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62
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by Shakin77 -
Quote from: tex – on
A few years ago we had:
Lachie Fogarty
Jack Martin
Jesse Motlop
Cotrell
Owies

As our small forwards

Now we have
Hayward
Byrne
Evans
Ainsworth

So much more fight in our new group. Tbh Motlop will be flat out in the reserves next year.


I agree.   Our small forwards are much more dangerous and the likes of Ainsworth and Hayward are very good kicks.

However I think they might be good for Motlop.    He would be the 4th Banana in that group.
65
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by Lods -
Saad is a shadow of his best.

Anyone doubting the worth of Florent should probably grab a look at him working on a specific drill with Billy Wilson in the pre-season.
He was instructing and getting him to repeat it over and over.
Billy was taking it all on board.
I wouldn't be surprised if Florent wasn't a big contributor to Wilson's development.
That's the value of picking up an experienced player like Florent. They can be another assistant with their knowledge an experience.
66
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by LP -
Quote from: shawny – on

Saad is so predictable and when his ball use dropped off he become a liability.
He is predictable, but that can work both ways, against him from a opposition perspective and for him from the perspective of our forwards.

I'd assert that when he is / was fit, agile and confident his ball use was efficient enough that any benefit to the opposition of being predictable was diminished. Knowing what he is going to do but not stopping it is embarrassing. He could run and spread, create space, just as Daicos, Pendles, Butters and now Smith can run, spread and create space. Either through injury or age he's lost a bit, we saw a VFL game a couple of weeks back that was him at his best, but it's few and far between now.

If had one criticism, it was too many long bombs, they are good to buy the defense time to setup, but not much use for scoring. It's like the soccer goalkeeper who always launches the pill to the other end of the ground, it almost never results in a score, it's a defensive move not an attacking move.
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Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by shawny -
Quote from: RiverRat – on
Quote from: Thryleon – on
Florent is the sort of player who has many facets to his game, and his contribution is imho invaluable around the back of stoppage.  Watch he polices the back of it, and often is the second posession at the source using it well.

Charleson might be good enough, but there is a leadership, experience and multi faceted component to his play. 

A lot of his knockers have egg on their face. There was no shame not being able to get a gig at sydney. They'd love to him right now.
Florent serves a similar role to how Saad used to carry the ball through the lines, but he is much more poised because he does not always run to the left to set up a left foot kick, which cuts down the attacking options, plus he is a more reliable kick and uses effective hand passes to bring teammates along for the ride.


absolutely spot on. 

Saad is so predictable and when his ball use dropped off he become a liability.

The changes made from senior coach to list changes revolved around keeping possession and you can only execute that plan if you have decent ball users and decision makers and players like Saad, ollie hollands cant do it regularly enough and wont be there come seasons end. 



68
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by RiverRat -
Quote from: Thryleon – on
Florent is the sort of player who has many facets to his game, and his contribution is imho invaluable around the back of stoppage.  Watch he polices the back of it, and often is the second posession at the source using it well.

Charleson might be good enough, but there is a leadership, experience and multi faceted component to his play. 

A lot of his knockers have egg on their face. There was no shame not being able to get a gig at sydney. They'd love to him right now.
Florent serves a similar role to how Saad used to carry the ball through the lines, but he is much more poised because he does not always run to the left to set up a left foot kick, which cuts down the attacking options, plus he is a more reliable kick and uses effective hand passes to bring teammates along for the ride.
70
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: AFL Rd 24 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle at Marvel
Last post by DJC -
Quote from: crashlander – on
[1] In the best players, Freo named Jackson as their best. Are they smoking some illegal over there? Pitto had 17 possessions, compared to Jackson's 14. Pitto had 7 clearances to Jackson's 4. Pitto had much more effect on the game than Jackson did: thanks to Pitto, our mids had huge days! Did these idiots watch the game? It doesn't look like it.

The way I see it is that Jackson was among Freo's best five or six players but not their best by some margin.  Pitto played very well, had the better of Jackson and Cox, and had a great influence on the game, but I couldn't squeeze him into my best seven or eight players. I think that shows how much better we were on the day.