Carlton vs Richmond
Round 1
(7:20pm, M.C.G)
Carlton
FB: 6.Simpson 40. Jamison 18. Jaksch
HB: 13.Yarran 17.Rowe 15.Docherty
C: 39. Thomas 5.Judd 12.Gibbs
HF: 33.Everitt 23. Henderson 12.Boekhorst
FF: 14.Jones 41.Casboult 2.Menzel
FOL: 36.Wood 3. Murphy 9.Cripps
INT: 44.Carrazzo 35.Curnow 28.Bell
Sub: 25.Tutt
Last Time We Met..
Richmond held off a late challenge by Carlton to win by 12 points. Six months earlier, they had given up a 35 point lead in the third quarter to lose their first final in 12 years to the Blues.
Team Selection..
Defense: The biggest story so far in the pre-season has been the form and promise shown by Kristian Jacksch. There were questions raised about whether he could slot straight into the team but there will be little doubt that he's deserving of a starting role after his performances against West Coast and Collingwood respectively. After the final NAB cup game, Mick stated Richmond may give us the opportunity to play all three of Jamison, Jaksch and Rowe from the onset.
The other position up for grabs will be that of Docherty who showed a bit last season after missing the beginning of his time at Carlton through injury. I expect Tuohy to fight it out with him for that final spot but it's anyone's guess as to who starts this game. The run and penetration from Yarran and Simpson will be critical in how well we move the ball through the backline to the midfield and beyond.
Midfield: We can pencil in Judd, Gibbs, Murphy, Curnow, Cripps and Carrazzo for round one barring any mishaps in the next two weeks. Around the edges and on the wings we'll see Thomas who by all reports has been stellar on the training track and has gotten some game time under his belt vs Geelong after being wrapped up in cotton wool for most of pre-season.
The most intriguing choice will be whether Boekhorst is picked for this game. He's played all three games so far in the NAB cup and has shown glimpses of what he was brought in for. All signs point to him playing round one whether it be in the initial 21 or as the sub.
Forward: The tough choice; Watson or Casboult? I think this has been the most divisive team selection issue throughout the pre-season. Watson has sort of come out of no where to be in contention for the forward role at the back end of last season. He has a booming, accurate and penetrating kick and a decent overhead mark and the positional change appears to have breathed new life into him after his unconvincing performances down back. But he cannot ruck which brings us onto Casboult - one of the best overhead marks in the game and a decent back-up ruckman, but the glaring issue is his kicking; he may improve but at the moment it's 50/50 in which direction the ball will actually go off the boot.
The rest of the forward line essentially picks itself with Henderson, Jones and Menzel guaranteed a start and Everitt, Thomas, Boekhorst and Tutt rotating in and out between midfield, half forward and deep pocket positions. Another Possibility may be Smith to get his debut but while unlikely, I have a hard time seeing him slot in as anything other than the substitute at this early stage in his career.
Interesting Match Ups..
Reiwoldt: Will most likely be matched up by Jamison but it will need to be a team effort by the back six to keep his impact to a minimum. I would like to see Jaksch dropping back in the hole at every given opportunity to give Jamison the chop out and give us a 2vs1 in any marking contest.
Cotchin: It will be interesting to see who matches up on Cotchin; quite possibly Curnow and Carrazzo will be rotating through him trying to keep him as honest as possible while getting a few touches themselves and hurting him going the other way. He's unlikely to have a quiet game but keeping his influence in check will be imperative on the night.
Martin: This is the player who, in my opinion, poses the biggest threat to us on the night as he's so damaging through the midfield and pushing forward. Can Gibbs follow Martin around all night and use his skills to punish him when we're in possession and then also go back and take him one-on-one in a marking contest? If this is the match up we go with, it could potentially play a huge role in the outcome of the match.
Prediction..
The trend has been the Tigers starting strong with Carlton coming back late on to challenge in recent meetings. In this game, I think it will be a lot closer throughout the match with neither team breaking away and...... oh what the hell - Blues by 6 because **** Richmond.
Note: I will be editing in the Richmond team as soon as I can get an idea of the injuries and starting 22 from the Richmond board (sorry I haven't done this as yet but time hasn't been on my side lately).
