!!!WARNING!!!
This may seem optimistic, and I'm open to any criticism from Carlton supporters. but trolls piss off.
After watching the horrific loss to Richmond; there were 2 things that stood out to me.
1) Match Fitness. This was the smaller of the two and I'll start with this. It came down to the group not wanting the ball enough; our tackles were shite and our intensity in the second half was poor. I think the lack of focus because of all the media attention as well as Fev's much publicized...err... thing + a few of our guys weren't 100% contributed to this.
2) Structure. This is it. This is where it all comes down to. This is why we lost the game. I'll start with the ruck combo. Lets face it; ackland/hampson would prob be a preferable option to cloke for the ruck. So our star midfield couldn't have as much effect.
The bigger problem was our forward line. I'll get to the backline later; but seriously...
Fev was underdone, not focused, and the distraction clearly showed. 2 goals is simply not good enough. But it wasn't all his fault. Without another solid target, (i.e. Fisher or Waite) the opposition were able to double team him in contested marks or chop him off by playing in front. Fair enough he did miss a few marks on the lead; but geez we were screaming out for help.
Edwards could find the ball as no-one really cared about him; but when he kicked for goal he was shocking. Also his spoil on Fev...i can't even talk about it.
We get Fisher back, and suddenly we have 2 reliable hands, 2 reliable kicks at goal. If they double team Fev, Fisher will make them pay. If they don't go all out on Fev; well Fev will destroy them.
Defence: Most defences can't take a rebound as everyone's running and out of position. When our forwards just couldn't grab, so many rebounds were launched which caused the problem. In the tight contests we were able to man them; and we desperately need Waite and Setanta to take on the likes of Richo/Deledio.
This may seem optimistic, and I'm open to any criticism from Carlton supporters. but trolls piss off.
After watching the horrific loss to Richmond; there were 2 things that stood out to me.
1) Match Fitness. This was the smaller of the two and I'll start with this. It came down to the group not wanting the ball enough; our tackles were shite and our intensity in the second half was poor. I think the lack of focus because of all the media attention as well as Fev's much publicized...err... thing + a few of our guys weren't 100% contributed to this.
2) Structure. This is it. This is where it all comes down to. This is why we lost the game. I'll start with the ruck combo. Lets face it; ackland/hampson would prob be a preferable option to cloke for the ruck. So our star midfield couldn't have as much effect.
The bigger problem was our forward line. I'll get to the backline later; but seriously...
Fev was underdone, not focused, and the distraction clearly showed. 2 goals is simply not good enough. But it wasn't all his fault. Without another solid target, (i.e. Fisher or Waite) the opposition were able to double team him in contested marks or chop him off by playing in front. Fair enough he did miss a few marks on the lead; but geez we were screaming out for help.
Edwards could find the ball as no-one really cared about him; but when he kicked for goal he was shocking. Also his spoil on Fev...i can't even talk about it.
We get Fisher back, and suddenly we have 2 reliable hands, 2 reliable kicks at goal. If they double team Fev, Fisher will make them pay. If they don't go all out on Fev; well Fev will destroy them.
Defence: Most defences can't take a rebound as everyone's running and out of position. When our forwards just couldn't grab, so many rebounds were launched which caused the problem. In the tight contests we were able to man them; and we desperately need Waite and Setanta to take on the likes of Richo/Deledio.
