Thoughts on the Carlton "Challenge Game"

[WaynesWorld19]

A beautiful day at Optus Oval .....maybe 3-4K crowd with plenty of support for the Crows .....just don't eat or drink anything unless you have your credit card with you

Interesting game where the Crows always looked the dominant team but were shuffling players around like you wouldn't believe .....one minute in attack and the next in defense.

Carlton had almost their strongest side where we were constantly unbalanced

Have to say for a club that prides itself on kicking skills we were horrid today across most of the side ......exceptions being Reilly and you guessed it Mackay and a few others

Our main problem today was transition out of defense into the midfield where we regularly turned the ball over thus putting our defense under pressure on the rebound

At the other end majority of the time we bombed it in to Tippett ......however pleasing to note that Sloane constantly short passed to forwrd targets with excellent results ......showed some good thinking whilst others were too Tippett mad

It was noticeable in the last qtr when the game was on the line that the pace and urgency of the game lifted .......Dangerfield in particular who seemed to stroll around for 3 qtrs like a picnic game suddenly became a man possessed when their was something to play for

All in all all players with a few exceptions would be pleased with their games and a pretty good hit out with some excellent passages of play from us in particular

Player reviews .....the first few in order I saw as best:

Mackay: Started the game in the midfield ....had some stints on the wing but he now commands to be played as a midfielder .........he ran and carried and delivered with absolute precision.
Played his best footy today everytime he was in the midfield

Reilly: Yes I have been a career fan .....but even I agree he has been too hot and cold and been more a receiver outside of heavy traffic

Well today he got his hands to more balls at the centre bounces than any other Crow and in some real heavy traffic.
Displayed a hard body and attached the ball ferociously ......great game

Tippett: He has picked up a yard of pace and his agility this year is even better .......at times as he got around players you forgot he is 201cm

He marked everything with an absolute ripper in the second term in a pack of must have been 8 players

Couldn't hit the side of a barn but did get marginally better in the second half .....although you never felt confident today with his kicking

Seemed to be a 3 man ruck trotation with Griffin, and Mckernan as the cameo player today

Just looked all class and is in for a magnificent season

Cook: thought today he played very well on a wing ......pretty much their all day and got a lot of gametime
There were a few younger players today that seemed to spend the majority of the game on the ground with more mature players being more frequently rotated ......Henderson, Young, Armstrong, Jacky and Petrenko also had excellent ground time

I'd say on todays game you can pencil Cook in for round one .......although keep him away from shots on goal as he freezes

Also his left foot is very weak .......he was running into an open goal in first qtr and had to kick it left footed .......such was his reluctance he still kicked it right footed and the ball went out of bounds 30 mtrs from goal on opposite side of the ground

Goodwin: nothing to add much as his history says everything about this champion ......but he is as fit as I have seen him and looks really strong in the body

Played a lot in the midfield and he was strong and agressive .....certainly not a performance from someone n maybe his last season.

Back with more soon .....

 

[Dandy_GO]

ok see ya in a bit, pal

 

[thebirdman 24]

I think two of Sloane, Cook, Armstrong have to play round one
Petrenko is a certainty
Hentchel is worrying, has not had a good few games
Ruck position is still uncertain, probably will end up Maric, Griffin or Sellar until Moran is back
Walker needs to play in the forward line not midfield, not high up the ground
Tippett is a star, didn't hear much about him in the second half goal wise, (faded in and out) did he play ruck?
Oldies were good
Whats good is we still have Porps, Knights, VB, Thompson, Macca, Maric, Vince, to come back in

 

[Drummond]

Sounded like Petrenko was terrific up forward, as were Armstrong, Young and Schmidt in defence. Also good showings by Cooky and Hendo, especially in the first half. And Tippett is virtually unstoppable, those were the impressions I got from the radio.

So my team for Round 1...

FB: Johncock, Rutten, Stevens
CHB: Goodwin, Bock, Doughty
C: Mackay, Vince, Reilly
CHF: Douglas, Hentschel, Dangerfield
FF: Petrenko, Tippett, Walker
1R: Maric, Thompson, Edwards
INT: Griffin, Cook, McLeod, Sloane

EMG: McKernan, Young, Armstrong

Form of Walks and Hentschel concerns me but without Burton they'll probably get first crack.

 

[Riggy1]

So my team for Round 1...

FB: Johncock, Rutten, Stevens
CHB: Goodwin, Bock, Doughty
C: Mackay, Vince, Reilly
CHF: Douglas, Hentschel, Dangerfield
FF: Petrenko, Tippett, Walker
1R: Maric, Thompson, Edwards
INT: Griffin, Cook, McLeod, Sloane

EMG: McKernan, Young, Armstrong

Form of Walks and Hentschel concerns me but without Burton they'll probably get first crack.

from what ive gathered I agree
but perhaps McKernan in for Hentschel?

 

[Chief Crow]

A few pics from 5aa







Noticed the socks are different to the ones used at training

 

[Bockchoy67]

I'll post more later, but Petrenko and Armstrong were great.

