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11
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 1 2026 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Richmond
Last post by kruddler -
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
The back half defense holds up ok but the problem is the defensive skills of our midfield doesnt.....Gulden and Heeney had high tackle numbers the same cant be said for our mids who dont apply much pressure when they dont have 1st use, we have too many one way players in the middle of the ground. Then you look at our forward pressure which was also non existant...Fogarty didnt have one tackle and he is employed solely as a pressure forward and Ainsworth had one tackle...
Its the not the defense, its the rest of the team who pick and choose when to defend  so the opposition mids and running half backs just stroll around unhindered and do what they like leading to the avalanche of forward entries and defenders bewildered by the pressure.
Cripps, Hewett and Walsh in the middle doesnt work as a group when defense is required, you look at Gold Coast and they have a main midfield of Anderson, Rowell and Miller who can win the footy, attack, defend and carry the ball....our group cant do the latter two skills well enough for long enough against quality opposition.

The bold is why we got rid of Kennedy. It has some merit. BUT, you gotta get replacements in to compliment that.
Yes, Jagga is one.....and an expensive one given what we gave up for him. Ditto Walker in 2027. But essentially waiting 2-3 years to get replacements is time we can't afford to wait.
In the meantime Charlie/Jack is gone. Weitering/Harry are another year closer to the end without real replacements yet. Cripps is definitely not going to recapture his Brownlow form at his age and they will be like ships passing in the night.

We need some urgency with list management decisions so we have an elite core group all around at the same time to be a genuine flag contender.

Unpopular opinion, but i'd be seeing what deal West Coast can do for Cripps at seasons end. I love the bloke as much as the next guy, but looking at whats best for the club......and maybe that is it.
12
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 1 2026 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Richmond
Last post by ElwoodBlues1 -
The back half defense holds up ok but the problem is the defensive skills of our midfield doesnt.....Gulden and Heeney had high tackle numbers the same cant be said for our mids who dont apply much pressure when they dont have 1st use, we have too many one way players in the middle of the ground. Then you look at our forward pressure which was also non existant...Fogarty didnt have one tackle and he is employed solely as a pressure forward and Ainsworth had one tackle...
Its the not the defense, its the rest of the team who pick and choose when to defend  so the opposition mids and running half backs just stroll around unhindered and do what they like leading to the avalanche of forward entries and defenders bewildered by the pressure.
Cripps, Hewett and Walsh in the middle doesnt work as a group when defense is required, you look at Gold Coast and they have a main midfield of Anderson, Rowell and Miller who can win the footy, attack, defend and carry the ball....our group cant do the latter two skills well enough for long enough against quality opposition.
14
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 1 2026 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Richmond
Last post by Thryleon -
Our game style is only a problem when we lose. 

For mine its an emotive argument that needs to be separated because when we are on top, we absolutely are fine game style wise.  We just need to polish up the execution bit. 

Where our game management falls over is flicking the switch.  When momentum deserts you, opposing teams get on top.  To arrest that it goes back to winning the ball, and sucking the life out of your opponents.   We seem to stay in a "we must score mode" rather than game management mode which is what you need to do, when momentum desserts you.  This is also not solely coaching, as the players need to recognise when to ride the wave, and when the wave is breaking on you better which is what the pies do well.

Thing is this happens for reasons too.  When the Swans got on top,  you need to control play and make them chase the ball a little to even it out.  Scoring ldid ead to more scoring which makes it harder to arrest as you need the odd missed shot to help get the ball in your hands unless you win the next clearance.  Without checking the stats, we got smashed at the clearance in that period and they scored heavily without missing which means the only way to arrest it was surrender a clearance and flood back rather than win at the next clearance.  That should have happened after 4 goals added on.  Even so it might be as simple as repeat stoppage for a bit and suck the life out of the game. The Swans got clean ball so that wasn't a thing for us and we needed to flood back. 

Anyway tactically this is all you can really try.  1.  Kill the game.  2.  Starve posession.  3.  Attack.

