Toast The Positive thread: now with 2020 vision

[Soapy V]

Heading into 2019 there is so much to look forward to

Try and remember where we were when Bolton & SOS were first appointed ONLY 3 years ago?

We have brought in Lloyd Liddle Russell Agresta Judd and many more professional high standard people.
Our membership and financial position has improved dramatically and will as we improve on field.
On field we have committed to a full rebuild and even more impressively we have stuck to it and haven't waivered even under BS media pressure.
Our member engagement and media department is improving a lot

Out List is starting to look seriously impressive. A lot is potential but at this stage we couldn't ask for any more. The talent is amazing

Our DEFENCE could easily be our best in history

Weitering Marchbank Plowman Docherty are our pillars. All guns. Jones at his best is very good. Macreadie Garlett Williamson Jack have undoubted talented. Newman is underrated. Back up at the moment is BSOS Schumacher & Goddard. Any of them could easily step up. IMO defences win flags and this is seriously good and has options.

The MIDFIELD is developing into something really special. Hardest part will be picking and balancing rotations

Cripps is a star and a great leader. Will be mentioned with Doull Nichols Jezza Sticks as one of the greats. Murphy Curnow Simpson (wing/def) aren't done yet. Then the future really starts. Kennedy Dow SPS Walsh O'Brien Stocker Setterfield Fisher is as talented as any you will ever find on any list at this stage of development. All could be elite and there is a great balance of inside/outside skills. Cuningham Polson Lang have ability and if they get a spot they will have earned it. Pickett would be a bonus. His talent is undeniable.

The FORWARD Line is exciting & dangerous

Charlie is a rare talent. Bits of Kouta Jezza The Buzz all rolled into one. Rare pure matchwinner. McGovern is the perfect addition. McKay is the big man with all the skills and ready to step up. Kerr will do everything asked of him. TDK is young & raw but in a year or so will be as good as a forward and as a ruck. The additions of Fasolo & Bugg are good ones. Fasolo has X factor and Bugg is tough. Both can kick goals. Work rate and fitness is the key. With our midfield rotating through that is very well balanced and has options. Can kick lots of goals and quickly. Very hard for oppositions to plan against. Polson LeBois Owies are options but are yet to prove themselves and it will become harder which it should be. Finbar?

RUCK

Kruezer is the man and has a few years left. Phillips has ability but needs to play and Lobbe is more than handy. An area we will further improve at years end. With our midfield we just need a big body being physical and creating room

The Advantage

The X factor is Russell. Incredible addition and timing is great. Mature players have a new lease on life and young players are learning the right things. Mind & Body. We will be so much fitter and should have a better injury list. The professionalism of the club has gone to a new level. By 2020 the benefits will really show

The other forgotten and underrated factor is the quality of people we have brought in on and off the field. They really are "Good" people. No issues and all on the same page.

2019

IMO it will be a year of mixed results but improvement and the future will be obvious and exciting. There will be times when we look awesome and play great footy. I expect a few big wins and a few surprises. We will break the 100 point barrier easily on several occasions. Bad days will still happen as we mature but the 100 point losses are a thing of the past

By years end the young players will be established and the side will be clearer. I expect the Northern Blues to be very good (Top 4) and competition for spots and depth will make a massive difference


Get on board Blues supporters. The real stuff starts this year and its going to be great! Keep focusing on the big picture. We will be the first to Number 17 and beyond. After nearly 25 years I can truly believe again.

 

[thylacine60]

Soapy V leads his shattered team out after the 3/4 time break. The young boys and creaky old men huddle underneath a scoreboard that mocks them to the tune of a 137 point deficit. All eyes turn to the playing captain/coach before the final stanza of onslaught begins.

Soapy V: "We've got this".

 

[Alphonse_]

I get the really strong feeling Paddy Dow is gonna give us a highlights reel package over the season to rival Charlie's.

Just imagine, in 18 months time, 3 of the best mids in the game could all be named Patrick (Dow, Dangerfield and Cripps)

What a time to be alive

 

[thylacine60]

and 2 of them have a decade of football left!