 

[jenny61_99]

According to the call, Hentschel did some very good things today so not sure why he's been bagged so much?

 

[pext]

I went down and saw the last three quarters today.

The major highlights from my perspective were:

Game was played at a pretty slow pace and we were the better team.

Hentschel is not finished. He did a few really smart things today, just clearing a path for Tippett. I think that the will operate really well together deep.

Tex had a shocker. His hands deserted him today. Dropped a few and just couldn't get into the game.

Danger, believe they hype. Eased into it today but has an impact everytime he's near it.

Cook and Petrenko, round 1 starters. Best of the kids today.

Tipp and Mackay look primed for big years.

Hendo and youngy looked good. Not ready yet, but lots to work with.

 

[WALL-e]

Encouraging signs from some youngsters.

 

[spexau]

From what I gathered from the call Armstrong was the best of the younger kids by a fair bit with Petrenko, Sloane and Cook all close together. Sounded like Petrenko kicked a blinder of a goal, dodged a couple of tacklers and nailed a checkside kick from the boundry.

 

[-CG-]

Some of my thoughts on the game (I was there):

For a team with eight of its best players out and with shakey pre season form I thought we put together our first somewhat 'polished' game of the year. Whether that was just because there wasn't any rain I'm not sure but we had something going on, a gameplan, we were playing with execution.

What hurt us most was Carlton scoring quickly from rebounding the ball out of our forward half. At times we would appear to take considerable effort to attempt to have a shot on goal but then the ball would be turned over and Carlton would score with ease.

I thought the ruck position played out most interesting today. In the first term Griffin started on the ground in the ruck and was replaced by Smack about half way through so the ruck had its normal rotation. Then in the remaining terms Tippett started in the centre circle and had more extended stints in there progressively every quarter. Stevens would ruck a bit around the ground, which I think was pretty useless (Sorry Stevo!) and Tippett would resume the ruck role up forward. Griffin would then come in about half way through and was followed by Smack.

Tippett looked great in the ruck but at the same time he was just so effective up forward in the first half. I don't know whether we should discount the luxury of having a gun forward for once in a lifetime. It will be interesting to see how this plays out once Maric, and Sellar even, return.

Some players who stood out to me:

Armstrong: Brilliant game He really threw is name into contention for a spot in round 1. Tthere were a number of Carlton fans around me wondering who he was. He found space, competed hard in contests, disposed of the ball efficiently and looked comfortable on confident.

Cook: Also played a great game and gathered a lot of the ball. Most importantly he used it to our advantage most of the time however there was the odd sprayed kick. I liked his efforts for time wasting in the last term where he set up to have a shot on goal. He was never going to kick it from 50 out and inside lobbed it into the goal. He fooled everyone I also enjoyed his intensity around the bal..

Tippett: Was no match for the Carlton defenders today. He worked so hard to get in the front position and the ball always found its way onto his hands. He may not have marked it all the time but he created a contest on the ground and won a few free kicks. As I mentioned before his ruck work was awesome as well. What a gun If only he had kicked those behinds.

Griffin: Worked hard in the ruck but as expected he didn't have as much freedom as last week. In saying that he didn't have as much time on the ground either. He made a few contests around the ground and would have had a handful of possessions.

Dangerfield: Copped a knock in the first term and appeared a bit off until the second half. He picked up slightly but we only got a couple of glimpses of his usual brilliance.

I'll add some more later

 

[thebirdman 24]

i was just going by what happened in the two pre season games i've seen regarding hentchel (port and melbourne game). If he's doing a lot of work off the ball that i haven't noticed then thats good news and hes a certain starter considering his ability to swing back.

drummond's lineup sounds about right, hopefully armstrong can push his way in at some stage. i haven't seen much of him since that impressive display in the all stars game last year.

anyone know how reilly went?

 

[jamesclean]

so i realised the footy was being played aroudn the corner from my house... i thought it was being played in another city, so i ran down there around 4:15 with my camera and $0... got a CARLTON MALE FOOTBALL FAN to give me $5.60 so i could get in.

and it was only $5.00... so i made money... sick...

pretty terribad photos, 70mm lens blah blbah go vegan

WALK GUY going for goal

PETTRERENKKOOO, he did an amazing goose step around some fella and kicked a girl. happened. not at this point tho.

doogsy in full flight... looked really good but a bit INEFFECTIVE STORY OF HIS LIFE

for cmndstab

for cmndstab

boys leaving the park

2010

 

[jamesclean]

obviously i mean petrenko kicked a goal... not a girl...

obviously...

 

[Pheasant Plucker]

obviously i mean petrenko kicked a goal... not a girl...

obviously...

Well that clarification changes everything and disappoints me slightly.

Poor form Petrenko

 

[kulak]

Shit bloke is a bit rough.

Sounded like Petrenko was fantastic from the radio, and Kurtley ws almost unstoppable.

Armstrong, could he play the Otten role?

