Preview Rd 4 Carlton v St Kilda Sat April 25 - 1:10 NZST - Wellington (11.10am AEST)

[King of Ruin]

 

[Blues_fest]

Just seeing who else might be feeling the same, but im not looking forward to this game one bit... In fact, for the first time ever, i am not looking forward to the afl season...

Ive been a bigfooty reader for the last 10 years but have never felt inclined to post, until strangely now (so sorry for the upcoming novel, i would have posted a new post, but apparently you can't as a newbie)

Every year for as long as i can remember myself and a group of mates fly down for Carlton v Essendon and every year its such an epic battle of payouts, anticipation etc.

This year was different. They didn’t pay me out, we all just spoke about how ordinary Carlton was (is).

I should be angry right now, i should be livid, but i am just tired and accepting of our lack of heart and confidence. As a team we don’t believe or trust in each other.

Things i really noticed about the game.
— Anyone that thinks we came back, or it was a close good effort from the boys is kidding. We were murdered. They sliced us up and got easy possessions whenever they liked while we struggled to get any space whatsoever.
— We were physically dominated, even though we won contested possessions. I believe they could have won that easily, but chose to commit less people to the contest so they had more on the outside.
— We constantly looked like we had 5 less players on the field
— We have too many players that just don’t have the speed to play todays game.
— We have too many players that give their players too much space. Either because they know they can’t keep up with them or they are just lazy.
— We don’t have a fitness problem, we have a execution problem. Too many people taking soft options, not backing themselves and allowing too much pressure to be placed on the team.
— We have no courage, flair, run or pressure, which makes our decision making and thus foot skills look even worse (we also have quite a lot of horrible foot skills in the team). When our players look up, there truly is ‘no one to kick to’. Soo many
— If anyone things Mark Murphy’s 30 possessions means he has turned the corner you have to be joking. That was another insipid, scared, uninspiring game. I looked on afl.com after the game and i truly just think they choose the best from our possession winners. Cripps and Judd were by far our best. Judd has 10 less possessions than murphy and impacted the game twice as much (at least).

Things i noticed about our players
— Too many players not leading hard enough (not just forwards, but through the ground and giving backmen options), and too many filling the space instead of getting the hell out of it.
— Too many players giving the opposition too much space. I actually couldn’t tell at times if we had zoned or were playing man.
— Too many slow players. And unless our match ups were just poorly chosen, it tells me we don’t have enough people to match up on

Questions
— What happened to the fight and commitment we showed late last year. I was genuinely excited about 2015. How could Judd have been so wrong? It really looks like a case of those other teams had backed off a little to freshen up for finals.

Why have i given up
— I have been sold hope, change, improvement for the last 13 years and i just can’t take it anymore. It normally takes until late in the second half of the season before i put the cue in the rack. But round 2 and i was done this year. Look at what freo did to west coast… We are so far away its not funny.. And thing that hurts the most is we should be.. I believe we have the ‘cattle’ to be top 8 or even top 4. We just don’t have the confidence or belief or trust…. We need to cull ALL lazy, scared little boys from our list.. Only those that stand up and take risks get to stay.. Show something or be shown the door.

Things that are truly frustrating
— People saying we don’t have the talent: That is bullshit… On paper when our top team is out there, we are plenty good enough. We just don’t have the heart and i have no idea why? My only guess is that the players actually don’t trust each other as a unit. None runs off because they know its likely the ball will come back over their head, and they don’t want to risk their man being free, so they stay frozen.
— a great example of play was on the weekend, when Judd had delivered to another player and started spreading forward, sprinting flat out. the player (i can’t remember) took a horrible option and executed it worse and Judd has to run back 100m to defense. This happened 2 times in a row and we all turned to each other (all my mates are essendon mind you) and just said. Why would you bother trying at Carlton. Who wants to keep leading, keep presenting, keep working hard to get away and provide options when we have so many butchers of the ball, or players who are so under pressure and not getting supported that they just kick and hope….