 

[Soapy V]

Just imagine, in 18 months time, 3 of the best mids in the game could all be named Dow, SPS Setterfield Walsh and Cripps

What a time to be alive

EFA

 

[Aphrodite]

I get the really strong feeling Paddy Dow is gonna give us a highlights reel package over the season to rival Charlie's.

Just imagine, in 18 months time, 3 of the best mids in the game could all be named Patrick (Dow, Dangerfield and Cripps)

What a time to be alive

 

[bmaurizio]

I get the really strong feeling Paddy Dow is gonna give us a highlights reel package over the season to rival Charlie's.

Just imagine, in 18 months time, 3 of the best mids in the game could all be named Patrick (Dow, Dangerfield and Cripps)

What a time to be alive

Keep your eye on Sam Walsh, he’ll take the game on with comsumate ease.
Reckon he’ll go close to knocking off the rising star award.

 

[thylacine60]

mind if we call him paddy though?

 

[Alphonse_]

Keep your eye on Sam Walsh, he’ll take the game on with comsumate ease.
Reckon he’ll go close to knocking off the rising star award.

If Patrick Cripps couldn't win the rising star ahead of a player who has already being traded to another club, no Carlton player ever will (I also believe Campo got robbed of it it in 1995 by Nick Holland)

For all its perceived faults, the Brownlow media will never be hijacked or tainted by personalities with clear club or other biases and agendas, unlike the Rising Star and AA selectors, whilst the umpires continue to cast their votes on the thing.

 

[thylacine60]

still by and large a midfielders only award unlike the rs............

 

[Robertio]

If Patrick Cripps couldn't win the rising star ahead of a player who has already being traded to another club, no Carlton player ever will (I also believe Campo got robbed of it it in 1995 by Nick Holland)

For all its perceived faults, the Brownlow media will never be hijacked or tainted by personalities with clear club or other biases and agendas, unlike the Rising Star and AA selectors, whilst the umpires continue to cast their votes on the thing.

But Hogan deserved it because he was a key forward.

 

[Soapy V]

mind if we call him paddy though?

Paddy Walsh?

I like it

 

[Blue and Silver]

I believe we will take a step up this year (hard not to, really).

And a very sharp step up the year afterwards.

Why?

Well here is my reasoning.

Our Defence has shed it's key problem, unreliable users in the chain of disposal, most typically O'Shea, Mullett, Kerridge, Shaw or in previous seasons, Buckley, Tutt or Smedts.

Players like this kill momentum with sub-standard disposal and decision-making, burning chances or not taking advantage. While some may criticize Marchbank or Weitering's ball use, they are rarely at fault for mis-identifying opportunities or killing momentum by pausing unnecessarily.

A cohesive defence must be a dangerous one on the rebound. It has to force the opposition into respecting its ability to punish and demand they hold it accountable. If it does so, then it will kill much of the overwhelming swarmings we saw in 2018, as oppositions blatantly disregarded their opponents and ran freely forward, confident that they would not be punished for doing so. This is why sub-standard opposition could look so hot against Carlton, because they didn't need to worry about the consequences of mistake. I suspect it's also part of why they often got a run on later, because they grew with confidence that Carlton wouldn't capitalise and started to take risks they couldn't against other teams.

Now Carlton's defence is primarily composed of comfortable users. Plowman, Weitering, Simpson and Williamson are all good users. Marchbank is typically safe when he plays within his technical limitations and Jones is a good user with a tendency towards unsound decisions. Rotating alternates like Newman, O'Brien and Thomas are either exceptional in technical execution or mental acuity, so are likewise reliable.

We might now expect the defence to return to a sudden frugalness at times.

To aid in this it is also important that midfield runners be very willing and able to push deep to help out and then provide run, carry and options on the rebound. This sort of running return football is not uncommon amongst high quality teams. Grand Finalists inevitably have a keystone back who launches attacks, who is hailed internally. Johanniesen, Houli, Hodge, Rance, Malceski, Birchall, Hurn, etc.

Such players are often the beneficiaries of strong running midfields making their efforts look better, by providing cover, options and creating threats that opponents have to address.

