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Messages - Macca37

2
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 1 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Richmond
What an utterly deflating win.  Once again in the second half we did our best to lose but Richmond failed to take their opportunity.

Once again our players showed their mental fragility under the slightest pressure and immediately trotted out all the mistakes that  we have seen season after season. Sadly, we will remain cellar dwellers for years to come.



5
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 0 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney
i have just got home after going to Sydney to see the game.  I have read all  the comments in this thread and my first comment is that I believe supporters are too quick in finding excuses for our team.

In the preliminary warmup about half an hour before the game, our players had no trouble kicking fifty metres or more towards the goal.  I was impressed with Dean in the way he marked and passed the ball.  There was no wind and conditions were perfect for football.

At half time I was happy with the way our players had applied pressure to the Swans causing them to make mistakes and restricting their scoring. Given the amount of time we had the ball in our forward line we should have been at least another two goals ahead.

The third quarter started, we kicked the first two goals, and then the wheels fell off.  Grundy suddenly made our rucks look second rate, brought the Swans midfield into play, and we meekly capitulated.  All the old faults surfaced: poor handballs, poor kicking to position, handballing and kicking to the Swans players.  With so much self-imposed pressure and lack of discipline it was only matter of time before the Swans turned the game into a training run.

At three quarter time I didn't think things could get worse but they did.  The last quarter was an embarrassment for Carlton supporters.  The side lost structure and the Swans were able to attack in waves of three or more players from their backline all the way to their forward line without any resistance from our players.  The Swans forward line was wide open with our backline players often 10 or fifteen metres away.

Early in the last quarter I saw Dean hobbling slightly. He looked physically stuffed and bewildered.  His opponent was firing on all cylinders.

Just another couple of thoughts.  Why do we keep selecting Fogarty?  He is not capable of playing in a winning forward line.  Finally, what do we do with Big H? He cannot win a contested mark and he certainly can't take a mark when the ball is lobbed on his head.

In conclusion, our football club is in trouble.





8
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 20 2025 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Hawthorn
We keep going down the line because too many of our players know they have average foot skills at best and lack the confidence to try to pinpoint a pass.

There were quite a number of occasions last night where a player coming out of defence with the ball would hesitate, fail to take the option of passing to a player presenting for a pass, and take the soft option of kicking down the line.

This slowed down the game and made it so easy for defenders to cover our forwards.

I am sure that many here remember the way Hawthorn, year after year at Marvel with players such as Isaac Smith , Bruest, etc, used excellent kicking  to rip us apart.

Clearly we learned nothing from those defeats.

It doesn't matter whether we have plans from A to Z if we do not have players with the necessary skills to carry them out.
10
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Mental Health/Illness Education, Empathy & Responsibility
Quote from: DJC – on
Having gone through primary and most of secondary school being mercilessly picked on because I barracked for Carlton, this period of lack of success is disappointing but not debilitating.

It must be tough for supporters who were born in the 1960s and are were used to regular success.  I think that may be harder than for supporters born in or after the 1990s ...

It's even tougher for supporters born in the late 1930s.  I missed the 1947 Grand Final because I was away on school holidays and then had to endure twenty one unsuccessful years before our 1968 premiership.  When that time is added to our lack of success this century and where the club stands today,  I do find it getting harder to maintain enthusiasm for the football club.
11
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Mental Health/Illness Education, Empathy & Responsibility
I am fast approaching Prof E's position.  With so many years of promises producing, at best, mediocrity, and with no end in sight, I have lost my passion for the game.

I now record the match.  In the unlikely event we win I can sit back and enjoy watching it.  If we lose I rely upon comments in the post game thread to let me know what happened.

The one positive I get from doing things this way is that I can keep my blood pressure under control.
12
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 10 2025 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney
At the start of the last quarter I could see, and so could the Carlton supporters around me, that the players were down mentally.

Skill levels dropped below what we had witnessed in the third quarter and we got the feeling that a number of the players had lost the belief that they could win.  Real physical effort dropped off, as did teamwork, and some players, for whatever reason, appeared to be going through the motions.
13
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 10 2025 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney
It seems to me that all an opposition coach has to do is have his backline play one on one and we have no answer.

I'm reminded of Jack Dyer's saying "You can't pull your socks up if you're not wearing any."  Maybe Voss feels that he is in that position.  The skill levels and decision making on Friday were so bad that we ran the Swans into form in the third and final quarters, so it's hard to know what part their coach played.
14
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 10 2025 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney
I have just got home after flying to Sydney on Friday to watch the game.  After reading the comments on this thread I thought I might add a few of my own.

The playing surface was in very good condition.  There was no rain, humidity or wind during the game.

In the first quarter the Swans began hesitantly and we would have been goals ahead by the end of the quarter except for the fact we have such a dysfunctional forward line.  The Swans backline played one on one and our mids and half forwards did not know what to do.  When our mids went forward with the ball, rarely did our forwards lead up but seemed content to remain static. More often than not, when they did lead it was to the pockets.Consequently, we fell back into kicking the ball long onto the heads of the forwards.

The second quarter was a repeat of the first, and we could sense the Swan's confidence and teamwork growing.  In this quarter Motlop seemed to find new ways of stuffing up.  He dropped simple marks and seemed incapable of picking up the ball, just fumbling all the time.

The third quarter reopened old wounds for supporters.  The team was dreadful.  I think it took until the eighteen minute mark before we troubled the scoreboard.  Turnovers occurred almost every time we went into attack.  On the times when we went from the halfback line through the centre we always seemed to handball to a player under pressure, or kick straight to an opponent, scrub kick the ball along the ground, collide with another team mate, hesitate before making a decision, or kick the ball on top of a forward who had two opponents.

This quarter also exposed problems on our backline.  At his best McGovern is a serviceable CHB, but on any other day he is just not up to it.  Saad has also lost form. Instead of getting the ball, outpacing opponents and delivering the ball deep into the forward line,
on Friday night he had difficulty breaking away and had to run in a semi circle before kicking the ball high into the forward line.

The last quarter was a repeat of the third, only worse.

There is no way that we are going to get into the top four with this list.  I'm sure TDK will take the money and run.

15
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: General Discussions
Hi Baggers. I've just caught up with the last few pages of this thread and read about your operation.

All the best for a speedy recovery.  Let's hope a happy ending on Saturday will let your thoughts wander into positive territory.