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Topic: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne (Read 1831 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #45 –
Took us a little longer than normal but we got there in the end. The old Carlaspsitis just doesn't go away.

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #46 –
Quote from: PaulP – on
No idea why people think North are easybeats. Apart from Xerri and arguably Logue, they are basically full strength. 4 time premiership coach, excellent young talent, very good experienced recruits and currently sit 3-1.
We should be beating them .

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #47 –
Quote from: Professer E – on
Time to make some serious statements at selection. Don't care how big the names are.
Cody Walker would need to be the best mid in the draft otherwise I'd overlook him - we need to totally rebuild the centre square group. 
Florent and Hayward are taking the pi$$
ive been trying to remain calm but after today, it became obvious to me at least, that the senior players are not winning us games that are in the balance, they are costing us games. The most senior of players being the prime offender.
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time
2025-Carlton can win the 2025 AFL Premiership

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #48 –
Quote from: madbluboy – on
Umpiring was terrible today, 2 weeks in a row we have copped some bad ones in the last quarter.
I wish I could just blame the umpires: they were diabolical. Front on contact ignored, players tripped, guys diving on your back: I could go on, the the litany was considerable. But, in the end, if we were good enough, we wouldn't have lost.

[1] We get out-coached very week and I really hate it.
North had a plan for Cripps and it worked. But with him so thoroughly tagged, did we change the midfield group? No. Just not smart.

[2] Our players are not smart.
Time and again, we make the wrong decisions. Or we do something moronic. Hayworth's giving away goals was simply unacceptable. He needs to be dropped for that.

[3] Our players do not want it enough.
I hate writing this, but it is probably understating the case. When it mattered, our boys didn't want the ball enough: North's guys did.
And when it came for our defenders to punch, it just didn't happen. Too many players not doing enough, not putting on any pressure, not making it difficult for their opponents to get the ball.

[4] Our structure:
Weitering gave Larkey the biggest bath of the season, which was nice. But who other, of our defenders, can say they made a difference?
Our team lacks decent key position players, which was so obvious when you look at our 2's. So, why do we not bother with them?
Our players often don't have advantageous matchups.
And do we have people to kick the ball to? God, no!
Our match-ups don't make sense and help us lose.

[5] Our game plan:
I don't want to go over this again in detail, but I am tired of our guys not making space, not offering leads, not running, not moving the ball quickly and intelligently.
Live Long and Prosper!

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #49 –
We did it again.

We were trying to lock the game down, and we executed that tactic poorly.

Players hard up against the boundary kicking it out when they should have been wearing pressure and taking the tackle over.  Result out of bounds on the full. 

Pittonet trying to hit the ball out of a pack when we should have been clogging it.  We want repeat stoppages not open it up in the last.

We try to play on quick, and then errant handball rushed kick turnover and then cough up what should have been a comfortable enough 4 quarter win with a slight challenge into a loss that will leave psychological scars.

"everything you know is wrong"

Paul Hewson

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #50 –
Our senior group are not on field leaders and have no tactical nous at all when late in the game we need an experienced head. Cripps drop off is alarming and cant play after half time as his lack of leg speed when hes tired absolutely burns us. He was never fast but he looks so far off the pace this year.

Hewitt and even Cerra are only marginaly better and the last quarter when LDU ran out of the centre with Cerra hot on his tail and just kept pulling away and he is not known for his speed speaks volumnes about how much lack of leg speed is destroying us yet we did sfa to address it which is so disappointing.

Pit is having a great year and probably leading our B&F but losing TDK has hurt us and i said it last year that his loss would affect us more then charlie as his loss madean already slow group even slower.

There is so much wrong with the list we have no option but to start again.

Apart from lack of midfield speed we have no tall support for Weitering no good using attacking ball users off half back, no geniune key forwards pls dont say harry or Kemp are both are clueless in their roles. We have numerous small forwards yet none would get a game in any of the top teams.

And every one knows my feeling on the coach.

Many more years of pain is ahead folks and based on our track record i have no confidence at all we will do it correctly this time around but we have no option now.

