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11
The Sports Desk / Re: Formula 1
Last post by kruddler -
There was no analogue for that this season.
Have you watched any of Lando's starts, he makes a blowfly like direct and to the point?

But again, what happened and why doesn't explain the continual escape from scrutiny, but fear and influence does!

If Lando had not escaped scrutiny across 2 out of 3 races earlier in the season, when he basically forced opponents off the track without penalty, then Max would have probably won with points to spare and Lando might well have been consigned to 3rd spot behind Oscar.

If Lando has shown himself to be supreme at one thing, it's complaining loud and early to sway opinion, it's like when Dangerflog begs the umpires for special consideration after he's just freshly tunnelled another opponent!

Starts are not an analogue. That is semi-controlled chaos which always gets the benefit of the doubt.
12
The Sports Desk / Re: Formula 1
Last post by LP -
There was no analogue for that this season.
Have you watched any of Lando's starts, he makes a blowfly like direct and to the point?

But again, what happened and why doesn't explain the continual escape from scrutiny, but fear and influence does!

If Lando had not escaped scrutiny across 2 out of 3 races earlier in the season, when he basically forced opponents off the track without penalty, then Max would have probably won with points to spare and Lando might well have been consigned to 3rd spot behind Oscar.

If Lando has shown himself to be supreme at one thing, it's complaining loud and early to sway opinion, it's like when Dangerflog begs the umpires for special consideration after he's just freshly tunnelled another opponent!
13
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Last post by kruddler -
People have faith in the current list management team, because of the car crash that has surrounded our footy club in this department outside of Silvagni.  Austin is not a departure from his approach.  He is more of the same, just with a different name.  You dont like him because you dont agree with his strategy (or the clubs direction) but thats more of a philosophical question that can only be discussed in theory.  The second we do something different, you lose the ability to prove or disprove something.   Hence why you come across like screaming into the void, and most people on here going, well, you cannot actually assert that and be proven correct.  All you can do is point to a failing and say I told you so.  Even that failing though is potentially based on a pre conceived idea. Austin didnt strengthen our list for 2026.  He didnt do it for 2025 either.  That much is true, but the list composition that got us to a prelim in 2023 was as much by his machinations as it was by SOS.  Do we get there without his moves to secure, Cerra, Hewett and Saad?  Probably not but that flaky underbelly that we have all hated at our club has persisted during both recruiters regimes.  SOS did a good job with us.  It could have been better, and he will rightly admit that, but he played the hand he was dealt.  Austin effectively did similar.  We are glossing over something else here too.  To me, the thing that stopped us more than anything else was dumb luck.   A run of season ending injuries ive not seen in a footy club before since 2015. 

...

Thing is, HOF was good.  ACL.  Jagga appears to have all the right stuff said about him.  ACL.  We have Dean joining the fray, and we also have Walker coming in, but then the AFL have pulled a fast one on us.  Instead of getting the guys without the premium draft picks, ala Daicos and all the Brisbane Father sons like Fletcher and Ashcrofts x2 we have had to pony up to get them.  So that means looking at futures rather than the now.  It had to mean sacrificing selecting a key tall to net in additional draft picks next year.  To me, that was as simple as they wont help us now, and we will need them moving forward to flesh out the following.

....

Rightly or wrongly, our club has made the decision to neglect the short term and gamble on a few players that are not dial movers but solid citizens (to be frank, using history as a guide, our rise was fleeting, and too much went wrong to sustain us up there and most of the truly big clubs never really feared us as Geelong has been the only side with bonafides we have consistently troubled over the last 5 years) in an effort to carry us forward.  Thing is, this might be enough if it all goes well enough, which thus far it hasnt.  I wouldnt be banking on it all going swimmingly either, as that just doesnt happen at Carlton, but you never say never.  Irrespective, I see enough in what we are doing to prevent us bottoming out once Cripps goes, and potentially to get us back up the ladder fairly quickly and hopefully removing that flaky under belly in the process. 

