Carlton Supporters Club

I'm relaxed!

Kennedy - to suggest Graham is a better player is pure stupidity.

I would imagine he's been copping flak from ALL quarters re his Folau guffaw....his head would be a mess (and why he's not playing 1s). Cut him some slack.

Stocker - 19yo in his second outing with the big boys....again, slack needed!

You clearly don't have an ex wife like mine Thry! 

Thanks for your insight RR much appreciated, what did you think of Frank Anderson? is he in contention along with  Sam Fisher maybe Jessie Palmer for the final place on the list?

He has gotten more right than wrong at this level over the years too.  I can't think of a player he has labelled as not doing that well that actually bucked the trend, and from memory was a bit of a fan of Kane Lambert when he was playing with Northern.

7. Matthew Kennedy
Stats: 24 disposals, 13 clearances, four tackles
Disposals: Matty started the game slowly, but to his credit he worked his way into it and had a big impact around stoppages. He continued to play to his strengths and gave us good opportunities with clearance work. He ended up being a solid contributor on the day.

13. Liam Stocker
Stats: 20 disposals, nine rebound 50s
From the coach: We’re seeing growth each week from Stock. He’s learning how to position himself as a defender and learning to play on different types of players. He’s got no issue finding the ball and setting us up: he’s showing exciting signs with his development.

16. Darcy Lang
Stats: Eight disposals, three marks
From the coach: Darcy was in and out of the game: we have to remember he’s still building his minutes. He played more time up forward and on the wing, and he showed glimpses of what he’s capable of: he’ll become more consistent with more footy.

21. Jarrod Garlett
Stats: Seven disposals, three clearances
From the coach: He had moments which were important in our front half which came on the back of his pressure. He was unselfish to set up Matt Owies for our first goal, so there was a team element to what he was doing. It’s about consistency with Jarrod: the small forward role can be difficult but we need him to continue applying pressure as we saw in stages on the weekend.

26. Harrison Macreadie
Stats: 17 disposals, six marks, four rebound 50s
From the coach: I was really impressed with his return to playing football. The preparation both he and the high performance staff have put in is a credit to them, he was able to perform as soon as he came back in. He played on Goldsack and Reid so he had a few different looks there. I was really impressed with his intercept marking in the air and he made good decisions.

27. Matthew Lobbe
Stats: 6 disposals, 23 hitouts, One goal
From the coach: Similar to Andrew Phillips, Matty was a little slow to get going but his leading patterns as a forward were encouraging. Once he found his rhythm in the ruck, he gave our mids a good look at stoppages. We can’t underestimate his role through the leadership he has amongst the group.

31. Tom Williamson
Stats: 15 disposals, seven handball receives, five rebound 50s
From the coach: Similar to Macreadie, ‘Willo’ has done a power of work to get back — from the outset, we were able to see how sharp and clean he was. He’s a genuine competitor and puts himself in the contest. You can see his talent and we’re really excited about him, I was rapt to see him get through.

32. Alex Fasolo
Stats: Nine disposals, One goal, Two goal assists
From the coach: He was really clever in front half. Not getting massive reward through numbers but he’s giving opposition headaches and set up a number of opportunities, applied good pressure. All about consistency, really pleased with what he’s been able to do from a performance and leadership/culture element

34. Andrew Phillips
Stats: 11 disposals, four marks (three contested), 30 hitouts
From the coach: I thought Flip’s first half was a little slow, he took a while to get back into it and find his rhythm. Once he did, he grew in confidence and took some big marks and gave our midfielders first use. He turned into an important contributor on the day for us.

36. Patrick Kerr
Stats: 13 disposals, seven marks, four inside 50s, 3.2
From the coach: I liked his game. He presented at the ball all day, showed clean hands and he had a presence in front half, both in the air and through his willingness to work. He ended up with five scoring shots while setting up a couple, and ended up kicking the last goal to give us the lead. I thought his game was really solid.

37. Ben Silvagni
Stats: 13 disposals, four marks, three rebound 50s
From the coach: Benny keeps getting better. His understanding of his role and our system gets better each week. He showed good composure with ball in hand — we’re happy with development from week-to-week and he will keep getting better with experience.

44. Matthew Owies
Stats: Six disposals, one goal
From the coach: He had some exciting moments where he got to the fall of ball really well, and each week he’s getting better. It was a really good moment for him to kick his first goal, which was also our first of the game  We need to remember his background, he hasn’t had a lot of exposure to footy — it’s all learning for him.

45. Hugh Goddard
Stats: 18 disposals, eight marks, four spoils
From the coach: Hugh was really important for us: he has been since he’s arrived. I can’t remember a time he lost consecutive one on ones: he was able to respond each time. His leadership and stability has been really important, he’s making others - including some younger teammates - better around him.

46. Matthew Cottrell
Stats: 10 disposals, four marks
From the coach: It was a first taste of VFL footy for Matty, who ran good patterns on the wing. His ability to run and endure was pleasing, and he’ll keep finding more of the footy as he gets more comfortable with his role. He executed with ball in hand, and first-up we were pretty happy with his performance.

There's a few on there that give us plenty of depth for a change and some, like Williamson, who'll be in the team once their fitness levels and game time are up to scratch. I had high hopes for Garlett given his form in the WAFL before we drafted him with a nothing pick anyway, but he's done absolutely nothing IMHO and doesn't look up to the top level. The comparison with McLean for Kennedy is a good one actually. But we gave up a bit to get them both and Kennedy needs to show a bit more. Similarly, Lang has disappointed so far, albeit with lots of injuries. We seem to have had a habit recently of picking up blokes from other clubs who are continually injured. I still hold out hope that Fasolo can get back into the best 22 as he's very clever around goals and for a small/medium type forward, we don't have many of those.

What strikes me the most, for the first time in a long time I'm buoyed by the number of key position players we have as depth.  Two afl quality rucks (even if not quite up to being the number 1), two good sized promising young key defenders,  one that's shown plenty at AFL level, one key forward who looks like he could play at AFL level and has looked comfortable enough (kerr).

We didn't have this many bonafide options through most of the noughties combined.  At one point our key position players consisted of fevola, Thornton, bower, Jamieson, and no one else of note.

What strikes me the most, for the first time in a long time I'm buoyed by the number of key position players we have as depth.  Two afl quality rucks (even if not quite up to being the number 1), two good sized promising young key defenders,  one that's shown plenty at AFL level, one key forward who looks like he could play at AFL level and has looked comfortable enough (kerr).

We didn't have this many bonafide options through most of the noughties combined.  At one point our key position players consisted of fevola, Thornton, bower, Jamieson, and no one else of note.

Don't forget O'Hailpin!

I can't believe nobody wanted Casboult last offseason. How many other clubs would kill for a key position forward that can take contested marks and support in the ruck right now? Dees, Hawks, Port, Dogs, Norf, GC, and plenty more.