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #51 –
We dominated in the ruck with Pittonet and Xerri missing but couldnt take advantage in the clearance/stoppages, you add in the spud factor that Nth have especially down back with Corr, Pink and Comden and I felt we let the game slip away.
Nth are quick just like Essendon are quick but they are not very good as they showed scraping by over Essendon in an error ridden game the previous week and play an error ridden game like we do. Its disappointing to lose to a poor team like Nth and to even be in the situation where we are hanging on, we really should have put them away properly and won comfortably as they were not playing well enough to win.
I noticed the stats were fairly similar except in the marks inside 50 which were 14 -7 in favour of Nth and when I looked at the season stats I see Nth have had 58 marks inside 50 to our 31 in with both teams playing the four games.
We either dont have the method to create marking opportunities for our forwards or we dont have the players capable of taking marks which might be explained with losing Charlie and to a lesser extent TDK.
We cant expect to kick all our goals from stoppages or opposition errors like we saw today and id question if the players have already reverted back to the old bomb it long strategy. Also way to much fiddling with the ball, Hewett in particular goes back every time to take his kick and is way to slow to dispose of the ball.
Ainsworth was serviceable working up the field more, Hayward was terrible and Florent showed us again why Cox had him in the twos. Newman did ok in his return match and was solid, Cowan defended well at times, Derksen had a tough first game....Duursma and Trembath are talented kids and he got a bit lost at times but he did some ok things as well.
Boyd looked a bit rusty after such a long break but used the ball well and Id persist with him....
Kemp kicked 3 goals but I remain doubtful on his future as our Full Forward and I think its a position Id be recruiting for next trade/draft period. Harry played a typical Harry game, couple of goals, some marks further up the ground but never really influential enough to move the dial. Cripps, Hewett and Walsh were mediocre over all and I gave Cerra a pass seeing its his first game back and he probably needs another month of solid footy.
Hollands boys had a good third quarter and Ollie tried hard all day, Elijah teased with some classy stuff but he has no defensive game and a couple of his contests were average especially one half hearted spoil in the last quarter and we cant afford that.
The list needs major renovation and the captain and in particular the coach look defeated from those last shots of him on the boundary line and we need a catalyst of some sort to break the cycle of losses and team malaise.
The Crows losing tonight vs Freo wont make it any easier next game and with Weitering missing with concussion its looking like being another very tough task.

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #52 –
The thing that has me perplexed is, that apart from perhaps Pittonet, the youngsters playing their first games... who else is looking better than they did last year?

We argued over the summer about the quality of the list. As it is we control games for long periods before the 'bogeyman' comes out of the closet and makes a home in the player's heads. But even if you accept that the list is poor the question has to be asked...
"Is the coach getting the best out of this list?"...and that's what will determine Voss's future.

Not everyone is going to improve, some will decline, but to see no improvement at all across the board is a bit strange.
You can't put that all down to the loss of TDK, Curnow and Silvagni...the last two were missing towards the end of last year. Curnow was sub par for most of the year.

The lapses are now so ingrained I doubt opposition coaches even have to mention it, the players across the league know it. Our players know it and are full of self doubt.

Will we persist with Voss for much longer? I think the catalyst will be when we have a game when we are totally uncompetitive. With games against stronger teams coming up that's a real possibility. As it is, it wouldn't surprise if they moved sooner rather than later. Some sort of circuit breaker is needed. Voss has been clear about this seperation from the past years and this year. A fresh start, a new approach, but it's gone a bit stale pretty quickly.

'Ownership' seems to be the  buzz word at the moment, Voss used it again in his press conference. The players say "it's on us" but when the going gets tough...the tough aren't going and become more like spectators in some cases.

There were a couple of key moments towards the end. The loss of Weitering was one, and there was a time when Pittonet was off the field for a spell (I'm not sure for how long) and they got a couple of very easy wins in the centre.

The next three games will see a step up in the quality of opposition and a bit of travel. There's a chance we'll catch one of them off guard, that's the type of result that can swing a season, but poor results in all of those games or no resolution of the second half fade-outs and some changes will be set in stone.



Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #53 –
I share that concern Lods; why have so many regressed and playing so poorly- it's not like Cripps is a dud, why is now a liability when he is a dual Brownlow medallist? I have the belief that we have a list of decent footballers, but they are totally unsuited to today's game. If we were totally sh1t we wouldn't be up at 3/4 time but we're so unbalanced a side/list that eventually we get over run as a result.

I fear that the next stage of the rebuild that never gets completed will be even more impossible because I don't see many obvious candidates for retention and we need to blow up the list - it will take years to develop and likely to become obselete as we mature as footy invariably moves on.
We need a total midfield rebuild, plus elite ball distributors across the wings and from defence.  These blokes aren't on our list ATM. (why not Austin? Is a serious question). Plus a significant injection of pace and athleticism.
Cody Walker is but one player but we need about 8.
With Tassie coming in I suspect this club is looking at the pain continuing for at least another generation.
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #54 –
Quote from: Lods – on
The thing that has me perplexed is, that apart from perhaps Pittonet, the youngsters playing their first games... who else is looking better than they did last year?

We argued over the summer about the quality of the list. As it is we control games for long periods before the 'bogeyman' comes out of the closet and makes a home in the player's heads. But even if you accept that the list is poor the question has to be asked...
"Is the coach getting the best out of this list?"...and that's what will determine Voss's future.

Not everyone is going to improve, some will decline, but to see no improvement at all across the board is a bit strange.
You can't put that all down to the loss of TDK, Curnow and Silvagni...the last two were missing towards the end of last year. Curnow was sub par for most of the year.

The lapses are now so ingrained I doubt opposition coaches even have to mention it, the players across the league know it. Our players know it and are full of self doubt.

