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11
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by Baggers -
Quote from: rocky – on
In
Jacob Weitering, Will Hayward, Harry Dean
Out
Wade Derksen (Omitted), Jordan Boyd (Omitted), Hudson O'Keeffe (Omitted)

Unsurprising. Fair enough.

The Magoos match the following night will also be interesting... to see who improves and is pressing for selection... Coops, Flynn, Cotts? Also be interesting to see how the Campos, Chesser, HOK, Billy, Fog, Reidy, Ison, Moir, Derks and Hewey do. Be interesting to see if Hewey fronts up for the Magoos?
14
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by ElwoodBlues1 -
Quote from: cookie2 – on
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on




Cookie, Won't get a better chance of beating the Pies with their average form and key players missing or sore. We have to win this one or else I can see the pressure on the club ramping up both internal and external.

Just had another look at the ins and outs. Thinking about it you are right. With Moore, DeGoey and Sidebottom all out this certainly lifts our chances. We must dominate the stoppages and stop their ball movement. Not sure we can do this all game. Let’s see what we can do with our best 22 available so I’ll go for a roughie and change my tip.

Im tipping us by 7-10 points, wont be pretty football and the Pies will come home well like they usually do but I think we can defend the fort a bit better in this game considering they are not a high scoring team and we have Weitering back to General the back half troops.
15
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by cookie2 -
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Quote from: cookie2 – on

I’m tipping the Pies, just hoping I’ve got it wrong.


Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Quote from: cookie2 – on

I’m tipping the Pies, just hoping I’ve got it wrong.

Cookie, Won't get a better chance of beating the Pies with their average form and key players missing or sore. We have to win this one or else I can see the pressure on the club ramping up both internal and external.

Cookie, Won't get a better chance of beating the Pies with their average form and key players missing or sore. We have to win this one or else I can see the pressure on the club ramping up both internal and external.

Just had another look at the ins and outs. Thinking about it you are right. With Moore, DeGoey and Sidebottom all out this certainly lifts our chances. We must dominate the stoppages and stop their ball movement. Not sure we can do this all game. Let’s see what we can do with our best 22 available so I’ll go for a roughie and change my tip.
16
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by Gointocarlton -
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on
Quote from: cookie2 – on

I’m tipping the Pies, just hoping I’ve got it wrong.

Cookie, Won't get a better chance of beating the Pies with their average form and key players missing or sore. We have to win this one or else I can see the pressure on the club ramping up both internal and external.
Agree EB, time to stand up and be counted and buck the trend.
17
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by ElwoodBlues1 -
Quote from: cookie2 – on
Quote from: shawny – on
Pies $1.52 on TAB - that's way overs IMO.

Too mentally strong for us and big reason why they have beaten us 19 out of the last 23 times.

McCrae will outcoach our man and will come up with a system to beat us regardless who they field. They got within a goal of Freo who are a top 4 team by trying to strangle them and it will be like shelling peas for him to come up with tactics for the 16th placed team to get the job done. As usual Voss will have no answers to counter it on match day. 

Add in Nicks 100 game and they will get the 4 points.
 
I’m tipping the Pies, just hoping I’ve got it wrong.

Cookie, Won't get a better chance of beating the Pies with their average form and key players missing or sore. We have to win this one or else I can see the pressure on the club ramping up both internal and external.
18
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 6 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Collingwood
Last post by cookie2 -
Quote from: shawny – on
Pies $1.52 on TAB - that's way overs IMO.

Too mentally strong for us and big reason why they have beaten us 19 out of the last 23 times.

McCrae will outcoach our man and will come up with a system to beat us regardless who they field. They got within a goal of Freo who are a top 4 team by trying to strangle them and it will be like shelling peas for him to come up with tactics for the 16th placed team to get the job done. As usual Voss will have no answers to counter it on match day. 

Add in Nicks 100 game and they will get the 4 points.
 
I’m tipping the Pies, just hoping I’ve got it wrong.
19
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Jim Park Voting AFL Rd 5 2026 Carlton vs Adelaide
Last post by crashlander -
AFL Rd 5 2026   Carlton vs Adelaide:

Team:   D+
We had one good quarter and 2 not too bad quarters. We lost the game in one fifteen-minute burst, but never looking like we were a real threat.
As I’ve said for too often, we didn’t contain Adelaide’s best players. Aam Walsh was sublime early, but then shadowed out of it. Why can’t se do that?

Votes:
[2.5]   Patrick Cripps
[2.5]   Sam Walsh
[2.5]   Marc Pittonet
[2.5]   Nick Haynes
[1]   Elijah Hollands
[1]   Mitch McGovern
[0.5]   Ben Ainsworth
[0.5]   Adam Cerra
[0.5]   Nic Newman
[0.5]   Zac Williams
[0.5]   Ollie Florent
[0.5]   Jagga Smith

Explanations:
I found it really hard to give the votes this week, not just because we lost, or because the conditions were so poor, but because we were just so ordinary. We played the game out, but we only challenged for 1 quarter. That simply isn’t enough, nor is it good enough.
Mind you, I found the coaches votes to be excessive, to say the least.
[2.5]   Patrick Cripps:      Tried his guts out and got the ball well. 29 possessions, 7 clearances and 9 tackles used to be a BOG game. But Crippa’s disposals were not as effective as we need them to be and he was always under pressure.
[2.5]   Sam Walsh:      Sam’s 1st quarter was probably the best quarter we’ve seen from a Blue since Judd. He had 15 possessions, but gathered only 14 more for the game. Still, 29 possessions and 8 tackles says a fair bit. 0 clearances.
[2.5]   Marc Pittonet:      Tried his guts out in the ruck and had the better of his opponents, something considering the conditions. 16 possessions, 10 clearances, 33 taps and 7 tackles tells the tale.
[2.5]   Nick Haynes:      Took his opponents out of the game, had 16 possessions, 8 marks, 4 tackles and a clearance. Not bad for a defender.
[1]   Elijah Hollands:   Hollands was good early, but drifted out of the game.
[1]   Mitch McGovern:   Brilliant early, Mitch was our most effective forward on the night. We simply couldn’t get it to him often enough.
[0.5]   Ben Ainsworth:   Good early, but drifted out of the game.
[0.5]   Adam Cerra:      Statistically reasonable, but just lacked impact. 23 possessions, 7 clearances and 7 tackles.
[0.5]   Nic Newman:      Reasonable, but well below his best. His disposal stood out.
[0.5]   Zac Williams:      Some nice patches.
[0.5]   Ollie Florent:      Solid
[0.5]   Jagga Smith:      Not getting much room to move, but still making some impact. 19 possessions, 5 clearances and 3 tackles.

Honourable Mentions:
Ollie Hollands:      Not too bad, but gets brushed off the ball too easily.
Francis Evans:   15 possessions and a goal with 6 tackles. Slowly returning to form.
20
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 5 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Adelaide
Last post by crashlander -
I am so glad I didn't watch this game live. I'd hate to measure my cortisol levels at the moment, having just finished watching the replay.

[1] I really hate Adelaide. I've never seen a team squeal and complain as much as these turkeys do.
However, there is much we can learn from these guys:
(a) they are so much stronger than us. We need to address that. This is an area we have failed to address since our glory days.
(b) they are so much more organized than we are. This is something we should have addressed, but do not appear to have.
(c) their team structure is better than ours.

[2] We really play like a bottom 4 side. The lack of structure going forward irritates me intensely.
(a) We don't lead. The few times we do lead, the lead isn't honoured. We just fill up the spaces so there is nowhere to lead into.
(b) We always seem to kick under pressure. It is no wonder we don't hit targets when we're always under pressure. Yet, do we put our opponents under that sort of pressure? No. Our opponents always seem to have someone free.
(c) Our defence is terrible at the moment. It should improve with Weitering back, but the lack of structure, the lack of intelligence and the lack of confidence really stood out. We spoiled each other any number of times. Our guys were in position to mark the ball, but didn't. Sometimes we simply dropped the mark, other times we punched the ball instead of marking it.
(d) we don't want the ball as badly as our opponents. In 2023, our pressure was excellent and we appeared to want the ball. That is not the case at the moment. We just don't have the desperation. We don't exert enough physical pressure.
(e) Our game style is extremely inefficient. We handle the ball a lot to move forward, which doesn't work well in the wet or under pressure. Our skills ... I've mentioned that enough. But, if we handle the ball so often, our lack of skill is exposed.
(f) We rarely kick goals from turnovers. For that matter, we rarely score goals that do not come from centre clearances, and we don't do enough of those. Until we find a way to score other than from clearances we won't be winning many games.

[3] We get out-coached almost every week.
Our initial plans seem to be good enough, but we don't react to changes in the game. When Walsh was being tagged, did anyone block for him? No. During the last quarter we had Cripps matched up to Rankin, who is much quicker. Did we change that? No.

[4] Some of our players have really gone backwards:
(a) Harry McKay: H is presenting, but he isn't going to mark the ball with the way he is approaching the ball at the moment. Kane Cornes repeatedly pointed out that H had 'flat hands'. That wasn't going to help him with conditions as they were.
Does H use his strength? If he does. I don't see it. He can show it when he rucks in the forwards 50, but that is about it.
Does he get separation? Very rarely. It is hard when every mark is going to be a contested one.
(b) Lachie Cowan: Lachie has been pretty ordinary this season. We aren't seeing the strength or the attack on the ball that he showed in his first season. He can be an excellent grab, but he isn't taking his marks. When the pressure comes on, he just no longer grabs the ball in the air. He isn't as tight as he was. He doesn't attack the ball like he did. He is really stagnating.
(c) Patrick Cripps: the way things are officiated now doesn't do Crippa any favours. We will never be quick, but when he doesn't get frees for being held and gets double teamed whenever he has the ball, he isn't going to thrive or provide us with drive.
Our coaching staff should have woken up to that and planned for it, but that hasn't happened.
Crippa is still a warrior, but he isn't getting the assistance he needs.
As for his disposal, it is often terrible. He worked on that a lot and was pretty reliable for a while, but it had really dropped off. Like many, he is always under pressure, which doesn't help. But he has to go back and get his kicking sorted.
(d) Adam Cerra: Cez is just a shadow of what he was in 2023. He isn't getting to contests, he isn't winning them, he isn't blocking or helping his teammates and he is butchering the ball. I'm sure some of this is confidence, but some is just the way he is approaching the ball. He is probably our least effective mid at the moment.
(e) Nic Newman: Nic was always going to take a while to get back to his best, but he isn't having the impact he did. He isn't doing the things that made so effective for so long and he isn't stopping his opponent. I'm willing to give him the chance to get back to his game, because we really miss his drive, but he is struggling at the moment.
(f) Hudson O'Keefe: HOK has gone so much backwards that I'm really worried about him. He isn't taking marks, he isn't getting many taps and not guiding them that well. He is a player seriously lacking in confidence.

[5] Umpiring:
If we were playing well, the poor umpiring wouldn't bother me so much. We've lived with it for a long time. But, with us struggling, we've been hugely effected by the poor decisions. This, at least is out of our control, but we need to start squealing like certain Geelong or North Melbourne coaches does. We notice the same thing week in and week out, but the umpires ignore them like the rules don't exist. I'm tired of it.

[6] Do we have anyone who hasn't gone backwards? Yes!
(a) Marc Pittonet: the new ruck rules don't favour him, but he is doing his best and producing his best. There is a reason why he is 2nd in the Jim Park at the moment. He still has issues: he doesn't take enough marks and his kicking isn't reliable, but he is putting his best out there every week. Not many can say that.
(b) Nick Haynes: he might be as old as the hills, but the desire and effort are still there for Haynes. He is showing what is required to succeed at senior level, even with his relative lack of strength.
(c) Mitch McGovern: Mitch has underachieved for so long, but he is doing his best as a forward this season. We don't make it easy for him, but he is kicking goals.