freo game

[pupsta]

just watched the freo game on foxtel and although we lost it was good to see a few things with juddy, fev, fish, tex, sir richard and bentick out. Usuals played well murph, carrazzo, simmo. Hartlett, Grigg and Hampson very, very, very impressive. Jammo did reasonably well on tarrant who cant kick for sh@". Kreuzer moves well and suprisingly quick hands did some good things. Pfeiffer did some good things. Russell and Waite have bulked up considerably. O'Hailpin (although only played a 1/4), Waite and Gibbs played with a lot more confidence and you could probably say 'Carlton Arrogance'. Waite hasnt lost any agility and will run and create off chb this year with setanta at full back will be a great set up. Thornton, Wiggins and bower still frustrate me with there disposal and saddington should be a descent bullants player but should not play at game at senior level. Overall improvements in leaps and bounds with game plan, moral, fitness and attitude. Cant wait for nab cup and round 1 when we get our full strength side out there. also looking fwd to sunday, see everyone there.

 

[Blues_Man]

Same old story ...we can't hit a target by foot, i know it's very very early and only an exhibition match ..but poor footskills have plagued us all last year .
Brett Thornton and Saddington were serial offenders in the game .

Our disposal by foot is not suited to the chip around the backline style of play ....we looked great when we moved the ball fast and direct into the forwad line .
The side will be better for the run.

Some great positives with the young players in Kruezer Hampson Pfeifer Ellard etc looking the goods .

 

[Donstuie]

A combination of more experienced opposition, getting used to a new gameplan and a small soggy ground made things very difficult for us. Also not really having a target up front late in the game didn't help either (although Kreuzer and Cloke both kicked good bombs). That we pegged a few back at the end was pleasing.

Plus side:
Hampson
Russell
Hartlett
Jamison

All very impressive

BTW, anyone else think it was a bit ordinary that only the winners of the game and their 'kids' got the song from the locals, when our team and our 'kids' had to just stand on the outside and watch? I thought this was more about developing the game in Sth Africa, than the result

 

[blues4flag]

Very sloppy game, can tell it's only February.

Jamison is good as a defender, but his disposal is horrid.

Was excited to see Armfield play, but didn't do much and was particularly sloppy by hand.

Kreuzer moved well and looked good, but I felt he was a bit fazed, as you'd expect.

Hammer is an amazing athlete, really looking forward to seeing more of him this season.

Good to see Stevens play in the first half, wasn't afraid to go in and did put the neck to test, which was good to see. Could be in for a big season - him, Judd and Hadley could make a huge difference there.

Speaking of midfield, Murphy was very good and silky smooth, as was Simpson who ran hard. Carrots got a heap early Gibbs has bulked up and looks a lot more comfortable and like he really belongs. Oozes poise.

Russel is another who has bulked up, didn't do all that much although it wasn't a game for high disposals. Looks like he'll be playing in the forward half this season. He and Houlihan were almost unrecognizable.

Pfiefer, Browne I didn't see much of, and looked similar so might have confused them, but looked good with the little they did.

Hartlett disappeared after half time, might have gone of the ground. Didn't see his third goal, but his first was a long bomb. Didn't do too much apart from his three goals but hopefully that'll give him confidence and he'll be given a go up forward. Hopefully he's over his injury troubles.

Waite looked good at times attacking from half back, but was moved forward. Hoping this was due to an almost total absence of experienced forwards and he'll be left to settle in the one position come the season proper. Moving him back and forward like a yoyo will only be to his detriment.

Setanta I think only came on in the last, as did Shields who got a couple of kicks in his short time on the field.

As a whole, we didn't move the ball well off half back at all in the 3rd/early 4th quarters - very stagnant with little run of the back line. In stark contrast to Pagan's long kicking gameplan, although I'm sure it won't be indicative of our game come late March and the younger guys getting a run could have contributed to it. Wasn't a high intensity game nor a technical match from the coaches point of view, though as you'd expect for a practice match at this time of the year.

 

[choo]

same same.
The upside is; MY expectations were realistic.
We will struggle with a more possession based game plan from a team riddled with players who turn the ball over.
Unless Ratten is a genius and can engineer the games so that only those that can kick deliver the ball, from the backline, or to the leading forward we will be punished very badly.
We must understand that opposition sides let Carrazzo, Bentick, Blackwell etc go free because THEY CAN'T KICK


The good news.
The ratio of can't kick versus can kick is far better and improving all the time.
There is room for can't kickers in a better line up coz you need "can get its."

