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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL 2026 Rd 19 Carlton vs Brisbane at Carlton
Last post by kruddler -
Quote from: crashlander – on
Quote from: kruddler – on
Not sure Ison would be happy being referred to as a small forward, at 190cm not exactly small.

Thats the reason for putting him back to the 2's though, to get his mojo back.
In time Ison will be a part time forward, part time mid, and you are totally correct, 190 cm isn't small. It is just the role he is presently learning. I look forward to seeing how he develops in the next couple of years.

Not sure if we can get his tank to a level where he can play on a wing, but with his hands, skills and quick thinking and love of sneaky taps to advantage, i think a wing could be a great spot for him.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL 2026 Rd 19 Carlton vs Brisbane at Carlton
Last post by crashlander -
Quote from: kruddler – on
Not sure Ison would be happy being referred to as a small forward, at 190cm not exactly small.

Thats the reason for putting him back to the 2's though, to get his mojo back.
In time Ison will be a part time forward, part time mid, and you are totally correct, 190 cm isn't small. It is just the role he is presently learning. I look forward to seeing how he develops in the next couple of years.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?
Last post by crashlander -
I date myself when I say I saw Alex Jesaulenko kick his 10th goal in 1970, the first time I'd been to a game as a 9 year old. That did leave an impression.

Having seen the game for so long, I do find it hard to compare guys in different eras. The game has evolved, and the players have had to as well. Our game makes physical challenges unlike any other, the need for speed, to be able to run out a long game, the strength to be able to handle a full contact sport without protection, the skills hit targets 40-50 m away and more.

I loved Jezza: he could, and did, play anywhere and do it well. He was 3rd in the Brownlow as a half forward flanker, a full forward and a half back flanker. He was a premiership coach in a back pocket. He played in the middle at times. Very few players played more than 1 position when Jezza started, but Jezza could do them all.

Kouta was a man before his time, who could also play almost anywhere. He played some of the most dynamic games I've ever seen and had to reinvent himself a number of time through injury and whatnots. I remember seeing his first as a gangly 15 or 16 year old playing for our Academy team out at Waverley. He didn't have the game sense then, and it took him a while to find it, but you could tell he had something. I remember seeing Michael Voss, probably the opposition play I respected the most, just look helpless one day at Carlton when Kouta took Brisbane apart. He did his best and Kouta barely noticed it as he jumped all over him.

In time, there will probably be more players like Patrick Cripps, but he was the template against which all future last mids will be compared. He managed to get numbers of clearances and contested possessions that had rarely been seen before to ordinary ruckmen. What he could have done to the rucks we had in the '60's to 90's boggles the imagination.
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Ladies Lounge / Re: AFLW Season 2026
Last post by kruddler -
Quote from: DJC – on
Just pipped me Crash  :)

It was a close win with Darcy Vescio playing forward and kicking the winning goal.  Geelong could have hit the front late but hit the post instead  :)

Nell Morris-Dalton has joined to squad in place of Maddy Guerin.

Is that official. Can't find that anywhere.

EDIT: Nevermind found it.
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Ladies Lounge / Re: AFLW Season 2026
Last post by DJC -
Just pipped me Crash  :)

It was a close win with Darcy Vescio playing forward and kicking the winning goal.  Geelong could have hit the front late but hit the post instead  :)

Nell Morris-Dalton has joined to squad in place of Maddy Guerin.
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Ladies Lounge / Re: AFLW Season 2026
Last post by crashlander -
Our last practice match, with 4 girls playing for their country and a couple more not out there( we had 10 girls who will probably play next week not out there), we still managed to come away with the points:

CARLTON       1.2     2.2     5.2       6.3 (39)
GEELONG      2.0     3.2     3.3       5.5 (35)

GOALS
Carlton: Vescio 3, Goss, Keck, S.McKay
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Ladies Lounge / Re: VFLW 2026
Last post by crashlander -
The girls played Casey for a 2nd time and defeated them soundly. Not quite the belting we game them last time, but it will do.

Carlton:   0 - 2 - 2   2 - 3 - 15   4 - 7 - 31   4 - 12 - 36
Casey:  0 - 0 - 0   1 - 0 - 6   1 - 0 - 6   1 - 2 - 8

Casey have scored 2 goals against us in 2 games.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL 2026 Rd 19 Carlton vs Brisbane at Carlton
Last post by crashlander -
Quote from: PaulP – on
Evidently the VFL Lions are a very different proposition to their AFL counterparts. Hopefully this win gives the seniors a bit of a rev up, because tonight will be a huge challenge.
Evidently. But why? God knows these guys have opportunities to play in a line-up that has won premierships recently. They had at least 14 listed players, including Lincoln McCarthy, Doedee, Sam Marshall and Tunstill. Cody Curtin also looks to be a player. So, why are they so ordinary? Doesn't make sense to me.
They have 4 guys on their injury list, including Gallop, who is suspended.

Whatever.

I am glad we won, surprised we won by so much, and very pleased by the performances of some of our lad.

[1] We had the 8 top possession getters on the field. 8!
Ollie Warburton: 32 possessions, 6 clearances, 10 marks and a goal. Must be his best game at VFL level so far.
Lucas Camporeale: 32 possessions and 14 marks. His best game since his injury, easily.
Zac Williams: 31 possessions, 6 marks. He hasn't had these numbers for a while.
Lachie Fogarty: 30 possessions, 11 marks, 3 tackles, 3 clearances: in his career he hasn't had numbers like this consistently!
Harry Charleson: 30 possessions from defence and 11 marks. He must be near a senior game.
Adam Saad: 27 possessions, 8 marks: again he appears in decent form and will deserve a farewell game.
Ben Camporeale: 26 possessions, 6 tackles and 6 clearances. Ben is impressing me more. His numbers stand up and was noticed last week, he tends to back-end games.
Darcy Tucker: 25 possessions, 2 tackles 3 clearances: he is filling the role Will Hayes has filled in recent times. If he'd been a little less injured, he would be doing well in our B&F. Certainly, he is bring some leadership, which is much appreciated in a young team.

[2] Having a winning ruck division makes a difference.
Riley had 20 possessions, 29 hit outs, and 6 clearances. Not a bad day at the office for a young ruckman.
Hudson O'Keefe had 10 possessions, but kicked 5 goals and provided a target. He also had 13 taps.
The Brisbane rucks didn't have an impact. Zane Zakostelsky, who is more of a key position type (at least he was when he was drafted) had 14.

[3] Liam Farrar continues to kick goals:
He managed 3 again this week and has been acting as the key forward we don't have. He must be on the radar for 2027.

[4] Ison is slowly getting his mojo back:
Jack Ison continues to show he has a future. Last week he did some impressive things that led to scores, including hitting the post form 60 me away. This week he got a goal and managed 17 possessions.

[5] Our VFL defenders keep getting the job done.
The Brisbane forwards had a dry morning. There is little more I can say until I've seen the replay, but none of their key forwards fired. Harvey, Paea and Duffy keep getting the job done.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?
Last post by Lods -
You're right about the set positions of the old timers GIC. It happened that some moved around, but it wasn't as common as today.
Kouta was probably the prototype of the modern footballer.
He could change all over the ground during the course of a game.
But over the course of a career Jesaulenko was also pretty versatile...champion centre half forward, centre, 100 goal full forward- and probably gave another hundred away to teammates...and finally a half-back flanker. It could be argued that in that position he set a trend for the attacking half back. :D