Carlton Player Preview

[Lockyer24]

Hi Guys
Here is an excellent player preview done by Teagueeee15, was meant to be used for a full AFL preview but unfortunately we didnt get enough input. Cheers

Carlton 2005
By Teagueeee15

Best Team
B: Carrazzo Livingston, Teague
HB Lappin Thornton Houlihan
C:Chambers Koutafides Camporeale
HF:Waite, Whittnal Fisher*
F: De luca Fevola Betts
Foll: French Stevens Scotland
Inter: Norman, Johnson, Walker, Prendergast
*Injured(Out Indefinatly)

Next Best 10 players:
23- Trent Sporn
24- Troy Longmuir
25- Jordan Bannister
26-Digby Morrel
27- Simon Wiggins
28-Adam Bentick
29- Luke Blackwell
30-Jordan Russel
31-Cory Mcgrath
32- Chris Bryan

Jordan Bannister-Was part of the "Recycles" at the end of the 2003 from Essendon. Was taken at pick 69 in the 2003 draft and his first season in navy blue was a good one. Bannister is a very tall negating midfielder standing at 190cm and is an exeptionally strong mark(Proberbly the best at Carlton). Plays well when he drifts forward and can kick goals because his opponent doesn't seem to look after him and be prepared to man him up. Ended the season with a top ten finish in the Carlton best and fairest. Jordan will be looking to cement a position in Carlton's best 22 and will be aiming not to make more than a couple of appearences for the Bullants. Jordan needs to keep up his work on his foot disposal as there is still scope for improvement.
2005 position-Tagger

Adam Bentick- Was a success story in my opinion.Adam was overlooked for the 2003 draft after captaining the Calder Cannons to the premiership. Bentick was placed on the Carlton rookie list and strong form for the bullants pushed him into the senior side for the last 5 games of the season. Bentick didn't at all look out of place in the seniors and is very brave in putting his head over the ball. Playing in all 22 games next probably won't eventuate for Adam but a rising star nomination would be an achievable aim.
2005 position-inside midfielder

Eddie Betts- Eddie is the small crumbing forward that Carlton has been craving for. Eddie is able to kick freak goals, has incredible pace and rarely fumbles a ball. The main concern will be his size. We have seen plenty of small players dominate at U-18 level(eg:Steve Kenna and stephen Dinell) but struggle at senior level. In my opinion Eddie will be a good servent of the club but for the sake of his longevity will need to push for a midfield role.
2005 position-Forward Pocket/rover

Luke Blackwell- Luke is a small inside midfielder who is the son of Wayne Blackwell who played 110 games for Carlton. Luke was named ruck rover in the colts team of the year where he regularly nothched up possesion after possesion. Luke's strong form resulted in promotion to WAFL reserves where he continued to dominate. Towards the end of the season Luke Broke into the swan districts senior team and was BOG in the preliminary final. Expect Blackwell to brake into the AFL early next season. Luke also rarely fumbles a ball and can pinpoint passes on both feet. A big query of mine is that he seems to want to look good on the stat sheet. You will regularly see him so one-twos and receive backwards passes.
2005 position-inside midfielder

Glen Bowyer-Glen Is one of the most courageous players in the AFL and managed to play 13 games in 2004 despite not playing since round 17 2001. Glen is a very strong mark and a very smart back pocket. The big difficiency in his game is his foot dispsal. It is shocking and would be one of the worst in the AFL, with glen often relying on Camporeale and Stevens to run past and kick it for him. He is also very slow. At this stage Glen has his work cut out and will have to work very hard to get into the team. At this stage i see Carrazzo ahead of him and only expect limited appearences from Glen in 2005. Seems as though he will be delisted next season unless his skills improve.
2005 position-back pocket.

