Blues v Eagles Review

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I'm not exactly surprised by the result. Plenty were tipping a big win to the Blues but when I compared the respective squads, it was clear we were expecting a lot of a couple of stars and a few kids. After the first four games of the cup, the winners are St Kilda, Fremantle, West Coast and Geelong .... all four favoured to fill positions 13-16 in the season proper. I don't think we can read into this that all four are finals bound just yet but we can clearly tell that they are all going to have a dip in every game.

Sure the Blues are having to have a good look at all their players during the pre-season as we are going to need some of them to play a big part in the upcoming season. Having said that, I wouldn't mind them playing a McKay or a Ratten for that extra run or clean possession so that we had a shot at knowing what it is like to win a competition again. The Blues played 9 fringe players at best and were without 6 of their stars who were either injured or rested. While skipper Craig Bradley took the field, it appeared that Scott Camporeale had taken it upon himself to be the onfield leader and as one of the few genuine star players out there, he did well despite heavy attention. The Blues never looked likely to win even when they edge to within 9 points early in the third quarter after an inspired 'fast break' play instigated by Justin Murphy. Wayne Brittain swung his side around to give them all exposure to the play but the Blues were unable to develop any real system up forward without McKernan and Whitnall to provide any presence. Rather than waffle on about the ebb and flow of the game I think it's more important to discuss how each player went individually.

Luke Livingston - Limited game time but look much more composed when playing in defence in the second half.

Michael Mansfield - Not a matchwinner by any stretch but serviceable again and importantly added some poise at vital times.

Lindsay Smith - Not many touches but did take a nice mark.

Matthew Lappin - Again was the catalyst for a mini Blues revival. It will be impossible to take him from the forward line if the Blues don't have Corey or Lance available during the year.

David Gallagher - Didn't get much of the ball but was a willing worker. After months of being told how attrocious his disposal was, I held my breath when he got the ball only to be pleasantly surprised. Has pace and could be a surprise.

Scott Camporeale - Started the game with a trademark angry outburst but from then on was focussed and handled the extra attention a little better than his last game out.

Justin Murphy - Had plenty of the ball and did some great things but gee did he make some mistakes. A few goals directly from Murphy turnovers and a notable lack of intensity has me a bit worried already.

Andrew Merrington - A little slow, disposal needs a lot of work but took many marks in defence and could provide an answer for us in that role. Pretty good output.

Andrew Eccles - Looked pretty good early but faded out as the game went on. Seemed to lack a little pace at times.

Craig Bradley - Found wanting for pace when matched up on Wirrpunda (memories of McLeod) but was the consumate professional in his midfield linkman role.

Glenn Manton - Rested late but looked very good early on. Looks like he has taken on the added responsibility with ease.

Matthew Allan - Looked okay around the ground but was outpointed badly when Gardiner was rucking against him. Seems to be losing his ranking as one of the premier ruckman in the league.

Brendan Fevola - Deep sigh. Still doesn't do enough. Leads under the ball and tries to double back too often and everybody is on to it. Still, he gets the ball on to Lappin with a touch of class and boots a long goal from the boundary on 50 with ease. Has anyone talked to this guy about playing the percentages?

Sean O'Keefe - Not much game time but attacked the ball with passion and looks to have good hands.

Darren Hulme - Quiet game from the Pup but he wasn't alone.

Ian Prendergast - Used up forward and received a few free kicks by playing in front. There is no doubt he can hold his own at this level and possibly play CHB or CHF regularly. Seems to have taken the next step we were hoping for.

Simon Beaumont - Carried out the professional job we all hoped he would. I really don't think the defence was responsible for the loss considering how fast the ball was coming back towards them.

Simon Fletcher - Quiet but didn't seem to do anything obviously wrong.

Bret Thornton - Has put himself in the box seat to be the first rookie promoted with some good touches and a goal. Also showed he wasn't intimidated when fronting up to Jakovich.

Simon Wiggins - Looked composed early but was benched for periods of time. Early signs look promising.

Trent Sporn - Got a bit of match time and while he didn't stand out, he didn't look too bad and will be better for the run.

Trent Hotton - Has put on some bulk this year and seemed to take the ball with a little more authority. Didn't get a lot of it but will be in the mix for a key post for sure.

