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21
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL 2026 EF #1 Carlton vs Geelong Pre Game Prognostications
Last post by LP -
Quote from: shawny – on
I cant see Young holding his place. Had a few good games a month or so back but still is unsure of himself and a liability IMO.

Reckon if Haywood plays it frees Harry into the 2nd ruck role and takes the need for Young out
The thing here for me is that having Hayward in makes a bloke like Young better because Hayward draws opponents, the ripple effect.

But think of the benefit to Cottrell, Gov, Kemp or Byrne of having Hayward in!
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL 2026 EF #1 Carlton vs Geelong Pre Game Prognostications
Last post by shawny -
I cant see Young holding his place. Had a few good games a month or so back but still is unsure of himself and can still be a liability in high pressure moments IMO.

Gawns goal on him was so disappointing as he had one role in that situation and was right next to him as the ball was kicked out of defence and then when the ball was turned over , Gawn had 15 metres of separation on him and marked unopposed. Was really poor considering how hard Pit worked on Gawn to give him a soft goal.

Reckon if Haywood plays it frees Harry into the 2nd ruck role and takes the need for Young out

  
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL 2026 EF #1 Carlton vs Geelong Pre Game Prognostications
Last post by kruddler -
We haven't played 2 rucks all year with the exception of our 1st game....and a game where Pittonet was coming back from injury.

1 ruck works for us as our 2nd ruck can't play anywhere else.
Unless you are including Young as your 2nd ruck, who clearly can play someone else.......and i'd argue not really a ruck.

We managed to beat Melbourne with 1 ruck who happens to be the best ruck in the game.....ever.....if you listen to the pre-match from Melbourne....and given the AA noms, they have a point.

So why would we change that for Geelong??

Cats will beat us with their smalls (if they beat us at all), so losing one to shore up an area that doesn't need shoring up, is silly IMO.

re Hayward.....if he comes in for anyone, based on form.....it has to be Byrne. He played his worst game, potentially ever. He got the lowest player rating in a carlton jumper (4 out of 10) that i saw in a recent article. They play a very similar role.

Who else could it be?
Couldn't be Ollie Hollands after his efforts.
Couldn't be Cottrell who could've kicked 4 goals if the posts were slightly wider.
Despite not getting a huge amount, Lord did a tagging job, which may also be required this weekend


So has to be Byrne.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL WC#1 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Melbourne
Last post by LP -
Quote from: Bluesers – on
Byrne did get involved a bit,  but dropped 2-3 easy marks (he wasn't alone in that) and also appeared quite fumbly and nervous with ball in hand  -  finals nerves but he wasn't alone.  Haywood for Young makes good sense too,  as you say it just depends which way they want to go, and if haynes gets up or not. 
It's the unwillingness to ruck Cameron anywhere on the ground that makes the situation interesting. I understand avoiding the center square, but I've never really understood why they do not have him take stoppages inside the arc, it just doesn't make sense.

Last time we played you may recall they rucked Neale and he came off lame.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL 2026 EF #1 Carlton vs Geelong Pre Game Prognostications
Last post by LP -
The latest forecast I've seen is rain late Friday evening after 10pm, or early Saturday.

If Haynes is an out, can Derksen and Hayward both come in, it could give us the necessary freshness to keep us competitive?

I presume as everyone will, if Hayward is fit then he is a given. Geelong's lack of ruck stocks makes it interesting about the 2nd ruck role. I'm dead set curious which direction Fraser takes, but I think we have no better coach to assess this issue.

If I recall correctly, last time we played, it wasn't a great night for rucks from either side.

Expect another Dangflog human missile effort, it's been his trend in recent times but he's generally pretty much cooked early in finals now. Will he again be able to torpedo opponent legs without being penalized?
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL WC#1 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Melbourne
Last post by Bluesers -
Quote from: LP – on
Quote from: Bluesers – on
Same for me, replay only and I agree what you say.    If Haywood is fit and ready,  then I think Byrne or Cottrell makes way.;  but I think Byrne because he looked lost and out of his depth and had zero impact.    Byrne wasn't alone tbh, but we don't want to start making too many changes to a winning combo.
I thought Byrne did OK at becoming a target as the Dees sat on Evans, Byrne attracting the footy a couple of times on the wing helped diffuse the Evans tag, even if not much come out of it. Of course I concede Hayward will cover this easily, but I don't think that Byrne wasn't contributing.

Given the Cats ruck situation, Edwards then Blicsav, I wouldn't be surprised if Young goes out for Hayward, it may depend on Pitto's freshness.

I could see Cottrell or Lord in a negative role on Bailey Smith, so the MC might want to preserve those options, last time we played Smith was let off the hook.

If Haynes is an out it may be unlucky for Derksen, if Hayward gets up Hayward / Haynes might well be the only change, or we could also see Derksen / Young if Haynes is an out. I thought last time we played the Handbaggers our problem was stopping them scoring, despite Weiters having one of his better games before he went out, our F50 functioned pretty well.
Byrne did get involved a bit,  but dropped 2-3 easy marks (he wasn't alone in that) and also appeared quite fumbly and nervous with ball in hand  -  finals nerves but he wasn't alone.   Haywood for Young makes good sense too,  as you say it just depends which way they want to go, and if haynes gets up or not. 
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL WC#1 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Melbourne
Last post by LP -
Quote from: Bluesers – on
Same for me, replay only and I agree what you say.    If Haywood is fit and ready,  then I think Byrne or Cottrell makes way.;  but I think Byrne because he looked lost and out of his depth and had zero impact.    Byrne wasn't alone tbh, but we don't want to start making too many changes to a winning combo.
I thought Byrne did OK at becoming a target as the Dees sat on Evans, Byrne attracting the footy a couple of times on the wing helped diffuse the Evans tag, even if not much come out of it. Of course I concede Hayward will cover this easily, but I don't think that Byrne wasn't contributing.

Given the Cats ruck situation, Edwards then Blicsav, I wouldn't be surprised if Young goes out for Hayward, it may depend on Pitto's freshness.

I could see Cottrell or Lord in a negative role on Bailey Smith, so the MC might want to preserve those options, last time we played Smith was let off the hook.

If Haynes is an out it may be unlucky for Derksen, if Hayward gets up Hayward / Haynes might well be the only change, or we could also see Derksen / Young if Haynes is an out. I thought last time we played the Handbaggers our problem was stopping them scoring, despite Weiters having one of his better games before he went out, our F50 functioned pretty well.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL WC#1 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Melbourne
Last post by Micky0 -
Quote from: Bluesers – on
Quote from: Professer E – on
Well I watched the video after being in transit and I wasn't overtly impressed.  Hard game to assess. A few, particularly those in the front half looked overawed.  Byrne spilt marks and missed tackles, Cottrell burned how many chances, McG was unsighted and Cerra's first half stank. Wilson was very quiet.  Both sides missed a lot of goals that really should have been kicked.  If Hayward came in I suspect it may be for Young, although his flexibility is handy.  Have to find match ups for Dangerflog, Smith and Dempsey, can't see the Cats shelling chances and bringing the ball into F50 with as little system as the dees.
Same for me, replay only and I agree what you say.    If Haywood is fit and ready,  then I think Byrne or Cottrell makes way.;   but I think Byrne because he looked lost and out of his depth and had zero impact.     Byrne wasn't alone tbh, but we don't want to start making too many changes to a winning combo.   
I think dropping him would be a mistake - he was still effective but just couldn’t get into the game enough and imo you could see he was disappointed in his game.

McG is the funny one for me. He just cannot be relied on and as a very snr player I just get so frustrated by his dropped marks and errant kicks.