Carlton Supporters Club

Commentary was OK when BT wasn't involved, when he was it went downhill quickly. 

Acres continues to impress. I commented at the start of the season that he would be a big recruit for us and give us plenty of improvement. Some knocks on his kicking from time to time but yesterday he was one of the best in the first half when not much was going right and kept it up in the second half. He was getting the ball at every position on the ground and the bigger body helps out without the likes of Walsh, Kennedy and Cerra not out there. The running goal to seal it was a brilliant individual effort. He works hard, covers a lot of ground and is solid overhead. I reckon most of his kicking woes occur because he is not very fast and is too easy to pressure when he tries to run with the ball.

Dow....his first half was riddled with the same panic disposals and dumb footy moments but to his credit, he stuck at it and was one of the reasons we lifted in the second half. Earned his spot.  Agreed; but I think he would be more effective if he were to develop his hand-passing because he is not quick when trying to dispose of it and not strong enough to break clear of 'would-be' tacklers.

Fisher...certainly his best game this year and one of the best he's played for us IMO. Agreed; he was played in a position that allowed him to use his speed and to kick without too much pressure.  Seems like the stint in the VFL might have been worthwhile but I will wait to see if he can reproduce the goods.  Even SPS managed to turn in an impressive game (sometimes two) in similar circumstances before reverting to type.

I think a lot of concern around the first half was related to our inability to handle the pressure that St Kilda brought.
It was error riddled.
Handballs to players under pressure, poor execution, miskicks, indecision... and we really weren't bringing our own pressure which has been a feature of our wins.

Lyon's planning was pretty good, just as an example, he was able to quote deatiled aspects of Curnow's season in his presser, so they sussed us out pretty thoroughly and his troops did the job pretty well for a half. Most things were working for them.
But it wasn't sustainable, and by the end of the game the St kilda players were shattered, beaten by an overwhelming force.
At that stage, the poor disposal and indecision disappeared because our players now had time and freedom and we looked much more like the team of the last six weeks.

Saints gave it their best shot...and it wasn't good enough, even against a depleted Carlton side.
They may struggle to get back from there.

I don't think there's a lot of negativity about the win, and especially the second half...but the first half we didn't cope as well as we have, and were in a bit of strife handling their pressure.

I listened to the call on AFL Nation or was it ABC?? Anyways our own McClure gave the expert comments from what I could tell.

It was nothing short of hilarious towards the end. His excitement and passion for the old dark navy blues was palpable.

When asked if player A could do task B, he said yes - on repeat. He referred to the time remaining with a mix of nervousness and hope. In the last few minutes a commentator asked another question. He virtually said "don't talk to me right now" As a fellow Bluebagger who has shared the long journey into the drought, it was a blast listening along. Probably sounded like rubbish to Saints fans.

Needless to say after the siren Mark pulled it back and gave a very balanced thoughtful player and team assessments.

That beats listening to the BT BS every day of the week.

I find Sellers both honest and brutal. For someone who is long retired, he knows the game well and is able to strip it down to the basics and how well you need to do them

Mucher tougher circumstances yesterday, but I remain impressed with Motlop's progress, he didn't have it all his own way yet he didn't shy away from the contest.

Motlop in that form with that attitude, in combo with Owies, are miles ahead of the other options as far as I can tell.

I thought they were all pretty good in terms of attitude and effort, pretty sloppy early, but the heat was on and the pressure was high, I thought both sides burnt a lot of opportunities but we went up a gear in the 2nd half and it was the tell.

I hope fans are starting to see why we need both Pitto and TDK.

How we manage them in the future will be critical to our success, if we'd only had one today Marshall wouldn't have just got the stats he probably would have got the chocolates as well!

It's Pitto keeping up the physical pressure, that allows TDK to gain the momentum, no respite for the opposition.

I agree Hollands had a good game, but ignoring the result his direct opponent was probably the BoG.

didn’t like that honest insight from Voss thought it wasn’t needed. What did that achieve other then make the kid who has struggled to see any faith shown from Voss being started as a sub countless times feel like he is still very much on the outer. He even cracked the joke they would rip the stands down if we subbed him so he couldn’t do it.

I would have preferred Voss to use that game to generate as much confidence for Dow from it as possible with no negatives but instead now feels like not much has changed.

Obvious Voss is still not a fan and Dow will be delisted at seasons end which as a depth mid on min contract I would be happy to retain him but don’t see it happening.

Pity we can't make top 4. If we could, we would be some massive flag chance.

Thats how I surmised it Shawny...I have been a fan of Dow since his U18 days and wondered why his numbers in the twos didnt equate to games in the seniors but the first half showed why Voss has been reluctant to play and trust him beyond being used as the sub. He kicked that goal in the second half which was good for him but you would probably expect that to be kicked by a senior player in that scenario nine times out of ten.
I think he makes a reasonable sub who can give you a burst of possessions and some run and carry but I still dont see him as a four quarter midfielder who I would trust vs decent opposition not to cost you a couple of goals through lack of composure.
He relies on weight of possession numbers rather than quality of possessions at the moment and that hasnt changed since his U18 days.