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Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #45
We are more susceptable to injuries this year, than any year in the past. With a large amount of luck, we might be ok. With an average amount of luck, we'll be lucky to match last years efforts.

I'd argue the opposite.
That we're better placed to deal with injuries than we have been.
With greater depth and more versatility.
That shows through when we try to construct the various lines and players are missing out.
A lot will depend on who gets injured though.
So we'll agree to disagree.


I feel for others who don't follow the same logic as they are the ones who will jump up and down, pitchforks in hand demanding more from the club. That cycle will hurt the club, like it has in the past.
Carltons biggest issue is impatient supporters, forcing our hand before it needs to be forced, perpetuating cycle of unending rebuilds.

If the results don't flow then there will be changes.
So folks won't need to jump up and down.
The writing will be on the wall.
And most likely it will be the coach who will depart.
His contract is for 2026.
That was the allotted time.
We won't be sacking him, we just won't be extending him.

But he doesn't need to have dramatic improvements.
It just needs to be seen to be moving in the right direction.
The team coming together, youngsters developing, a springboard to 2027... and he may get his extra time.
A lot of that will take place behind the scenes in terms of 'goals and targets' and we don't even know if some wheels might not already be in motion for change...that wouldn't surprise.

Bottom line.
With a bit of good luck we will improve and the coach will get his extension.
That's what I hope for and expect.
If things go pear shaped we won't...and then there will be changes.
And then it will be a case of looking ahead to a better year in 2027.

But that's just football seasons.
Put the bad ones behind you and look forward to the next one.

Crystal balls, intuition, logic and hope amount to precious little when attempting to predict the fate of the 18 clubs in the AFL.

This time last year, no crystal ball foresaw the Croweaters heading to the top last year. Logic said the runners up for season 2024 should go one better in 2025... Oh dear, Fluffy Ducks, what happened! I don't think anyone predicted Rottingwood winning the flag in '23... sheesh, they didn't have two A grade, 200cm plus forwards! And so it goes.

Lady Luck has a big say in the fortunes of AFL clubs.

Every season the so-called experts predict the top 8 (now top 10)... Seldom does anyone come close to predicting how it eventually turns out. And they use stats, logic, reason, experience, whispers, 'gut' feelings, how clubs are tracking pre season and star player (A graders) stocks at each club. That's one of the beauties of our sport.

Hope springs eternal for many clubs this year.

For moi, hopes are high, expectations are tempered until I see what unfolds after a half doz games or so. Regardless of hopes and expectation, I'm excited for the return of footy in 7 weeks or so. Yummy.
Only our ruthless best, from Board to bootstudders will get us no. 17


Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #47
Interview with Fogarty in there.

Reidy before Pitto
No O'Keefe.

You have to wonder how much research they put into their selections  ::)

For example, "Brodie Kemp looks to be in doubt as he works his way back from an Achilles injury".  It's only a match sim but Kemp seems to be back to his best and working very well with Harry:

https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/1949008/blue-view-snippet-kemp-mckay-combine-up-forward?videoId=1949008&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1769918451001

Yes, we occasionally use Moir as a fill in key forward when the big boys are having a breather or a spell in the ruck, but there's no way that he's going to play as first choice CHF.  The problem is though, if Kempy comes in to the 23, as I'm sure he will, who drops out?

I think that O'Keeffe will play too, at the expense of Reidy.
"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #48

Not sure how you can leave Kemp out of that side, 'potential injury' or not, he's named 1st emergency, so either he is right or he isn't......and i'm thinking he'll be right.

Put him in place of Lewis Young.

Have Dean and Weitering as starting KPDs and if Dean struggles, swing Kemp back.
Otherwise, have Kemp as KPF with Harry and Moir as 3rd tall.
Have a resting ruck deep forward when required and have the other ruck setting up shop across CHB to help out Dean.

Lewis Young, surplus to requirements.

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #49
Tried to do this job earlier....
Tomorrow may tell a bit of a story
Picking a team for round 1 is a bit of a task.
What the team will look like at the end of the year is anyone's guess.

On the forwards...
I think they're a pretty diverse group...not just forward, but actually all over the field.
And that gives us flexibility.

The only real commonality amongst the forwards is they share a similar height.... and the fact they play forward.
But even there we have a number of forwards who can also move into the midfield for a spell.
Fogarty is a very different type of forward to someone like Motlop or Evans or Moir...and we can probably now consider Byrne who is a different kettle of fish again.
They all bring different strengths (and differerent weaknesses)

The medium/ tall forward brigade also contains a number of forwards who can play back.
And now also (especially with the inclusion of Derksen) a number of medium/tall backs who can play forward.