The coach
— I hope we commit to Malthouse for another 3 or more, so we can get on with truly gutting the place. The longer we don’t, the more inclined he might be to keep playing the old guys
— The game plan is fine, his culture creation methods are fine. The coach isn’t the issue, i truly hope we don’t chop and change again!
— The only thing i am personally against is why so many taggers? But knowing malthouse never used any at the pies and knowing he knows much more than i, he must have a reason. I suspect its cause our young guys haven’t come on (and he hates gifting games) and many of our old guys are too slow.
— Losing players… I have no problem with no waite, eddie or gantlet. they all have amazing games, but in the big games we have had, they all get shut down or go missing. Im glad they have gone, we just need to ensure we don’t settle for more of the same IE jones...


Players i would like to be rested permanently
— Carrazzo: just trails his opponent all day. Takes easy kicks, picks up easy possessions and was totally out muscled
— Ellard: You can’t be a defensive small forward if you are slow.
— Jones: Ive seen enough. He will never be what we want. Carlton need to continue going hard for another tall forward, or hope and pray like hell that jakcsh develop not into a hackman but a gun CHF (oh and that levi learns how to kick)


Players who need to be dropped for a while
— Rowe: No confidence and not talented enough to play on skill alone. Send him back and get him into some form
— Murphy: I just have no idea what has happened here. He must be injured.
— Jones: I hadn’t seen it till at the game, but many of the posters on here are correct. He just doesn’t lead, doesn’t create space to lead into and does not provide pressure. He makes fev look like a workhorse….
— Curnow: I really love ed, and his workmate. But there are only so many spots in a midfield and if you can’t get the ball, you need to be able to create with the ball, or at very least have the opposition scared that you might get it. At absolute must he is interchange and we only have him as the one mid with no real hurt factor or skill set.

Players who need a rocket under their arse
— Gibbs: stuck up for him for too long.
— Murphy again: We all know he isn’t getting dropped, but he should
— Casoboult: That footage of his ball drop against waistcoats is unacceptable (unless he has a back injury)…. How can he still be dropping the ball from that far away from his foot? absolutely ridiculous.. Thats not coaching, thats the player not committing to a new kick

Players who need to change position
— Henderson: Everyone talks about how great his leading patterns are. I just don’t see it. what i see is someone who struggles to get separation from opponents, gets spoiled when he shouldn’t drop them. He was on absolute fire down back.
— Touhy, need someone who can kick in the forward line and who can provide defensive pressure. I like him down back but can get beaten in the air too often. Id play him small in the forward line. Also to create some pressure and to take a few people out.


My Team:

Docherty Jamison simpson
Byrne Henderson Everitt

Whiley Cripps Gibbs
Kruezer (wood) Judd Bell

Walker Jacsch Menzel
Buckley Casoboult Tuohy

Int: Graham, murphy, armfield, boekhurst


Why I brought so many in:

— Buckley - makes mistakes but has a dip and is quick. At very least if you are on him for the day, you will be nervous. His forward pressure is immense
— Whiley - because he just needs to be the player we are hoping for
— Byrne -some people just have it. He has it. Plus has pace and daring
— Graham - I much prefer him to curfew, carrazo, Ellard etc because i believe he has great vision and makes excellent decisions. Something the other 3 definitely do not
— Menzel - the only player on the list with freakish goal sense now eddie has gone.

Why i dropped them:
— Jones - lazy, there is just no forward pressure
— Rowe - i like him, but just down on confidence and playing reactive. Has minimal skill so needs to be playing with confidence.

Why they stay:
— Jamison - leadership that is it… (oh and cause there’s none else). But he is also the only person really organising that back line
— murphy - cause he is injured and its a bad look to drop the captain
— Gibbs - cause even trying 75% he is one of our top players
— Henderson: We need him down back.
— Armfield: His pace and attack was great. He will eventually get replaced by clem. But until then he was at very least a handful .

Sorry for the rant. I just had to get it out and seeing i don’t have 1 carlton supporting mate, this was the only place i could express my frustration.

 

[Magruder]

Oh gawd I have to get up early to watch the game.

Get up early to watch the match ..........

You did read it said 11:10am ????

Yep almost the crack of noon.

 

[ESKIE]

Docherty pushed forward and kicked a few last year, give it a go sam

 

[Magruder]

Hard to disgaree with much of that post Blues_fest

I tend to think Gibbs should be the cream on top. He is the sort of player who will hit purple patches during the year, maybe win a game or two of his own boot; but unfortunately I don't believe he will ever be quite the player we hoped he would become. Like you I defended him for years, has all the attributes of a top 10 mid ansd in a better, deeper mid set up would be able to play high half forward pushing into the mid or as a sweeper who pinch-hits in there.