Jim Plunkett - Looks to have taken on more responsibility this year and is just as committed as ever. Skills were a little rusty but then so were everybody else's too.

Anthony Franchina - Not one of his best performances but I guess he had a role to play as a stopper. He really needs to get more of the ball himself.

To sum up, the Blues skill level wasn't up to scratch and they were firing blanks in attack. Too much inexperience against an Eagles side packing some of their big guns and the script was written before the first bounce in hindsight. Another game like this next week will not do morale any good so expect to find a couple of players making their way back into the side.

Just a final note of sportsmanship, the Eagles while playing against a understrength side still showed that they are nowhere near as bad as some thought they were and a win like this on the road will do their confidence a world of good.


Blues v Eagles Review (http://carltonblues.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=1561&p=2&stid=8236994)

[amazonstud]

Old dark,

I'm sorry I have to disagree with you on some points of your review.

Last year our losses manily occurred from our lack of big man strength. Our recruiting hasn't solved that problem with the recruits looking another year away fromsenior football.

The Eagles won with their big man strength being too good for us in the middle. Obviously Ratten Hickmott etc will improve the onball and match ups. However it was down back where we couldn't hold them. Wilson 188cm vs Manton 185cm and Gardiner 198cm vs Beaumont 189cm and then they moved 192cm Brent Tuckey down forward Dean Cox 203cm vs Matthew Allan 198cm were instances where we were clearly outpointed. Manton and Beaumont did very good jobs but desperately need help down back.
Of the options to assist:
Trent Hotton did not show anything when down back and his best chance is at full forward and pinch hitting off the bench.
Andrew Merrington did take some nice marks and punch the ball from behind when playing across half back. He appeared a bit slow but got to the contests and seems to to look more comfortable down back. Too short and not physically strong enough for the ruck.

Of the youngsters I thought Wiggins 186cm played a very good game on Merenda 181cm and Matera 181cm down back. They are two very dangerous experienced forwards and I can't remember them getting away from him. I think he's now shown that he can handle the small forward flankers down back. Now if we can try him on a tall down back and he succeeds then we might have found another backman to release Christou from the flank and use him as a utility.

We will get back two big men in McKernan and Whitnall but they will get back Sierakowski, Gaspar and McDougall. I can see Sierakowski taking over CHF and Gardiner in the pocket beside Wilson and Tuckey on the bench. Too much height down forward for us. We can change most things by match ups and tactics but not height.

Hopefully this week they'll give some of the young midfielders a run. We still need some more pace in the midfield and I'd like to have a look at young Michael Davis in the midfield.

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Mants did not spend the whole game on the field and both he and Beauy were very effective early. Our forward line was ineffective as we should have expected and the Eagles defenders rebounded at will. Our midfield was under pressure as a result which in turn increased the pressure on our defence as the ball was coming back far too easily and frequently. Any defence will look suspect if they are doing it by themselves. If we had forwards keeping the ball locked into the forward line and midfielders not turning the ball open so much, I believe Beaumont, Manton and Merrington would have come out on top. I understand what you are saying about Wilson and his physical presence but considering the amount of opportunity he had and the fact that it wasn't one on ones against Beauy or Mants he was winning, things are as bad as you might first think. If you think it is the defence that struggled on Saturday, what do you think of the forward effort? Apart from Prender it was abysmal.

I remember Beaumont doing well against Gardiner in the one on one duels and that is a big ask size wise. The Eagles might have talls to come back but you can't play six talls up forward. We only need one fist to bring the ball to ground and we will run it away with ease. Brittain himself said that the midfield was the problem and if that happens, the forwards won't get enough supply and the backline will be under increased pressure. I think we we were looking at our defensive concerns we weren't considering the possibility that our midfield would be getting beaten to make the task all that harder. How many times will our midfield get beaten in 2002? I venture to say not very often.

[Visro]

I think you lost the game basically in the ruck which in turn transferred to the WC midfielders who were more dominant. Cox was able to withstand Allen who had to ruck basically all day and when Gardiner went into the ruck, Allen was already buggered. Of the talls in the team, on Sat we didn't have McIntosh (semi-regular), Glass (regular), Gaspar (semi-regular), Sierrakowski (untested), Embley (regular) and McDougall (untested). The fact that you didn't stay long in our defence is worrying for you. Our defence was:

Taylor - not a usual defender
Jakovich - not particularly quick
Collica - I reckon he's gotten better of the summer
Carroll - only a reserves player
Green - see Carroll (on Lappin)

Thats a tad worrying for you blokes considering we have McIntosh, Glass, Gaspar and Williams to come back and fill those positions and also Read who did play but not in defence. I thought your defence did quite well considering the frequency of the ball coming in. Overall however, you appear to be lacking experience tall timber.

