Where's Mokbel?
Rookie
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2006
- Posts
- 35
- Reaction score
- 0
- AFL Club
- Carlton
Back: Thornton O’Hailpin Walker
Half Back: Whitnall Waite Scotland
Centre: Simpson Gibbs Houlihan
Half Forward: Cloke Kennedy Lappin
Forward: Betts Fevola Fisher
Followers: Ackland Stevens (c) Murphy
Interchange: Carrazzo Russell Mclaren Koutoufides
Emergency: Hartlett Wiggins Bentick Grigg
The Backline
Our previously leaky defence has been shored up by adding Whitnall and Waite to Thornton and O’Hailpin. All four are capable of taking a key position/ tall forward (say against a side like Sydney with Hall, O’Loughlin, O’Keefe and Richards), and excitingly, Thornton, O’Hailpin, Walker, Waite and Scotland can all provide run out of defence. Thornton will relish not having to play full back all year. He has great composure with the ball. O’Hailpin is learning, and I’m sure he will get towelled up a few times this year but in the long run he will be a very good defender. Excited to see him progress this year. Walker is, for mine, a disappointment. I feel sorry for him because I think that Pagan has killed his confidence by forcing him to play ultra defensive football for the majority of his career. He is a sublime athlete, and is still potentially a very exciting footballer. Unfortunately, his foot skills are terrible. Needs to improve these asap. I laughed the other day when someone on this site compared him to Lindsay Gilbee – who is just about the best kick in the comp. Walker will still provide good run from defence as well as do good defensive jobs for us, but for a number two draft pick I would hope for more. Waite was very impressive in defence during the recent intra club match. Whitnall as we all know is a highly creative and experienced defender – and he can be used as another tall forward against sides with less threatening forward lines. Scotland will hopefully have another excellent season like last year. He is one of our few players who hits targets. Overall, I think this backline will concede far fewer goals this season, as well as providing many more attacking thrusts.
The Midfield
For a developing midfield, it’s not too bad. Simpson and Houlihan on the wings provide us with plenty of class, and I think Carazzo will be used through this position as well. The only query with these wingmen is their lack of size and marking ability. It would be nice to have a player such as Andrew Embley here, but wishful thinking isn’t going to help anyone.
Gibbs is a classic centreman. I will be disappointed if Pagan doesn’t play him as often as possible this year. He’s brilliant in the clearances, and he reads the play exceptionally well. In the practice match he cruised up and down the middle of the ground, and players were constantly finding him in the right spots. He looks perfectly balanced and his kicking technique is perfect. As good a number one draft pick as I’ve seen since Riewoldt (by default though - Judd was no.3).
Murphy is a ball magnet, simple as that. He will be tagged more frequently this year, it will be interesting to see how he deals with it. He has an uncanny knack of getting the ball. His disposal is already good enough, and I think it will improve as he plays more AFL footy.
We need a good season from Ackland. We are lucky to get a bloke who has so much senior experience. He looked massive the other day, and he needs to throw his weight around to protect and give confidence to Murphy and Gibbs. Mclaren is an average player at best, but Ackland cannot ruck all game, and Mclaren is our only other ruckman (Hampson’s legs are another big pre season away). Expect an 80/20 split between the two in terms of game time, with Cloke to pinch hit on occasion. Massive strife if Ackland gets seriously injured.
Stevens and Koutoufides are the senior midfielders. Stevens is set for a big season. I reckon he should be given the top job. Whitnall will be a spare parts type player this season, and, to be frank, he is too much of an oaf to captain our proud club. Kouta is in the twilight of a glorious career. He will have limited game time this year, which is ok, because he is a gun in the clearances and he can still take a handy mark. A friend remarked to me the other day that he saw the empty shell of a cicada on a tree trunk and he was instantly reminded of Kouta. Anyway, I still think he is in our best 22. Russell might end up being our primary tagger this year, along with Walker.