Wingers like Ollie, Wilson and Lucas Camporeale can and have played half-back.

We actually only have a handful of players whose set position is a guaranteed fixed one.

I'm buggered if I know how they'll line up round one
I've no idea where they'll finish the season.
Is that not a good thing?

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #50
Tried to do this job earlier....
Tomorrow may tell a bit of a story
Picking a team for round 1 is a bit of a task.
What the team will look like at the end of the year is anyone's guess.

On the forwards...
I think they're a pretty diverse group...not just forward, but actually all over the field.
And that gives us flexibility.

The only real commonality amongst the forwards is they share a similar height.... and the fact they play forward.
But even there we have a number of forwards who can also move into the midfield for a spell.
Fogarty is a very different type of forward to someone like Motlop or Evans or Moir...and we can probably now consider Byrne who is a different kettle of fish again.
They all bring different strengths (and differerent weaknesses)

The medium/ tall forward brigade also contains a number of forwards who can play back.
And now also (especially with the inclusion of Derksen) a number of medium/tall backs who can play forward.

Wingers like Ollie, Wilson and Lucas Camporeale can and have played half-back.

We actually only have a handful of players whose set position is a guaranteed fixed one.

I'm buggered if I know how they'll line up round one
I've no idea where they'll finish the season.
Is that not a good thing?

Same here.

Let's see how we line up tonight, who plays well, apparent holes, who pulls up well and god forbid any injuries. Then make a guess for the opening round against the Fluffy Ducks.
Only our ruthless best, from Board to bootstudders will get us no. 17

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #51
My team based on the completed pre-season practice matches

FB    McGovern    Derksen  Saad

HB   Florent         Dean      Williams

C    O Hollands   Cripps   Hewett

HF  Ainsworth    McKay    E Hollands

FF   Hayward      Kemp     Evans

R    Pittonet        Walsh    Smith

Int  Fogarty Lord Chesser Byrne Moir

Emerg Reidy Boyd Young

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #52
Fox Sports is going with:

B: A Saad, J Weitering, L Young

HB: N Newman, H Dean, O Florent

C: S Walsh, P Cripps, O Hollands

HF: L Fogarty, A Moir, W Hayward

F: B Ainsworth, H McKay, F Evans

FOLL: L Reidy, G Hewett, J Smith

I/C: M Pittonet, B Acres, Z Williams, C Lord, L Cowan

EMG: B Kemp, C Chesser, T Byrne

And I guess that shows how little thought they put into these exercises  ::)

My 23 back in December was:

Defenders - Weitering, Newman, Cowan, Florent, Haynes, Saad, Dean, L Young.

Midfielders - Cripps, Pittonet, Walsh, Hewett, Acres, Smith, Hollands

Forwards - McKay, Hayward, Williams, O’Keeffe, Kemp, Motlop, Moir

Emergencies - Lord, Cerra, Ainsworth

And a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then.  Motlop is a definite out, and Cowan, Acres, Haynes, Cerra and Newman are unlikely to be available.  Ainsworth has shown why we were keen to bring him onboard and we've added Lij Hollands and Derksen, both of whom have done well in the practice matches.

My revised OR 23 is:

Defenders - Weitering, Williams, Florent, Saad, Dean, Young, Derksen, Boyd

Midfielders - Cripps, Pittonet, Walsh, Hewett, Lord, Smith, Hollands, O, Reidy

Forwards - McKay, Hayward, Ainsworth, Kemp, Hollands, E, Moir, Evans

Emergencies -  Chesser, O'Keeffe, Byrne

I suspect that McGovern will get a spot ahead of Boyd or Derksen.
"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #53
Fox Sports had another go at naming teams for Opening Round today, or perhaps it's for Round 1:

B: W Derksen, J Weitering, L Young

HB: A Saad, H Dean, O Florent

C: S Walsh, P Cripps, O Hollands

HF: E Hollands, A Moir, W Hayward

F: B Ainsworth, H McKay, F Evans

FOLL: M Pittonet G Hewett, J Smith

I/C: B Kemp, Z Williams, C Lord, L Fogarty, LReidy

EMG: C Chesser, N Newman, T Byrne

"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #54
B: W Derksen, J Weitering, Z Williams

HB: A Saad, H Dean, O Florent

C: S Walsh, P Cripps, O Hollands

HF: E Hollands, B Kemp, B Ainsworth

F: W Hayward, H McKay, A Moir

FOLL: M Pittonet G Hewett, J Smith

I/C: C Lord, C Chesser, T Byrne, L Reidy, J Boyd.

