Carlton Supporters Club

x2...

I'm back home and my feet are slowly thawing out.  It was a very pleasant day watching the footy with Baggers and there was lots to like about the way the NBs went about the game.  It was like watching the firsts but with less talent and polish.

It was great to see lots of senior players, coaches and list manager there and great to see the coaches taking the opportunity to continue the footy education of blokes like Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow.  Our club is really heading in the right direction.

Unfortunately for those who want to see SOJ and Jaksch in the firsts, they both seem a fair way off to me. 

SOJ really made an impression in the second half after barely getting a touch in the first.  However, he plays in bursts and has to spend a fair bit of time on the bench.  SOJ moves like SOS and that could give the impression that he is out of gas but I think he needs to build his tank.

Jaksch had a good second half and played in defence in the last quarter when the Hawks got a bit of a run on.  He took some nice marks but struggles when the ball hits the ground.  I'm not sure that he can do much about his lack of flexibility (as pointed out by RiverRat) but he really needs to put in four quarters.

Phillips was my BoG.  He won virtually every hitout except those Wood got (and Buckley got one too), marked around the ground, used the ball well and was a forward target when Jaksch was off.

Gowers was a little quieter in the second half but still had a very good game.  He marked well, backed his judgement, won the ball and used it well.  Glass-McCasker was quieter in the second half too.  He seemed to injure his knee but played out the game after a couple of goes at strapping it.  Sheehan was pretty good and seems to be getting back into form.  Foster did some good things but needs to do more as does Viojo-Rainbow.

Liam Jones seems to misjudge the flight of the ball and is about half a metre away from the ball when attempting marks.  He still took many very good marks but probably should have had at least 20.  He presented well, crashed packs and kicked a lot straighter in the second half.  I never thought I would say this but Jones is well ahead of Jaksch.

Buckley was serviceable and did some nice things, but not enough for promotion.  Whiley was pretty good and shows leadership.  Smith has great intentions but his execution lets him down and he tends to drop his head rather than backing up.  Dick was OK.  Tutt was quiet in the first half but picked up as the game went on.  While he wasn't outstanding, he did play with more confidence and his decision making was good.

At one stage Baggers and I noticed Clarko standing 10 metres or so from us.  A little later Ian Aitken was standing in front of us.  Clarko had moved on 

Just on Jaksch. He keeps kicking decent goals and then often goes into defence and plays well. We look too much at what players can't do rather than what they can do, and much of what he is doing is obviously very good. He continues to perform, kick goals, so, to me, he comes in.

Jaksch was missing for long periods and Phillips had to go forward to provide a target.

His third quarter was good and he stopped one forward thrust in the last quarter.  He also took a nice mark on the defensive side of the centre square.

Phillips was more effective when he played as a key forward and Jones was far and away the best key forward on the ground.

Some supporters look too much at highlights or goals kicked rather than four quarter efforts.  To me, Jaksch comes in when he puts in quality four quarter efforts.  The same applies to SOJ.

Even so, we get very picky with Jaksch. He's had games of 3,3, 4 and 4, then other games has played good footy in defence. That's more than just highlights. If he's doing that on a regular basis then I'd prefer him in the seniors. I saw the game here against Geelong, where he kicked 3 and took some outstanding contested marks, I couldn't work out why he isn't in the side then. Much prefer him in the side playing as a key forward rather than picking a second ruckman, which tends upset Kreuzer's game

Peter Jackson VFL 2016
Box Hill Hawks   4.2  5.3  7.4  10.7 (67)
Northern Blues   2.2  4.5  10.9  15.13 (103)

GOALS:
Box Hill Hawks: Willsmore 3 Webster 2 Miles 2 Iles  Jones  Brolic
Northern Blues: Silvagni 4 Jaksch 4 Buckley 2 Jones 2 Phillips  Ballard  Kerbatieh

BEST:
Box Hill Hawks: Lovell Iles O'Rourke Willsmore Kidd Brand
Northern Blues: Phillips Jones Whiley Gowers Dick Tutt Baggers (pie eating)

DISPOSALS: T. Jones 31, Whiley 28, Gowers 27, Tutt 27, Dick 24, Wilson 22.

PIES: Baggers

I have high hopes for Jaksch, and I think that the club has too.  Key position players who can play at both ends are worth their weight in gold.  While Jaksch ended up with four goals, they weren't the result of consistent effort.  Jones was a far more threatening and consistent key forward and Jaksch was one of the beneficiaries of Jones' work.  Phillips was also better value when he played as a key forward.

Well done to Jaksch hitting the scoreboard again as lead up forward. Has more to offer than Everitt in the long term due to his flexibility so we need to give him a string of games.

Jones taken maybe 7 or 8 marks.  Has been the hit up lead.

Been a great service Mondy, hope everyone has appreciated it.

Great to catch up with DJC at the footy and not much I could add to his ripper summary. Yes we did well in the food department polishing off 3 pies, a hot dog and sausage!

Totally agree re SOJ and Kaksch and that Jones has past Jaksch,

Yep, Phillips was BOG. And when he rested up forward he took some good grabs. Putting his hand up for a recall.

Billy Gowers continues to improve and in the first half, especially, when the game was tight he owned the backline and was highly effective. Terrific to see his improvement.

Phillips, Gowers and Jones certainly put their cases forward for a promotion.

Great to see Gus improving and getting closer to how we know he can play.

To balance things a little Box Hill sure did make some horrible mistakes and we sure capitalised on them, twice in front of goal. So, so good to see the seconds emulating the seniors in the way they play.

I reckon Clarko bolted when he saw Ian Aitken!!!