Forward Line
Potential. Will rely heavily upon good delivery from our backline and midfield, as there is no big marking forward here. Fevola is best on the lead – he takes remarkably few overhead marks for a full forward. He relies on his ability to read the play (he is brilliant at this), and of course his super speed. Would love 60 goals from him this year. Fisher is a great overhead mark, but his kicking is genuinely atrocious. His technique is still all wrong – he cannot kick the ball straight. He will have a lot of shots at goal though, fingers crossed he kicks more than he misses. 30 goals from him would be excellent, but I think 15-20 is more realistic. Kennedy looks set for a big year, hopefully his body holds up. He is huge, but has a massive engine and covers a lot of ground. 20-30 goals, and an average of 7 marks from him would be a sensational second season for a future star of our club. Cloke is an interesting one. He looked lean last week, he seems to have shed a lot of his puppy fat. Hopefully he is someone Pagan can work well with. Pagan seems to operate well with dumb blokes (for example Fevola) so maybe he is the perfect coach for Cloke. I think he will add some size and grunt to our forward line, if he kicked a few goals and did some relief ruckwork as well he will be a handy acquisition. Don’t expect him to be a superstar though – he’s still only very young. Lappin and Betts will be our small forwards. We all know Eddie’s typical crumbing role, but it seems as though he might have short bursts in the midfield as well this year. I expect him to have a good year. In my opinion Lappin should head back to the forward line this year, where it all started for him. He is another creative, smart player who is difficult to match up on, and who will create quite a few goals this year.
The Emergencies
These blokes are unlucky(ish) to miss out – but competition for spots is good! Harlett is impressive, Wiggins and Bentick are honest at best. Grigg didn’t look quite ready when I saw him last week – he needs to tear up the VFL for half a season before he gets a run. Hopefully he gets a run in the NAB Cup.
It would be nice to see Carlton score over 100 points 10-12 times this year. If we do this, we should win 8-10 games. I can see similarities between us and last years Hawthorn side. The Hawks has 9 wins and 13 losses and finished 11th. It would be great to see this happen. However, Pagan won’t coach us to our next premiership and I think we need to get rid of him at the end of the year, so if it means we have another poor season, get another top draft pick and sack Pagan, then I won’t be shattered. I’m sick of losing too, but I can now see light at the end of the tunnel. We have the nucleus of a very good side and there is a lot to be excited about.
Thoughts?
Half Back: Whitnall Waite Scotland
Centre: Simpson Gibbs Houlihan
Half Forward: Cloke Kennedy Lappin
Forward: Betts Fevola Fisher
Followers: Ackland Stevens (c) Murphy
Interchange: Carrazzo Russell Mclaren Koutoufides
Emergency: Hartlett Wiggins Bentick Grigg
The Backline
Our previously leaky defence has been shored up by adding Whitnall and Waite to Thornton and O’Hailpin. All four are capable of taking a key position/ tall forward (say against a side like Sydney with Hall, O’Loughlin, O’Keefe and Richards), and excitingly, Thornton, O’Hailpin, Walker, Waite and Scotland can all provide run out of defence. Thornton will relish not having to play full back all year. He has great composure with the ball. O’Hailpin is learning, and I’m sure he will get towelled up a few times this year but in the long run he will be a very good defender. Excited to see him progress this year. Walker is, for mine, a disappointment. I feel sorry for him because I think that Pagan has killed his confidence by forcing him to play ultra defensive football for the majority of his career. He is a sublime athlete, and is still potentially a very exciting footballer. Unfortunately, his foot skills are terrible. Needs to improve these asap. I laughed the other day when someone on this site compared him to Lindsay Gilbee – who is just about the best kick in the comp. Walker will still provide good run from defence as well as do good defensive jobs for us, but for a number two draft pick I would hope for more. Waite was very impressive in defence during the recent intra club match. Whitnall as we all know is a highly creative and experienced defender – and he can be used as another tall forward against sides with less threatening forward lines. Scotland will hopefully have another excellent season like last year. He is one of our few players who hits targets. Overall, I think this backline will concede far fewer goals this season, as well as providing many more attacking thrusts.
The Midfield
For a developing midfield, it’s not too bad. Simpson and Houlihan on the wings provide us with plenty of class, and I think Carazzo will be used through this position as well. The only query with these wingmen is their lack of size and marking ability. It would be nice to have a player such as Andrew Embley here, but wishful thinking isn’t going to help anyone.
