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11
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Jim Park Voting AFL Rd 12 2026 Carlton vs Geelong
Last post by crashlander -
AFL Rd 12 2026:   Carlton vs Geelong
What a win! Honestly, we should have won by five or six goals, we had so many chances. They also kicked goals right out of their posterior, which they wouldn’t kick again in a million years.
Team:      A.
Had we kicked straight, it would have been an A+. We were excellent after an ordinary 1st quarter.

Votes:
This is going to hard to vote, as we had so many guys who really made a contribution.

[2]   Patrick Cripps
[2]   Sam Walsh
[2]   Jacob Weitering
[1.5]   Jagga Smith
[1.5]   Harry Dean
[1.5]   Will Hayward
[1]   Nic Newman
[1]   Ben Ainsworth
[0.5]   Adam Cerra
[0.5]   Nick Haynes
[0.5]   Harry McKay
[0.5]   Ollie Florent
[0.5]   Blake Acres

Explanations:
[2]   Patrick Cripps:      Was ordinary early, but he lifted brilliantly. And when the moment came, he stepped up like the champion he is. 30 possessions, 8 clearances and 4 tackles.
[2]   Sam Walsh:      Like Crippa, Sam started ordinarily, but when it was needed, his run was excellent. 30 possessions, 7 clearances and 7 tackles. If those 3 points had been 3 goals …
[2]   Jacob Weitering:   His best game for the year, but some margin, Dominated the defensive 50, took marks, made spoils and didn’t turn the ball over.
[1.5]   Jagga Smith:      Really stepped up after a poor start. His disposal was off early, but the way he stepped up was brilliant.
[1.5]   Harry Dean:      Needs to be nominated for the Rising Star, as he was excellent again. His poise was brilliant.
[1.5]   Will Hayward:      Another excellent performance. 3 goals, 17 possessions and 7 strong marks.
[1]   Nic Newman:      Another really solid game from Nic. Got lots of the ball and really provided something.
[1]   Ben Ainsworth:   Maybe not as obvious as Cripps or Walsh, but almost as effective. A great effort.
[0.5]   Adam Cerra:      Marking his mark on the wing after struggling the middle. He got a number of clearances as well, which were important.
[0.5]   Nick Haynes:      Nick was excellent again.
[0.5]   Harry McKay:      Maybe not as much forward, but his ruck work was more than useful. Took a couple of towering marks.
[0.5]   Ollie Florent:      Started poorly, turning the ball over too much, but tightened up and was excellent.
[0.5]   Blake Acres:      Acres is another who started poorly, His man dominated early. But as the game wore on, he totally smothered his opponents and provided heaps of drive. In the last quarter, he got 3 possessions in a chain and passed perfectly to Hayward for the goal. Pity he missed his own shots.


Honourable Mentions:
Billy Wilson:      Billy deserved votes. He was excellent. Yes, he made a few mistakes, but his run and carry was excellent. He has stepped up and would have got 2 votes in the early weeks.
Marc Pittonet:      Pitto was beaten on the day, but his lifting late was important. He was a real warrior.
Jack Ison:      Not perhaps as good as he has been, but Ison was important in crucial times, tapping the ball on, making tackles. He is looking good.
Flynn Young:      Had 2 goals and should have a third (he deserved it). Not great numbers, but his impact was obvious.
Lachie Cowan:   Lachie had 4 kicked on him, but he had 20+ possessions and worked really hard. Never dropped his head and his desire was excellent.
Mitch McGovern:   If Mitch could kick! Honestly, he could have changed game.
Frankie Evans:   Not close to his best form, but his chasing, tackling and footy smarts were crucial.

I am probably amiss in missing anyone. Kemp and Byrne did some important things, things that ultimately proved match winning.
13
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL Rd 10 2026 Carlton vs Geelong at Carlton
Last post by crashlander -
Quote from: madbluboy – on
I remember when we picked up their father there was a photo of him taking a huge speccy for Woodville West Torrens in the newspaper. Don't recall him taking any big marks in the AFL.
Indeed. The Old Man was solid, but unspectacular. Both the boys are better in the air. We just need to see more of it. Some of it is body strength, as they are often out-bodied at this point. Another few kg of muscle and I hope it will be different.
15
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 12 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Geelong
Last post by Gointocarlton -
Wanted the replay:
- Fraser is ridiculously calm and composed.
- We defended very well all night (def50, mid of ground, fwd50)
- We are very crafty with some set play work particularly I50 stoppages.
- I am seeing a little bit of nastiness about the way we play, especially Walsh, Dean and Cowan (me like).
- Ison's quick hands result in two goals (Young and Hayward). The kid is all Class (with a capital C).
- We turned it around by beating Geel at there game (forcing TO's and scoring from them).
- I heard Whately say a couple of time "making it up as they go". I disagree, we were scanning for better options instead of blazing away long or looking for changes of angle.
- Our ground ball work is elite, has been for a while. We have to tidy up the finishing.
- Is Cerra to the wing a master stroke?


