Time for our players to step up!

[BlueBelle]

As Juddy has suggested in his article in the Age, it's time for some of our players to step up and make the most of their opportunites.

Who do you think this applies to? Discuss.

 

[Artie Bucco]

Players who must step up.

• Betts

Too often he goes missing in games, Thursdays game was ok, but we really need someone like him to step up in the crumbing situations when Fev is outnumbered.

• Hartlett

Really need a CHF to cement a spot in the side now. Showed some good signs and lead well on Thursday but needs to be more dangerous closer to goals.

• Carrazzo

Thought his chasing was pathetic on Thursday, his disposal was rubbish, his "attempts" at chasing a player directly lead to about 2 Richmond goals.

• Hadley

Given his lack of game time( over the past couple of seasons) he was ok on Thursday, but we really need someone of his experience to step up and lead us into the future.

• Hampson

Thursday showed Cloke isn't up to taking on the athletic ruckman like Symmonds(around the ground also). Desperately need Hampson fit and firing, even if he doesn't "win" the contests hopefully he can nullify the ruck so we aren't getting consistently smashed in that area.

• Setanta

Jamison is going to be a beaty, but he's not ready yet and imo if he takes the FB it's like reverting to when Thornton was outsized 3-4 years ago. Setanta needs to take the big FB's and let him settle there. If there is no match up permitting send him forward. (also has anyone else noticed his set shot kicking has improved out of sight, doesn't look awkward anymore)

• Waite

Needs to be consistent, looked good on thursday

 

[The Real Deal]

Looking at some of the better teams this weekend, we're miles behind in the intensity and pressure. Some players for Carlton lay 0 tackles on Thursday, you had Judd with 5 and he's not fully fit. It doesn't matter how experienced you are, you can always chase and pressure the opposition.

The guys that need to lead the way in this area are- Stevens, Scotland, Waite, Thornton, Houlihan. They've all been around for a long time now, but I just didn't see complete desperation from them on Thursday. Once they put their bodies in the young blokes will follow.

 

[Revenge I Seek]

I want to see a hunger/thirst from all players to keep their spot in our top 22. The type of hunger that younger players such as Armfield exude will only have a positive effect on the way the team goes about winning games of football.

While our list depth has increased slightly over the summer with the acquisition of some premiership players in Judd and Hadley, it would be good to see younger players with a lot of potential show a burning desire to make the top 22. Players such as Blackwell, Benjamin, Pfeiffer, Ellard and Armfield should be trying their best to replace players who are consisently being named for match day. This will encourage players with an underlying incentive to keep their spot on the field or earn one.

We have a bloody good team on paper, as Judd has said, we literally have no excuses not to win games of footy. The key ingredient to winning are the psychological changes I have outlined above.

What do you reckon?

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

As Juddy has suggested in his article in the Age, it's time for some of our players to step up and make the most of their opportunites.

Who do you think this applies to? Discuss.

For mine it has to be the middle tier of players who have had time to settle but now must start to have an impact. Russell, Wiggins, Betts, Bentick, Saddington and Hartlett all need to start making a solid contribution on a consistent basis.

 

[DonFletch]

carltons youth is used as an excuse, yet Hawthorns list is similar in average age, and they played finals. IMO it is a recruiting issue, we have drafted way too many players who cant find their own footy, running receiver types. History shows teams with ball winners win grand finals, not ball receivers......i feel we have too high a ratio of ball receivers in our team which is why we get smashed by teams like hawthorn who win clearances at will, because they draft guys who win their own footy.
and a settled mature spine wouldnt hurt
just a thought...........

 

[HBF]

The finger is fairly and squarely pointed at you Mr. Fevola.

 

[BlueBelle]

The finger is fairly and squarely pointed at you Mr. Fevola.

Fev is one. There are a few more.

In no particular order.... Russell, Gibbs, Bentick, Fisher, Betts, Cloke, Waite, Thornton, Wiggins.

I watched the Bulldogs vs Adelaide game today and the heart the young Bulldogs showed was second to none.

Their gut busting run, tackles, intensity and never say die attitude was impressive

I wish some of our players would follow suit!

 

[thylacine60]

Fev is one. There are a few more.

In no particular order.... Russell, Gibbs, Bentick, Fisher, Betts, Cloke, Waite, Thornton, Wiggins.

I watched the Bulldogs vs Adelaide game today and the heart the young Bulldogs showed was second to none.

Their gut busting run, tackles, intensity and never say die attitude was impressive

I wish some of our players would follow suit!

How did Coondog go?

 

[HBF]

Fev is one. There are a few more.

In no particular order.... Russell, Gibbs, Bentick, Fisher, Betts, Cloke, Waite, Thornton, Wiggins.

I watched the Bulldogs vs Adelaide game today and the heart the young Bulldogs showed was second to none.

Their gut busting run, tackles, intensity and never say die attitude was impressive

I wish some of our players would follow suit!

JR will be lucky to be at Carlton next year. Aside from a quiet game on Thursday night, Gibbs has been very solid for us in his debut year. AB could improve yes, but, given his form yesterday, he'll come back in this week for sure. Fisher was awesome last year, kicking 30 odd goals IIRC. Betts, well the nature of his position means he will have quiet weeks. Cloke - WTF . Hard to have an impact from the stands. Waite has been fantastic in defence this year, and Thornton was almost our best on Thursday night. Hard for Wiggins to have an impact when he isn't selected.

 

[BlueBelle]

How did Coondog go?

He had an excellent game. Ran forward, ran back, did the 1%'s and had 31 touches. Looked good

As I type I am watching the Hawthorn game and their young players have stood up today as well.

I know their opposition is very ordinary but Hawthorn will go close this year.

 

[BlueBelle]

JR will be lucky to be at Carlton next year. Aside from a quiet game on Thursday night, Gibbs has been very solid for us in his debut year. AB could improve yes, but, given his form yesterday, he'll come back in this week for sure. Fisher was awesome last year, kicking 30 odd goals IIRC. Betts, well the nature of his position means he will have quiet weeks. Cloke - WTF . Hard to have an impact from the stands. Waite has been fantastic in defence this year, and Thornton was almost our best on Thursday night. Hard for Wiggins to have an impact when he isn't selected.

I think you have missed the point of my post HBF.

It is time for these players to step up this year and I am not talking about a good game here or there either. Consistency is needed and unfortunately, many of our players don't string together more than a few good games.

Some will need to follow up with form from last year, others are coming back from injury and will need to fly the flag.

I deliberately included Russell and Wiggins because these guys in particular need to take their opporunity when they do play in the best 22.

Either way, all above mentioned players need to stand up.

 

[HBF]

It is time for these players to step up this year and I am not talking about a good game here or there either. Consistency is needed and unfortunately, many of our players don't string together more than a few good games.

Being inconsistent is a by product of being young BG. They have all been in arguably the worst team in the competition for the past few years, and have been very much boxing out of their weight division for that long as well.

Edit: If you are going to include these guys, why not throw in Murphy, O'hailpin, Bower, Edwards, Ackland, Houlihan and Jamison?

 

[prettyboy65]

fev
wiggins
bentick
russell
thorton
betts
all need to lift

 

[TorresIsGod]

Surely, every player needs to stand up?...

Every single player on the list has to stand up and be counted for when they get a chance to play in the 22, and for the big names who aren't going to get dropped need to prove that they belong in the 22 (18)

 

[Time to rise Blues!]

The whole team needs to lift! Every one needs to if the club is going to rise up the ladder.

 

[BlueBelle]

Being inconsistent is a by product of being young BG. They have all been in arguably the worst team in the competition for the past few years, and have been very much boxing out of their weight division for that long as well.

Edit: If you are going to include these guys, why not throw in Murphy, O'hailpin, Bower, Edwards, Ackland, Houlihan and Jamison?

Murphy has been fairly consistent, Carlos is still learning the game and is yet to settle in a position, Bower has played a handful of games as has Edwards and Jamo, Houlihan you could probably throw in but has been serviceable and Ackland I don't see as part of our future.

Is Fev the only player you see as needing to step up?

 

[rokket80]

Players who must step up.

• Hadley

Given his lack of game time( over the past couple of seasons) he was ok on Thursday, but we really need someone of his experience to step up and lead us into the future.
Needs to be consistent, looked good on thursday

Gee your tough.. The guy has played 1 game for us.. I know you said he looked good.. but how exactly does he need to step up? I can think of 10-12 others who need to step up before this fella does.

 

[thylacine60]

Gee your tough.. The guy has played 1 game for us.. I know you said he looked good.. but how exactly does he need to step up? I can think of 10-12 others who need to step up before this fella does.

Agree.

 

[Tennant]

Have to agree with the first post, I know Carlton have the youngest list in the competition. But it's about time some players actually stepped up and showed something.

It's amazing watching other games and seeing the quality of games so much better. I don't expect us to win every-game, but I want to at least see us having a crack. Which I feel we don't, after the opposition kicks several goals we just drop our bundle.

The excuses have to stop, it's about time Carlton stepped up and started winning some games. They should be aiming for at least 8 games, anything less is not good enough.

 

[thylacine60]

Have to agree with the first post, I know Carlton have the youngest list in the competition. But it's about time some players actually stepped up and showed something.

It's amazing watching other games and seeing the quality of games so much better. I don't expect us to win every-game, but I want to at least see us having a crack. Which I feel we don't, after the opposition kicks several goals we just drop our bundle.

The excuses have to stop, it's about time Carlton stepped up and started winning some games. They should be aiming for at least 8 games, anything less is not good enough.

Yep.

 

[mediumsizered]

I watched the Bulldogs vs Adelaide game today and the heart the young Bulldogs showed was second to none.

Their gut busting run, tackles, intensity and never say die attitude was impressive

I wish some of our players would follow suit!

What I most noticed from that game today was that players from both teams gave everything they had, hence why the game went right down to the wire. In contrast, I'm not sure that all of the 22 players in Navy Blue on Thursday night gave their all. Certainly the intensity of today's game was far greater than either team displayed on Thursday night. This is an area that Carlton need to greatly improve in.

 

[thylacine60]

What I most noticed from that game today was that players from both teams gave everything they had, hence why the game went right down to the wire. In contrast, I'm not sure that all of the 22 players in Navy Blue on Thursday night gave their all. Certainly the intensity of today's game was far greater than either team displayed on Thursday night. This is an area that Carlton need to greatly improve in.

What a damning indictment on a team that has seen such misery in the past 6 years. To think how far we all thought the club had come only to be presented with last weeks half-arsed half game effort. How dare these players not go as hard as they possibly can. **** a black dog, it makes me furious.

 

[HBF]

Murphy has been fairly consistent, Carlos is still learning the game and is yet to settle in a position, Bower has played a handful of games as has Edwards and Jamo, Houlihan you could probably throw in but has been serviceable and Ackland I don't see as part of our future.

Is Fev the only player you see as needing to step up?

From the core group of senior players, then yes. The young kids will take time, and this is why I get so annoyed by posts saying stuff about the kids on our lists. Speak to any recruiter, coach, etc, etc, and they will say it will generally take kids 2-3 years of footy, and about 50 games to really start to show what they can do. The perfect example of this is Luke Hodge.

And, I guess watching quite a few TAC games last year gave me a greater appreciation of what these kids go through to get on an AFL list, and how hard they try.

 

[BlueBelle]

From the core group of senior players, then yes. The young kids will take time, and this is why I get so annoyed by posts saying stuff about the kids on our lists. Speak to any recruiter, coach, etc, etc, and they will say it will generally take kids 2-3 years of footy, and about 50 games to really start to show what they can do. The perfect example of this is Luke Hodge.

And, I guess watching quite a few TAC games last year gave me a greater appreciation of what these kids go through to get on an AFL list, and how hard they try.

Russell, Bentick, Fisher, Betts, Cloke, Waite, Thornton & Wiggins are hardly kids...