Gibbs is a classic centreman. I will be disappointed if Pagan doesn’t play him as often as possible this year. He’s brilliant in the clearances, and he reads the play exceptionally well. In the practice match he cruised up and down the middle of the ground, and players were constantly finding him in the right spots. He looks perfectly balanced and his kicking technique is perfect. As good a number one draft pick as I’ve seen since Riewoldt (by default though - Judd was no.3).
Murphy is a ball magnet, simple as that. He will be tagged more frequently this year, it will be interesting to see how he deals with it. He has an uncanny knack of getting the ball. His disposal is already good enough, and I think it will improve as he plays more AFL footy.
We need a good season from Ackland. We are lucky to get a bloke who has so much senior experience. He looked massive the other day, and he needs to throw his weight around to protect and give confidence to Murphy and Gibbs. Mclaren is an average player at best, but Ackland cannot ruck all game, and Mclaren is our only other ruckman (Hampson’s legs are another big pre season away). Expect an 80/20 split between the two in terms of game time, with Cloke to pinch hit on occasion. Massive strife if Ackland gets seriously injured.
Stevens and Koutoufides are the senior midfielders. Stevens is set for a big season. I reckon he should be given the top job. Whitnall will be a spare parts type player this season, and, to be frank, he is too much of an oaf to captain our proud club. Kouta is in the twilight of a glorious career. He will have limited game time this year, which is ok, because he is a gun in the clearances and he can still take a handy mark. A friend remarked to me the other day that he saw the empty shell of a cicada on a tree trunk and he was instantly reminded of Kouta. Anyway, I still think he is in our best 22. Russell might end up being our primary tagger this year, along with Walker.
Forward Line
Potential. Will rely heavily upon good delivery from our backline and midfield, as there is no big marking forward here. Fevola is best on the lead – he takes remarkably few overhead marks for a full forward. He relies on his ability to read the play (he is brilliant at this), and of course his super speed. Would love 60 goals from him this year. Fisher is a great overhead mark, but his kicking is genuinely atrocious. His technique is still all wrong – he cannot kick the ball straight. He will have a lot of shots at goal though, fingers crossed he kicks more than he misses. 30 goals from him would be excellent, but I think 15-20 is more realistic. Kennedy looks set for a big year, hopefully his body holds up. He is huge, but has a massive engine and covers a lot of ground. 20-30 goals, and an average of 7 marks from him would be a sensational second season for a future star of our club. Cloke is an interesting one. He looked lean last week, he seems to have shed a lot of his puppy fat. Hopefully he is someone Pagan can work well with. Pagan seems to operate well with dumb blokes (for example Fevola) so maybe he is the perfect coach for Cloke. I think he will add some size and grunt to our forward line, if he kicked a few goals and did some relief ruckwork as well he will be a handy acquisition. Don’t expect him to be a superstar though – he’s still only very young. Lappin and Betts will be our small forwards. We all know Eddie’s typical crumbing role, but it seems as though he might have short bursts in the midfield as well this year. I expect him to have a good year. In my opinion Lappin should head back to the forward line this year, where it all started for him. He is another creative, smart player who is difficult to match up on, and who will create quite a few goals this year.
The Emergencies
These blokes are unlucky(ish) to miss out – but competition for spots is good! Harlett is impressive, Wiggins and Bentick are honest at best. Grigg didn’t look quite ready when I saw him last week – he needs to tear up the VFL for half a season before he gets a run. Hopefully he gets a run in the NAB Cup.
It would be nice to see Carlton score over 100 points 10-12 times this year. If we do this, we should win 8-10 games. I can see similarities between us and last years Hawthorn side. The Hawks has 9 wins and 13 losses and finished 11th. It would be great to see this happen. However, Pagan won’t coach us to our next premiership and I think we need to get rid of him at the end of the year, so if it means we have another poor season, get another top draft pick and sack Pagan, then I won’t be shattered. I’m sick of losing too, but I can now see light at the end of the tunnel. We have the nucleus of a very good side and there is a lot to be excited about.
Thoughts?
