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23
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Dean could elevate Weitering's play
Last post by bratblue -
Weiters is clearly enjoying have Harry playing beside him which is similar to Cripps with Jagga I suspect. Its a happy coincidence that its happening at the same time. Weiters was showing the pressure and not enjoying his footy and the leadership commentary that was an unnecessary pressure that he wasn't accustomed to and didn't really deserve.  Nice summation RR
25
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 13 2026 Pre Game Predictions Carlton vs Essendon at MCG
Last post by Lods -
Well the heavy rain didn't come.
But the wind did.
While Essendon and West Coast aren't the most skilful of sides the wind probably made skills look worse than they actually were.

The trip West shouldn't be a big factor.

So suddenly we have a bit of pressure on us.
They have little on them.
They didn't get the sugar hit.
The expectation will be that we should account for them quite easily.
And that's where we often come undone.

We're on a high after the Geelong game.
Some of our younger players are in uncharted waters with the 'heavy favourite' tag.
They haven't experienced the 'two steps forward, one step back.' situation AFL often throws up.
So next weekend will be as much about mental preparation as the tactical approach.

Solomon has shown he's not afraid to shake things up a bit and given their position there will probably be a few surprises in selections as they seek to evaluate their list. They also have a huge injury list and some of those may be inclusions next week. It all makes planning a little more difficult.

Realistically we should win, and win fairly easily....but there will no doubt be some point where the run comes to an end and we drop a game, and these sometimes come when you least expect them.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Dean could elevate Weitering's play
Last post by tonyo -
....not to mention Dean's genetic mongrel which is already clearly apparent, and a good thing too.   This means Weiters can now become the 'Elder Statesman' of the backline and leave much of the Enforcer duties (which he was never great at anyway) to young Harry.

It is very hard to believe that Harry has only played 11 games.  I already have great faith in his competitiveness and ability.
27
Robert Heatley Stand / Dean could elevate Weitering's play
Last post by RiverRat -
Weitering played his best game for the season against Geelong and it could have had something to do with the confidence in and support coming from Harry Dean.

I think Weitering played his best football when he was paired with Liam Jones because Jones had the height, reach and speed (especially closing speed) that gave Weitering the confidence to readily switch opponents.  This meant that Weitering didn't have to match up on faster leading opponents and that he wasn't always anchored on the last line of defence - as has often been the case since Jones departed.

The loss of Jones led Weitering to becoming a more defensive player and deprived the Blues of the drive that he used to be able to provide from the half-back line.  Further, gaining more possessions on the last line of defence (instead of further up the ground) seemed to result in more rushed (sometimes panicked) defensive kicks and turnovers.

In his short time with the club, Dean has shown himself to have similar traits to Jones (albeit with better kicking skills), with closing speed, leap and decisive defensive skills.

Hopefully Dean's rapid acclimation and Weitering's growing confidence in him will see Weitering return to being a more offensive defender who is less easily bypassed by opponents.
28
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Jim Park Award 2026
Last post by crashlander -
AFL 2026 Rd 11:   Carlton vs Port Adelaide
A good win over an improving team away. We had a few hard markers this week! Still, it is nice to be in the position to be picky!

Trends:
[1]   There were 12 voters this round, which is a little disappointing considering the circumstances. Still, I'm not complaining, I appreciate the time our voters spend.
please do vote, win, lose or draw: it is something we appreciate and it makes our statistics a lot more reliable. And our statistics hold up pretty well when it comes to John Nicholls Medal night!


[2]   The rating was a 9.47, which represents a B+, is the best we've had for the year to this point.
Our rating of the Richmond game, for example, was 7.69 which says far too much.

[3]   16 players managed a mention again this week. That is what we get when we play more consistently.

[4]   The average vote this week was 31, the first time we've passed 30 for the year!. Scores are around 30 when we win, so read into that what you will.

[5]   4 players managed 100 votes or more. This is becoming the norm, which is something I like.

[6] Patrick Cripps was our best for the 3rd week in a row. His reemergence has been one of the reasons we've improved. He managed a Cripps-like 367 votes, a really dominant game! Jagga Smith was 2nd, with 241 votes, his 2nd highest. Then came Walsh (154) and Hayward (150). Walsh has not been outside the top 10 year this season.

[7]   Two player managed votes from everyone this week, Cripps and Smith. Hayward missed by two.

[8]   We had a much more rounded distribution of votes this week. Our recruits put their hands up, as did a youngsters and our experienced players (who have generally been down this year). Our defenders and mids got most of the votes.

[9]   Jagga Smith was our best youngster for the night, followed byCowan, Wilson and Ison.
This was the 2nd real Cripps-like game from Cripps.

Votes:
Cripps, Patrick   367
Smith, Jagga   241
Walsh, Sam   154
Hayward, Will   150
Hewett, George   87
Florent, Oliver   67
Dean, Harry   63
Cowan, Lachlan   59
McKay, Harrison   59
Haynes, Nicholas   51
Evans, Francis   47
Ison, Jack   20
Wilson, Billy   20
McGovern, Mitchell   16
Derksen, Wade   16
Newman, Nicholas   4


Progressive Voting:
Walsh, Sam   1900
Patrick Cripps  1639
Florent, Oliver  794
Matthew Carroll   769
Smith, Jagga  754
Pittonet, Marc  706
Mitch McGovern  560
Newman, Nic   497
Kemp, Brodie  480
Will Hayward  473
Ainsworth, Ben  440
Hollands, Elijah  426
Ollie Hollands  413
Harry McKay  390
Weitering, Jacob  366
William, Zac  330
Haynes, Nick 304
Cowan, Lachie  299
Hewett, George  166
Lord, Cooper  152
Dean, Harry  114
Young, Lewis   81
Evans, Francis  74
Ison, Jack   43
Byrne, Talor  34
Wilson, Billy   30
Cerra, Adam  29
Liam Reidy   28
Boyd, Jordan   27
Wade Derksen   16
Adam Saad   15
30
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Jim Park Voting AFL Rd 12 2026 Carlton vs Geelong
Last post by rocky -
Team A

3  Will Hayward - Think his best game for us in the navy blue
2  Patrick Cripps - 2nd Half was enormous. That's why you don't start the bloke off the bench or up forward in the 3rd
2  Sam Walsh - If he hadn't have missed 3 gettable goals would've have been BOG. That's why you don't start the bloke off the bench or up forward in the 3rd
1  Jacob Weitering - Still not playing on key forwards (clearly by design) but found some good form
1  Jagga Smith - Got his 2nd wind after a couple of down games. Reminds me a lot of NDaicos. We've got a winner in this one
1  Harry Dean - Super impressed with how he's started his year. Another winner
1  Nic Newman - Still not usig the ball as effectively as he could but solid game again for the veteran
1  Ben Ainsworth - Tough workhorse
1  Cowan - Given the toughest job of the night and deserves some credit for keeping the man that usually murders us to 4 goals (2-3 of those were from turnovers on our part)
1  Adam Cerra - Yep, let's keep him on the wing. Seems to be working. Most MG for us.
1  Blake Acres - Deserved a plug. Ran pretty hard and DID NOT kick OOF

HM : Everyone else