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Originally posted by Visro
The fact that you didn't stay long in our defence is worrying for you. Our defence was:

Taylor - not a usual defender
Jakovich - not particularly quick
Collica - I reckon he's gotten better of the summer
Carroll - only a reserves player
Green - see Carroll (on Lappin)

Thats a tad worrying for you blokes considering we have McIntosh, Glass, Gaspar and Williams to come back and fill those positions and also Read who did play but not in defence. I thought your defence did quite well considering the frequency of the ball coming in. Overall however, you appear to be lacking experience tall timber. Consider though Visro that McKernan, Whitnall, Hickmott and Houlihan will come back to that forward and half forward lines. Will make Lappin and Fevola's jobs a lot easier and now we seem to have unearthed Prendergast as a genuine forward option rather than a possible CHB. That is an impressive forward list in anybody's language. Add to that Ratten and Freeborn back in the midfield and Kouta come July (fingers crossed) and Christou to add some experience to the backline and I think our ruck is our big worry. Allan has no backup except for McKernan who we want up forward. Amazing, we get rid of Porter because Allan always seemed to do better with Porter out of the side and then Allan struggles a little bit.

[amazonstud]

I think you're both right to some extent but I believe it was a lack of height that cost us.

We were beaten in the ruck and that gave first use of the ball to the Eagles and Cousins, Wirrpunda, Read etc who kept pumping the ball down forward. We only have the one ruckman at the club now and need Matthews to stand up this season to give an option if Allan gets injured. During matches McKernan can help in the ruck and perhaps Hotton on the bench can take his place at FF while Whits goes to CHF

Agreed that McKernan and Whitnall will greatly improve our forward half if we can afford to play McKernan down forward but we may have to play him at CHB.

Ratten Freeborn Hickmott etc will also improve our onball division but our back half is my concern. I don't want to play McKernan down back but we desperately need height down there. Apart from McKay and Christou we don't have any other established backman to put down there.

Manton Beaumont Christou McKay Fletcher Franchina etc are a good defensive unit but aren't tall enough. They will battle hard and surprise with their endeavour but need a tall to help out. Most teams that we have struggled against in the past have used three tall forwards. That's why I would like to see Merrington given a run at CHB with Beaumont and McKay by his side.

Meerington is considered a bit slow by some posters but there have been a lot of CHB's who were considered a bit slow who made up for it by getting to the contest and throwing their body in. These were attributes Merro displayed in his short time down back against the Eagles. The additional height certaily seemed to help thew back out and make us look a lot more dangerous outfit.

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I agree Amazon, we simply need someone down there to make the contests. Merro can do it or maybe just maybe ... with Prendergast's improved showing up forward, it will be possible for Corey to play CHB??

[Blues2001]

If Prendergast keeps playing well up forward then it may not be such a bad thing to put Corey down back. How do you think Prendergast would go down back?

When Kouta comes back he may be a good option to put at CHB.

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I think Prendergast looks a good option at either end. Prior to Saturday we were thinking he would have to be put in defence but it makes sense that if he can handle CHF, it would be better to put a more experienced player in McKernan at CHB.

Well done Prender, suddenly we look to have options. Despite the loss against WCE, the bigger picture says we are closer to solving our biggest concern over the off season. A youngster to play a key position.

[Blues2001]

You're probably right ODN. We will need an experienced tall in the backline, so maybe Prendergast with Whitnall up forward is the go. But I was looking forward to seeing how Whitnall would go with McKernan. Whitnall struggled a bit last season without Hamill, and I was thinking that having Corey up forward with him would do him the world of good. Prendergast wouldn't be such a presence as McKernan, but we can't have two McKernans. We are struggling to get one on the park at the moment.

Still, I think that once Kouta returns we can maybe stick him at CHB so that Corey can go forward and run rampant with Whitnall.....I hope:cool:

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Looks like Prender has answered that question to some degree. :)