Observations of tonight's game.

iameviljez

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This game was an unimportant NAB cup first-round fixture and was played exactly as though it was an unimportant NAB cup first-round fixture. I felt that for most of the game Geelong looked the better team per se but they kept on trying to be too cute and the impression was certainly there that Carlton cared about this one a bit more than they did. That's not to talk down the Blues, but the reality is that there was a fair gap between the two sides last season and the thing which really kept the game close was the scrappy, rusty play from both clubs. Geelong in particular looked as though they were stuck in second gear all night long and didn't look like anywhere near form until the last ten minutes. That said, had the Blues kicked straight in the second and the third, they probably would have won - something that you feel Mark Thompson really wouldn't have been too upset about, to be honest.

Particularly worrying for Carlton was the fact that, bar Saddington, they had almost a full lineup in place and yet didn't really look any stronger down the spine than a depleted Geelong. Blake was outpointed in the ruck by the more experienced combination of French and McLaren but all three struggled to have any influence around the ground. More importantly, Waite, Fisher and Fevola all played cameos at times but only kicked four goals between them and all of them got beaten by their respective Geelong opponents, who were missing Harley, and Scarlett did not play the last quarter. O'hAilpin was handy but not intrusive. The quality of the entries was not the best but none of the fowards stayed on form long enough to be a real thorn in the Geelong side.

More worrying, however, was Whitnall's matchup against Gardiner at CHB. Whilst Gardiner was more promising than inspirational or a matchwinner, he probably came out slightly the better than his Carlton opposite and exposed him for lack of mobility. Saddington MUST be a better answer than Whitnall at CHB - Whitnall is not a natural backman. Perhaps, more importantly, Gardiner is not even Geelong's first choice CHF (Playfair being rested) let alone a top-quality CHF. Put another way, the way he played tonight, Whitnall would be murdered by Riewoldt if given the chance. It's not his fault so much; he's just not a natural defender. It doesn't help him that Kingsley kicked nine at full-foward; well done Kent, although again the opposition wasn't the greatest. That will shut the critics up for a while.

The usual suspects were amongst the best for Carlton, such as Lappin, Stevens, and a vastly bigger and much-improved looking Ryan Houlihan. The Carlton midfield did look quite thin all night and does look in need of a few more top-line midfielders to throw in with these three. Walker and Murphy are expected to fill this gap and on that note, whilst both did some handy things, they were also fairly quiet over the whole game.

Simply put, Geelong's best three in the middle were not up there with the Blues' best on the night but weight of numbers, especially from half-back to the centre, told the story. On a night where top-line players were often taken from the coalface to give others a go, Geelong had more quality (though I am loathe to use that word in such a game) across the board and had more options to turn to. Players such as Corey, Bartel, Mooney and Ling didn't play for all that long on the ball but still had more meaningful contributions than their Carlton counterparts, Mooney in particular doing some good work. Milburn, Enright and Johnson all had good games in the back six but it was Byrnes who was the best midfielder for the second half, his ball-getting and running really being let down by his kicking. The only player who really stood out for Geelong was Kingsley, and it is fair to say that without him, Geelong would have lost a game it was threatening to lose.

Points of note -
- N.Ablett and Lonergan, and, at the other end, Spencer, didn't have great nights. Lonergan did have a few good cameos though and his two goals were excellent. In their defence, none of them were given particularly important roles.
- Carlton was over-reliant on Houlihan, Lappin and Stevens. Houlihan looks primed for a big season.
- Although beaten tonight, good signs were shown by all three of Carlton's young fowards in Fisher, Waite and O'hAilpin. Setanta in particular, you feel, was unlucky not to see more of the Sherrin and looks a "likely type".
- If this is the future of umpiring in the AFL, then would someone please buy me a rugby ball for Christmas. Far too trigger-happy, and this kick-out rule just SUCKS. The problem that AFL fans have with basketball is that it doesn't balance white with black; it's just score, score, score with limited pressure. Free-flowing football must be balanced with pressure and contests. All this kickout rule does is makes everyone flood and creates a few easy touches to the HFF. The interpretation of the fifty-metre rule tonight was really, truly depressing and destructive and I would rather have it cut out altogether than see it like that again.
- Geelong seems to have plenty of depth in its light brigade and its defence. Egan was the standout defender for tonight barring of course Scarlett who was just superb. Byrnes was very encouraging but all of Kelly, Ablett, Bartel, Mooney, Ling and Enright offered something to the game when it was their turn, whilst Stevens, Houlihan and Lappin just didn't have that backup.
- Mark Blake still has a bit of a way to go. He should have been more mobile around the ground than French but that didn't eventuate. McLaren looked a bit handy in the ruck.
- In the end, this didn't really end up being a game worth winning. The points to take home for both sides was the performance of a few young guns (O'hAilpin, Byrnes, Egan, Fisher) but in the finish I think it also gave the Blues a few reasons to be worried too. Both sides looked rusty but I expect that to vanish on both fronts come round one.
 