To this end, a returning Murphy, a maturing Fisher, Petrevski-Seton, O'Brien and the superbly prepared Walsh will be crucial. Players who create options, will inevitably end up getting the ball in dangerous positions and create doubt in the minds of opponents. Such doubts paired with good ball use create dangerous opportunities to score.

Another component of creating scoring opportunities is seizing the initiative at stoppages. The strength of Cripps here could go without mention, but it is under-remarked how often his good work goes to waste. In a team who made better use of the ball on the spread, Cripps stoppage work would be truly the X-factor in a very successful team. Accompanied with Kennedy, Setterfield and the electrifying Dow, Cripps could make the midfield a dominant unit. It would also be of benefit if Kreuzer maintained his health and the relief ruck position was held down aptly, but these are points of greater uncertainty.


Moving to the attacking end of the ground, the greatest strength of the list is the remarkable contested marking power now occupying the front part of the ground. Curnow, McKay, Fasolo, Cripps, Casboult, Thomas and JSOS are all well above average in this area. Despite this, contested marking is always the second preference to uncontested marks. It is therefore important that Carlton demonstrate a much smarter application of forward entries then has been apparent in recent seasons. With a stronger rebound game, and a harder running midfield this should be much more easily achieved. A rebound game that is confident and direct creates opportunities for forwards who can take a host of different tacts to take advantage. Faster players will run high then run back with the flight, stronger players can force grapples and fitter players can threaten multiple leads to gain possession. A fitter and more involved midfield will create overlap problems for defences that should leak opportunities.

When games become tight, the final say is often had by the players who are exceptional. We have the great fortune to have at least two. Charlie is a truly exceptional power athlete, as is Paddy Cripps.

Both can create, through overpowering force, opportunities that other players cannot.

Thus I argue, Carlton is coming. Prepare yourself.

 

[Jabba73]

I believe we will take a step up this year (hard not to, really).

And a very sharp step up the year afterwards.

Why?

Well here is my reasoning.

Our Defence has shed it's key problem, unreliable users in the chain of disposal, most typically O'Shea, Mullett, Kerridge, Shaw or in previous seasons, Buckley, Tutt or Smedts.

Players like this kill momentum with sub-standard disposal and decision-making, burning chances or not taking advantage. While some may criticize Marchbank or Weitering's ball use, they are rarely at fault for mis-identifying opportunities or killing momentum by pausing unnecessarily.

A cohesive defence must be a dangerous one on the rebound. It has to force the opposition into respecting its ability to punish and demand they hold it accountable. If it does so, then it will kill much of the overwhelming swarmings we saw in 2018, as oppositions blatantly disregarded their opponents and ran freely forward, confident that they would not be punished for doing so. This is why sub-standard opposition could look so hot against Carlton, because they didn't need to worry about the consequences of mistake. I suspect it's also part of why they often got a run on later, because they grew with confidence that Carlton wouldn't capitalise and started to take risks they couldn't against other teams.

Now Carlton's defence is primarily composed of comfortable users. Plowman, Weitering, Simpson and Williamson are all good users. Marchbank is typically safe when he plays within his technical limitations and Jones is a good user with a tendency towards unsound decisions. Rotating alternates like Newman, O'Brien and Thomas are either exceptional in technical execution or mental acuity, so are likewise reliable.

We might now expect the defence to return to a sudden frugalness at times.

To aid in this it is also important that midfield runners be very willing and able to push deep to help out and then provide run, carry and options on the rebound. This sort of running return football is not uncommon amongst high quality teams. Grand Finalists inevitably have a keystone back who launches attacks, who is hailed internally. Johanniesen, Houli, Hodge, Rance, Malceski, Birchall, Hurn, etc.

Such players are often the beneficiaries of strong running midfields making their efforts look better, by providing cover, options and creating threats that opponents have to address.

To this end, a returning Murphy, a maturing Fisher, Petrevski-Seton, O'Brien and the superbly prepared Walsh will be crucial. Players who create options, will inevitably end up getting the ball in dangerous positions and create doubt in the minds of opponents. Such doubts paired with good ball use create dangerous opportunities to score.

