Blues v Bombers Review

From OldDarkNavys.net

Carlton, the wooden spoon heir apparents if you believe the critics fought, tackled, scragged and fumbled their way to yet another loss at the M.C.G tonight against an Essendon side also battling injury but not to the same degree. Not an unexpected loss given the experience and quality of the personnel on board but yet another loss that tears ferociously at the ever tightening heart strings.

Before you think I've gone completely soft and accepted our fate, I hasten to add that if you put all of our players in a tiny room full of ceiling fans and asked for a show of hands for anyone that didn't fumble, drop an easy mark or turn the ball over in horrific fashion tonight, we could all sleep safe in the knowledge that all of our players would have their fingers intact next week.

Once again Carlton found plenty of avenues inside the 50 only to suddenly get timid and overuse the handball. Stupid play for a team whose skill level is severely depleted.

The first half was woeful and but for a brief period in the second quarter, the Blues didn't look likely to match it with the Bombers. Corey McKernan touched the ball more than anyone on the ground but couldn't turn any of those touches into a possession. The suggestion that he struggles at night with his eyesight seemed to have no merit when he at last showed some intestinal fortitude later in the match when the game was gone.

To make it worse I had to endure an Eddie-a-thon with suggestions that a Jacobs goal "is just what the doctor ordered". Essendon had 5 goals to Carlton's 1 at the time. Were we watching the same game? When Franchina marked and promptly ran out of bounds, Eddie couldn't resist another dig at the beleaguered Blues by suggesting that "he was nearly as far out as Wayne Harmes", a reference to the 1979 Grand Final. Eddie ... get over it mate! As an encore, he made many references to the injury plagued Bombers almost offering an excuse as to why they weren't blowing us off the 'G'. A real slight to the quality of our injured players in my book.

Come the third quarter and the Blues had found some life, running through the centre and appearing to find some confidence but once again, turnovers and Essendon goals against the run of play killed off any momentum we were gathering and found ourselves further behind on the scoreboard. Matthew Lappin lifted in the second half to provide some support for Lance Whitnall who provided a real target as always but undid all of his good work with poor accuracy in front of goal. The Blues finished well with 5 goals to 3 in the final quarter and while critics will say that the Bombers took their foot off the gas, from my perspective they were still tackling and harassing as much as always. Finally when the game was over, the Blues freed up and handled cleanly and gained some respectability in the process.

For Carlton, Trent Hotton played probably the best game I have seen from any Blues player this season and must surely be backed with more time in the ruck this season. With Nathan Thompson out for the Hawks next week, the timing is just right. For much of the game Andrew Eccles was going to get my raspberry of the week but was saved by a half decent final quarter condemning Andrew Merrington to the non-performer of the week award despite being benched for much of it.

Play of the night was a real turning back of the clock with Craig Bradley pinpointing Ang Christou streaming upfield and bombing a goal from 50 metres. Ryan Houlihan also displayed a few of his immense skills but suffered from trying to be too cute too often. Once again out of adversity came something positive with first gamer Justin Davies playing a great game coming off the bench. The kid has awareness and adds something new to our midfield. A genuinely exciting prospect and proof once again that the Blues still have a future. It was also a shame the Blues didn't see fit to replace Simon Wiggins in the selected side with Lindsay Smith opting instead for Ian Prendergast who looked out of his depth as usual.

Scott Camporeale should be back next week. The Blues have the right attitude but will still be off the pace until some more troops return to relieve this team of battlers. So many times during the last month we looked to have found the secret to breaking a game open and so many times our own skill errors have cost us dearly. To get back on the winners list, we are going to require some good fortune in direct contrast to the misfortune that has put us in this predicament.
 

georgee

Draftee
Apr 7, 2002
10
0
melbourne
Other Teams
carlton
i agree totally

i agree with you totally,why are we fumbelling??? whats wrong it might be more to it than a lack of confidence??? have you noticed justin murphys game?? fell over a few times passed the ball to the oposition all night! he was terrible in my opinion the worst player in the side for 2 of the last matches he should be dropped and i dont care who they put in!!! bradley passed the ball to the oposition,with some bad kicking i think his confidence is gone!! theirs a problem in the club !!and its more than the injuries we are having..
 
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