Think Hodge/Burgoyne type.

 

[I AM CARLTON]

Just seeing who else might be feeling the same, but im not looking forward to this game one bit... In fact, for the first time ever, i am not looking forward to the afl season...

Ive been a bigfooty reader for the last 10 years but have never felt inclined to post, until strangely now (so sorry for the upcoming novel, i would have posted a new post, but apparently you can't as a newbie)

Every year for as long as i can remember myself and a group of mates fly down for Carlton v Essendon and every year its such an epic battle of payouts, anticipation etc.

This year was different. They didn’t pay me out, we all just spoke about how ordinary Carlton was (is).

I should be angry right now, i should be livid, but i am just tired and accepting of our lack of heart and confidence. As a team we don’t believe or trust in each other.

Things i really noticed about the game.
— Anyone that thinks we came back, or it was a close good effort from the boys is kidding. We were murdered. They sliced us up and got easy possessions whenever they liked while we struggled to get any space whatsoever.
— We were physically dominated, even though we won contested possessions. I believe they could have won that easily, but chose to commit less people to the contest so they had more on the outside.
— We constantly looked like we had 5 less players on the field
— We have too many players that just don’t have the speed to play todays game.
— We have too many players that give their players too much space. Either because they know they can’t keep up with them or they are just lazy.
— We don’t have a fitness problem, we have a execution problem. Too many people taking soft options, not backing themselves and allowing too much pressure to be placed on the team.
— We have no courage, flair, run or pressure, which makes our decision making and thus foot skills look even worse (we also have quite a lot of horrible foot skills in the team). When our players look up, there truly is ‘no one to kick to’. Soo many
— If anyone things Mark Murphy’s 30 possessions means he has turned the corner you have to be joking. That was another insipid, scared, uninspiring game. I looked on afl.com after the game and i truly just think they choose the best from our possession winners. Cripps and Judd were by far our best. Judd has 10 less possessions than murphy and impacted the game twice as much (at least).

Things i noticed about our players
— Too many players not leading hard enough (not just forwards, but through the ground and giving backmen options), and too many filling the space instead of getting the hell out of it.
— Too many players giving the opposition too much space. I actually couldn’t tell at times if we had zoned or were playing man.
— Too many slow players. And unless our match ups were just poorly chosen, it tells me we don’t have enough people to match up on

Questions
— What happened to the fight and commitment we showed late last year. I was genuinely excited about 2015. How could Judd have been so wrong? It really looks like a case of those other teams had backed off a little to freshen up for finals.

Why have i given up
— I have been sold hope, change, improvement for the last 13 years and i just can’t take it anymore. It normally takes until late in the second half of the season before i put the cue in the rack. But round 2 and i was done this year. Look at what freo did to west coast… We are so far away its not funny.. And thing that hurts the most is we should be.. I believe we have the ‘cattle’ to be top 8 or even top 4. We just don’t have the confidence or belief or trust…. We need to cull ALL lazy, scared little boys from our list.. Only those that stand up and take risks get to stay.. Show something or be shown the door.

Things that are truly frustrating
— People saying we don’t have the talent: That is bullshit… On paper when our top team is out there, we are plenty good enough. We just don’t have the heart and i have no idea why? My only guess is that the players actually don’t trust each other as a unit. None runs off because they know its likely the ball will come back over their head, and they don’t want to risk their man being free, so they stay frozen.
— a great example of play was on the weekend, when Judd had delivered to another player and started spreading forward, sprinting flat out. the player (i can’t remember) took a horrible option and executed it worse and Judd has to run back 100m to defense. This happened 2 times in a row and we all turned to each other (all my mates are essendon mind you) and just said. Why would you bother trying at Carlton. Who wants to keep leading, keep presenting, keep working hard to get away and provide options when we have so many butchers of the ball, or players who are so under pressure and not getting supported that they just kick and hope….

