I can deal with a lot of things in football. Getting done by a better team, copping the wrong end of the umpire's whistle, I can live with all that. The one thing that still gets to me is the apparent lack of effort from a player on my own team.
So, bearing in mind that tonight was Carlton's Grand Final, that there were rumours of flu sweeping through the pie camp, and that the very bounce of the ball tonight seemed to conspire against the pies, I'd like to vent some of my disappointment by mentioning those who still gave their all, and by singling out those who just seemed like they couldn't care less that they were wearing the black and white.
The players who care:
Jarryd Blair - Beams and Sidebottom get the credit for picking up the slack that Luke Ball's injury left, but I really think that Jarryd has been the #1 contested ball winner in his absence. Lacks the polish and endurance of Dayne and Steel to capitalise with outside possessions, but is unrivalled in getting his head over the ball and his hands dirty. Would, and does, bleed for the club. A gem, whose colours aren't lowered in the slightest after tonight's performance.
Dale Thomas - Nothing really worked for him tonight, but time and time again he's proven that when the going gets tough, his effort doubles and redoubles, even in the face of utter hopelessness. Despite the fading violets around him, he never took a backward step nor shirked a contest. He's a proud man. He cares about this team.
Nick Maxwell - He's not the most skilled, he isn't the best defender on the team, but he always gives his all. Duigan kicked three tonight but only one of those was on Maxwell from memory, and that was a shank of a kick that landed in his lap. It's a pity his endeavour couldn't have inspired some more impassioned defending from those around him.
Heath Shaw - Made a lot of mistakes tonight, and was clearly not at his best. But he just hates being beaten, and his effort never once waned. For all his errors, we would have lost by 3 or 4 more goals without him playing his heart out across half back. For most of the night, it seemed that he was the only one of our small defenders desperate enough to chase, tackle and harangue at the level we'd expect.
The players who couldn't care less:
Darren Jolly - The stats say he won the hitouts but I can't remember one that went to advantage. More to the point, he was happy enough to let Kreuzer (and even Hampson in the short time he was on the field) leap all over him without any contest, to the extent that almost every time that a Carlton ruck got first hands on the ball, it went to clear advantage of a Carlton mid. Even more disappointing was watching him jog half-heartedly around the ground to amass a total of one kick and one tackle. I've seen worse performances in the black and white, but I can't recall the last time I saw a professional footballer so indifferent about the game, especially against an arch rival. A clear worst on ground for mine, and I've been a Jolly apologist. Might as well get the phrase 'Krooz's Bitch' tattooed on his forehead. Sorry Darren.
Simon Buckley - I'm going to preface this one by saying that I think Simon was pretty good tonight, with the exception of one particularly spectacular brain fade in the second quarter. How he thought that inside kick was possibly the right option is beyond me, and then there's the whole issue of how poorly executed it was. But all that aside, it just annoys me how little this guy seems to hurt when he makes a mistake. I guarantee that if Heath Shaw made a defensive blunder so bad, he would be screaming at himself in fury - but Bucks just seems to be ok with it all. Simon: you're performance is never going to be at All Australian levels, but you can still take pride in it, and act like you give a shit about it.
Jackson Paine - This one, I think, is a case of the spirit being willing, but the flesh, as yet, remaining weak. He wants to do all the right things - chase, tackle, lead hard, compete well - but as a teenager trying to cement a key position post, he's just not up to it physically yet. I actually think that playing him, alongside Cloke and Dawes, makes us an actively worse team. He just seems to get all up in everyone's space and destroy whatever structure we can manage to cobble together, and whenever he plays, the ball seems to ping out of our forward line the second we lose possession. As I said above, I'm sure he does actually care about his performance, but he's just not at the stage where that is apparent in his actions, and he makes us a much worse team in the interim. One for the future, but not now.
Steele Sidebottom - He's a relaxed character but that sure doesn't translate well in a loss. I suspect his performance looks a lot worse than it actually was due to his relaxed nature, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating to see him getting towelled up with a smile on his face. He's a good player who was probably due for a down week, and he's got the runs on the board in a few big matches past. He's just doesn't seem the sort to fly the flag when the team as a whole is being pummelled.
Special Mentions:
Chris Dawes - the form that this man is Baker-Finch-esque. But the strange thing is, it doesn't seem to be for lack of effort. Every match, I watch this guy try his socks off and just get beaten by his opponent. I feel for the guy, because it clearly hurts him every bit as much as it hurts us. Maybe he makes way for Tarrant or Wood. He'd be the first to admit he isn't performing.
Travis Cloke - I'm just trying to remember the last time he beat a good opponent. I suppose it would have been West Coast. But other than that? Jamison kept him goalless for 100 minutes tonight with one arm. Rutten absolutely crushed him, as did Lake. McPharlin cleaned him up, he always struggles against Taylor/Lonergan. He just can't seem to break a good defender at the moment.
