We haven't travelled well this year.
Best win of the year.
Have to say, I think you're right!
Best avoid was Coniglio..
With the players out that was a really good win. Finally some substance. 7-2!!!
3 games inside the 8!
Is it too early to say we'll play finals?
Dylan Shiel a very close second
If we didn't have our injury toll I would be pretty sure we'd make it.
The Giants have an official beer, I’m gutted.
So....this is what we do now. - Win.
Odds were against us,
key forward out,
key back out,
first ruck out
No real backups for any of that.
Opposition coach playing his last game.
Lose Williams early.
End result, a relatively comfortable win interstate.
We have officially turned the corner.
We're in, imho...unless we get more major injuries..
Saad was worth pick 8 and more. And thanks Jack for another great game.
That win was gutsy as all f#$%.
- On the road
- Against a team who have normally punished us
- Lost H and Young before the game
- Lost Zac W during
Real deal.
As each game passes he looks better and better, has a real calmness about his play and very smart at using his size.
Mature team effort today, another tick to Voss!
Have to agree with you MBB
Although I agreed with you saying we wouldn’t win.
Good to get things wrong and still wear the winner’s 😁
Plowman OK today
best win of the year, worst commentary by along way
First time we have beaten GWS away........EVER!
GWS play soulless football, I feel sorry for them, they are an invented club that went within a hairs breadth of a flag that might have changed their fate, they could have easily done in the AFL what Storm did in NRL!
So much talent wasted.
Great effort and you’d think that Hewett would be better for the run, as he looked a touch off. Very happy with Silvagni, Durdin, Fisher, Cripps, Walsh & Weitering today.
On the flip side I thought Owies and Newman were poor, whilst OBrien/Carroll were a touch panicky.
Still scratching my head about no Dow, so grossly unfair and can play wing, without doubt.
Newman is an incredibly lazy footballer.
Sorry, posted this late in the other thread but....Matthew Kennedy: 27 possessions, 8 marks, a goal and a s&#tload of courage on 68% game time!!!
Didn't think we played that well but still won well which is a good sign.
GWS had great motivation to win but just lack spirit, leadership and play as individuals. Cripps did it all , midfield, ruck and led the team well.Durdin is a ripper little player and enjoyed seeing him work up the ground.
Nice story on Matt Kennedy this week and how his faith has helped his game and he was in our best again.
Plowman and Docherty were steady all game and Weitering controlled the backline which he did well minus Young and any other KP help.
TDK battled well but Pruess was just too big and strong and imo we need to give him more help ie Mirkov.
We are really beginning to look like a professional, confident and competent outfit who can acquit ourselves well even if we are not playing 100% to our best. Today I was really pleased to see how we took GWS in our stride to get the win, even though imo we were not at our best for various reasons.
12 wins should be enough and we're on 7 wins with 13 games to go. We have games against the Cheats, the PIes (x2), the Crows, the Giants & the Eagles which should give us at least 5 wins and no doubt we won't lose all the other games. Don't organise an overseas trip in September!
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 3.3 7.5 10.6 11.9 (75)
CARLTON 5.3 7.5 10.12 15.5 (105)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Greene 2, Himmelberg 2, Riccardi 2, Callaghan, Kennedy, Perryman, Kelly, Ward
Carlton: Curnow 2, Durdin 2, Fisher 2, Silvagni 2, Walsh 2, De Koning, Docherty, Kennedy, Motlop, O'Brien,
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Kelly, Preuss, Taylor, Green, Perryman, Cumming
Carlton: Silvagni, Weitering, Walsh, Docherty, Cripps, Fisher, Hewett
In the past we would have folded when GWS came back. We can only get better, because we have to get some of our players back before too much longer.
I don't believe Vossy would have a lazy footballer in the 22. Newman was good today, apart from a couple of poor kicks and he wasn't Robinson Crusoe there. He did his time on Greene and didn't give him a sniff.
All of the defenders played well under considerable pressure. Newnes was a bit shaky at times but was steady when it counted.
I couldn't find a single player who didn't work hard and make a solid contribution towards our win (Williams excepted); a very even performance from the players and an outstanding performance by the coaching group.
That we managed to keep Toby Greene to 7 possessions ...