The coach
— I hope we commit to Malthouse for another 3 or more, so we can get on with truly gutting the place. The longer we don’t, the more inclined he might be to keep playing the old guys
— The game plan is fine, his culture creation methods are fine. The coach isn’t the issue, i truly hope we don’t chop and change again!
— The only thing i am personally against is why so many taggers? But knowing malthouse never used any at the pies and knowing he knows much more than i, he must have a reason. I suspect its cause our young guys haven’t come on (and he hates gifting games) and many of our old guys are too slow.
— Losing players… I have no problem with no waite, eddie or gantlet. they all have amazing games, but in the big games we have had, they all get shut down or go missing. Im glad they have gone, we just need to ensure we don’t settle for more of the same IE jones...


Players i would like to be rested permanently
— Carrazzo: just trails his opponent all day. Takes easy kicks, picks up easy possessions and was totally out muscled
— Ellard: You can’t be a defensive small forward if you are slow.
— Jones: Ive seen enough. He will never be what we want. Carlton need to continue going hard for another tall forward, or hope and pray like hell that jakcsh develop not into a hackman but a gun CHF (oh and that levi learns how to kick)


Players who need to be dropped for a while
— Rowe: No confidence and not talented enough to play on skill alone. Send him back and get him into some form
— Murphy: I just have no idea what has happened here. He must be injured.
— Jones: I hadn’t seen it till at the game, but many of the posters on here are correct. He just doesn’t lead, doesn’t create space to lead into and does not provide pressure. He makes fev look like a workhorse….
— Curnow: I really love ed, and his workmate. But there are only so many spots in a midfield and if you can’t get the ball, you need to be able to create with the ball, or at very least have the opposition scared that you might get it. At absolute must he is interchange and we only have him as the one mid with no real hurt factor or skill set.

Players who need a rocket under their arse
— Gibbs: stuck up for him for too long.
— Murphy again: We all know he isn’t getting dropped, but he should
— Casoboult: That footage of his ball drop against waistcoats is unacceptable (unless he has a back injury)…. How can he still be dropping the ball from that far away from his foot? absolutely ridiculous.. Thats not coaching, thats the player not committing to a new kick

Players who need to change position
— Henderson: Everyone talks about how great his leading patterns are. I just don’t see it. what i see is someone who struggles to get separation from opponents, gets spoiled when he shouldn’t drop them. He was on absolute fire down back.
— Touhy, need someone who can kick in the forward line and who can provide defensive pressure. I like him down back but can get beaten in the air too often. Id play him small in the forward line. Also to create some pressure and to take a few people out.


My Team:

Docherty Jamison simpson
Byrne Henderson Everitt

Whiley Cripps Gibbs
Kruezer (wood) Judd Bell

Walker Jacsch Menzel
Buckley Casoboult Tuohy

Int: Graham, murphy, armfield, boekhurst


Why I brought so many in:

— Buckley - makes mistakes but has a dip and is quick. At very least if you are on him for the day, you will be nervous. His forward pressure is immense
— Whiley - because he just needs to be the player we are hoping for
— Byrne -some people just have it. He has it. Plus has pace and daring
— Graham - I much prefer him to curfew, carrazo, Ellard etc because i believe he has great vision and makes excellent decisions. Something the other 3 definitely do not
— Menzel - the only player on the list with freakish goal sense now eddie has gone.

Why i dropped them:
— Jones - lazy, there is just no forward pressure
— Rowe - i like him, but just down on confidence and playing reactive. Has minimal skill so needs to be playing with confidence.

Why they stay:
— Jamison - leadership that is it… (oh and cause there’s none else). But he is also the only person really organising that back line
— murphy - cause he is injured and its a bad look to drop the captain
— Gibbs - cause even trying 75% he is one of our top players
— Henderson: We need him down back.
— Armfield: His pace and attack was great. He will eventually get replaced by clem. But until then he was at very least a handful .

Sorry for the rant. I just had to get it out and seeing i don’t have 1 carlton supporting mate, this was the only place i could express my frustration.

Love what you are bringing to the table.

Agree with you regarding Hendo - I desperately wanted him to be our forward line answer but he seems like a natural backman.
Also like your midfield all big bodied similar to Freo want to see Cripps and Whiley play together.
Also agree with Rowe and Jones both need a spell in the ressies and I like the idea of Jaksch been given a month as a key forward to see what he can do.

