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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL Rd 14 2026 Carlton vs Werribee
Last post by crashlander -B: 41 Matt Duffy 33 Lewis Young 61 Dane Harvey
HB: 28 Harry Charleson 37 Jordan Boyd 42 Adam Saad
C: 21 Lucas Camporeale 4 Oliver Hollands 50 Darcy Tucker
HF: 8 Lachie Fogarty 70 Darcy Hogg 6 Zac Williams
F: 43 Ashton Moir 40 Hudson O'Keeffe 45 Flynn Young
R: 56 Flynn Riley 31 Campbell Chesser 36 Cooper Lord
Int: 66 Sam Paea 68 Taj Logan 74 Logan Prout 78 Tyson Gresham 75 Liam Farrar 53 Ollie Badr 60 Will Reinhold 58 Jack Sammartino 57 Alwyn Davey 67 Tom Evans 65 Jed Rule 59 Cooper Vickery
Em: 72 Charlie Cotter
[1] 15 named AFL listed players. Not all will play. At least one of the senior Emergencies will probably not play.
[2] We are a very different side to the one that was so impressive earlier this season. Some of our players have fallen off the cliff: their form has dropped to the point where they aren't making a meaningful contribution. And the ones that stand out ore senior listed.
(a) Matt Duffy: Matt's strength was his running ability. He could not just run all day, but he had real wheels. We're not seeing any of that at the moment. He is doing a half-decent job as a stopper, as he doesn't get a lot of scores against (most of the time, anyway), but he is getting 4 to 6 possessions and providing no drive at all. Monahan was doing much better before he was injured.
Should we be trying him somewhere else? Playing as a key defender (because of his height) is one thing, but with his present ultra-defensive mindset he isn't providing what we need. And it probably isn't helping his confidence either.
(b) Dane Harvey: Dane may be VFL listed, but he started the season really well in defence: his opponents took him to the ball, which he then often won. His disposals and marks have dropped off so much that he is rivalling Matt Duffy for the least number of possessions on the park.
Over the last couple of years he has shown a bit, even if he is an 'almost' player. But lately he has provided little. His opponents are generally not getting huge numbers, but with Duffy it is like having 2 fewer players on the park.
(c) Adam Saad: Saad looks to have checked out. The desire, the extra effort, even the run pasts are missing. He has lost a yard of pace, which isn't helping him, but we no longer see the desperation that he had at his best.
Should we be playing him in a less defensive role? His kicking is still reasonable, given time (which doesn't happen often these days). Without the pressure maybe he can provide some drive.
(d) Ashton Moir: Moir is probably the biggest disappointment in my mind, because we've seen cameos of what he can do. His goal-sense is second to none. He thinks outside the box. He can take a big mark and kicks straight. But he is not providing much as a forward or as a defender. He got probably his biggest haul possession-wise last week, but was totally ineffective.
One of the problems in his game is that he's been the key figure in forward line most weeks, and I don't think he is #1 material. He is better as a second or third banana. But, we have few options when it comes to key position types.
I want to see him back as a forward. I want to see him leading hard and providing a real option. I want our mids to look for him. I want to see second efforts, 1 percenters and tackling. Spoiling too, if necessary. I really want to feel that he is the one we believe in, because we kick it to him in a sensible way. I don't think I'm asking too much: he has the talent, but it has to start meaning something to him.
(e) Hudson O'Keefe: HOK has been one of this season's biggest disappointments. He hasn't been delivering in the ruck, he is now behind Reidy (who we miss at this level) and Riley. He isn't a key forward, but we've been forced to play him there as we have nothing else. It isn't helping his game.
I want to see him do more ruck work, and I want to see the 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts he used to have. I can't remember any big tackles, for example, which used to be a staple of his game. I want to see centre clearances, I want to see him being a marking option around the ground and I want to see him gut run to offer a target. Spoiling opposition rucks and good tackles wouldn't go astray either.
(f) Campbell Chesser: Chesser has been our least effective recruit from this cohort and a huge disappointment. We are trying him in different roles because he wasn't getting a kick on the wing. I think he has been more involved recently, but he isn't an inside player: he doesn't get centre clearances, which is one of the reasons we've been getting flogged recently. What are we missing that he was supposed to provide? He has shown little in the air. His kicking hasn't been that great. His decision making has been questionable at times. He has pace, but we haven't seen it yet: not once can I remember him running a guy down like Billy Wilson did in the seniors last week.
I'm not sure what we can do with him. Do we try to make him a run-with player? God knows we need one (or more). But he is not going to make an impact if he isn't doing the negative things or the positive things.
(g) Cooper Lord: Granted that Lord has had a few injuries this year, but he has produced very little. he is a guy who can play as an inside mid, but he isn't getting the clearances or the tackles that were typical of him last year. He should be tearing it up at this level: he has shown he can do that in the seniors. Is it a fitness thing? Confidence? I don't know, but we need to get him back to the physicality and mindset that he displayed last year. Especially, as he is probably the only inside mid we have with Ben Camp out at the moment.
(h) Flynn Riley: For someone who has made it onto the senior list from where he was, you might wonder why Riley is on this list. The answer is complex. He is rucking better now than ever before, no doubt about that. he had 53 taps last week and a lot of clearances. But, were they effective? Not really. Some of the problem is a lack of inside mids to get the ball out of the middle, but some of it is that he is not giving our mids the service that he probably should. He isn't doing much around the ground at the moment either, which he did do more of last year. Are we kicking it to him? I think we should. He is a big boy and he is getting stronger. He is mobile enough to give a lot of rucks issues. But, we aren't see it. He seems happy to get the taps.
I was critical of Reidy earlier this year for grabbing the ball and getting the clearance himself rather than delivering it to a mid. Riley is now doing something of the same thing.
I hope that, as he develops (Riley is still young as a ruck) that he can play more like Matthew Kreuzer and less like Marc Pittonet. I want to see marks, tackles, spoils and maybe even a goal or three. I don't think it is an impossibility. But at the moment, Riley seems happy just getting taps.
I could go about Boyd's stagnation, Lucas Campo's not coming on and more, but I'll leave it here. You don't want a dissertation.
[3] I am liking Liam Farrar. he is leading more than most of our forwards, and getting some shots at goal. All he needs to do is start putting them through the middle.