What can you say about a midfield that plays that well with so little ruck support? I'm not surprised that Tom de Koning didn't have a great game: it wasn't the sort of conditions that suit him. Preuss is a good ruckman. Still, he'll be better against Hickey.
Preuss is a kent, Tom needs to learn to be more like Preuss.
A really good win. Undersized, playing away, GWS fired up and nowhere near our best side in. I think we had seven of what I think is our best twenty-two and then we lose Williams in the first quarter. All in all a very good effort. Very impressed with Silvagni, Cripps, and Durdin, business as usual from Walsh, Saad, Weitering and Docherty, except for the goal he kicked which was beyond excellent, extremely pleased with Fisher, O'Brien, Plowman, Newnes, Kennedy and Hewitt, while De Konning, Curnow and Motlop all kept competing. Owies could have had a very good game, but small forwards have to kick goals, Kemp and Newman battled, Cottrell contributed, while I thought Carroll and Cerra struggled a bit. Our run and teaming was excellent and our ability to keep or shape and not all get drawn into the contest, particularly in the forward half, was pleasing. If we turn up to play we are a pretty good side. We just need a bit of a good run with injuries. The problem for the Carlton players is that we now know they can do it. We now know that they can face adversity and succeed. Now they have to do it all the time. We have to get tougher in our heads and take the opportunities we get instead of squandering our chances in front of goal like we did again today, and we have got to stop kicking the ball to players like Toby Green in our backline. We are going to have to work really hard to not make finals this year.
And after watching cameron address his team pre game, it was anything but inspiring
Glad I wasn't the only one disappointed with the commentary.
Re Preuss being to big and strong, I don’t see how Mirkov will combat that…?
Chris Johnson’s special comments were the worst most biased I’ve ever heard. He bitched and moaned every time we got a free, complained when we got a 50 yet didn’t say a word when GWS received the same then when the giants got to within 17 points again in the last quarter got that excited he could hardly contain himself.
Did Voss sack him when he was coach at Lions or something?
Then when Taylor asked if Durdin was doing these things when he was at North 🙄I thanked god Huddo and Jude Bolton where there.
Almost unlistenable at stages
BT was actively barracking against us as was whoever the other windbag was in the box. The ‘not much there’ comments on frees we got were visibly just not true and constant. The non commentary on free kicks we should have got and didn’t, was glaring as well. Don’t know if they were prepared for an against all odds win for GWS and couldn’t veer from that, I don’t know 🤷🏻♀️ really disappointing for all Carlton fans watching I’m sure.
Right? Oh so it was Chris Johnson, I was screaming at the TV, ruined what was a great win for us.
Mirkov is a big unit himself and while inexperienced would made Pruess work a bit harder to match those extra cms and that
might help TDK both having a rest and wearing Pruess down a bit.
Didnt really like seeing Cripps rucking even though he was very competitive vs the GWS second stringers and Mirkov could have
taken that load off Cripps, Jack etc.
I think we are putting a fair load of work on TDK too and given our luck with injury I hope we are not working him too hard when we have a ruckman all be it inexperienced in the reserves who could alleviate that.
Hickey for the Swans will be another workout for TDK and I hope I dont see TDK and Cripps doing all the work again especially with Jack filling in for Harry down forward and probably not rucking as much.
Commentary was crap but you get used to bias, listening to that clown Luke Darcy so anything is better than him.
BT was so disappointed we had the game won in the last quarter and that we were secure in 4th spot...wrecked Leons day and spoilt their programming maybe. The Durdin comment was funny..mixing up Sam ex of Nth with Cory...BT needs to give it away...
I walked past him at the G, and a big unit isn't what I thought of when I saw Mirkov.
I'm 184cm and around 80kg....Mirkov is 210cm and 104kg, from where I'm looking up thats a decent size human.
They never look as bulky as you think, but what is there is all muscle.
I remember meeting Bogut at The G while he was still playing, he was tall but looked far leaner than he seemed on TV. Since then over the last few years I've seen him a couple of times since he pulled the pin on playing, he looks more heavily built now but he wouldn't be as fit or strong, but now he looks like people imagine from the TV.