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ablettjnr

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#2
Great read jez.

Agree just about entirely, particularly on the frees and basketball style. God, it was unbelievably frustrating at times, especially the 3rd quarter. Decisions were terrible, bouncing was worse.
 

fishman

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#3
I think you are a bit harsh on Blake, he seemed to do quite well but tired toward the end.

Byrnes needs to play more this year too. He seemed to be everywhere.

Only thing that kept Carlton in it was those 'red devils' who seemed to misinterpret the rules.
 

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#4
Anyone know the free kick count? Seemed like it was way harsh on us..

PS. I would like to make a formal apology to KK. Yes, we wont get too excited till he replicates that in the real season. But my god 5 in the first and 4 in the last.. :thumbsu:
 

Shell

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#6
ablettjnr said:
Free kick count was 32-18 in favour of Carlton.

50 free kicks in a game is outrageous.
Bloody hell! Didnt know it was that much. Thats like an extra player.. it's a wonder they didnt win, since they cared more and considering the number of turnovers we made!
 

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#8
JUBJUB said:
WTF ???? :eek:
I didn't realise there were that many frees.
It happens.. remember that Geelong v Western Bulldogs game at Optus?

It was ridiculous last night and the game was so scrappy. Hopefully it can only get better from here on in!
 
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Good read Jez. Whilst I agree in general, I can't agree with your summation of the Gardiner-Whitnall matchup. I thought Whitnall was perhaps one of Carlton's better players (although that doesn't say a lot) whilst Gardiner was... well Gardiner. I saw no signs that he has taken the step from the bumbling, fumbling, indecisive, ineffectual player that he has been in seasons gone. I can only recall one occasion when he presented reasonably strongly and marked in front of his opponent. I'm left thinking he will face a hefty stint in the VFL when we are back at full strength.
 

tomthabuddah

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#10
catempire said:
Good read Jez. Whilst I agree in general, I can't agree with your summation of the Gardiner-Whitnall matchup. I thought Whitnall was perhaps one of Carlton's better players (although that doesn't say a lot) whilst Gardiner was... well Gardiner. I saw no signs that he has taken the step from the bumbling, fumbling, indecisive, ineffectual player that he has been in seasons gone. I can only recall one occasion when he presented reasonably strongly and marked in front of his opponent. I'm left thinking he will face a hefty stint in the VFL when we are back at full strength.
You must have been watching a different game. Charlie played his role to perfection, his foot skills were good ie pass to KK in first. He was cleen below his feet and played the perfect link role. If KK didnt get 9 he would have been our best forward. All aboard the charlie express 2006.
 
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#11
tomthabuddah said:
You must have been watching a different game. Charlie played his role to perfection, his foot skills were good ie pass to KK in first. He was cleen below his feet and played the perfect link role. If KK didnt get 9 he would have been our best forward. All aboard the charlie express 2006.
He fumbled a few overhead marks but he still took 8.
I though he did good job, but still has a while till his in our best 22.
Byrnes had 18 disposals, his kicking wasn't too good, but no-ones is this early, other than our man Kingsley.
I've heard a few people say that his performace last night will only happen once but IMO he's taken a great step over the summer. He's never kicked that straight before so he is improving.

I thought the final term showed what we can do this early in the year.

Scarlett for AA!!!
 

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Sammy D

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#12
carn_the_cattas said:
He fumbled a few overhead marks but he still took 8.
I though he did good job, but still has a while till his in our best 22.
Byrnes had 18 disposals, his kicking wasn't too good, but no-ones is this early, other than our man Kingsley.
I've heard a few people say that his performace last night will only happen once but IMO he's taken a great step over the summer. He's never kicked that straight before so he is improving.

