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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 16 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs West Coast
Last post by RiverRat -
Quote from: crashlander – on
Talor Byrne got some real result for effort today, but for the chest mark he spilt. His snap was one of the goals of the year.
For all that, I'd like to see him work on his kicking and his strength in the off-season. I think he is going to be a keeper.

Seems to be surprisingly strong and hard to move for a smaller player - certainly uses his body well against bigger opponents.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 16 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs West Coast
Last post by crashlander -
There must have been a lot of us at the game today, with so little comment in the match thread. Fair enough: not the worst outcome.

There were some things I really liked about today:
[1] Even though Pitto was well beaten when it came to taps, he was by far the more effective of the 2 rucks in the way he allowed our mids to get use of the ball. He was in a lot of marking contests and he even managed a couple of tackles. Williams is a jumper, which Pitto always finds challenging. Pitto had 8 clearances himself, and made a path for our mids.
For all that, Williams was easily one of their best.
The ruck is a real structural issue for us, as we don't have someone with a huge leap to stick in the middle.
Last night GWS used Brown and it changed the game; he was more mobile after the contests, and he could jump right over the Hawthorn rucks (who should have been pinged so many time for going over the middle, but Pitto seems to be the one they ping).
The free top Williams that he goaled from was the worst ruck infringement decision I can recall. An absolute joke that no player seemed to understand.

[2] Ben Ainsworth had his best game in our colours, and he has had some good ones. He got 28 possessions, kicked a goal ( should have planted the other one), and showed heaps in the middle. Gold Coast never seemed to get the same sort of output from him. Are we using him smarter? Or is he trying to show why we bothered? Either way, I'm happy. He has been a major positive for us.

[3] Harry Dean is growing before our eyes. He was so good today, with marks and spoils and tackles and ... You get the picture. He is certainly living up to his draft placing.
On the other hand, Wade Derksen was about as unheralded as a player can get, but he has stood up very well in recent weeks. He may not be quick, but he moves well and his intercepts today were telling.
Our key defenders took on Waterman and Shanahan and destroyed them. Nick Haynes also did some really special things.

[4] Talor Byrne got some real result for effort today, but for the chest mark he spilt. His snap was one of the goals of the year.
For all that, I'd like to see him work on his kicking and his strength in the off-season. I think he is going to be a keeper.
30
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: VFL Rd 14 2026 Carlton vs Werribee
Last post by crashlander -
Well, it is nice to see some response from the guys, as they've been pretty ordinary lately. A pity we couldn't close it out.
Sounds like a very defensive game, with so few goals kicked.
At least I won't flinch when I'm watching the replay this week.