Our playing list

[Allefgib]

Really have to agree with the OP re the balance of the list/team...too many with 1) poor skills and compounding that 2) poor leg speed.

The team on the weekend had way too many plodders.

A 'plodder' who has another valuable skill (ie Reilly has saved his bacon by developing a tagging niche) has a place in the side but really you cannot afford too high a proportion of 2nd tier vanilla average players.

Blokes like Symes, Stevens, Douglas, Reilly, Doughty, Schmidt, Griffin, Maric, van Berlo (I've left out Thompson, Tippett, Bock, Rutten because they can be exceptional in other ways)...that is way too many players with the same deficiencies to be a top 4 side. Leaves a heap of pressure on too few to be the top tier game breakers every week. Ultimately, you would only want half that above list in your best 22.

I know injuries have played their part and thus exposed our depth but we really need to get the balance right. That's why we need to be patient with the Jaensch, Gunston, Henderson, Walker types...they have skill, they have a touch of class...and we don't have enough of these.

On the bold bit above - i'd go further and say it puts too much pressure on the execution of a draining gameplan if we want to be successful as well. Far too little margin for error. If we are off a fraction we get badly exposed. Other sides towards the top end of the ladder can be off a little and still in the game.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

On the bold bit above - i'd go further and say it puts too much pressure on the execution of a draining gameplan if we want to be successful as well. Far too little margin for error. If we are off a fraction we get badly exposed. Other sides towards the top end of the ladder can be off a little and still in the game.

Great point

I've long felt our game plan is brilliant...on paper.

It's just that our team lacks the balance of skill to deliver it on game day in the face of opposition.

 

[TDRP]

It will be a very interesting trade period. I was in Melbourne on the weekend listening to some of the Cartlon fans on talk back... and the venom they were spewing at management over blindly recruiting nothing but midfielders at the expense of any decent key position players was most notbale. We have the reverse problem.... is there a chance we could do a deal?

Not sure who I'd take from their side outside the obvious... their good mids are all #1 draft picks so you'd think they are untouchable.

 

[SydCrow]

It will be a very interesting trade period. I was in Melbourne on the weekend listening to some of the Cartlon fans on talk back... and the venom they were spewing at management over blindly recruiting nothing but midfielders at the expense of any decent key position players was most notbale. We have the reverse problem.... is there a chance we could do a deal?

Not sure who I'd take from their side outside the obvious... their good mids are all #1 draft picks so you'd think they are untouchable.

swap Lucas for Talia?

 

[TDRP]

Great point

I've long felt our game plan is brilliant...on paper.

It's just that our team lacks the balance of skill to deliver it on game day in the face of opposition.

Unfortunately when your aim is to win an AFL premiership 'balance and skill' are always required regardless of game plan. So we are either blaming the game plan or the hardness / skills / balance of the squad. I think we need to get the latter sorted first then we can start questioning the game plan... the game plan is fine but our hardness / skills / balance is killing us.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Great point

I've long felt our game plan is brilliant...on paper.

It's just that our team lacks the balance of skill to deliver it on game day in the face of opposition.

There's an old saying that no battle plan survives once the first bullet has been fired.

 

[Go_Dogs]

IMHO, I think your list is actually fairly solid, but has a few holes like every side does.

Certainly this year, not having guys like Knights, Johncock, McKay etc for every match has hurt you a lot. Good ball users with pace, who run and carry the footy are super important, and you guys have simply lacked that for large portions of the year.

You've certainly loaded up on a lot of taller of utility sized players over the past couple of drafts, and although most of them look like fairly solid athletes, it's been an interesting strategy from my point of view. It certainly gives you a great chance to nail down the defensive key posts once Rutten/Bock etc are finished, and also more tall depth for forward positions which is never a bad thing (and they can certainly become handy trade bait at worst). Only problem being, it has probably prevented more rapid improvement out of the list which you often get with smalls with shorter development time frames.

However, the future looks good, because with a midfield group of Vince, Thompson, Dangerfield, Knights, McKay and then VB, Sloane etc you have enough young players who can play different roles coming through.