Another component of creating scoring opportunities is seizing the initiative at stoppages. The strength of Cripps here could go without mention, but it is under-remarked how often his good work goes to waste. In a team who made better use of the ball on the spread, Cripps stoppage work would be truly the X-factor in a very successful team. Accompanied with Kennedy, Setterfield and the electrifying Dow, Cripps could make the midfield a dominant unit. It would also be of benefit if Kreuzer maintained his health and the relief ruck position was held down aptly, but these are points of greater uncertainty.


Moving to the attacking end of the ground, the greatest strength of the list is the remarkable contested marking power now occupying the front part of the ground. Curnow, McKay, Fasolo, Cripps, Casboult, Thomas and JSOS are all well above average in this area. Despite this, contested marking is always the second preference to uncontested marks. It is therefore important that Carlton demonstrate a much smarter application of forward entries then has been apparent in recent seasons. With a stronger rebound game, and a harder running midfield this should be much more easily achieved. A rebound game that is confident and direct creates opportunities for forwards who can take a host of different tacts to take advantage. Faster players will run high then run back with the flight, stronger players can force grapples and fitter players can threaten multiple leads to gain possession. A fitter and more involved midfield will create overlap problems for defences that should leak opportunities.

When games become tight, the final say is often had by the players who are exceptional. We have the great fortune to have at least two. Charlie is a truly exceptional power athlete, as is Paddy Cripps.

Both can create, through overpowering force, opportunities that other players cannot.

Thus I argue, Carlton is coming. Prepare yourself.

This

 

[katmanblue]

This

That

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[BlueRenaissance]

aah, the positivity thread is getting a great work out. Keep it up lads.

Let's review this after the first game review thread.

 

[thylacine60]

^^^^
Those

 

[ESKIE]

sent a disparaging message about my partner's mother supposed to go to my sister but accidentally went to my partner several years ago

That sinking feeling in your gut

Reply instead of forward...

 

[Monkey King]

If Patrick Cripps couldn't win the rising star ahead of a player who has already being traded to another club, no Carlton player ever will (I also believe Campo got robbed of it it in 1995 by Nick Holland)

If they keep turning out like these pairs, I hope Carlton are forever second in the Rising Star.

 

[thylacine60]

That sinking feeling in your gut

Reply instead of forward...

when you start to think about the ability to get a human on the moon but the inability to retrieve that message..........

 

[ferrisb]

If they keep turning out like these pairs, I hope Carlton are forever second in the Rising Star.

Sam Walsh playing as an outside mid will come 2nd in the Rising Star to Sam Walsh playing as an inside mid

 

[thylacine60]

walsh doesn't know if he's a receiver or distributor - these days known as aussie post syndrome.........

 

[OnceWeWereKings]

we're no longer together.........go figure........

At least you’re posting in the right thread.

 

[resolute_blue]

Disclaimer - Baseless positivity puff piece...

I’m usually pretty upbeat at this point of the year and excited about the season ahead. You know before the season starts, the losses mount and the realisation that we’re still s**t sets in.
Feels different this off season though. Positivity level is definitely up quite a few notches on the norm.
Is it the fit, ripped bodies of the playing group? Or the look of determination and commitment on the faces of the boys? Perhaps it’s the addition of Russell and his program and the apparent player buy in? And of course there’s the upbeat and informative insights of those attending the training sessions which are so greatly appreciated.
Not sure, could simply be I’m just happy it’s Friday arvo after a long first week back at work..
Nah, it’s not just that. It all adds up to our Blues building something really special. Feel we’re going to have a ripper year.

 

[Jabba73]

Disclaimer - Baseless positivity puff piece...

I’m usually pretty upbeat at this point of the year and excited about the season ahead. You know before the season starts, the losses mount and the realisation that we’re still s**t sets in.
Feels different this off season though. Positivity level is definitely up quite a few notches on the norm.
Is it the fit, ripped bodies of the playing group? Or the look of determination and commitment on the faces of the boys? Perhaps it’s the addition of Russell and his program and the apparent player buy in? And of course there’s the upbeat and informative insights of those attending the training sessions which are so greatly appreciated.
Not sure, could simply be I’m just happy it’s Friday arvo after a long first week back at work..
Nah, it’s not just that. It all adds up to our Blues building something really special. Feel we’re going to have a ripper year.

Sounds like a fluff piece