 

[Jatz]

Would love to see Carazzo and Curnow dropped for Boekhurst and either Graham/Whiley.

Buckley for Yarran. Tutt for Ellard.

I better stop there, I'll end up with about 15 changes otherwise.

 

[ShanDog]

My Team:

Docherty Jamison simpson
Byrne Henderson Everitt

Whiley Cripps Gibbs
Kruezer (wood) Judd Bell

Walker Jacsch Menzel
Buckley Casoboult Tuohy

Int: Graham, murphy, armfield, boekhurst

I quite like this team balance. Plenty of run and speed (Byrne, Walker, Buckley, Armfield, Boekhorst), as well as guys who are capable of good contested footy (Cripps, Whiley, Bell, Judd).

Two genuine talls at each end isn't going to suit some opponents, but the idea is spot on IMHO.

 

[Sector 7G]

While I am against gifting games to young players, I am equally against gifting games to senior players who don't fire a shot 3 weeks in a row. Changes need to be made.

 

[Azul]

Would love to see Carazzo and Curnow dropped for Boekhurst and either Graham/Whiley.

Curnow, yes.

Carrazzo, I'm not sure about. He did respond with 25 touches but he's clearly lost any speed he once had. Acceleration is the key - manning up on a prime opposition ball-winner kills us at stoppages.

But yeah, this team needs a dose of Whiley!

 

[Wickzki]

Sorry for the rant. I just had to get it out and seeing i don’t have 1 carlton supporting mate, this was the only place i could express my frustration.

Welcome to BigFooty. Absolutely incredible first post. By far the best that I've seen in my time here. Please, please keep posting.

 

[Jatz]

Curnow, yes.

Carrazzo, I'm not sure about. He did respond with 25 touches but he's clearly lost any speed he once had. Acceleration is the key - manning up on a prime opposition ball-winner kills us at stoppages.

But yeah, this team needs a dose of Whiley!

Yeah Carazzo is ok around the clearances but our midfield gets burned on the counter. Once the opposition starts to spread, our players are far too slow and unfortunately Carrazzo falls into that category.

 

[zeeCFC]

IN: Tutt, Whiley, Boekhorst
OUT: Curnow, Yarran, Gibbs

Tuohy, Jamison, Byrne
Docherty, Rowe, Walker
Murphy, Whiley, Simpson
Tutt, Henderson, Armfield
Casboult, Jones, Ellard
Wood, Cripps, Judd
Carrazzo, Bell, Everitt, Boekhorst (s)

 

[Azul]

Once the opposition starts to spread, our players are far too slow

I think part of it's raw pace but either poor coaching or a bad work ethic. It perplexes me how teams create a loose man and deliver the ball uncontested coast-to-coast.

We've either been instructed just to cover the space or our players aren't committed enough to sprint to an unmanned opponent in the chain.

That said Carrots plus Judd and Simpson all look slower and I agree it's high time we introduced fresh legs into our rotations.

 

[Jatz]

I think part of it's raw pace but either poor coaching or a bad work ethic. It perplexes me how teams create a loose man and deliver the ball uncontested coast-to-coast.

We've either been instructed just to cover the space or our players aren't committed enough to sprint to an unmanned opponent in the chain.

That said Carrots plus Judd and Simpson all look slower and I agree it's high time we introduced fresh legs into our rotations.

It's both. Our tactics aren't good. We get sucked into the ball and when it's turned over, we don't run back hard enough to stop it. The amount of times Essendon went streaming down the centre of the ground with Carlton players 5-10m behind them was sickening.

At the very least, I think we need younger legs to help counteract this. But the tactics definitely need tweaking.

 

[BluesRule]

Jones for Jaksch is my first change.

Jones is nominated for tackle of the week! Best part is he got Watson. fantastic to see some run and chase.

Jones still goes missing too much (I think it was 8 disposals) for mine, but it would be great if he could build on this effort.

How did Watson go for NB's?

 

[Cringle]

How did Watson go for NB's?

He's getting bored in the VFL... needs some real action...