I thought the final term showed what we can do this early in the year.

Scarlett for AA!!!

You never would have picked Kent to kick 9.0 after his shots in the intra-club matches! Still annoyed me how nearly the entire side look to pass and not shoot if they mark inside 50 and aren't directly infront. Is no one in our side confident of shooting for goal?

Thought most of the game was pretty diabolical with Byrnes & Kelly's kicking being the worst of the bunch. It will impove with a few more matches under the belt. Thought the backline did very well as usual
 

iameviljez

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Sammy D said:
Thought most of the game was pretty diabolical with Byrnes & Kelly's kicking being the worst of the bunch. It will impove with a few more matches under the belt. Thought the backline did very well as usual
That was unusual. It wasn't really for want of space, either. Kelly is one of our matchwinners down at Geelong; if Kell has 25 touches, then we will win more often than not.
 

ablettjnr

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#14
iameviljez said:
That was unusual. It wasn't really for want of space, either. Kelly is one of our matchwinners down at Geelong; if Kell has 25 touches, then we will win more often than not.
Disagree. Kelly has always been a poor kicker. Last night merely highighted this. Can hardly blame him, size 15 flippers can't help.
 

cats2rise

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#15
Charlie has improved since last year. yes he did fumble a few and lead early at times, but geez it is Charlie, i was expecting much.

He did alot better than I thought he would, especially in the 2nd term when he presented well up the ground. I still do not think he is in our best 22 at this point in time but he did alot better than he was doing last year.

I thought for the other young talls, Spencer played well for the first time I have seen him play. I liked the look about him. In contests he did extremly well with his body too.

Lonergon showed signs of what he can do, eg turning Lance inside out. Still a quiet night for him but he did look OK at times before he went missing.
 

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#16
I thought Lonergan had only kicked a couple, like you said. I was shocked when the scoreboard said he had kicked 5 goals, which meant we would have only had 3 goal kickers in total, but I remember Milburn and Charlie at least kicking outhers, so someone screwed that up big time.

Great post mate, pretty average game really, what can you expect this time of year I suppose...
 

gandaal

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#17
Congratualtions on the win, Kingsley continued his good form from last season.

iameviljez said:
More importantly, Waite, Fisher and Fevola all played cameos at times but only kicked four goals between them and all of them got beaten by their respective Geelong opponents
Fev and Waite (and Simpson) had a interrupted pre season and they've only recently joined full training during the last week or so. I personally didn't think Fev or Waite should've played. Not much was really expected of them so two goals from Fev against the class of Scarlett was a pretty good effort all things considered.
 

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#18
Nothing game really, for several of the highlighted reasons mentioned.

Having skipped watching them train during the summer, at some stages I found myself more interested in the adjusted gameplan Bomber's trying to implement to coincide with the changing rules (half of which are crap, for what it's worth). Obviously never reached the heights I imagine the coaching staff would have in mind, but that's to be expected first game up. In a nutshell, the call to move the ball swiftly and set up a fast break with ending short chips to the forward line was fairly obvious, even if the execution failed more times than not. Interesting, to say the least.

Guys like Scarlett and Kingsley don't need much mention; they were but the few who played on the plane level guys will need to be at come Round 1. Call it an on-night or whatever you want, but Kent played well. Thornton gave him a few cheaps, but Kent worked hard, held his grabs, and kicked well.

I know Matty S will get all the praise, and deservedly so, but his namesake impressed me just as much down back. I'm looking forward to seeing Egan bring it this season as much as anyone else; the guy's a gem. And to think we got him for a 62nd pick - a diamond in the rough if ever.

Not too interested in reading into our usual 22's games. Generally speaking, it was a crumby and at times, indecisive performance (see Kelly). Would have liked a better first up effort, but I'm not going to cry over it.

Seems alot of people here are feeling generous towards our youngsters. The first few tastes are great, but once you get used to it, the critical bastard in you will come alive - you'll see.