EMG: L Young, L Fogerty, F Evans
Only our ruthless best, from Board to bootstudders will get us no. 17

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #55
Swans played three talls with Curnow, Amartey and McDonald up forward vs GWS in their last practice game so Id be expecting them to lineup the same with Papley, Rosas and Heeney as their smaller/medium forwards.
With Derksen and Dean with zero games between them and Weitering nursing sore rib/s Id be thinking Lewis Young will be in the team as cover and would more than likely be a starter imo.
Heeney will be an interesting cover given his marking ability, maybe Florent might get his old teammate but there isnt an obvious matchup, Id be starting Lord on Gulden.....dont care if Lord gets zero possessions I just dont want Gulden getting more than 15-20...

 

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #56
Swans played three talls with Curnow, Amartey and McDonald up forward vs GWS in their last practice game so Id be expecting them to lineup the same with Papley, Rosas and Heeney as their smaller/medium forwards.
With Derksen and Dean with zero games between them and Weitering nursing sore rib/s Id be thinking Lewis Young will be in the team as cover and would more than likely be a starter imo.
Heeney will be an interesting cover given his marking ability, maybe Florent might get his old teammate but there isnt an obvious matchup, Id be starting Lord on Gulden.....dont care if Lord gets zero possessions I just dont want Gulden getting more than 15-20...

While Derksen and Dean have zero games, they both know what it’s like to play against AFL standard players.  That’s not to say that they won’t be overawed by the occasion.  I reckon Young will be one of the first defenders named.

I think that some supporters may be judging Cooper Lord harshly.  He may not be getting as much of the ball as his fellow midfielders but he’s doing a great job of shutting down an opponent.  George Hewett is still putting a lot of work into opposition midfielders but Coops would have to be first choice to play on Gulden.
"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #57
Swans played three talls with Curnow, Amartey and McDonald up forward vs GWS in their last practice game so Id be expecting them to lineup the same with Papley, Rosas and Heeney as their smaller/medium forwards.
With Derksen and Dean with zero games between them and Weitering nursing sore rib/s Id be thinking Lewis Young will be in the team as cover and would more than likely be a starter imo.
Heeney will be an interesting cover given his marking ability, maybe Florent might get his old teammate but there isnt an obvious matchup, Id be starting Lord on Gulden.....dont care if Lord gets zero possessions I just dont want Gulden getting more than 15-20...

While Derksen and Dean have zero games, they both know what it’s like to play against AFL standard players.  That’s not to say that they won’t be overawed by the occasion.  I reckon Young will be one of the first defenders named.

I think that some supporters may be judging Cooper Lord harshly.  He may not be getting as much of the ball as his fellow midfielders but he’s doing a great job of shutting down an opponent.  George Hewett is still putting a lot of work into opposition midfielders but Coops would have to be first choice to play on Gulden.
Agree on Lord, he can work both ways and is a valuable player for that reason and while there seems to be a manic obsession from fans at least about keeping Charlie quiet, its Gulden, Heeney and Warner who need subduing if we are to win the game imho.
Its a very winnable game if we dont get too Charlie centric because as we saw vs GWS the Swans didnt send everything to Charlie and spread their goals around so I would be expecting the same this week and keeping the forward entry numbers down is more important than worrying what Charlie might or might not do.

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #58
We don't really know the dynamics that existed last year and how Charlie and his teammates ended up.
I suspect there are still a few friendships there but sometimes when a player switches clubs a few on the old  team may go out with the intention of sending a bit of a message.
One thing they have to be careful of is to not to try and get to him with an overly aggressive approach.
The last thing we want are cheap free kicks and I suspect the umpires will be watchful.

Re: Name your team for Opening Round

Reply #59
We don't really know the dynamics that existed last year and how Charlie and his teammates ended up.
I suspect there are still a few friendships there but sometimes when a player switches clubs a few on the old  team may go out with the intention of sending a bit of a message.
One thing they have to be careful of is to not to try and get to him with an overly aggressive approach.
The last thing we want are cheap free kicks and I suspect the umpires will be watchful.

I suspect that players couldn't give a fat rat's clacker about Charlie leaving.  As Weiters said, mateships forged over ten years don't disappear because a player gets a clearance, but that doesn't mean that there won't be a few players looking to give Charlie a bit of curry ... and vice versa.  I think Charlie has been rehearsing his opening lines to Weiters for a couple of weeks  ::)
"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball