Blue and Silver
Brownlow Medallist
In the depths of the off-season the bored Carlton fan is left to ponder the unknown.
What will our game plan be in 2026?
We will have to change large aspects of our game plan due to personnel changes.
There will be obviously changes in each third and in the ways they interact.
My Guess:
What are your thoughts?
What would you like to see?
What will our game plan be in 2026?
We will have to change large aspects of our game plan due to personnel changes.
There will be obviously changes in each third and in the ways they interact.
My Guess:
Forward Line:
1 tall forward 2 mediums 3 smalls
With Charlie gone our forward line needs to adapt.
We now have quite a few "hybrid" forwards (play tall and small) in Hayward, Moir, Kemp and McGovern.
Harry as the spearhead, with HOK the understudy and break glass L Young
Smalls Led by Ainsworth, Williams, Evans and Motlop.
Spread the 50 to create space for leads, particularly for Harry, with small forwards collapsing in from the perimeter as the ball comes in to try and win loose balls and pressure defences. Opposite side wing to try and be dangerous in the empty pocket as an option for quick rebound goals.
Midfield:
2 inside, 1 outside (burst), 1 defensive wing, 1 offensive wing, 1 bruiser ruck
TDK is the big change here, plus the addition of Chesser and Florent as wing options.
We have long known that we have a weakness in speed in the middle and personnel wise that won't be changing soon.
So we need to balance this weakness with the strength, clearance and brute strength. Cripps and Hewett are the extractors, Pitt or Reidy providing the grunt ruckwork to make the opposition earn possession.
By burst mid I mean a mid who generates speed on the ball out of stoppage, our best options here are Walsh, Jagga and some of the guys who might rotate from the forward line (Williams, Moir, Motlop).
We need this in order to create the threat of converting clearances into score so the opposition respects us. Otherwise they may be happy to set up for the intercept and spring board off Half-back from sloppy dump kicks.
Wingers can be some of the most damaging players (Gulden, NWM, McLuggage, Dempsey) so a defensive winger to dull opposition offense and an offensive winger to try and generate our own.
Defensive wing is likely a contest between Acres and Cottrell. Offensive could be Chesser, E. Hollands, Ison.
Backline :
1 Key Lockdown, 1 Intercept key, 1 Intercept Medium, 1 Rebound small, 2 utility back.
Broadly assigning 3 types of back, lockdown whose main focus is beating their man, intercept who are trying to read the play and take marks and rebound who are the conduit player we drive our play through.
Lockdown key is likely Weitering, with second option Young. Jacob is obviously an excellent intercept, but we need someone we can assign to a Jesse Hogan or Charlie Curnow.
Intercept key's role is to get off their man where possible and interrupt opposition entries. Haynes, O'Farrell (when fit) maybe McGovern.
Intercept mediums are here to make the opposition reluctant to rush entries. They zone out and make leading space constricted. Cowan, Newman, Carroll fill this sort of role
Rebound small is here to be given the ball and make the opposition hurt. First option is Saad, but back ups are Wilson, O. Hollands, Florent.
Utility back is important for flexibility purposes. Not every opposition will have the same forward comp and we need a player who can slide between roles to fill holes. Cowan, Newman can switch between lockdown and intercept. Saad between lockdown and rebound. Haynes can be a lockdown in a pinch etc. Florent O. Hollands, L. Campo could be "utility backs" as rotations between wing positions and rebound smalla
Interchange:
Mid-forward, inside mid, wing, backup ruck, utility .
Mid-forward here is to rotate into the Half-forward spot and offer a different look, E. Hollands, Cottrell, Jagga, Moir, Ison all options.
Inside mid is to give the clearance guys a rotation. Lord, Cerra and B. campo most likely.
Wing spot is to provide rotation for hard running wing position. Cottrell, Acres, L. Campo, O. Hollands,.Chesser etc.
Back- up ruck is a utility tall slot for a guy who spends a lot of time either back or forward. HOK or Young is most likely imo. Giving Harry a rest rotation, maybe slotting behind the ball if needed.
Utility is good to give flexibility and game day options. Needs to be a guy who could theoretically go forward or back as a taller option, midfield should be coverable with flankers if required. Kemp, McGovern, O'Farrell, Young
Playstyle in general should focus on winning the ball at the source and then pushing it forward with run, using short angled options to force opposition to defend up the ground and opening up leading space closer to goal.
Coming out of the back the options should be to threaten the corridor and utilize 45 degree kicks and overlap run.
If the opposition slows the game, you should look to switch and generate pace by opening space laterally with the threat of coming back into the corridor.
1 tall forward 2 mediums 3 smalls
With Charlie gone our forward line needs to adapt.
We now have quite a few "hybrid" forwards (play tall and small) in Hayward, Moir, Kemp and McGovern.
Harry as the spearhead, with HOK the understudy and break glass L Young
Smalls Led by Ainsworth, Williams, Evans and Motlop.
Spread the 50 to create space for leads, particularly for Harry, with small forwards collapsing in from the perimeter as the ball comes in to try and win loose balls and pressure defences. Opposite side wing to try and be dangerous in the empty pocket as an option for quick rebound goals.
Midfield:
2 inside, 1 outside (burst), 1 defensive wing, 1 offensive wing, 1 bruiser ruck
TDK is the big change here, plus the addition of Chesser and Florent as wing options.
We have long known that we have a weakness in speed in the middle and personnel wise that won't be changing soon.
So we need to balance this weakness with the strength, clearance and brute strength. Cripps and Hewett are the extractors, Pitt or Reidy providing the grunt ruckwork to make the opposition earn possession.
By burst mid I mean a mid who generates speed on the ball out of stoppage, our best options here are Walsh, Jagga and some of the guys who might rotate from the forward line (Williams, Moir, Motlop).
We need this in order to create the threat of converting clearances into score so the opposition respects us. Otherwise they may be happy to set up for the intercept and spring board off Half-back from sloppy dump kicks.
Wingers can be some of the most damaging players (Gulden, NWM, McLuggage, Dempsey) so a defensive winger to dull opposition offense and an offensive winger to try and generate our own.
Defensive wing is likely a contest between Acres and Cottrell. Offensive could be Chesser, E. Hollands, Ison.
Backline :
1 Key Lockdown, 1 Intercept key, 1 Intercept Medium, 1 Rebound small, 2 utility back.
Broadly assigning 3 types of back, lockdown whose main focus is beating their man, intercept who are trying to read the play and take marks and rebound who are the conduit player we drive our play through.
Lockdown key is likely Weitering, with second option Young. Jacob is obviously an excellent intercept, but we need someone we can assign to a Jesse Hogan or Charlie Curnow.
Intercept key's role is to get off their man where possible and interrupt opposition entries. Haynes, O'Farrell (when fit) maybe McGovern.
Intercept mediums are here to make the opposition reluctant to rush entries. They zone out and make leading space constricted. Cowan, Newman, Carroll fill this sort of role
Rebound small is here to be given the ball and make the opposition hurt. First option is Saad, but back ups are Wilson, O. Hollands, Florent.
Utility back is important for flexibility purposes. Not every opposition will have the same forward comp and we need a player who can slide between roles to fill holes. Cowan, Newman can switch between lockdown and intercept. Saad between lockdown and rebound. Haynes can be a lockdown in a pinch etc. Florent O. Hollands, L. Campo could be "utility backs" as rotations between wing positions and rebound smalla
Interchange:
Mid-forward, inside mid, wing, backup ruck, utility .
Mid-forward here is to rotate into the Half-forward spot and offer a different look, E. Hollands, Cottrell, Jagga, Moir, Ison all options.
Inside mid is to give the clearance guys a rotation. Lord, Cerra and B. campo most likely.
Wing spot is to provide rotation for hard running wing position. Cottrell, Acres, L. Campo, O. Hollands,.Chesser etc.
Back- up ruck is a utility tall slot for a guy who spends a lot of time either back or forward. HOK or Young is most likely imo. Giving Harry a rest rotation, maybe slotting behind the ball if needed.
Utility is good to give flexibility and game day options. Needs to be a guy who could theoretically go forward or back as a taller option, midfield should be coverable with flankers if required. Kemp, McGovern, O'Farrell, Young
Playstyle in general should focus on winning the ball at the source and then pushing it forward with run, using short angled options to force opposition to defend up the ground and opening up leading space closer to goal.
Coming out of the back the options should be to threaten the corridor and utilize 45 degree kicks and overlap run.
If the opposition slows the game, you should look to switch and generate pace by opening space laterally with the threat of coming back into the corridor.
What are your thoughts?
What would you like to see?