We default to attack.  Don't flip the switch between go and stop and 12 goals in a quarter is the result.

Statistically our defense held up last year so I cant agree we dont defend well.  So that means we need to do better at game management.
18
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Jim Park Voting AFL Rd 0 2026 Carlton vs Sydney
Last post by crashlander -
AFL Rd 0 2026   Carlton vs Sydney
Team :      D-
The idea of losing by 63 points after being 22 points in front irritates me no end. It is however, something that hasn’t been that rare in the last thirty years. I had hope we’d have moved past this sort of disaster, but my hopes are rarely realized.


Votes:
15 votes: This is not going to be easy.
[3]   Sam Walsh
[2]   Jacob Weitering
[1.5]   Cooper Lord
[1.5]   Marc Pittonet
[1.5]   Jagga Smith
[1.5]   Harry Dean
[1]   Zac Williams
[0.5]   Oliver Florent
[0.5]   Lewis Young
[0.5]   Ben Ainsworth
[0.5]   Elijah Hollands
[0.5]   Ollie Hollands
[0.5]   Brodie Kemp

Explanations:
[3]   Sam Walsh   One of very few 4-quarter players on the ground, Walsh managed 32 possessions and 6 clearances. He may not have been as damaging as he can be, but he was clearly our best player on the night.
[2]   Jacob Weiterng:   Considering just how dominant Sydney were in the 3rd quarter, Jacob did a pretty good job. Yes, Charlie got three, but he wasn’t all that effective.
[1.5]   Cooper Lord:      Lord’s 1st half was as good as any game he’s played so far, but his influence did lag later. Still, 26 possessions was decent in the circumstances.
[1.5]   Marc Pittonet:      Pitto tried manfully in the ruck, but he was clearly beaten by Grundy. However, Pitto managed three goals and was a decent player.
[1.5]   Jagga Smith:      While his debut may not have been as good as his practice matches were, it was still an excellent first-up effort. 27 disposals and 3 clearances says a fair bit, especially as we were well beaten in the ruck.
[1.5]   Harry Dean:   Dean looked like he belonged. He was a very good player for us all night.
[1]   Zac Williams:      Zac’s 1st quarter was nothing short of brilliant; he had 5 clearances here alone, more than any other two players. But after that his influence waned. Still, he was decent.
[0.5]   Oliver Florent:      A solid game across half back, Ollie’s ball use promises to be important.
[0.5]   Lewis Young:      Not a brilliant game, but his man only scored 1 goal. Solid, no matter how shaky it may have looked at times.
[0.5]   Ben Ainsworth:   A reasonable debut. His goals were useful.
[0.5]   Elijah Hollands:   Not a bad comeback after a year off, but Elijah’s kicking, usually a strength, was not as good as it can be. 5 clangers.
[0.5]   Ollie Hollands:      Not as good as he has been, but provided useful run.
[0.5]   Brodie Kemp:      Kemp’s kicking was seriously off, but the rest of his game wasn’t that bad. A reasonable return from serious injury.

Honourable Mentions:
Harry McKay:      Not as good as we needed, but still reasonable, considering how the ball is delivered to him.
George Hewett:   Reasonable, but not as good as he was last year. Still, he had 6 tackles, our best.
20
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 0 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney
Last post by MickyO -
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Garry and Gerard were very good in summing us up on 360. Lyon said it was due to the gap in the number of A graders between the two sides.
Gerard said the "hyperventilating over Carlton" was nonsense. He said when the fixture came out, you would have had us at L W W W. Judge us after our next three not the the first one. GW said we should win the next 3 and we will be able to see what we have been working on. They talked about how we have sold off some high end talent to get in Harry this year, Cody next year and couple with Jagga, that's where the future lies.
I thought they were very measured and sensible, worth watching If you can.
As opposed to bozo's like Damo,  Lloyd and McClure on FC, absolute pee brains.

The quality of the footy shows has diluted so much I can barely watch any of them.