That about sums it up for this evening. And as a final closing thought, the Collingwood v Carlton rivalry clearly seems to mean a lot more to the supporters than it does to the current crop of players.
So, bearing in mind that tonight was Carlton's Grand Final, that there were rumours of flu sweeping through the pie camp, and that the very bounce of the ball tonight seemed to conspire against the pies, I'd like to vent some of my disappointment by mentioning those who still gave their all, and by singling out those who just seemed like they couldn't care less that they were wearing the black and white.
The players who care:
Jarryd Blair - Beams and Sidebottom get the credit for picking up the slack that Luke Ball's injury left, but I really think that Jarryd has been the #1 contested ball winner in his absence. Lacks the polish and endurance of Dayne and Steel to capitalise with outside possessions, but is unrivalled in getting his head over the ball and his hands dirty. Would, and does, bleed for the club. A gem, whose colours aren't lowered in the slightest after tonight's performance.
Dale Thomas - Nothing really worked for him tonight, but time and time again he's proven that when the going gets tough, his effort doubles and redoubles, even in the face of utter hopelessness. Despite the fading violets around him, he never took a backward step nor shirked a contest. He's a proud man. He cares about this team.
Nick Maxwell - He's not the most skilled, he isn't the best defender on the team, but he always gives his all. Duigan kicked three tonight but only one of those was on Maxwell from memory, and that was a shank of a kick that landed in his lap. It's a pity his endeavour couldn't have inspired some more impassioned defending from those around him.
Heath Shaw - Made a lot of mistakes tonight, and was clearly not at his best. But he just hates being beaten, and his effort never once waned. For all his errors, we would have lost by 3 or 4 more goals without him playing his heart out across half back. For most of the night, it seemed that he was the only one of our small defenders desperate enough to chase, tackle and harangue at the level we'd expect.
The players who couldn't care less:
Darren Jolly - The stats say he won the hitouts but I can't remember one that went to advantage. More to the point, he was happy enough to let Kreuzer (and even Hampson in the short time he was on the field) leap all over him without any contest, to the extent that almost every time that a Carlton ruck got first hands on the ball, it went to clear advantage of a Carlton mid. Even more disappointing was watching him jog half-heartedly around the ground to amass a total of one kick and one tackle. I've seen worse performances in the black and white, but I can't recall the last time I saw a professional footballer so indifferent about the game, especially against an arch rival. A clear worst on ground for mine, and I've been a Jolly apologist. Might as well get the phrase 'Krooz's Bitch' tattooed on his forehead. Sorry Darren.
Simon Buckley - I'm going to preface this one by saying that I think Simon was pretty good tonight, with the exception of one particularly spectacular brain fade in the second quarter. How he thought that inside kick was possibly the right option is beyond me, and then there's the whole issue of how poorly executed it was. But all that aside, it just annoys me how little this guy seems to hurt when he makes a mistake. I guarantee that if Heath Shaw made a defensive blunder so bad, he would be screaming at himself in fury - but Bucks just seems to be ok with it all. Simon: you're performance is never going to be at All Australian levels, but you can still take pride in it, and act like you give a shit about it.
Jackson Paine - This one, I think, is a case of the spirit being willing, but the flesh, as yet, remaining weak. He wants to do all the right things - chase, tackle, lead hard, compete well - but as a teenager trying to cement a key position post, he's just not up to it physically yet. I actually think that playing him, alongside Cloke and Dawes, makes us an actively worse team. He just seems to get all up in everyone's space and destroy whatever structure we can manage to cobble together, and whenever he plays, the ball seems to ping out of our forward line the second we lose possession. As I said above, I'm sure he does actually care about his performance, but he's just not at the stage where that is apparent in his actions, and he makes us a much worse team in the interim. One for the future, but not now.
Steele Sidebottom - He's a relaxed character but that sure doesn't translate well in a loss. I suspect his performance looks a lot worse than it actually was due to his relaxed nature, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating to see him getting towelled up with a smile on his face. He's a good player who was probably due for a down week, and he's got the runs on the board in a few big matches past. He's just doesn't seem the sort to fly the flag when the team as a whole is being pummelled.
Special Mentions:
Chris Dawes - the form that this man is Baker-Finch-esque. But the strange thing is, it doesn't seem to be for lack of effort. Every match, I watch this guy try his socks off and just get beaten by his opponent. I feel for the guy, because it clearly hurts him every bit as much as it hurts us. Maybe he makes way for Tarrant or Wood. He'd be the first to admit he isn't performing.
Travis Cloke - I'm just trying to remember the last time he beat a good opponent. I suppose it would have been West Coast. But other than that? Jamison kept him goalless for 100 minutes tonight with one arm. Rutten absolutely crushed him, as did Lake. McPharlin cleaned him up, he always struggles against Taylor/Lonergan. He just can't seem to break a good defender at the moment.
That about sums it up for this evening. And as a final closing thought, the Collingwood v Carlton rivalry clearly seems to mean a lot more to the supporters than it does to the current crop of players.