Chris Bryan was pick 73 in this years draft. He is a ruckman from Frankston in the VFL and originally played TAC cup for Sandringham. Chris’s tapwork isn't that great but he can push forward and kick goals. Seems like a ready made player.
2005 position-Ruck/forward pocket

Scott Camporeale-Scotty is only one of two remaining players with a premiership medalion to their name on Carlton's list. As usual Scott got his 25 dispsals week in week out, but the hurt factor of these possesions wasn't great. The great thing about scott is that he regularly pushes forward and hurts the opposition kicking 21 goals last season. Scott needs to stop running past for handballs and get more of his own ball. Again i expect a high finish in the best and fairest next season and a good aim for Scott would be a top 3 finish. A really tight tag from the opposition can disrupt his game.
2005 position-Follower

Andrew Carrazzo- One who i had my eyes on from when he showed great form in the TAC cup. He then went on to spend two years on the Geelong rookie list before being rookie listed by Carlton. Strong VFL form pushed Adam into the AFL for the final 2 games of the season where he beat his direct opponents in Davey as well as Didak/Davis and going along to average 18 disposals. Andrew has great courage, is fast and has good skills. Is in our best 22, will be competing with Bowyer for a spot in the side. His role will be manning up the Milne’s and Davey’s and may well get tagging roles on players like Daniel Wells.
2005 position-back pocket

Callum Chambers. Chambers was recruited to Carlton from West Coast after originally being a first round draft pick. Callum is very quick and has good foot skills. At this stage he is more of an outside midfielder and will have to get more hard ball if he wants to keep his spot in the side. This is Callum’s last chance and Will be competing with David Clarke for a spot in the 22 and should play most of the season in the navy blue. Callum will be a very good pickup for Carlton and blues fans will look forward to his pinpoint passes.
2005 position-Wing

David Clarke-Clarke is one of the fittest players at the club and has great speed. His main difficiency in his game is his foot skills which i don't see as being that much of a problem with Denis's kick long and high game style. Where Clarke goes wrong is his hands. He fumbles alot and needs to improve this area of his game alot. At this stage i see Clarke spending most of the season in the VFL and proberbly delisted at the end of next year.
2005 position-wing(NB)

Justin Davies-Justin has got loads of ability but no consistancy whatsoever. He seems to play good quarters followed by bad quarters. One of the things i like about him is that he's proberbly the most aggressive player at the man on Carlton's list and he follows this up with tremendous courage. 2005 will be a make or break year for Justin. I would like him in 2005 to adopt a game that is based more on hard running which is something he hasn’t done in previous years.

 

[Lockyer24]

2005 position-Midfield

Adrian Deluca- Was a surprise packet of the season, like Bryan coming from the VFL and ended up playing all 22 games. The main problem i see is whether or not Adrian will be a long term player for the club as it seems as though it's a waste putting him in the ruck.( Hopefully this problem can be solved by putting on some weight). In the practice matches Adrian looked good where he was kicking 3-4 goals a game, but he only kicked 8 for the season. Adrian is also very tall and can take strong contested marks and also plays well in that kick behind play role where he's almost a CHB in stopping the oppositions dominant forward. Adrian is a player that I see as having second year blues as he is set to miss a fair bit of the preseason with a foot injury.
2005 position-Ruckman/Forward

Brendan Fevola-Since Dennis came along he has really helped Fevola blossom form the leading forward role Brittain was using him for. Now he is the focal point of the Carlton forward line kicking 63 and 66 in the past 2 seasons. Kicked 51 in the first 13 rounds before i believed Dennis was using him more around CHF in Whittnal's absence. Everyone was talking about Dennis putting him on Gehrig as being a major surprise but Brendan had been in poor form the previos 2 games. Like Gehrig, Fevola needs to put more pressure on rebounding defenders and if he goes down Carlton will struggle. Gets to close to the man on the mark regularly so opposition teams should put their tallest player on the mark. Other sides should look at doing what Adam Morgan did in getting under Fevola’s skin and running away from him up the ground, where Brendon was silly enough to follow him.
2005 position-Full forward