Big Braydon still has 10kg on him. Would have ragdolled him more than Tom.
Mirkov needs one more pre season - Preuss is a 115kg 207cm monster
TDK is 22 and needs another 2-3 years to mature and fill out
Pruess would ragdoll most ruckman in terms of weight. I'm thinking more about preserving Tom......dont expect to win the ruck but dont want to see TDK worn down either given his injury history. Also not a fan of Cripps rucking....
I think a few of us are of the opinion that Mirkov is not strong enough and given his inexperience is unlikely to be able to exert and influence, let alone be competitive.
If TDK goes down, we WILL have no other choice than to ruck him, but until then we need him to keep plugging away and learning in the twos.
Interested to see what we do in the ruck next week. Particularly given our travel and 5 day break.
Hope Williams is ok🤞🏼and Young is fresh after iso.
If Young is back the thing is life gets a bit easier for TDK, because Young, Cripps and SoJ can take around the ground stoppages. If you can cut back the deep repeat running TDK has to do he'll stay fresh longer, as he gets a chance to recuperate.
Plus each week TDK gets through this stuff uninjured the bigger his tank gets.
But it'll be tough, this week we got a bit of advantage from surprise about how we would structure up, next week that advantage is gone. Also next weekend the Swans are seriously heavy lifting opposition in the midfield.
Not sure about the thoughts of others fans, but I was a bit surprised Greene wasn't given more of a midfield run today, I presume he's carrying an injury of sorts because nothing else really explains it.
I’m thrilled that we were able to win under real duress. Voss has talked about adding layers from day one. We’ve added layers allowing us to:
Stop the big runs resulting in getting rolled
Fill gaps left by many crucial injuries
Vary tempo in key moments
Hold on till the end
Win games with varied challenges
Win more than we lose
And that’s after only about 6 months of an entirely new coaching crew and game plan. On top of that Vossy’s public commentary is so superior to his predecessors in DT, BB, & MM.
There’s clearly much more to unfold. Can’t help but feel optimistic and a little in awe of the Voss Way
Go Blues
Nice to be in the 10 Best Moments twice.
Docherty’s long range goal
TDK’s speccy
Way better than featuring our players colliding into each other to stuff up a goal😳 Or kicking at the opposition’s goals😳
Nah - just par for the course with the blokey nickname crew
Useful debut by Motlop but I hoped he might have had more quickness to offer.
Still heavily dependent on scoring from dynamic centre clearances but we have progressively developed a slower ball movement capability that enables the team to conserve energy and pace itself better. Hopefully that will reduce the likelihood of second half fade outs
Looked calm in traffic though, and appears to see the game unfold pretty well, wasn't afraid to sell some candy, found time and space.
Only concern I had was he could be seen hanging back not chasing a couple of times when the ball got turned over. They need to work on that early so it doesn't become a habit, on one occasion I saw either Durdin or Fisher run right past him to pressure an opponent. That should have triggered Motlop to react but he just kept jogging.
Just a kid though, so he needs time to grow the good habits.
im 178 and 100kg. He looked skinny as Robert Warnock.
Intensity/work-rate. Discipline. No passengers.
Bravo all players. Bravo Vossy and your coaching group.
Looks to have awareness but lacks a yard and needs some running/conditioning work..
Might be a bit like a Cyril, though - doesn't need to touch it much, but lots of X factor and tackling intensity.
Agreed, it seems to stand out.
Maybe, but I think Rioli created his own luck by being one of the hardest workers in the team, he'd chase and harass opposition all day long, much like Betts and it may be that Betts was even better at it without getting the same degree of media qudos as Rioli.
We are only just starting to see this behaviour from our small forwards, Durdin, Owies, Fisher, etc., etc., it has started to click, let's hope it clicks for Motlop as well!
Motlop was ok. I saw him make 3 efforts in a row to apply pressure and tackle with 0 reward. If he keeps that up he'll be fine.
First game out, I thought he was OK.
I heard your 80kg was all muscle too! Lol.
Johnson’s comments really gave me the irits. At one stage a GWS player gave away a clear free kick that eventually led to a Blues goal. He complained on the basis that the offence did not really affect the flow of play at the time and should have been let go! Geez, let’s just throw out the rule book! At least another of the commentary team took him to task on it.
