Mark Austin

[juddsentant517]

hi fellow carlton idolisers
just reading someones team line up, they had mark austin at CHB. If he can fill CHB, our defence won't be an issue, despite everybody up in arms about it.
He has the potential,the footy smarts, and going by the saints game, were his intensity and ferocious tackling was outstanding.
In order for him to fill the void, he wouldve had to have had a huge pre season and put on lots of weight
Has anybody been following his pre season/training. I'd love to know what shape he is in, how much muscle he has put on, how well he is training etc because i reckon he will be absolutely vital next year and our most improved player bar injury

 

[Mister Carlton]

Hello Juddsetant517.

Try the search option on the forum.

Regards.

Carlton board.

 

[HBF]

hi fellow carlton idolisers
just reading someones team line up, they had mark austin at CHB. If he can fill CHB, our defence won't be an issue, despite everybody up in arms about it.
He has the potential,the footy smarts, and going by the saints game, were his intensity and ferocious tackling was outstanding.
In order for him to fill the void, he wouldve had to have had a huge pre season and put on lots of weight
Has anybody been following his pre season/training. I'd love to know what shape he is in, how much muscle he has put on, how well he is training etc because i reckon he will be absolutely vital next year and our most improved player bar injury

Saw him train last Thursday, and he was still in the rehab group.

 

[juddsentant517]

sorry, i know its a pet hate on bigfooty to start threads asking questions that have been answered on another board, and i cant stand it, but i had to be abit hypocritical as i really couldn't be bothered going through each training report
not so much wondering how his training is going, more so how much weight he has put on, which i don't think has been published on bigfooty.

Thanks for the info HBF and Mister Carlton

 

[Moss Rocket]

Carlton will hope that Austin can play tall back with Jamo, Thornton and Bower. This will free Henderson to develop forward with Kreuzer and Waite. Hammer and Warnock to ruck. O'Hailpin, Fisher, Sauce spares. Walker where needed. Garlett, Joseph, Houlihan, Robinson, Yarran and Betts to be dangerous forward. Our midfield is scary. Watch for Carrazzo, Grigg and McClean to have great years supporting Simmo, Judd, Murph and Gibbs. That is one great side.

 

[juddsentant517]

Carlton will hope that Austin can play tall back with Jamo, Thornton and Bower. This will free Henderson to develop forward with Kreuzer and Waite. Hammer and Warnock to ruck. O'Hailpin, Fisher, Sauce spares. Walker where needed. Garlett, Joseph, Houlihan, Robinson, Yarran and Betts to be dangerous forward. Our midfield is scary. Watch for Carrazzo, Grigg and McClean to have great years supporting Simmo, Judd, Murph and Gibbs. That is one great side.

as much as that is really nice to hear. And i can't help but enjoy hearing it over and overr, i really wouldn't mind hearing how much weight aussie has put on thanks. Sorry about being irritating

 

[Monkey King]

McClean to have great years supporting Simmo, Judd, Murph and Gibbs. That is one great side.

Is he related to Mr Sheen by any chance?

 

[starchamber]

Hope he has a big year next year or could be cut at the end of 2010 along with Joe Anderson.I'm just saying that as they been on the list longer then others now. They both need to grab games now in a row.

I didn't include guys like Ohailipin,Johnson,Wiggins,Hadley and Fisher as those guys know they need to be consistent next year to stay. I expect one or 2 may surprise us.

 

[Ytoojae]

Dont worry spudchamber... Mark Austin is not spudz and should have a good season.

 

[celtic_pride]

Aussie is rapidly becoming an cult figure and fan favourite at the club, especially if he can continue to ruffle the feathers of opposition players feathers, especially knobs like Ballentyne of Failmantle

Can't fault the aggro attitude of Austin that's for sure

 

[Silvagnis]

Austin destroying Leon Davis and splitting Mr September up the middle with a perfectly placed shepherd for Judd was special.

It was bigger than Walker's bump on Farren Ray where the sound of Walker crashing into the then Bulldog was caught on the effects mic.

I'd like to see Austin play forward.

 

[OZBomb]

Austin destroying Leon Davis and splitting Mr September up the middle with a perfectly placed shepherd for Judd was special.

It was bigger than Walker's bump on Farren Ray where the sound of Walker crashing into the then Bulldog was caught on the effects mic.

I'd like to see Austin play forward.

I agree. Austin was a forward as a junior and he would bring that ability to crash packs with him. I'd play Austin at FF with Andrew Walker beside him, Henderson at CHF with Setanta on the bench as back-up CHF/FF. Throw Betts and Yarran in there and I think you've got a really damaging set-up.

I think in the modern game you don't really need a gorilla CHB as the role is more a zoning off, rebounding role now alah Waite and Bower. Waite has always been patchy in the forward line and he has admitted he works better with the ball coming at him.