IMPRESSIVE
Hampson
Kreuzer
Murphy
Stevens

i'm sure there were other that impressed but these are mine.

Overall i'm not too upset but as i said my sights weren't too high.
We all will be amazed at how much Judd will improve us. Not only his ability but also the confidence he gives others.
We must remember we are starting from a very low base.
We are on the right track finally but we are starting a long way back.
We are now focusing on things other clubs have been doing for 2 - 3 years.

Be patient!!

p.s.
Thornton is the most selfish footballer i've EVER seen. He does not care what happens when the ball is not his problem.

 

[donkey kong 43]

If our NEW game plan is to chip around, chip around, chip around then we will be finishing in the bottom 3 again. Why can't we take heed of what the better sides do and move the ball quickly!!
Hardly any use of the corridor which in turn makes the chip around game more pronounced. Our skills are not good enough to play like this, hence we will get killed on the turnover.

I will be voting with my feet and not going to games if we continue to play this style of game throughout the season!!!!

Am i being to harsh???????????

 

[pupsta]

i think so. you have to remember we had no fev at ff plus no judd to use the corridor to play more direct. dont be harsh on a teams first hit out with a lot of unproven players that are just gaining experience. we will be good.

 

[audas]

Guys I haven't even seen the game, yet a simple consideration tells me that there were only 16 players at any time due to the ground being the size of a bath tub.

The style of play will be severly effected by this, relax.

 

[borissey]

If our NEW game plan is to chip around, chip around, chip around then we will be finishing in the bottom 3 again. Why can't we take heed of what the better sides do and move the ball quickly!!
Hardly any use of the corridor which in turn makes the chip around game more pronounced. Our skills are not good enough to play like this, hence we will get killed on the turnover.

I will be voting with my feet and not going to games if we continue to play this style of game throughout the season!!!!

Am i being to harsh???????????

Small ground so it may be too harsh.

but watch Rounds 17 to 22 from last year and you will see more short kicks, more chipping, trying to control the pace of the game and maintain possession, and hopefully far fewer long bombs to a 2 on 4 situation like we had last year.

If this is going to upset you I'd recommend you start to get on the inevitable 'we were better off under Pagan' bandwagon which already includes one famous BigFooty poster.

 

[donkey kong 43]

I understand that the ground was small with only 16 players on the ground at any one time and that people prefer this short game to the long bombing that we had previously.

What i am saying is that instead of using 20m chips out of defence or through the middle why not kick 40-50m to a leading target. Of course bombing long into the forward line is not the solution but better ball use with more direct targets should be the aim, not using 10+ kicks to get from goal line to goal line.

 

[legendtofski]

what was the final score? stats?

 

[bloods01]

I was impressed with young Grigg. Looked quite good of a back flank. Where do you guys see him in terms of your best 22? Any chance?

 

[BlueMania]

Small ground so it may be too harsh.

but watch Rounds 17 to 22 from last year and you will see more short kicks, more chipping, trying to control the pace of the game and maintain possession, and hopefully far fewer long bombs to a 2 on 4 situation like we had last year.

If this is going to upset you I'd recommend you start to get on the inevitable 'we were better off under Pagan' bandwagon which already includes one famous BigFooty poster.

who's the poster b ?

 

[thylacine60]

Small ground so it may be too harsh.

but watch Rounds 17 to 22 from last year and you will see more short kicks, more chipping, trying to control the pace of the game and maintain possession, and hopefully far fewer long bombs to a 2 on 4 situation like we had last year.

If this is going to upset you I'd recommend you start to get on the inevitable 'we were better off under Pagan' bandwagon which already includes one famous BigFooty poster.

Disagree. Ratten said in his first interview back at PP training that we got caught in the trap of "tempo" footy (what you describe above) in the third quarter. It's not something he intends to develop into our game plan.

 

[blues4flag]

who's the poster b ?

Some nutcase.

 

[cwebb(go_fish#14)]

what was the final score? stats?

Carlton: 2.4 5.6 5.9 9.10 (64)
Fremantle: 1.2 6.4 10.6 11.12 (78)
Goals: Carlton – Hartlett 3 Bannister Betts Cloke Kreuzer Russell Stevens. Fremantle – Crowley 2 Headland 2 Mayne 2 Mundy 2 Gilmore Murphy Tarrant.
Best: Carlton – Murphy Hartlett Hampson Russell. Fremantle – Headland Crowley Gilmore Schammer Murphy Johnson
Reports: Nil
Official crowd: 5222 at SuperSport Park, Pretoria, South Africa