Brad Fisher- Won't be back until round may after undergoing a knee reconstruction. Fisher is a good prospect for Carlton and has exeptionally sticky hands. Let's hope Fisher puts on weight over his absence. His main difficiency is his kicking, he seems to not kick through the ball and a floater results. Was a steal at pick 72 in the draft. Brad is one who seems to get the 3rd or 4th best defender, in which Brad will just outplay them. Brad is athletic enough to play on a wing.
2005 position-Injured

Barnaby French- French will once again be carlton's main ruckman. If the Blues get Knobel i will see the two of them adopting a Brisbane Lions style ruck setup as both aren't great around the ground. Will be very interesing to see the changes in the ruck rules as Barney is a very strong person. As he also has a bad back blues fans will need to follow the changes in the ruck rules carefully. May spend time at bullants if Bryan's tapwork improves.
2005 position-Ruck

Adam Hartlett- Versatile genuine key position player who i think is a really good get. Depending on how Livo goes at FB Hartlett may be groomed to take over that area in a few years. Won't play much senior footy next year. A signature of his game is the way that he can roost the football a long way.
2005 position-Full back(NB)

Ryan Houlihan- Another late draft pick by the blues, it was really good to see his attack on the ball increase this year. Houlihan has silky smooth skills and a good sense for whom is around him. One thing i really dislike about him is that when he is chasing someone and a player comes across to shepherd he just gives up. This area must improve. He also has to stop going across the front of goals as this resulted in several oppostion goals. I expect Houlihan to come up and be in the top 10 at the blues this season with him adopting a hard running midfield role.
2005 position-Wing

Bret Johnson- I thought Bret had a really good first up season for Carlton after crossing from Hawthorn. Bret is very courageous on-baller who just keeps on winning clearences. For mine tends to just kick it long to Fevola no matter what position he's in and this results in turnovers. IMO Bret should kick shorter more often and get inside the 2 50m arcs more often. Will still have to battle for a place in the side.
2005 position-Inside midfielder

Anthony Koutafides- Led by example towards the end of the season and was really hitting good form. Played on Wowoedin in the last game which was a good example of him not sticking on his direct opponent. Other sides should look to put a ball winner on him rather than a negator. Another problem with Kouta is his kicking at goal, it's a real lottery and reminds me of Leigh Harding. Overall i expect Kouta to be aiming to stay on the field and win the B and F next season.
2005 position-utility

Matthew Lappin-Played back in 2004 and had his best year so far. Matthew was unlucky not to win the B and F and in 2005 should be aiming for another high finish in the John Nicholl’s medal. Expect Lappin to play back in 2005. Matthew is a really strong contested mark for his size so he is a big threat in the forward line.
2005 position-HBF

Luke Livingston- Former top 4 draft pick who has put on loads of muscle so far in the pre-season. Livingston has good acceleration but is stuck behind his opponent too often. He is being groomed as FB with Thornton going to CHB. Kicking is a problem as is his concentration. I think he's more of a forward and is another who is another carlton player who is a very strong contested mark. Make or Break year for Luke. Very much a confidence player and for mine his confidence appears to have been shot.
2005 position-Full back/Leading forward.

Troy Longmuir-Troy was recruited to Carlton from Fremantle in exchange for pick 73. Although Troy is 185cm he can play ‘Bigger or Smaller” than his height. Troy should be aiming to play 16-18 games this season and providing he plays this many games should be at least a 25 goal a season player.
2005 position-HFF

Cory Mcgrath- Cory didn’t break into the Carlton side until the second half of the season and when he did break into the side he didn’t look back. Cory is a very solid boy for an aboriginal boy and has a great attack on the ball. Cory’s foot skills are also excellent and personally I would like to see him take more kickouts. When tagging Cory needs to be prepared to take on his opponents on more in 2005 the he did in 2004.
2005 position-forward or back pocket/tagger.