 

[CUG81]

I agree. Austin was a forward as a junior and he would bring that ability to crash packs with him. I'd play Austin at FF with Andrew Walker beside him, Henderson at CHF with Setanta on the bench as back-up CHF/FF. Throw Betts and Yarran in there and I think you've got a really damaging set-up.

I think in the modern game you don't really need a gorilla CHB as the role is more a zoning off, rebounding role now alah Waite and Bower. Waite has always been patchy in the forward line and he has admitted he works better with the ball coming at him.

Interesting regarding your comment about Waite. I have also heard Waite comment that he preferred it down back. Me personally, I think Waite has always played better as a forward. He has a great leap, great skills for a big man and is very creative.

He can utilise this down back as well, provided he doesnt play on a big CHF type...i think he often gets lost when he has to play one on one on a key forward. However, have him as the third tall, coming over to crash packs, spoil and run off that half backline, and you obviously have something great there.

But, if Austin can hold down CHB, Jamison FB..and with Bower and Thorntan as the third and fourth talls, we'll still get that run and creative play set up off the backline. Add to that a running Russell who looked great towards the end of the season in that role.

I think the club would be nuts to play Waite down back when he can offer so much more in that forward line...or even floating from wing to half forward. With Henderson still a ??? right now, and setanta still needing to prove himself more, i just dont see how we could rely on the likes of another unproven forward in big Kruz.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

I am very confident that Mark Austin will make a name for himself in 2010. Is a fantastic size for CHB (has the biggest body out of all our defenders), and is exceptionally agile and fast. His aggression is also underrated and I have never seen him take a backward step on the field, Aussie is fearless and runs straight at the footy.

As TG and OZBomb pointed out, it might also be an idea playing Austin forward in patches next year. With his good speed and strong hands, he might just make a good leading full forward, and he has looked at home playing forward for the Ants. While Waite will be playing forward for the majority of the season (despite the fact that he MUCH prefers playing back), I'd like to see him swapping with Aussie depending on the state of the game.

Austin is the piece in our puzzle that the wider football community has yet to take notice of. Everybody bemoans our lack of talls, but this bloke is exceptionally versatile, and will be equally effective at either end. I couldn't be happier with his development to date, and look forward to seeing Aussie improve out of sight next year.

 

[Jeremias]

Aussie is a player very much in the mould of a swing-man, and could be a vital player for us in 2010. He's been on the periphery for a little while now and he showed in 2009 prior to injury, that he's really starting to push his way into our best 22. I expect that to continue in 2010 and by the end of the year it would not surprise me if he has entrenched himself in our best 22.

There's no doubt that his best position is as a defender but he has shown promise as a forward as well.

He is still very young so doesn't have the body to play on the big forwards just yet so I'd like to see him spend time at both ends of the ground. Having said that, in the player review (if anyone can find it), the coaches mentioned they expect Aussie to have the body next season to compete with the big forwards, so he could quite conceivably spend all season down back.

In modern football it's becoming more and more of a necessity to be able to play in a number of positions. With Waite, Henderson and Austin we have 3 guys that are able to play in key position posts at either end of the ground which is an extremely valuable commodity to have. It allows a hell of a lot of flexibility on game day and changes in structure if things just aren't working for us - swing players around and force the opposition to make changes that they may not want to make.

Due to our relative shortage in quality KPPs, guys like Austin and Henderson are going to be placed under a fair bit of pressure and it's up to them to respond positively to it. 2010 will tell us a heap not only about Aussie's development in his body but also about his mindset and how hard he's willing to work with a spot opening up for him in our best 22.

 

[thylacine60]

Great post, J. What I'd give to be in a position where swing-men are rarely required and we have the depth to settle our players into their most suitable spots long-term.

 

[Deep Blue]

Lot of work to be done over summer - expect to see Austin, Henderson, ROK, Kreuzer, Setanta, and even Hampson and Jacobs try out for CHF, FF and forward pocket "resting ruckman" roles; Fisher is a fall-back tall option and even Thornton could get a run (has the smarts to play up forward and has shown a bit on the rare occasion he has ventured forward).

Will certainly be interesting next year. Expect Waite to play down back following his knee injury - won't be risked up forward, at least early in the year. If Waite does plays up forward later in the year it will only be because of injuries to our tall forward options and/or the fact that most have failed to acquit themselves, in any case our plethora of forward smalls and goal-kicking midfielders will ensure we kick a winning score more often than not - hoping we can finish in 4th spot not withstanding we won't have Judd for the first three rounds.

 

[shell23]

^^^^ Cant see Sam Jacobs at CHF could try him there but isnt mobile and slow as

 

[Sin City]

^^^^ Cant see Sam Jacobs at CHF could try him there but isnt mobile and slow as

Took me about half a second to realise Jacobs would be likely to be rotated through ruck, forward pocket and interchange, it's not that hard to understand that's what Deep Blue meant.

Good post Deep Blue.