Preview Rnd 15 - Carlton v GWS Thurs 3rd Sept 7.10pm @ Metricon

[spry]

Awfully quiet in here.

GET UP AND ABOUT BAGGERS.

If you see a tall ranga bearded person yelling at umps, it me.




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[skadoosh]

Played this to the boys in an under 17 GF many years ago, cheesey

Did you guys win?

 

[chelseacarlton]

The door is wide open......

 

[The Blue Weirdo]

Hopefully big Pittonett goes well tonight he’s more of a like for like size & style, club knows best i guess whatever they reason..

Instead of nullifying old, slow Mummy with a similar player, we could have taken the initiative and jumped all over him with TDK.

 

[btdg]

What’s the point putting him forward when his set shots are atrocious?

But the point about doing the obvious would mean changing up the game plan..we can’t keep bombing it long and expect our forwards to simple mark everything.

I really like the strategy against the Suns.

I agree, and think this is the way we are going, and team selections reflect this.

GWS are tough to beat on paper - they have strong players in every position, a great midfield, lots of goal-kicking forwards etc. They're just a straight-up really good team. Their defence loves to sit back and absorb pressure, and they move the ball end to end well out of that as well. Really dangerous if they are allowed to do their thing.

However, they don't press that well, and if they don't have the ball, they can't get their game going.

The secret to beating them tends to be pretty simple:
1. Win more of the ball than them in contested situations - hard to do beacuse they have so much talent, but it just means Cripps has to have a monster game. It helps that for donkey's years they have had rubbish ruckmen and it gives us a fighting chance if Pittonet plays well
2. Don't give it back to them too easily; avoid kicking long and hoping, try to hit up targets, and make them spend as much time chasing as possible
3. If they do get it back try to pressure the ball-handler, stop them getting the ball to their best users, and try to get the ball back.

The way we played vs Gold Coast fits here; short chip kicks, keep possession, frustrate them then chase and tackle when in possession.

I quite like the additions to the team; we're a bit quicker, have more hit-up targets in McGovern. It worries me a little bit that Docherty will have to play on a tall, but then again, if that matters, the game is already lost (as per the secrets above - if they are running the ball in and have enough time to pick out Docherty's defender then we're stuffed. I would have maybe liked to see Kennedy in as a midfielder who can be a spot-up target inside 50. I'd really like to see McKay working hard on the lead and snagging one from 45-50 out on the boundary early - he's the weapon we need once again (it's not a Casboult night).

Really, GWS are just straight-up good in every position and the secret is to play really well. Which is nice, because it puts the onus on the players to go out and hunt them down- no need to adjust like you might with Richmond or the Bulldogs and think your way through things, just get out there and play (and I think that's why GWS seem to underperform a bit sometimes too - they're an easy team to play against because they are so generally good, without having a 'thing' to lean on in tough times).