Domsy still needs work. Kicked two goals, both of which were nice, but both of which were incidentally crumbing goals. Has never really played the pure key position part well, even down in the magoos, were he looked more likely as the third tall than a spine player. Still plays more like a mid-sized player than his KPP height, and IMO he needed to do more in his limited time. No real presence or impact apart from his couple of goals.

It was nice to see Spencer out on the ground. Unlucky not to get a sniff last year, but it was always going to be interesting to see how he slots into senior footy. Unfortunately for him, and this isn't to cross him off and call him an empty glass, he fitted just like I thought he would. Didn't get alot of groundtime, so it's hardly fair to assess him and call it even on this performance, but he did nothing to dispell the negative comments on his game. Took a few nice grabs overhead down back, sometimes almost looking like a younger Harley, but he'd want to be working on getting abit more things going for him if he's going to stress his case for senior regularity in the future.

Shannon continues from last year, and the year before. Got a lot of the ball, made some decent runs, but with the same old results. Straight out, his disposal was crap, which shouldn't be surprising really. His is hardly the same case as others; not merely some pre-season rustiness showing through, he's always been like this. Honestly, improvement is minimal in comparison to others. Still showed poor awareness, crumby disposal for the most part, and a liking for running into open goals and blowing them far and wide. The fact that he looked to be one of our better players on the night speaks volumes about our team more than anything - he's a fringe 22 player.

The reaction to Charlie's game is an interesting one. Was given the minutes, unsurprisingly, but for mine, didn't do as much as he could have. Was he pure crap? No. But he wasn't pure gold either.

Led well and presented an option, created some oppurtunities, and his disposal was a slight upgrade over previous season efforts, but all in all, I honestly think he could have done alot more, especially against a guy like Whitnall. As a potentially agile option, he should have burned Whitnall. Was given the space to work with, but failed to utilise it to its full extent.

Give him credit, he played reasonably well tonight, but what exactly was new? Always been a decent mover, always had the potential to be a guy who can find space, but never had the footy smarts, and at times skills, to be much more than a half fulfilled guy. How many times does he need to be whistled for climbing up guys backs before he realises it's a no-go zone? Trying my arse off to be as un-harsh (is that even a word?) as possible, but as handy a contributor he was tonight, I can't quite help being a little disappointed.
 

cats2rise

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#19
Atleast twice i was caught out thinking Chapman was DJ or the other way round. From a distance i couldnt tell them apart.

DJ played OK come to think of it.
 
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tomthabuddah said:
You must have been watching a different game. Charlie played his role to perfection, his foot skills were good ie pass to KK in first. He was cleen below his feet and played the perfect link role. If KK didnt get 9 he would have been our best forward. All aboard the charlie express 2006.
Yep, we must surely have seen it differently! :)

To say he played the role to perfection I think, is at least an embellishment. While I didn't see all of the game (watching on TV with many distractions around) the parts I did see included Charlie dropping several overhead marks when his opponent was metres behind him. Also saw a few fumbles. I'll be happy to put my hand up after I watch the replay if I see it differently.

He wasn't named in our best in any media source and that says something given the poor standard in general and the calibre of the players missing.

I don't think he's a lost cause yet, but there's plenty of room for improvement and he's not in the best 22 yet.
 

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#21
catempire said:
To say he played the role to perfection I think, is at least an embellishment. While I didn't see all of the game (watching on TV with many distractions around) the parts I did see included Charlie dropping several overhead marks when his opponent was metres behind him. Also saw a few fumbles. I'll be happy to put my hand up after I watch the replay if I see it differently.
There were definitely a couple of early jumps for marks that just made him look stupid, and dropping what should be an overhead mark practiced so many times.
 
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#22
N Ablett - looked dissinterested again
Lonergan - a couple of class acts. Needs more chances
Gardiner - better but still frustrating
KIngsley - lets judge him when it counts
Byrnes - still can't kick
Prismall - ordinary disposal
Blake - struggled

Thats why I wan't to play as many games in this comptetion, so we can see more of these guys because a lot of these guys (barring injuries) wont get too many chances in the real stuff.
 
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Jack-Packenham said:
I know KK kicked 9 goals, but can you get best on ground when you didn't touch the ball in the second and third quarters?
Yep. You just can't ignore 9 goals.

And question: how many opportunities did he have during those quarters? He certainly wasn't friendless in the 'going missing stakes' during that time.
 
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