Carlton Supporters Club

Maybe Jack can play and relieve Cripps so he can rest up a bit before we stuff him completely...I wouldnt play Jack and Cripps together in the middle as we would be very slow but introduce Jack slowly
and see how he goes. I'm not convinced he is a midfielder but given our circumstances happy to trial him over 4- 5 games  and see how he goes.

What's last week and Clayton Oliver got to do with Dangherfield, Selwood, Ablett and Blcsav?

The point is you don't hear Dees fans saying Oliver gets monstered and kept out of the guts.

And Selwood and Ablett are midgets next to Jack.

Both around 184cm, 84 kg.

Danger 189cm, 91kg. The tall fella - he's an aberration.

Tim Kelly - 183cm, 82kg.

Murdoch? 190cm, 87kg.

Your point?

The point is you don't hear Dees fans saying Oliver gets monstered and kept out of the guts.

And Selwood and Ablett are midgets next to Jack.

Both around 184cm, 84 kg.

Danger 189cm, 91kg. The tall fella - he's an aberration.

Tim Kelly - 183cm, 82kg.

Murdoch? 190cm, 87kg.

Your point?

Well perhaps it's time to give Jack a go in the guts....

SoJ gets an A for effort but you have to be realistic and he is a dead-set beginner that you now want to go head to head with the best of the best in the land!

It's his third season, we need to ditch the mindset that players are babies until their mid 20's.
He'll learn more in one game playing against the Geelong midfield than he will in an entire season in the VFL.

Jack is 1000 miles away from being a big bodied midfielder, or a midfielder at all for that matter. He'd be on a hiding to nothing. Give him time to develop those skills if that's the direction we want him to go. Throw Kerridge and or Graham in the middle for the time being as a temporary and let Jack learn his craft. He'd get smashed this week, we'd all call it and him a failure and we'd be back to square one. We are not in any great hurry in 2018, so let's employ some 'strategic development' that has an eye on 2019 / 2020.

I'd assert that as a mid he's more likely to have game or season ending collision with Cripps than learn much at all!

I'm happy to be proven wrong, but I'm also keen to be realistic.

If we want a big body with some midfield experience in the center, get captain chaos Liam Jones out of defense and have him do a midfield rotation against Blicavs. At least that'll give Cripps a chop out and Selwood and others will be wary of his physical presence! They won't just be able to spend the day having Blicavs slam Cripps and run off him at every opportunity!

Silvagni’s name was pushed into the spotlight when he kicked six goals for Vic Metro against Western Australia in the under 18 championships this year. Silvagni converted his shots well inside 50 due to his great set shot technique, kicking 6.1 on the day, helping Vic Metro to a comfortable 74-point win.

Silvagni is considered a utility with his ability to play at both ends of the ground. He reads the play well, giving him the ability to position himself better when playing in defence, a role he has played on occasions this year. He also marks the ball well overhead, averaging 4.2 marks at the TAC Cup and 3.4 marks at the under 18 championships. At his school Xavier College, Silvagni has also played on-ball, showing his versatility to move around the ground in multiple positions.

The Geelong midfield was poor on the weekend...I doubt they'll be poor again...and that doesn't bode well for us.

If we stick him in the middle and he gets made to look average I don't want to hear folks saying it was a dumb idea....and giving up on it.

Jack as a midfielder is an experiment in it's infancy.
I'd rather see it worked out in the VFL or selected games at senior level over the next twelve months.
The Geelong midfield was poor on the weekend...I doubt they'll be poor again...and that doesn't bode well for us.

If we do try it...do it in short bursts and rather than replacing Cripps at those times keep Cripps in there for a bit of guidance and direction.