Maybe im too optimistic about it, but I can see what they are trying to do, and that is enough for me.  @kruddler you seem to be most negative about what they are doing and I understand that too, as there is no time like the present and we need to be getting better now, but old Carlton used to walk that road.  Old Carlton would top up with a couple of players and then put us in the mix.  Thing is, old Carlton is dead, and any attempts we make to resuscitate it seem to end up causing premature bottoming out, and doesnt look to be a sustainable way of moving forward.  I have a cousin who is similarly minded.  He is in his late 40's and always likes to bag me out for not understanding the old Carlton way because im only in my early 40's, but I remember what it was like.  Thing is, that was over half my lifetime ago, and I dont see the point in attempting to emulate old Carlton.  The competition has 5 extra teams now, and attempting to be old Carlton has simply delivered our worst performing 20 years in the clubs history, with a few highlights.  So am happy there is a plan, we are executing it, and it seems to have its heart in the right place.  Will the results marry up?  Im not sure, but I for one am happy to have a proffessional approach which will hopefully avoid years of pain.  I can handle a couple of dissapointing years, but not another decade of "rebuilding".

For the record, i'm only 45, so this is not about 'old carlton'.

I like to think i'm very modern in my thinking. I am always looking at ways to improve our team, our club and the entire AFL competition but get shouted down by traditionalists who say thats not how things are done.

I find it amusing that my 'go to the draft for KPPs' is now 'outdated'. The alternative being poach them from somewhere else later.
To me THAT is 'old carlton' and a poor way to ensure success. Carlton doesn't have the same aura (or brown paper bags) to facilitate such moves like they did in the past. Its a strategy that relies on other teams coming to the party.....and i don't want to rely on other teams doing our work. I'd much rather take that out of their hands. Otherwise its another year of 'but there was nothing available, can't blame the recruiters for that'. Well you can, because thats the path they took and they should've planned that better!

Anyway, i've highlighted a few bits from your above post.
Since i'm seemingly in the minority and arguing with many people, it seems not everyone i'm arguing against is on the same page.
The first part is something that you concede and agree with me on. However, others in a similar position to you cannot come to the same conclusion. That worries me as thats pretty clear to me and makes me think i'm arguing with overly emotive people who cannot see reason.
Everyones entitled to their opinion, but i can't see any evidence to back that up, just navy glasses in action IMO.

The second highlighted part is something i disagree with. I pointed out before it happened that we did NOT need to overlook KPP. We chose too. Big difference. I flagged moving up a couple spots on night 2 to make sure we got 'our guy' whover that may be (for me it was Ludowyck - for the club it was Emmett) and ensuring we could still get Ison. I don't know if the club tried, but ultimately they didn't. Whether that a failure, or simply choosing not too....same result.

Third part...our club has chosen to ignore the short term....which is fine....i suggested it was a distinct possibility that we would need to IF TDK left and Charlie left (and Jack while we are at it). Problem is, we are trying to be half-pregnant. Why didn't we try and sell off some more talent now. Cripps might want to go home. Harry might be better off elsewhere etc etc.
The way we are tracking, they will most likely end up counting the days and rueing this time at the end of their careers when they 'could/should' have moved on.

Finally...ultimately i think you are being too optimistic.
I'm sure plenty of people saying i'm being too negative.

14
The Sports Desk / Re: Formula 1
Last post by kruddler -
I dont get all the fuss.  Sure, Piastris fortunes were somewhat out of his own hands, but he had a bit of an ordinary run that saw him back back to the field. 

Its as much a bottle job as anything else.
Yes, I tend to agree, which is why I was barracking for Max in the end.

But it's stuff like the below image that is the slightly distasteful residue, keeping in mind other drivers were penalised for the same or less, some you may recall were even penalised for this happening after contact while cornering, they hadn't voluntarily driven off the track.

Runoff zones and margins are there for safety, not a shortcut. If Norris hadn't regained that place by driving off the track, Max wins the title! My concern is that Norris has done similar several times and not been penalised, while others have a one strike policy applied!

Tsunoda was lucky to not be given a harsher penalty for that. Reckless driving, against the rules and the spirit of the competition. There was no analogue for that this season.

Lando did go off track 'voluntarily' but running up his backside was basically the only alternative. Slamming on the brakes unexpectedly while turning with DRS active is a recipe for disaster.

Personally i hope the McLarens are no good next year and then Oscar will have the pick of the bunch on what team he can jump ship too and hopefully win his championship there.
15
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Last post by kruddler -

No its going back to the original point.
Our list got weaker.