 

[slashin_velvet]

In and outs Outs:
- Whiley for Carrazzo - 25 possesions looks good on the stats sheet, but when every second one is a floating hospital handpass, its worthless. Whiley to provide some inside aggression
- Buckley for Ellard - Ellard is too small, too slow, gives 100%, but its not enough. Buckley isnt much bigger, but he's quicker and can impact the game more
- Boekhurst for Yarran - likely to be suspended
- Warnock for Wood - Whilst wood had a better game this week, he gave as much around the ground as Warnock, and Warnock's better in the ruck

Armfield to play as the sub - he has speed and can impact a game - but 5 clangers from 12 disposals is pretty poor - lucky to be out on the field
Curnow - Shut your man down, or have a stint in the 2's
Graham to come in for Gibbs if he is suspended (which he shouldnt be)
Menzel must come back in via the vfl - no gifting games.

 

[HBF]

Jones is nominated for tackle of the week! Best part is he got Watson. fantastic to see some run and chase.

Jones still goes missing too much (I think it was 8 disposals) for mine, but it would be great if he could build on this effort.

How did Watson go for NB's?

Pretty quiet. Did present well, but was often ignored by team-mates who thought they would kick long (hence our poor conversion).
Took a couple of nice grabs in the final quarter, but couldn't convert.

 

[BluesRule]

Just seeing who else might be feeling the same, but im not looking forward to this game one bit... In fact, for the first time ever, i am not looking forward to the afl season...

Ive been a bigfooty reader for the last 10 years but have never felt inclined to post, until strangely now (so sorry for the upcoming novel, i would have posted a new post, but apparently you can't as a newbie)

— We have too many players that just don’t have the speed to play todays game.
.

Great first post.

 

[newblueo]

— We constantly looked like we had 5 less players on the field
— We have too many players that just don’t have the speed to play todays game.
— We have too many players that give their players too much space. Either because they know they can’t keep up with them or they are just lazy.
.

great post mate super! but I disagree with this speed thing, freo an swans would be on par speed wise imo.. gut running on the other hand we are last!
the kicking backwards every time we get the ball,the switch! doesn't work anymore an kills us..
port always kick it forward never backwards an fast!..
it's very much on the coach not the playing group we are worst now then under ratten the free scoring in our play has gone ..

in saying that we will this match againt st Kilda bigger bodys should get it done I hopeee!!!

 

[SE_Blue]

So you drop ellard who put in 110% - drop carrots who gave 10%

I love Ellard, Guns, but I know he will be the one dropped. Will be blamed for not marking balls kicked on his head with two defenders on him.

 

[BluesRule]

While I am against gifting games to young players, I am equally against gifting games to senior players who don't fire a shot 3 weeks in a row. Changes need to be made.

Could not agree more. Losing to *FC is a disaster that needs a remedy.
We are not rebuilding if we do not find out what the kids can do, (+ give them a chance to play with and learn from Judd).

Out: carrots, Curnow, ellard, yaz, wood, jones, rowe
In: Whiley, Graham, BB, Buckley, Warnock, Watson, KJ

Hope Gibbs is OK as he was looking away and not going in high as Goddard fell away after kick. (carrots or Tutt to replace?)
IMO Yaz should not be suspended, as he was being assaulted and has a right to defend himself against larger (check the weight scale) opponents.

I am sure the match committee will not make that many changes, but gee didn't Byrne look good!

Probably need to give Kruezer and Sheehan a week in NB before call up if they are over their injuries.

Unlucky: Tutt (great game for NB's keep it up), Fields and Johnson.

 

[teknodeejay]

Blues_fest - how to enjoy footy in 2015:

- accept Carlton are mediocre
- go into every game hoping for a W but preparing for a L
- watch for things you like, such as is youngster X (eg. cripps, Byrne) getting busy

I took my medicine before the season started only as I thought I could see precisely where we are at.

I enjoyed watching the Bombers game knowing we were unlikely to win. When it got exciting in the last I got revved up for the unlikely. Sadly it didn't happen, but I found some positives that give some enjoyment, that being as I mentioned Cripps And Byrne

I don't think we will beat the Saints either. I think they're a team that work well against teams that aren't good at stopping the counter, and when we serve up some nice turnovers we will get punished. If Gibbs gets given a week then even worse.

But I do hope Buckley, Boek and Jaksch come into the team and that Byrne and Cripps are in the starting 22.

 

[teknodeejay]

Jones and Rowe won't get dropped... No way