Jim Park Voting AFL WC#1 2026 Carlton vs Melbourne

August 28, 2026, 07:21:14 pm

Voting is as usual: you have 15 votes to award pretty much as you will, with the following provisos:
[1] 15 votes in total, no more, no less.
[2] No more than 10 votes for any one player (even Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps)
[3] Three players at least must get a mention.
[4] A grade for the game, A+ (what I want to see) to F-.

Re: Jim Park Voting AFL WC#1 2026 Carlton vs Melbourne

Reply #1 – Today at 01:05:18 am

Not sure 15 votes cuts it again this week, even though it was a lot closer than it could have been.
On the other hand, I'll take it: we have a next week, Melbourne (and Collingwood) do not.

AFL 2026 WC Final #2   Carlton vs Melbourne

Team:      B+
We made so many errors tonight, but still not only found a way to win, but a way to dominate. They kicked only 2 goals after half time.

Votes:
[2]   Sam Walsh
[1.5]   Jagga Smith
[1.5]   Harry Dean
[1.5]   Jacob Weitering
[1.5]   Ben Ainsworth
[1.5]   Marc Pittonet
[1]   Ollie Hollands
[1]   Adam Cerra
[1]   Cooper Lord
[0.5]   Matthew Cottrell
[0.5]   Patrick Cripps
[0.5]   Nick Haynes
[0.5]   Lachie Cowan
[0.5]   Brodie Kemp

Explanations:
[2]   Sam Walsh:      39 possessions when we don’t dominate the ruck says a lot. 6 marks, 7 clearances and 3 tackles, the lad was excellent!
[1.5]   Jagga Smith:      29 possessions, 2 goals and 10 clearances, Jagga was rerally strong all night.
[1.5]   Harry Dean:      20 possessions, 7 marks, 11 intercept possessions and God knows how many spoils, Dean was very impressive tonight.
[1.5]   Jacob Weitering:   And if the kid didn’t get you, the veteran did! 18 possessions and 12 marks.
[1.5]   Ben Ainsworth:   Ben had some quiet patches, but when he needed to stand up, he really did. His 3 goals were important and 21 possessions and 8 marks were excellent.
[1.5]   Marc Pittonet:      Pitto couldn’t say he won, but the way he limited Gawn’s effectiveness says just how important we really was. And then there was his tackling and chasing … 😊
[1]   Ollie Hollands:      Definitely doesn’t want to be dropped, his run , his chasing, his desperation were excellent.
[1]   Adam Cerra:      I thought Cerra wasn’t as good as he has been for much of the game, but when it counted he really was good. 26 possessions from half back wasn’t bad at all!
[1]   Cooper Lord:      Did an excellent job on Pickett and was dangerous going the other way, A strong game.
[0.5]   Matthew Cottrell:   Had he kicked straight, he would have been BOG. He did some great things, his marks, his chases and the goals he made for others were excellent. Hitting the post 3 times, not so good.
[0.5]   Patrick Cripps:      Steele used to have it over Cripps, but not tonight. They didn’t even play on each other that much. Cripps was the Captain: he was tough, he was brave and he took another excellent contested mark for a goal.
[0.5]   Nick Haynes:      When nick Haynes went down, I was worried, but he came back after half time better than ever. 19 possessions and 11 marks in defence was excellent.
[0.5]   Lachie Cowan:   Had the better of his opponent, Fritsch, a guy who usually gives us trouble. Enough said.
[0.5]   Brodie Kemp:      But for his kicking, Kemp had a great night. 10 clutch marks in the forward line.

Honourable Mentions:
George Hewett:   This was George’s quietest game since he returned to the side, and he still had 20 possessions!
Ollie Florent:      I thought Florent was much quieter than he has been, then I find out he still had 20+ possessions, 7 marks and 2 tackles!
Harry McKay:      Not a huge game from H, but he took contested marks and he kicked 2 goals (it should have been at least 3).
Frankie Evans:   I thought Frankie was well down, fumbling, dropping marks and not kicking as well as he usually does, but he had 8 tackles and worked his backside off. With more votes, he’d have pushed for one.
Blake Acres:      I could write the same for Acres as I did for Florent: he was not as impressive as he has been. But that didn’t mean he was bad at all. And if he managed to kick some goals instead of 3 points, he would have managed a vote.