16
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 12 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Geelong
Last post by kruddler -
I posted this in another thread, but probably should be here.
Quote
Just as an aside, i don't know if anyone saw it but deep in the last quarter there was a stoppage on the far side forward flank/wing.
May even have been in the last few minutes.
Cripps was in there directing traffic like a captain should.
His main focus was telling Harry to go back, essentially clog up space.
He starts waddling back with very little urgency. Cripps yells at him again to clear out and go back. He hears him but barely makes it out of a walk.

Ball is brought back into play and someone gets the clearance, camera goes to a wide shot where you can see Harry still slowly wandering back, now about 30m off the contest, back to the ball in no mans land.
Thankfully the ball went our way and he was not required but this REALLY bothered me because.....

1. The game was on the line, show some bloody urgency
2. The captain had to tell you, at least twice, and you still couldn't do it.
3. You had your back to the ball and it could've been kicked to you and the moment you realised was when it hits you in the back of the head.
4. Had we have lost the game, i guarantee you that would've been highlighted as to how we lost it.

Now i appreciate Harry had worked hard and is playing more ruck than he is used to over the past month, but from a senior player, that was very poor and i expect better and the rest of the playing group should demand better.

I just rewatched the last few minutes and the stoppage in question started with 19 seconds left on the clock.
The stoppage started from Harry working hard pushing forward along the boundary line. So he was definitely tired.

However, you can clearly see he could not find it within himself to run out the final 19 seconds.
It very much could've been the difference between winning and losing.

Watch here....
https://youtu.be/aVu-SQ7sGEk?si=qepqqcb2jSTSdwuo&t=212
19
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL Rd 10 2026 Carlton vs Geelong at Carlton
Last post by crashlander -
Quote from: tonyo – on
Quote from: laj – on

Think Ben C will be a decent player for some club, just has too many in front of him with his style of play with us. He'll win a bucketload of clearances, get his hands on it plenty of times but we have many of those. Hence why Kennedy isn't with us. Like to look at him in the seniors though before the year is out. Right now though he won't get in.
Cripps and Hewett will not last forever.  Our player development process has always been our achillles heel - hence we rely far too much on bringing in ready-to-play troops at high cost, unlike the top teams that uncover and develop their own talent.

Ben C is the perfect example.  In 2-3 years time when Crippa and George are done or needing a rest, we can have a ready-to-go replacement, provided he gets the right development over the next 18 months.  I can see a midfield of Jagga, Cody, Walsh, Ison, Lord and Ben C from 2029 onwards.
Fair enough. I would like to think that the club is thinking 'development', as I would like to see Ben succeed. However, if I were Ben I would:
[1] use Patrick Cripps' running coach so he can maximize what speed he has. Crippa isn't quick, but he does maximize what pace he has. He clearly knew it from the start and took steps to improve this as much as he could.
[2] hit the gym. Crippa has the advantage of strength. He can break tackles because he has real power. Ben can really improve in this area, as he already has the skill to get to the right places. He doesn't have to end up with a physique like Cripps, but the ability to apply that strength could be crucial. Think Josh Rachele, who may have more speed, but has the muscle to break tackles.
[3] work on his disposal. When given time, Ben's kicking is reasonably effective, no matter what it looks like. Under pressure less so, perhaps. He puts in another good pre-season or two working his disposal and he will be the perfect replacement for our aging stars.

One thing we haven't seen much of so far from both Campos is their marking. Both of them can take some really strong marks. Luke can take a hanger. I don't think either of them has the confidence yet to show their skills in this area. They are trying to fill in roles and no taking risks.
20
Ladies Lounge / Re: VFLW 2026
Last post by crashlander -
A good win for the girls this week against Sandringham:

Carlton: 5 - 6 - 36
Sandringham: 3 - 6 - 24

The girls kicked the last 4 goals to run over their opponents.
The girls had 90 more possessions, to dominate the game in a lot of ways, yet had 1 less inside 50. We also dominated taps and clearances, but the one that stood out was the marks: 82 to 35. That stuck out to me. We also had 71 tackles to 58, yet spent most of the time behind.

We had 7 of the top 8 possessions getters, led by:
Hannah Scott: 35 possessions, 5 clearances, 10 tackles and 5 marks. This was a Cripps-like performance.
Mia Fuller: 24 possessions, 7 clearances and 12 tackles.