We play this saturday evening at Port Melbourne, as they show off their new lights.
A pity, I've always considered the place a dump.
To be honest, I don't think a night game suits us much, as Mirkov has played his least effective games at night.
However, we do get a few players back. It will be good to have Ed Curnow, for example, running around.
I have no idea what the squad will look like, not with the seniors playing in Perth on Sunday. Just as long as it is a combination good enough to bring home the points.
I have no idea what the squad will look like
Short.....mirkov aside.
Something of a rabble in the 1st. Lack of height really hurting us. Liking Edwardo Curnow. Magoo Blues down by 18 pts at qtr time. Uninspiring stuff. No Crocker up forward.
Half time, Magoo Blues down by 26. Respectable efforts in that qtr from E Curnow, Fogarty, Stocker, Mirkov and Dow... nothing to write home about. Undermanned and undersized... our bigger fellas in the shapes of Cripps and JGM have been without impact. Tall Durds doing alright. Uninspiring.
3/4 time. Magoo Blues 34 pts down despite looking better and working much harder in that qtr.
Undersized forward line so we kick it in high giving their defense countless marks and spoils.
Don't know who Stocker has p1ssed off but he has been a ripper... again!
Fogarty probably our best... well supported by Cahill (3 goals). Mirkov doing alright and Tall Durds solid.
Wanted to put my fist through the computer screen a few times to knock some sense into Dow. Has done some very good things, kicked a goal but some of his disposal has undone good work... just sh1te, even gave it back to them when we had the run of play.
Fogarty's disposal is horrendous, Stocker had plenty of ball but looks laconic and isnt really going hard at all. Id put him in the middle this last quarter. Tyreece Lieu shows something down back as does the ex Essendon small in Ned Cahill down the forward line but apart from that its slim pickings in terms of good Carlton players imo.
Sam Durdin marks the ball ok but his disposal is laconic and at high risk of turnover when he kicks short, got to get those high dinky short passes out of his game to play senior AFL footy.
Mirkovs ruckwork isnt too bad but he doesnt much else, Paddy Dow is being tagged but still getting some ball but just doesnt impact with his disposals and its still U18 footy in terms of how he plays the game which is disappointing.
The Manton kids are going ok for Port and Archie has good hands, the bloke at Fullback for Port in Ethan Philips looks a very neat
accomplished player and has marked everything very cleanly on a misty dewy night and he looks not far off a rookie spot for a club wanting a taller defender.
Mirkovs ruckwork isnt too bad but he doesnt much else, Paddy Dow is being tagged but still getting some ball but just doesnt impact with his disposals and its still U18 footy in terms of how he plays the game which is disappointing.
Yes Mirkov is miles off, also he looks to be carrying an injury now because his mobility which was a feature earlier in the season has now dropped right off.
Despite the score line, we are pretty disjointed which isn't a surprise given how many players are being rotated through the squad, I thought Dow was better tonight around the footy, A bit more physical and less receive, he's got Ed out there to keep him honest. Not surprising the 35 year old looks the best of the lot, I'm a bit surprised we didn't bring Ed straight in as I think he is the sort of fix we need for a few of the current problems!
Everyone lifted in the final qtr... the comeback was on, until we started giving away silly free kicks, mostly through over-exuberance.
Got the margin under 4 goals. Credit given where due, Dow has worked his dot off in the final qtr.
Since we've lowered our eyes going forward, we've given our forwards a much better look.
Probably too late, but at around the 27 min mark of the final qtr we've pulled the margin back to 7pts.
2 pts in it with seconds remaining... ruckwork from Mirkov has been sublime in this final qtr... put it down the throats of our blokes many times. Just has to do more around the ground...
Went down by 3 pts. Entertaining final qtr.
Little kid Sanders kicked some nice goals and Dow, Fogarty and Stocker lifted in the last quarter but I didnt take much out of the game in terms of senior potential from many of our listed players.
Without Crocker up forward we looked a bit rudderless and it probably messed with our system....as I said before there is progress with Mirkovs tap ruckwork but his lack of around the ground game is holding him back but you can see the potential for the future.
Hope we draft tall forwards.
I haven't looked at the game yet, but I will, with interest, even though we lost.
[1] We may have lost the game, but we lost little else. We have so many injuries, and, while a couple of guys returned for this game, the list is remarkably short of matchwinners.
(a) Of the 4 named emergencies, only Sam Durdin played. That means we missed contributions and goals from Honey, Setterfield and Hayes, who are all real contributors at VFL level. That is probably 70 possessions and 3 goals we missed, just with these 3.
(b) Crocker has been the focus of our forward line all year, and he didn't play. That is probably 3 goals there we missed, and a lot of shots on goal.
(c) We have had very little from Josh Cripps, who has gone backwards in recent weeks.
(d) Brodie Kemp, who has been the senior fullback these couple of weeks and done reasonably, wasn't there either. Just another one of our huge injury list.
(e) We scored 6 of the last 7 goals with half a side.
(f) Durdin, Fogarty and Curnow were coming off extended absences.
[2] Dow might not have done much early in the game, I gather he was tagged, but he really lifted. He had 12 clearances from 24 possessions. He had only 4 tackles, but we know he has areas of his game that need work. 12 clearances is pretty damned good; we rave about Cripps when he gets 7 - 9 clearances.
[3] Fogarty wants more senior footy. When he has been fit, he has been a great contributor. It is a pity that he does so poorly at the job we want of him, small forward. 29 possessions and 6 tackles must put his name forward.
[4] Stocker had a great game, with 30 possessions from defence. Not many of those were from kick-ins; he earnt them.
[5] After a couple of down weeks, Mirkov stepped up, especially in the last quarter. he had 43 taps and 6 clearances himself. It has been said that he is carrying a niggle; that is quite possible. But when things were dire, he really stood up. I am glad, because he was really struggling.
[6] Carroll disappointed this week. He seems to just draft out of the game at times. He has the guts, but he really needs to consistency.
[7] Jesse Glass-McCasker is really disappointing me. I expected more from him, I guess. But I don't think he has had 10 possessions in a game this year. He does take some reasonable marks, sometimes, but he really doesn't take a lot of contested or pack marks.
With Josh Cripps giving about the same each week (less than 10 possessions and not a lot in the ruck), it does make our forward line a lot less possessing than it could be.
[8] Dom Akeui is a long way off it at the moment. he has the athleticism that could get him somewhere, but it still looks a long way off.
Crash....with Pittonet still a week or two away, do we take a punt on Mirkov and throw him into the seniors....maybe against the Giants?
Crash....with Pittonet still a week or two away, do we take a punt on Mirkov and throw him into the seniors....maybe against the Giants?
His opponent Paul Hunter has played senior AFL footy at two clubs so Mirkov's ruckwork would stand up at senior level Imho...its just the rest of his game would make him more of a 5-10min a quarter player only and we probably cant afford to drop any games given how tight the top eight is. I'd still be trying for top 4 and would want my best team on the park each week.
I have a theory regarding Paddy Dow......while there are others ahead at the moment and he's playing such good footy in the twos, he is now starting to get tagged every week and learning how to break that tag, which he seems to be succeeding at. He's learning a whole new skill set that will no doubt help him when he gets his next chance (hopefully) with us!!