps…both appear to be hampered by injuries that aren’t serious enough to stop them from playing but what’s the mental toll of continuing to push the injured body? Yes we are, but unfortunately we don't have many options. We have a list full of kids, some of them will obviously not be up to the rigours of AFL footy 22 rounds a year. So you are already limited in who you can pick. Go a step further and realise some blokes are just simply not good enough to deserve a game. In the end you are left with very few blokes to choose from who can be half competitive. A broken Weitering and Cripps are twice as good as whoever their replacements might be.
Q9-We’ve seen some “flashes of brilliance” by a few of the young fellows (e.g.Fisher’s goal) but does that necessarily indicate a champ in the making? I remember a “weave and dodge” from Boekhorst in one of his early games that had us a bit excited, but nothing much has come of that….yet. These guys will develop at different rates. Some won’t meet expectations others will exceed them. I'm properly more conservative than most when it comes to evaluating talent. Most people see those examples and write them in for a 10 year career. Reality shows us that even if that trend continues upwards, they might get injured or want out. I'm not sold on any of them yet. Look at Yarran as a classic example.
Q10-Can we hold the group together? Players like Cripps and Weitering, should they continue their development, will attract decent offers down the track. Will we be at a stage where some of the burden has been shouldered by others and they’re happy to stay? The club has put a lot of faith in them, signing them up to long term deals. You can't predict the future, but the club has done well to give us the best chance of keeping them in Navy Blue.
My intention wasn't to come across as too critical or negative.
Bahahaha. From someone who was considered very negative and critical i refer you to the optimist vs realist vs pessimist debate.
It's all relative.
I can't say i'm happy to be justified by my comments referring to where we are really at, as ultimately it means we are failing to rise up the ladder. However, it is good for my frame of mind. I'm not insane!
A few people are taking a bit of a reality check of late and it is a bit of a shock to the system. I wonder how many others have had similar changes of heart?
I saw Kruddler put up a comparison of coaches and their wining percentages, sorry Krudd but that is not relevant. This is the FIRST TIME Carlton has truly embraced the draft, so you cannot compare any former Carlton coach with Bolton as they are on different paths.
Point was brought up that we performed like we did when Pagan was coach.
Got me thinking about his record. So i compared the 2....then i got curious about Mick....was better than both. So i had to include Ratten for completions sake i threw in Brittain to show he was harshly dealt with too.
I know we are going through a proper rebuild and all that. However, we assumed that we were on the right path before.
Daisy is underrated on these forums and I'd prefer he played ahead of someone like Gibbs.
At least daisy looks like he cares.
I've gone into bat for Daisy probably more than anyone....but even i wouldn't go that far.
I agree he is underrated by people around here.
Some were asking how Port were able to get so clear on the weekend. Simple answer is our players were either unable or unwilling (or both) to do the hard running to stay with them. Something Daisy excels at.
I'd promote Alex Silvagni...played well for the NB's vs Willy and part of his work was looking after his fellow players when things got physical...reckon he might be value down back. I'd rest McCreadie who looks a bit lost of late...
I don't see what Silvagni would offer the side. Our defense is the least of our worries. Plus, White is better at looking after his mates than Silvagni is and isn't any worse at the rest of it.
I think you can still rest macreadie. Plowman+Marchbank+Rowe+White....with Weitering as an option is more than enough to fill our backline.
Why is it when a player or players are critised all the politically correct brigade come running? It's like I've directly insulted your mother.
FFS, my take on it is they're hacks. You don't have to agree, but I find it amazing that people like you are so accepting of mediocrity. But hey, whatever rocks your boat...
Not sure what i said led to that response.
My take on it is, if we get offered something good - bye bye. However, don't let them go for nothing. Cash in, not hand out.
I remember that game like it was yesterday, was in the car driving in country Victoria listening to it on radio. They didnt lose a game after that flogging.
Me too.
It was my mates 21st. We died his hair Blue (he was a lions supporter).
FWIW, Lions did lose another game, 1, just, late in the season. It was certainly the last flogging they received before their 3-peat though.
This is why some of us were saying don't go too youthful.
They end up being lambs to the slaughter.
Port hit hard last night.
People argue against Daisy on a weekly basis. Guarantee if he played we don't lose by 90. We'd still get done by plenty, but he runs both ways a lot harder than most of the blokes did last night
I said I'd let folk know if I'd changed my mind about our finishing position after round 5 or 6. I picked 9th to 12th Yep I've changed my mind. We're not interested in winning at the moment. I hope they know what they're doing.
I'm not so sure that we are not interested in winning. I think they know we will very much struggle to win games...which will cause dramas. So a bit of misdirection, and added benefit of sorts, is to play the kids. Keep the wolves at bay a bit.
Going back to 2005 Port beat Hawthorn by 117pts on a Friday night. The Hawks side contained the likes of Lewis, Mitchell, Roughead, Hodge, Franklin, Sewell, Crawford, Bateman, Osborne, Ladson, Croad, Williams all of who went on to play in the 2008 premiership side a few years later.
Back in 2011 Carlton smashed Gold Coast by 119 points on a saturday night. The gold coast side contained D. Swallow, Bennell, Day, Caddy, Prestia, Gorringe, Lynch, Tape (all top 13 players) along with Brownlow medalist Gary Ablett, premiership player Campbell Brown, All-Australian Nathan Bock.... A few years later, they are still crap. A few years after that, they are worse.
All these young #1 kids ? We had 2. Krooz was drafted after Pagan was sacked.
...and we had Walker at #2.
Point remains, we've had 'rebuilds' of sort before, we've had some young emerging talent that everyone gets excited about......AND one of the best forwards in the game. This time around, our kids seem to be more abundant, but we have less top end senior talent who will be there in the long term. Is it possible that these kids we are relying upon might not make the jump to the next level as soon as we'd hoped (if at all)?
Currently, statistically, we get thumped by 10 goals more often under Bolton than we did under Pagan.....and i think its a long year ahead. Bolton also has a worse win/loss record than Mick as it stands, only Pagans is worse.
Its funny, during Pagans era we had all these young #1 kids who were going to be our saviours. We also had Fevola. Plenty of hope and potential. Turned out not-so great in the long run.
We have the same kind of hope going now, and we almost all agree that we are in a better off position this time....but...until we are, we're not.