Digby Morrell- In 2004 Digby played a lot of the season at CHB which was a big learning curve for him. Digby was out of depth there to begin with but found his feet more towards the end of the season. In 2005 Digby will be pushed more into the forward line with a view of playing both Livingston and Norman in the same side (which didn’t happen in 2004). Digby has great courage and is a good contested mark. His best will see him kicking 5 goals, but his worst makes him look like a VFL player.
2005 position-half back

Karl Norman-Karl was the smokie of the 2004 draft being the 2nd last selection. Karl can play on all sorts of opponents which is great for someone his size. Karl would also be one of the quickest and most agile players at carlton. Denis also pushed Karl forward where he kicked 3 goals against St kilda but I only see this as a very limited role for Karl as he is not a great forward. Other sides should also be aware of his ‘3rd man up’ rucking technique.
2005 position-Half back

Ian Prendergast-Ian was one of the big improvers in 2004 with roles varying from tagger to ruckman. Prendergast is very much still more of an athlete with there still being scope for improvement in his footy smarts and foot disposal. In 2005 I don’t know where he will play. If he goes back to being a negating midfielder he should continue with his attack on the man. If he becomes an around the ground the ground ruckman his fitness will be a big concern for other teams as will the resuting 3rd man up.
2005 position-Utility

Anthony Rasso-Anthony is a 17 year old who will not play VFL next year and will play school footy. Anthony will need to bulk up a lot and should be played both forward and back for his school. His speed is great but his endurance isn’t which is shown by his beep test of 11.3.
2005 position-School

Jordan Russel-Jordan is a very quick midfielder with very good foot skills. Jordan will need to develop his game more on getting his own ball if he is to become an elite player at this level. Jordan will break into the senior team and should be aiming for a double figure amount of games. Taken a little high for my liking.
2005 position-Wing/HBF

Heath Scotland-Heath’s first 5 games last season were ‘top shelf’ material where he racked up a number of brownlow votes. A bad ankle injury resulted in Heath not been able to play to the best of his ability for the rest of the season. Heath is an absolute ball magnet but seems to trust his left foot more than he should. Occasionally plays as if he’s in training mode. An injury free Heath Scotland should see him have his best season and should be aiming to brake into Mike Sheehan’s top 50.
2005 position-Midfield

Kade Simpson-For mine one to watch next season. He has a very small body but great speed and a leathel left foot. Kade has so far seemed to be overawed in his limited exposure to AFL but a bigger body should see him develop more confidence. Kade will proberbly be competing with Cory Mcgrath for a flanker position.
2005 position-Wing

Trent Sporn- I am a big fan of his. He has very clean hands, a good football brain and great upper body strength for his size. The problem with him so far has been injuries. In his small number of appearances he has shown that he can win alot of hardball and I know it’s a big call but he will take over Koutafides role in the side when he retires.(That’’s his role know not the one he had 3 years ago).
2005 position-Half back/midfield

Nick Stevens-Nick just oozes class. He rarely fumbles, usually makes good decisions and has great foot skills. The one problem is that he is soft. He relies on other players to get the ball for him which is not a bad thing, it’s just the sort of player he is. Seems to get away from his tagger very easily and should be more aggressive at the man.
2005 position-midfield

David Teague-David is my most admired player at Carlton and is why he is my username. David has remarkable courage, is a great contested mark for is size and has exceptionally good foot skills. The main problem with David is his height which rules him out of a key position role week In week out as well as being to slow. David also punches sometimes where he can take the mark.Has indicated he will spend more time in the midfield.
2005 position Back pocket/Fank

Bret Thornton-Bret is one of the most underatted players in the league. Bret is only one inch taller than Davis and Since he started AFL he has played on the oppositions best forward with remarkable success. Bret seems to struggle on the real Athletic forwards like Nathan Thompson. Bret also has great foot skill which makes him one of the best rebounders at Carlton. Will move to CHB for this reason. Bret may have a vision problem.
2005 position-CHB

Jarred Waite- Jarred looks to have fully recovered from a stress fracture in his foot and played good footy towards the end of the year. Jarred is a good athlete, is big and has really good skills. For mine Jarred needs to be more accountable in his game and if you think he’s a permanent KPP he isn’t. Opposition teams need to make sure when tackling that they pin his arms down as regularly you see him get his hands free and dish of a handball.Looks suited to a HFF.
2005 position-HFF