They aren't surgeons, they do not see the consequences of their rather arbitrary outlook towards decision making.
I think most people aren't so fussed about umpires getting it wrong, but they are extremely offended if the wrong seems unidirectional. What we want is the same treatment all around and then we just wear the errors.
Perhaps the Ch.7 commentators should be seen and not heard!
I'm also a bit over the unprofessional aspect to commentators barracking for one team or the other, they may claim to be bipartisan but the truth is exposed in the timbre of their voice.
The constant reference to GWS coming from 27 points down annoyed me - GWS hadn't been in their attacking half for the first 15 mins, of course they were going to settle and make a game of it.
Different year, different team - once we got to 3 goals in front in the last quarter, I was more relaxed. There was some great defence - really scrapped it out from a constant barrage, although some of it was heart in mouth.
There was a nice gesture from Lachy Whitfield, giving Williams a supportive pat when he was being carried off.
Plenty of players had really good moments during the game. A few have mentioned Motlop - pretty composed and comfortable. Looked like he ran out of puff a bit earlier than the others, or didn't quite understand the constant effort required in AFL. Happy with him in the #3. Charlie worked his butt off.
I think someone mentioned they couldn't find room for Cripps in the votes. It's not like he had a bad game - what a wonderful problem to have!
Go Blues (although not confident about this week).
EB...your earlier comment about "best avoid" being Coniglio. I reckon Dylan Shiel is the best avoid we've had.....soft, pack skirter and a front runner....and rightfully copping lots of flak about it.
I think GWS are just about ready to self implode. They looked like cooked chooks although talent got them level at half time they just had no spark which was strange given the occasion. Always looked to me to be a side of talented individuals but not a team sacrifice outfit. Reckon there will be a fire sale at years end with blokes like Whitfield Kelly Green Coniglio wanting out as they know a rebuild coming. Even Greene looked to be going through the motions something I hadn’t seen before from such a fierce competitor
I think that was when we received a 50m penalty for a protected area infringement that resulted in a goal.
Chris didn't express himself clearly - he's relatively new to the "art" of footy commentating - but I think that what he was trying to say makes sense. The GWS player's transgression would not have affected Kennedy's kick and 50m is a harsh penalty under those circumstances. Having a little leeway when adjudicating protected area and "stand" decisions would be better for the game ... but the rules/interpretation don't allow for that. And that's what Chris neglected to say.
I have been impressed by Chris's work on radio. His opinions are balanced and he has a wealth of footy knowledge. Hopefully, he'll learn more from his ABC colleagues than from the buffoons on Ch 7.
I generally let the commentary from the likes of BT wash over me, particularly when we're in front and the commentary is aimed at maintaining the viewing audience rather than describing the action. It must be infuriating for folk with impaired vision.
I agree!
I didn't think Deadly was ready, but he proved me wrong ... again!
He showed a fair bit of toe in taking on opponents and running them down and he doesn't lack confidence or footy skills!
How good was Silvagni to gift him his first goal? That's what makes Jack such a great team member.
Just heard Williams injury is not Achilles but a calf tear.
Should return in second half of season before finals.
They said similar after the game.
That can be a sign of an achillies issue though.
Its kinda like a 'back related hamstring'. Hamstring feels sore, but its the back that is causing it.
There was another very good example of that in our game, one of the GWS players went down holding his left hammy after he got a knee in the back from Doc during a marking attempt. That will be a nerve related back/hammy issue.
There goes the old sciatica again, just from talking about it! :o
Yeah I've heard similar, calf tear and no tendon surgery required, let's hope it is true.
Williams has his detractors, but I think he has been good this season, especially if he gets judged relative to peers rather than expectations.
He's quick, tough and uses it well generally (I think he is still one of the best kicks of the footy in our team) and before we get the detractors shouting blue murder, if the others bit off what he did more regularly they too would look crap.
Great. Better news indeed.
True
@WASurfer ... doesn't really look to be even trying.
Zac W high grade calf strain just confirmed. Set to miss 10 - 12 weeks. Not great but not as bad as first feared.
Might as well be the year. :(
Yes, it could have been much worse!
Is that the calf that was kicked in the previous game?
