Carlton Supporters Club

It will be an interesting night for Curnow. He is human so he'll be nervous, anxious, desperate to do well and know that all eyes are on him. How quickly he can settle, if at all, is the key. Expect the Swans to do whatever they can to get him on the board early. SCG is an interesting venue that, as a newbie, I don't think is mastered in one game. An interesting night ahead!!

If you’re on stalkbook, look up “Mr Cucumber” he ran this on Monday.
Investigation… absolutely required, crimes committed… possibly… A headline screamed from the rooftops, totally !

The $15bn allegedly ripped off by the CFMEU has become a major issue for the Victorian Government but how exactly was that figure arrived at?

Quote

Where did that $15bn figure come from?

Watson described the figure as a “very rough” estimate based on the opinions of “highly qualified stakeholders”.

Given the Big Build was worth roughly $100bn and industry sources told Watson that cost blowouts linked to CFMEU conduct ranged between 10% and 30%, he settled on an estimate of 15%, describing it as “not unreasonable” and “probably conservative”.

“From there the maths is simple – the leadership of the CFMEU has cost the Victorian taxpayer something like $15bn,” the redacted chapter reads. “There is another point to this – as will be seen, much of that $15bn has been poured directly into the hands of criminals and organised crime gangs.”

The Fair Work Commission’s general manager, Murray Furlong, later told Senate estimates the $15bn figure was “consistent with what I’ve heard from officials from the Victorian government”.

However, David Hayward, an emeritus professor of public policy and the social economy at RMIT University, said there “doesn’t seem any reason to believe criminality was as financially significant” as the redacted Watson chapters suggest.

He said overruns were largely due to increased materials and equipment costs, and issues at particular projects.

“What I don’t understand is why [Watson] went down the exaggeration path when he already established a strong case around corruption and criminality, and he really didn’t have to put an estimate in,” Hayward said.

The economist Saul Eslake said the engineering construction implicit price deflator – a measure of price growth used by Australian Bureau of Statistics – showed costs in Victoria went up by 36.8% between December 2014 and September 2025.

But this was lower than New South Wales at 37.4% and national figure of 41.7%.

“All the talk is that Victoria has become a much more expensive place to build and yet the data tells me a different story,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/16/cfmeu-victorian-branch-15bn-cost-estimate-explained-administrator-report-ntwnfb

So Watson's guestimate has got people outraged when the facts of the matter, according to independent, conservative and highly respected economist, Saul Eslake, present a very different story.

Of course, this isn't a defence of the CFMEU; an organisation that should have been stamped on well before Albo took action.

We don't really know the dynamics that existed last year and how Charlie and his teammates ended up.
I suspect there are still a few friendships there but sometimes when a player switches clubs a few on the old  team may go out with the intention of sending a bit of a message.
One thing they have to be careful of is to not to try and get to him with an overly aggressive approach.
The last thing we want are cheap free kicks and I suspect the umpires will be watchful.

Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on February 27, 2026, 04:17:51 pm

Swans played three talls with Curnow, Amartey and McDonald up forward vs GWS in their last practice game so Id be expecting them to lineup the same with Papley, Rosas and Heeney as their smaller/medium forwards.
With Derksen and Dean with zero games between them and Weitering nursing sore rib/s Id be thinking Lewis Young will be in the team as cover and would more than likely be a starter imo.
Heeney will be an interesting cover given his marking ability, maybe Florent might get his old teammate but there isnt an obvious matchup, Id be starting Lord on Gulden.....dont care if Lord gets zero possessions I just dont want Gulden getting more than 15-20...

While Derksen and Dean have zero games, they both know what it’s like to play against AFL standard players.  That’s not to say that they won’t be overawed by the occasion.  I reckon Young will be one of the first defenders named.

I think that some supporters may be judging Cooper Lord harshly.  He may not be getting as much of the ball as his fellow midfielders but he’s doing a great job of shutting down an opponent.  George Hewett is still putting a lot of work into opposition midfielders but Coops would have to be first choice to play on Gulden.

Swans played three talls with Curnow, Amartey and McDonald up forward vs GWS in their last practice game so Id be expecting them to lineup the same with Papley, Rosas and Heeney as their smaller/medium forwards.
With Derksen and Dean with zero games between them and Weitering nursing sore rib/s Id be thinking Lewis Young will be in the team as cover and would more than likely be a starter imo.
Heeney will be an interesting cover given his marking ability, maybe Florent might get his old teammate but there isnt an obvious matchup, Id be starting Lord on Gulden.....dont care if Lord gets zero possessions I just dont want Gulden getting more than 15-20...