Andrew Walker- Andrew is athletically one of the best in the league. He runs all day, is very quick and he can jump. One thing though that he must work on is his kicking. On his right foot (Preferred) his kicking is pretty good. But because he’s a left-hander, Andrew uses his left to drop onto his left foot (non-preferred) and a turnover results. In 2005 expect Andrew to run a lot more with the football.
2005 position-Utility

Lance Whittnal-Lance was playing his best football around 99/00 not neccesserily because he was lighter then but because he was covering a lot more ground. Lance certainly needs to loose weight, which he has been doing, but dropping kilos won’t turn him back into what he was. Lance simply needs to improve his fitness. Lance also needs to improve his goal kicking. Lance needs to be kept in the forward line and not in the back line.
2005 position-CHF

Simon Wiggins-Make or break year for Simon. Simon was a first round draft pick who has great pace, great speed, really strong attack on the football and is pretty good on both sides. The main fault is the way he kicks long and high to situations where the opposition has numbers at the contest. I would also like to see him run more with the football in contested situations and put on weight. Simon hasn’t yet found a niche in the side.
2005 position-Wing

Setanta o’hailpin- Setanta played both forward and back in the VFL in 2004. Setanta looked good in the forward line and his best game was 7 goals against Williamstown. Setanta is a remarkably good athlete for someone 6’6. At training he’s been doing a lot of ruckwork so maybe this is his position in 2005. Setanta will play senior football next season and should be in the wizard cup lineup.
2005 position-Mobile ruckman/KPP

Sam Pleming- Sam is a developing KPP who spent the season in the VFL and played Bullants reserves as well. Sam plays well one on one but doesn’t really dominate his opponent. At this stage not up to AFL level.
2005 position-CHF/HFF
Aissake o’hailpin- Setanta’s younger brother. Aissake is slightly taller but a lot more skinnier. Aissake is an excellent athlete who will take a while to come on.

Jesse Smith-Don’t be surprised to see him play AFL football next year as he is preety much ready for senior football. Jesse is a strongly built midfielder who gathers a lot of the ball. Smith however may stunt Blackwell’s development with Smith and Bentick likely to start in the center square for the bullants. Had a great Grand Final.
2005 position-Midfield

Nick Becker- Nick is very much a ball magnet and has preety good foot skills. With Simpson in the VFL side it will be tough for Becker to land a permanent spot in the midfield. Like Smith had a great grand final.
2005 position-midfield

Daniel Batson- Daniel is a tall but skinny ruckman who I know little about.

 

[pumped]

Have just read this review and believe it is better than anything I have read in the footy press. It is a very honest and is a great guide for Carlyon supporters.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Congratulations, one of the best player reviews i have read. Obviously thoroughly researched.


B: Sporn Thornton, Teague
HB Lappin Waite Norman
C:Walker Koutafides Camporeale
HF:Houlihan, Whittnal Mcgrath
F: De luca Fevola Betts
Foll: French Stevens Scotland
Inter: Bannister, Longmuir, Chambers, Prendergast

Em: Livingston, Morrell, Johnson, Wiggins

Would be good to see the interaction bw McGrath and Betts if both were forwards.

I still have a mind for Waite at CHB, adds skill,and marking ability, and has good defensive skills. Also with his pace, can match leading forwards.
Leaving Norman (floating) and Thornton the other 2 talls.

Pre-season form/injury will determine whether Longmuir and Chambers start the season on the pitch, as neither were first 18 players previous 2 years.

Houlihan usually starts the season well, then tapers off, so plonk him forward early.

Bannister for a top 10 B&F finish would be in my 22.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Davies and Simpson still to convince,
though is Simpsons case, he was a jockey weight longterm draft.

 

[DIG]

Top review.

It's always subjective when you pick a starting lineup then rank the list, but it was pretty close to what i'd have. The player analyses were excellent, hard to disagree with many, some of the comments were very insightful - great read.

Also agree that Lappin should continue to play HBF this year, with just the occasional stint up forward to spark the forward line up when required.