Set for this Sunday at 13:05 at Coburg.
We'll probably have our Emergencies available, considering that the seniors play on Saturday night.
Flynn Riley will probably not be playing, as he has a high chance of being selected by someone else in the MSD. At this point we have no selections in the MSD, as it looks like we expect Harry O'Farrell to play later in the season.
What we do about Elijah Hollands hangs over that as well.
We are presently 2nd on the ladder, playing 13th. However, Coburg defeated us last year at Coburg.
HOF playing later this season is great for us and the kid.
I'd prefer a MSD selection and save HOF for next season..
Players need the carrot to work toward, no goal, no drive.
Our lineup for this week:
B: M. Duffy (41), L. Young (33), D. Harvey (61)
HB: H. Charleson (28), J. Boyd (37), L. Prout (74)
C: D. Hogg (70), M. Cottrell (46), B. Acres (13)
HF: L. Fogarty (8), O. Warburton (62), C. Vickery (59)
F: A. Moir (43), H. O'Keeffe (40), J. Sammartino (58)
R: L. Reidy (25), C. Chesser (31), B. Camporeale (16)
INT: T. Howard (80), J. Magor (52), W. Cookson (77), C. Walker (76), L. Farrar (75)
23rd Player: C. Walker (76)
EMG: A. Stevens (64), T. Logan (68), O. Badr (53), A. Davey (57), T. Evans (67), R. Corrigan (63), F. Riley (56), J. Rule (65)
IN: W. Cookson, L. Farrar, D. Harvey, T. Howard, J. Magor
OUT: T. Byrne (AFL), W. Derksen (AFL), C. Lord (concussion), W. Reinhold (injured), O. Badr (omitted)
NEW: Tom Howard, 22, 182cm, St Pauls McKinnon
Potential new player: Tom Howard
Howard played a few games for Sandringham Dragons back in 2023 and wasn't one of those who made the headlines. Seems to be a mainstay for his local club.
[1] Only 13 listed players named this week, the lowest we've had all season. Still, looks a reasonable team on paper.
[2] It seems reasonable that our senior Emergencies will play on Sunday, but we have clearly prepared for that not to happen. We have named Flynn Riley, for example, as an Emergency.
[3] Adam Saad clearly did not come up. A pity, as his leadership would be more than useful for the VFL guys.
[4] Heath Ramshaw and Joel Trudgeon playing for Coburg. Both have been in good form. Wish them well on any other day, but not Sunday.
[5] Interesting to see how we use Walker for the rest of the year. Supposed a 23rd player can only play 4 games.
Forecast suggests rain. :(
Only 11 AFL Blues out there today, by far the least we've had for the year.
Blake Acres not out there. :( Must be being held over for Friday night.
Coburg have the fast start. Leading in the first quarter. :(
Coburg dominating.
Coburg lead 54 to 23 at half time - Blues uncompetitive
Charleson and CampoB leading possession winners for Blues but neither very effective.
8 marks to Lewis Young but I would be surprised if any were contested - mostly uncontested marks from teammates.
Reidy very unimpressive - more interested in wrestling with and pushing his opponent rather than doing anything useful and he seems to have no idea about how to contest in the centre ball-ups - HOK hasn't done much but at least he can win ruck contests at the centre ball-up.
Towering mark and goal to Moir in the first quarter but mostly unsighted.
If Moir and Ison are both vying for the one place..... it's no contest. Moir will be in the twos for a while, his work rate is a mile behind Ison.
If anyone watched this game can they pass on why Acres didn't play?
I guess we had to have a down game at some point, but this was a shocker. Far too many Coburg players got far too much of the ball.
Statistically:
[1] The Good:
Ben Camporeale: 29 disposals, 7 clearances, 4 tackles and goal.
Harry Charleson: 29 disposals, 9 marks, 0 tackles.
That was the good.
[2] The bad:
Joel Trudgeon: 28 possessions, 7 clearances and 2 goals
Heath Ramshaw: 27 possessions.
That we allow 2 ex-players to dominate was bad, but they were just the tip of the iceberg. Coburg had 6 of the 8 top possession getters on the ground.
[3] Leadership:
Leadership looked to be lacking today. Missing the effect of having senior players available? Possible, There were any Saads or Acres or Isons today, which was probably telling. Chesser, Cottrell and Boyd were not as prominent as we need them to be.
To be honest, Ben Campo is probably our only clearance getting mid, which is something. Is it why Reidy thinks he has to do it all himself?
[4] Ruck:
It isn't that the Coburg boy dominated, but he made Reidy inoffensive. O'Keefe was probably a better option today.
Reidy: 10 possessions, 14 taps, 3 clearances
O'Keefe: 7 possessions, 19 taps, 5 tackles, 3 marks
compared to:
Keogh: 11 possessions, 16 taps, 6 clearances, 4 tackles
[5] Forward targets:
We had Moir, but that was about it. When we don't dominate in the middle, our structural issues become more apparent. And Moir has to up his workrate. God knows he can make a difference when he gets the ball. But he doesn't get the ball enough. Simple as that. We had Warburton at CHF, which shows how devoid of options we were.
Final score Coburg 110 Carlton 74
Just a guess but perhaps he is being saved for the Friday night game in light of Carroll's injury.
The most probable reason. Hopefully, he doesn't see his form decay by not playing, as Flynn Young appears to have.
Moir will be put on the trade table at seasons end.
He has the ability but not the grey matter and clearly doesn't want to work hard enough.
Hmm, id be a bit wary with writing off Moir too soon. We put him on ball on the weekend when we were struggling and his creativity out of the middle was good.
To be honest, our kids need more time and investment. May as well cut from the top than the bottom, depends on what our draft hand looks like.
I think those requesting wholesale changes this season will be bitterly dissapointed, the timing is wrong for it.
You don't trade Moir types.
You won't get much for him, but if he puts it all together, he can make you look silly for a decade afterwards.
Best we keep him. He'll kick you a goal a game relatively easily, which should not be overlooked, even if his potential is to get you 2 goals a game.
He's contracted until the end of next year.
I reckon we'll have a fair idea if "That's as good as it gets" by then.
Was Acres the travelling emergency?
The commentators were saying that Cody Walker was now on our VFL list and would now be playing in most games. Is that correct?
There's an AI entry that says he was added to the VFL list in late April 2026. That's all I can find. My faith in AI is tepid at best, so I would take that with a low level of confidence for now.
He's not showing on the picture profile of the VFL list on the CFC website.
Can confirm he played on the weekend.
14 disposals, 9 kicks, 5 handballs, 5 marks, and 2 tackles.
When we say his name, you can bet the farm on him playing round 1 next season unless some unforseen circumstances play out.
I have less faith in the CFC website than I do in AI ::)
He's played....3-4 games now i think.
There was also talk a couple weeks ago that said they will let him go back and play some school and/or U18's games so he can play with some mates, as it'll likely be the last time he gets to do that again.