He could be having a run in the reserves in early August and be cherry ripe for a finals campaign :)
Feel for Zac but we were playing one too many half back flankers anyway.
Cogs was soft at the ball and when he did get it stuffed up disposing of it most times....1.2 mill a year for that rubbish.
Agree Shiel has been woeful too but I probably only had an average rating on him from day 1 as his kicking is ordinary even when he is playing better. I have seen Coniglio play well leading up to his contract signing and he is capable but since getting the money has lost interest in the effort part of the game and being a leader at that club.
You can add Whitfield to that group too, he looks ready to do a Brad Hill and look for some big money minus the effort also.
Stkilda would be a good new home for him to laze away his days....
Williams, Martin and McGovern only average 2/3 of a season in games so its no real surprise, seems a nice bloke does Zac but been disappointing like the other two and like you say probably that extra half back too many since his failed attempt as a midfielder..
Shiel has been played out of position at Essendon.
True..they were looking for a contested marquee mid to lead their midfield and for me Shiel is more a winger in the Andrew Gaff mode who you play through rather than expecting him to win a lot of contested ball and give you second efforts. His goal kicking has also been Rat Shizen , Rutten looked very sullen when asked about Shiels form, reckon he might be kicking the dew off the grass in the VFL this weekend.
Corey Durdin gets the NAB Rising Star Nomination!!
He was really good...and dangerous.
Also seemed to cover a lot of ground and was often helping out well away from our goals.
Just watched the replay. A few observations:
Our backline were great given the outs
Our mids eased the workload for our backs
Our mids are building reliable synergy AND are defending
LoB is getting the hang of using his weapon
TDK’s effort is strong but he needs help
Our small forwards are intense and are defending far and wide
It’s rare that a player ‘looks lost’
SOS is the shadow leader
Doc is a special human and athlete
Great game to watch. I’m finally ‘ditching the dread’ You know. The feeling that the opposition is about to roll us
One thing I have been meaning to mention was how good Brodie Kemp was.
His form in the VFL hasn't been all that great and he was brought in to play a key defender role against taller and more experienced oppponents. Like Plowman, he gave it his all and neutralised his opponents as well as keeping them accountable with his run and positioning when we had the ball.
Good signs for the future!
DJC....reckon he looked lost early in the game but definitely got better. For now he's probably our only option as a 3rd tall with Parks also sidelined. Reckon he holds his spot this week regardless of whether Young comes back in...might even be thrown forward as a taller option down there at times during the game.
Kemp has more future than Parks..I'd be sending the latter on his way at seasons end.
Tend to agree EB....liked him when he first came in...had a bit of mongrel about him but he's not the most skilful bloke. Kemp probably struggling a bit with having to find a role at the moment. Sounds like in the VFL he's getting bounced around a bit. From memory he was recruited more as a tall midfielder with a good bit of speed.
Think, from memory, Kemp played as a forward in the pre-season practice match against St Kilda and was OK. Think he kicked a goal as well, so that idea has some merit.
Yes, Kemp in the second half was a different player and had the confidence to back his judgement.
I’d like to see him keep his spot. With Young and Stocker back in the 22, Kemp may find himself playing as a key forward 🤔
Parks reached his potential from day 1....and has very little scope for improvement.
Kemp is nowhere near his peak yet, plenty of room for growth. Whether he gets there is anybodys guess....but definitely need to explore that.
FWIW, i was not overly impressed with his efforts last week. He spoiled his own teammates at least a couple of times resulting in goals. That stuff should come with experience and playing more with his the same players in the backline.
I watched Kemp in a couple of practice matches up forward - seemed to know what he was doing, especially on the lead. Also seemed like a solid kick for goal.
This might be useful, since we have only one big marking target for the moment, and we need to draw defenders away to give him as many 1 on 1s as possible.
I agree with all that, Kemp looked a bit disorganized and nervous but as you say needs more games and a bit of direction on the ground to learn how the backline is operating. Not knowing which position you fit in on the field doesnt help either, he has the talent to play a few roles but I dont think anyone knows where his best position is at this stage and you probably tend to try too hard to establish yourself when you get your chance to find a spot in what is a fairly settled team these days.