Round 1
(7:20pm, M.C.G)
Carlton
FB: 6.Simpson 40. Jamison 18. Jaksch
HB: 13.Yarran 17.Rowe 15.Docherty
C: 39. Thomas 5.Judd 12.Gibbs
HF: 33.Everitt 23. Henderson 12.Boekhorst
FF: 14.Jones 41.Casboult 2.Menzel
FOL: 36.Wood 3. Murphy 9.Cripps
INT: 44.Carrazzo 35.Curnow 28.Bell
Sub: 25.Tutt
Last Time We Met..
Richmond held off a late challenge by Carlton to win by 12 points. Six months earlier, they had given up a 35 point lead in the third quarter to lose their first final in 12 years to the Blues.
Team Selection..
Defense: The biggest story so far in the pre-season has been the form and promise shown by Kristian Jacksch. There were questions raised about whether he could slot straight into the team but there will be little doubt that he's deserving of a starting role after his performances against West Coast and Collingwood respectively. After the final NAB cup game, Mick stated Richmond may give us the opportunity to play all three of Jamison, Jaksch and Rowe from the onset.
The other position up for grabs will be that of Docherty who showed a bit last season after missing the beginning of his time at Carlton through injury. I expect Tuohy to fight it out with him for that final spot but it's anyone's guess as to who starts this game. The run and penetration from Yarran and Simpson will be critical in how well we move the ball through the backline to the midfield and beyond.
Midfield: We can pencil in Judd, Gibbs, Murphy, Curnow, Cripps and Carrazzo for round one barring any mishaps in the next two weeks. Around the edges and on the wings we'll see Thomas who by all reports has been stellar on the training track and has gotten some game time under his belt vs Geelong after being wrapped up in cotton wool for most of pre-season.
The most intriguing choice will be whether Boekhorst is picked for this game. He's played all three games so far in the NAB cup and has shown glimpses of what he was brought in for. All signs point to him playing round one whether it be in the initial 21 or as the sub.
Forward: The tough choice; Watson or Casboult? I think this has been the most divisive team selection issue throughout the pre-season. Watson has sort of come out of no where to be in contention for the forward role at the back end of last season. He has a booming, accurate and penetrating kick and a decent overhead mark and the positional change appears to have breathed new life into him after his unconvincing performances down back. But he cannot ruck which brings us onto Casboult - one of the best overhead marks in the game and a decent back-up ruckman, but the glaring issue is his kicking; he may improve but at the moment it's 50/50 in which direction the ball will actually go off the boot.
The rest of the forward line essentially picks itself with Henderson, Jones and Menzel guaranteed a start and Everitt, Thomas, Boekhorst and Tutt rotating in and out between midfield, half forward and deep pocket positions. Another Possibility may be Smith to get his debut but while unlikely, I have a hard time seeing him slot in as anything other than the substitute at this early stage in his career.
Interesting Match Ups..
Reiwoldt: Will most likely be matched up by Jamison but it will need to be a team effort by the back six to keep his impact to a minimum. I would like to see Jaksch dropping back in the hole at every given opportunity to give Jamison the chop out and give us a 2vs1 in any marking contest.
Cotchin: It will be interesting to see who matches up on Cotchin; quite possibly Curnow and Carrazzo will be rotating through him trying to keep him as honest as possible while getting a few touches themselves and hurting him going the other way. He's unlikely to have a quiet game but keeping his influence in check will be imperative on the night.
Martin: This is the player who, in my opinion, poses the biggest threat to us on the night as he's so damaging through the midfield and pushing forward. Can Gibbs follow Martin around all night and use his skills to punish him when we're in possession and then also go back and take him one-on-one in a marking contest? If this is the match up we go with, it could potentially play a huge role in the outcome of the match.
Prediction..
The trend has been the Tigers starting strong with Carlton coming back late on to challenge in recent meetings. In this game, I think it will be a lot closer throughout the match with neither team breaking away and...... oh what the hell - Blues by 6 because **** Richmond.
Note: I will be editing in the Richmond team as soon as I can get an idea of the injuries and starting 22 from the Richmond board (sorry I haven't done this as yet but time hasn't been on my side lately).
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