Ideally you'll be able to snare another quick running player with your first draft selection this year, and I certainly think you have the capabilities of being finalists next year, and having a good crack. The list is alright....the coach on the other hand

 

[LC40]

IMHO, I think your list is actually fairly solid, but has a few holes like every side does.

Certainly this year, not having guys like Knights, Johncock, McKay etc for every match has hurt you a lot. Good ball users with pace, who run and carry the footy are super important, and you guys have simply lacked that for large portions of the year.

You've certainly loaded up on a lot of taller of utility sized players over the past couple of drafts, and although most of them look like fairly solid athletes, it's been an interesting strategy from my point of view. It certainly gives you a great chance to nail down the defensive key posts once Rutten/Bock etc are finished, and also more tall depth for forward positions which is never a bad thing (and they can certainly become handy trade bait at worst). Only problem being, it has probably prevented more rapid improvement out of the list which you often get with smalls with shorter development time frames.

However, the future looks good, because with a midfield group of Vince, Thompson, Dangerfield, Knights, McKay and then VB, Sloane etc you have enough young players who can play different roles coming through.

Ideally you'll be able to snare another quick running player with your first draft selection this year, and I certainly think you have the capabilities of being finalists next year, and having a good crack. The list is alright....the coach on the other hand

Go Dogs very insightful comments from a person who doesn't support the Crows.
Agree with a lot that you have written.

 

[amer]

Add Otten to the midfield rotation don't forget. Looking forward to seeing him back out there.

 

[Allefgib]

Unfortunately when your aim is to win an AFL premiership 'balance and skill' are always required regardless of game plan. So we are either blaming the game plan or the hardness / skills / balance of the squad. I think we need to get the latter sorted first then we can start questioning the game plan... the game plan is fine but our hardness / skills / balance is killing us.

We have lost games - say the semi-final last year, with plenty of hardness/skills/balance.

The gameplan looks great when its not exploited. But it's so all or nothing. For years all of Craigy's gameplans have been so great on creating and scoring from turnovers. Until finals time. Our current gameplan also seems to work great if we can give 110% effort for the whole game. That's pretty intense stuff and inspirational to watch - see Geelong game - but that level of hardness and intensity at the moment just seems unattainable. Irrespective of the cattle.

 

[worsfold]

It will be a very interesting trade period. I was in Melbourne on the weekend listening to some of the Cartlon fans on talk back... and the venom they were spewing at management over blindly recruiting nothing but midfielders at the expense of any decent key position players was most notbale. We have the reverse problem.... is there a chance we could do a deal?

Not sure who I'd take from their side outside the obvious... their good mids are all #1 draft picks so you'd think they are untouchable.

Carlton are interested in Bock - What would you need in return

pretty sure west coast want Yarran possible 3 way?

 

[srv23]

Carlton are interested in Bock - What would you need in return

pretty sure west coast want Yarran possible 3 way?

Without getting into the nitty gritty of fair trades and adding in draft picks/additional players - Obviously Gibbs but he has re-signed so getting him is pretty unlikely. Maybe one of their brigade of small crumbing forwards but I can't see any of them coming to us - Betts is probably too old in terms of where we're at in terms of development, Yarran is highly rated and starting to show a bit so they wouldn't give him up and Garlett came off the rookie list but so far is probably doing the most out of him and Yarran at the moment.

I'm not sure who we'd want from West Coast to do a 3 way trade who wouldn't be off limits - Number 1 would be Hurn but you guys wouldn't part with him unless he desperately wanted to come home.

In an ideal world for me - If it is indeed true that Carlton want Bock then hopefuly Gibbs would want to come home and then we could talk about what else either club would need to get the job done. But realistically Gibbs isn't coming home so I'd be hard pressed to think of anyone else I'd want from Carlton that would be satisfactory for us to give up Bock.

If Bock wants to leave I don't know what would be better for us - him going to the GC and dealing with whatever the AFL decide to give us as compensation based on their assessment of Bock's worth, or doing a deal ourselves with another club. It would be tough with Bock because at best he is an AA CHB and pretty much the best CHB in the comp but he hasn't played like that for a long time which would push his worth down a fair bit if dealing with another club such as Carlton. We just won't get what he's worth either way.