Will we persist with Voss for much longer? I think the catalyst will be when we have a game when we are totally uncompetitive. With games against stronger teams coming up that's a real possibility. As it is, it wouldn't surprise if they moved sooner rather than later. Some sort of circuit breaker is needed. Voss has been clear about this seperation from the past years and this year. A fresh start, a new approach, but it's gone a bit stale pretty quickly.

'Ownership' seems to be the  buzz word at the moment, Voss used it again in his press conference. The players say "it's on us" but when the going gets tough...the tough aren't going and become more like spectators in some cases.

There were a couple of key moments towards the end. The loss of Weitering was one, and there was a time when Pittonet was off the field for a spell (I'm not sure for how long) and they got a couple of very easy wins in the centre.

The next three games will see a step up in the quality of opposition and a bit of travel. There's a chance we'll catch one of them off guard, that's the type of result that can swing a season, but poor results in all of those games or no resolution of the second half fade-outs and some changes will be set in stone.




Agree , we don't seem to have much improvement overall on the list and the other problem is you have to allow for other teams improving so you can never stand still yourself and some of the Nth kids are showing a bit now.
When you look past Smith, Dean,Walker and maybe OFarrell we don't have much coming through of real quality.
I think we can pinch a game in the next three weeks more based on the law of averages and our best chance is vs Collingwood who have key injuries and look a bit thin on young talent coming through.
We need a major rebuild and get value from those Charlie picks...you look at Newman,  Haynes, Saad and they all can't play together moving forward and you have to question recruiting 28, 27 year olds like Hayward, Florent and Ainsworth on long term deals. As Prof said there is going to be some pain and tough times ahead with Tassie owning the draft for a few seasons ahead and we need a top shelf recruiter not just Wright to oversee a rebuild.

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #55 –
Good reads, EB1, Principal LODS and Professory. Thoughtful.

How many times have we created a good lead, then collapsed? We know we're physically capable; the list can do it. We've seen it. We've seen good leads evaporate... consistently.

IMHO we know how to win. We can establish good leads but then its like a winning anxiety and hesitation sets in... fear of failure rather than excitement at winning. Aka, choking. Then mistakes and safeness kick in. Winning impotence.

For Vossy to minimize above the shoulders is reflective of someone in denial. Ample evidence over a long period, is there for all too see.

Years of niceness has robbed our blokes of mental (warrior) toughness and the enjoyment of winning. How can blokes improve and become tougher when so much niceness has been the foundation? A battalion of sports psychologists are required at PP.
Only our ruthless best, from Board to bootstudders will get us no. 17

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #56 –
People were talking about the quality of the list and the outgoings not hurting us because the incomings will spread the load.
Problem with that theory is 3-fold.

1. The players going out were top liners (whether a-grade or not, but #1 forward, #1 ruck, #2 key back). So 'replacing them' with players of less talent means those players now have a tougher matchup. That is Harry doesn't play on #2 key back, he plays on #1. Kemp doesn't play on #3 key back, he plays on #2 etc.

2. The 'kids' we had who were ready to step up have next to no exposed form. HOK was the great white hope because he played a good couple quarters last year. Good quarters in dead rubbers is not an accurate predictor.
Wilson was pumped up by all, i never saw it, but so far hasn't fired a shot
Kemp, not really a kid, but still expected to step up into a new role, been underwhelming so far.
I could continue, but you get the point.

3. We severly overrated the players we recruited. As usual, we look at their best and expect that to be the norm. Some people pointed out that Florent couldn't get a game last year and instead of looking at his ability as the reason, we blamed their coach as the reason.


All of this is what i was trying to prepare supporters for, but people didn't want to listen. Now, the sky is falling and they are ready to burn the place down. I knew it would happen, but even i didn't expect it after 4 games.

No I am not happy about our performances thus far.
No i don't think we should sack the coach.

Wasn't too long ago that we wanted to sack the coach mid-season and we ended up making a prelim that year.
Now i'm not suggesting we will this year, but i'm just pointing out that making knee-jerk reactions, with little to no immediate benefit is a stupid thing to do. Surely we've done this enough to know this by now.
 

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #57 –
We are losing the same way we did late in 2024 after the holding the ball interpretation changed mid year.

Not sure the list has much to do with it but to me out players went from being able to fight through tackles and keep the ball moving to getting pinged and that hurt them more than anything else.
"everything you know is wrong"

Paul Hewson

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #58 –
We lost 3 strong marking players from each zone.
TDK created a contest down the wings, Pittonet doesn't even get there.
Charlie even out of form was a presence.
2012 HAPPENED!!!!!!!

Re: AFL Rd 4 2026 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs North Melbourne

Reply #59 –
The thing is, its now happened so many times that surely nothing is now ‘kneejerk’.

I am Team Voss but something has got to change immediately-
You cant say we are crap because we are not getting smacked (yet!), we are winning every game… until the noise turns up and pressure intensifies and panic sets in.

I agree with Baggers, way too much nice. Need to be a bit ruthless and get some energy back into these guys for the whole game.