The opposition to this justify this by saying we got younger as we were too old.
I'm pointing out relative to the opposition, we got older.
The players we recruited, half of them were older than our average age.
That flies in the face of the arguement that we are rebuilding/rejuvinating and getting younger.
THIS was the justification for destroying our prelim list and the reason we are nosediving.

I'm calling BS on the rejuvination of the list as a viable strategy given we've barely moved the age needle, and done so less than most who are not doing the same thing.

All this falls back to the same question which i can't get a straight answer on.

WHY does everyone have so much faith in the current list management team?
The reasons i've had so far are contradictory at worst, and weak at best.

i can’t believe how much your position has changed especially in the last 6 months

You were always one of the very much glass half full over the last decade and now what seems in a very short time have flipped.

do you agree?

Yes and no.

I've been pretty consistent on my messaging over the years.  Draft kpps before you need them.
I've given the recruiters the benefit of the don't (against my better judgement) for a lot of that time.
Every year i hear, we didn't have the picks, we didn't have talent available etc.
Well this year beyond a shadow of a doubt we did.... and we still didn't do anything about it.... including attempting to cover the loss of Charlie.

As frustrating as that is, people are now congratulating them and saying our list had improved on top of that?  I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone or something and everyone else is brainwashed by the club (most, not everyone)

I feel like Al Gore trying to earn everyone about climate change but nobody is listening and they won't listen until everyone else stays talking about it too. In the meantime I'm just a negative crackpot.

So yes, I've been much more vocal about it because of run out of patience with our team and have no faith in what they are doing. No, i hasn't changed my thinking process though.
16
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by DJC -


Both unlucky, particularly Neser after his five for.

I don't mind Bazball - both as a concept and a spectacle - but you do need a plan B.
Bazball is an excuse for poor technique and a lack of willingness to grind when necessary with both bat and ball which also indicates poor/lazy application. Throwing the bat at everything vs good line and length bowling works 1/10 times and having a plan B bowling strategy of 6 bouncers an over might work vs hapless teams like the Windies but wont vs the better teams.

The basic philosophy - removing fear of failure - is fine, but that doesn't compensate for poor technique, tactics or decision-making.

Apparently, Warnie is the inspiration for Bazball, but the way the Poms are going about it lacks Warnie's understanding of the game situation and appreciating the nuances of the game.  Jim Maxwell summed it up with his "Baz Bollocks" comment.
17
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by ElwoodBlues1 -
Neser and Doggett, need the specialist spinner and extra pace/bouncer ability on a flatter track which will help England's flat track bully batsman more.
Bazball might be history by the end of the series along with its architects...

Both unlucky, particularly Neser after his five for.

I don't mind Bazball - both as a concept and a spectacle - but you do need a plan B.
Bazball is an excuse for poor technique and a lack of willingness to grind when necessary with both bat and ball which also indicates poor/lazy application. Throwing the bat at everything vs good line and length bowling works 1/10 times and having a plan B bowling strategy of 6 bouncers an over might work vs hapless teams like the Windies but wont vs the better teams.

18
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by LP -
Adelaide is usually a batting wicket, they may swap Doggett for Cummins and bring Lyon in for someone like Inglis, Inglis is wasted at 7 anyway and Cummins isn't a spud.

That leaves them Lyon with a chop out from Head for the spin variations.

Of course maybe Starc needs a rest, but to do that you'd have to be willing to load up Cummins.
19
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by LP -
I don't mind Bazball - both as a concept and a spectacle - but you do need a plan B.
Yes, they've mistakenly taken the Dougie Walters / Adam Gilchrist "100 in a session" spirit and tried to turn it into the default game tactic. But you just can't ride your luck for that long, especially given that the bowlers are now better prepared than ever before to deal with such tactics.

Also, Test Cricket does not get played on ODI or T20 pitches, so for me the Bazball style should always be selectively applied.
20
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by DJC -
Neser and Doggett, need the specialist spinner and extra pace/bouncer ability on a flatter track which will help England's flat track bully batsman more.
Bazball might be history by the end of the series along with its architects...

Both unlucky, particularly Neser after his five for.

I don't mind Bazball - both as a concept and a spectacle - but you do need a plan B.