Article from M.Murphy on CFC site, dont think anyone has posted yet , I hope not! 
http://carltonfc.com.au/tabid/4311/Default.aspx?newsid=57642
I THINK a lot of Carlton supporters will remember Matthew Kreuzer’s first kick in AFL footy for a long time.
I know I will.
The roar around the MCG when big Kreuze marked and goaled against Essendon was pretty deafening.
He’s already got a lot of support from all our fans, with the big ‘Kreeeeuuuuuuuuze’ call easily heard out on the field by all those in the Navy Blue.
To boot a goal with his first kick was one thing but I was more impressed with some of his follow-up work, his second and third efforts.
There’s a fair bit of pressure on any guy playing his first game, and I think he was pretty nervous during the week leading up to our game against the Bombers.
I guess I’m one of the few guys who knows what it’s like to be a No.1 draft pick.
While some people might consider it a burden, once you’re out there playing you forget about whatever number you were selected in the draft, however many months beforehand.
When you run out you can forget about whatever expectations people might have and just play footy.
I think Kreuze has probably been a bit luckier this year too, having Juddy come over and maybe take away some of the limelight.
But still, he would have felt some pressure going in, so to boot two goals and impress the way he did was a super effort.
He looks like he’ll be a great player for us for a long time.
It’s funny, but thinking back just a couple of years after I made my debut against Melbourne, I can’t really remember my first kick in AFL footy.
I can remember my first handball, though. Stevo was running past and he screamed ‘Give it to me'! so I just did what I was told.
It was a big thrill, and now I get to play alongside not only Stevo, but also a guy like Chris Judd every week.
We’ve all seen what he’s capable of in past years with West Coast, and the signs are there he’s getting back to that in the last couple of weeks.
We played some great footy in patches against Essendon and a lot of that was driven from Juddy and the midfield.
Still, the reality is we continue looking for our first win.
Obviously the team hasn’t got off to the best start but the positive is we’ve been in winning positions in each of our three games.
We just need to play four quarters of footy.
We’ve showed we can score but we’re just getting a few too many goals kicked against us.
That’s not just our backline’s fault – it’s a bit of a problem across the whole ground.
The defensive aspects of our game – from our midfielders right through to our forwards – need to improve.
As a whole group we need to apply more pressure which will help ease the strain on our defenders when the opposition is taking the ball into its forward half, because we’ve shown that when we go forward we can do plenty of damage.
Fev was back to his best at the weekend, kicking eight goals as well as two or three posters, while a guy like Eddie Betts is playing some of the best footy of his career.
Anyway, hopefully a win’s just around the corner. We certainly feel that it is.
We know close enough isn’t good enough, and if we’re to get something from 2008 we need to start making our move now – before the year gets away from us.
Bring on the next couple of weeks!
--------------------------------------
Good article, shows the boys know where they have to improve rather than the Kevin Sheedy's on this board saying they are using excuses and need to understand what they are doing wrong.
Good work Murph!
http://carltonfc.com.au/tabid/4311/Default.aspx?newsid=57642
I THINK a lot of Carlton supporters will remember Matthew Kreuzer’s first kick in AFL footy for a long time.
I know I will.
The roar around the MCG when big Kreuze marked and goaled against Essendon was pretty deafening.
He’s already got a lot of support from all our fans, with the big ‘Kreeeeuuuuuuuuze’ call easily heard out on the field by all those in the Navy Blue.
To boot a goal with his first kick was one thing but I was more impressed with some of his follow-up work, his second and third efforts.
There’s a fair bit of pressure on any guy playing his first game, and I think he was pretty nervous during the week leading up to our game against the Bombers.
I guess I’m one of the few guys who knows what it’s like to be a No.1 draft pick.
While some people might consider it a burden, once you’re out there playing you forget about whatever number you were selected in the draft, however many months beforehand.
When you run out you can forget about whatever expectations people might have and just play footy.
I think Kreuze has probably been a bit luckier this year too, having Juddy come over and maybe take away some of the limelight.
But still, he would have felt some pressure going in, so to boot two goals and impress the way he did was a super effort.
He looks like he’ll be a great player for us for a long time.
It’s funny, but thinking back just a couple of years after I made my debut against Melbourne, I can’t really remember my first kick in AFL footy.
I can remember my first handball, though. Stevo was running past and he screamed ‘Give it to me'! so I just did what I was told.
It was a big thrill, and now I get to play alongside not only Stevo, but also a guy like Chris Judd every week.
We’ve all seen what he’s capable of in past years with West Coast, and the signs are there he’s getting back to that in the last couple of weeks.
We played some great footy in patches against Essendon and a lot of that was driven from Juddy and the midfield.
Still, the reality is we continue looking for our first win.
Obviously the team hasn’t got off to the best start but the positive is we’ve been in winning positions in each of our three games.
We just need to play four quarters of footy.
We’ve showed we can score but we’re just getting a few too many goals kicked against us.
That’s not just our backline’s fault – it’s a bit of a problem across the whole ground.
The defensive aspects of our game – from our midfielders right through to our forwards – need to improve.
As a whole group we need to apply more pressure which will help ease the strain on our defenders when the opposition is taking the ball into its forward half, because we’ve shown that when we go forward we can do plenty of damage.
Fev was back to his best at the weekend, kicking eight goals as well as two or three posters, while a guy like Eddie Betts is playing some of the best footy of his career.
Anyway, hopefully a win’s just around the corner. We certainly feel that it is.
We know close enough isn’t good enough, and if we’re to get something from 2008 we need to start making our move now – before the year gets away from us.
Bring on the next couple of weeks!
--------------------------------------
Good article, shows the boys know where they have to improve rather than the Kevin Sheedy's on this board saying they are using excuses and need to understand what they are doing wrong.
Good work Murph!