Maybe the McLeod role

 

[Bockchoy67]

I was at the game today. Beautiful conditions - little wind, nice sun and just a solid atmosphere in general.

We definitely looked like better team overall on the day, though Carlton had bursts where they completely overtook the play. For the most part it seemed that turnovers really cost us - there was one turnover where the Blues picked it up around the centre and with one long kick spotted a player virtually on his own who ran in for an easy goal. Our style looks great when it's pulled off, but one error can prove very costly the other way.

General skill level was okay, our hands were much much better than what you saw against Port thankfully.

Some player thoughts:

Armstrong - Seemed really composed. Skills were generally good, some turnovers but nothing to be worried about. Was reading the play really well and made some great defensive efforts that pleased me. Hope he gets a real run this year.

Bock - Very steady in defence and collected the ball at will. Our defence looks so much better with him in it.

Cook - Really good showing. Some absolutely shocking kicks including a running shot at goal that he should have kicked on his left, but for the most part he was great. Looked much more at home with the pace of the game. Loved to see him using his burst speed. Hopefully gets a gig in Round 1.

Dangerfield - Relatively quiet but in the second half he started to turn it on with his typical contested ball.

Davis - Quiet, but didn't seem to get much of a run. Did some nice things, including a contested effort that led to a Henderson goal.

Douglas - Bit quieter today but still got amongst it. Some nice defensive efforts.

Hentschel - Looked pretty mobile which was pleasing but just didn't get his hands on it much today. Most of the ball seemed to be directed towards Tippett.

Jacky - Lost and confused. Wasn't overly impressed.

Mackay - Love him.

McKernan - Has really lost his feel for the football - too much fumbling. Also his positioning at ruck contests is lacking lately. Improved in the second half but just doesn't seem quiet ready for it yet. Needs a confidence booster in the SANFL for sure. I rate him very, very highly but he just needs time.

Petrenko - Excellent. So much intensity at the ball and it's a real pleasure to watch live. Skills were solid and should be a near cert for Round 1.

Reilly - Better. Much better. Contested effort was really pleasing to see and kicking was sublime.

Sloane - Efforts around the stoppages were good. Got himself into trouble a few times but usually managed to get himself out of it with his footy smarts. Short passing was a highlight today. Should make Round 1.

Tippett - Sensational early. Kicking was wayward but he is just such a big presence in the forward line. Athleticism and speed if anything has improved. Gun.

Walker - Yeah, struggled today. Second half was much better but still looked out of sorts. Got some poor delivery admittedly but things just weren't going right for him. Still managed two goals and some lovely pickups, but he needs to do more to hold his spot in the side before Porps and Burton come in.

Young - Pretty quiet, but didn't get much of a run. What he did do was fine. Boy is huge for his age.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

PART 2

From here there's a group around the same level of performance:

Doughty: just a normal solid Doughty game we have expected in recent seasons ........you know what your going to get each week and that gives the selectors some real confidence

Rutten:
The mainstay of our defense today and played a very good game ....marking when he had to, spoiling when neccessary, and providing a lot of run.

Found himself often today up around the HF line and was more than comfortable

Petrenko: Was the pick today of all the indigenous lads ......attacked the ball hard and was always at Tippetts feet

Another you can mark in for round 1 on todays effort

Henderson: First time I have seen him today and gee he was impressive.

Played pretty much the whole game as a FF or HFF

HE WILL be promoted onto the main list, he WILL BE promoted before Schmidt ......that is if Schmidt ever gets promoted which I doubt unless our injury run gets worse

He was a livewire .....may not have got many possessions, but he is a footballer with some x-factor, is fast .....and when he gets a better feel for the pace and his skills lift accordingly will be a player

His chasing today was excellent, took a couple of really tough grabs showing he has good hands ....and at his height, speed and a very good build of a player ......gee I was impressed

Armstrong: Looked very comfortable on the HBF .....showed good composure under pressure and was prepared to run and recieve ......delivery was good today as well

Yep we have a player here .....not in our best 22 yet but has an AFL career in front of him

Jacky: Had a great first half ......was in and around every pack and was a real livewire.

Fell out of the game in the last half showing us his fitness is not yet at the level to play that type of game at AFL for the full 4 qtrs .......but an encouraging effort

Douglas: Yes I know I am a fan of his ......but if you read my posts re his fitness you'll see that IMO has been the main stumbling block to consistency in his game

Well I am here to say that the kid looks super fit , has a strut going that says he knows his body can do what the head wants it to do

Last year he struggled with 2nd and 3rd efforts ......today no such problem

Played super today and is a lock in for our best 22

Griffin: Today he made a great effort to add some physicality to his game

Dropped back alot to help the defense and was used as a linkman coming out ....and was quite physical in contest around the ground

Will play as the second ruckman round 1 .....and I hope he keeps todays performance up

Bock: A few squeaks in his game ......played early on out of a BP and did what he had to

Played at about 75% of his capacity

Hentschell: Moved well today as good as I have seen him

Struggled up forwrd with the way the ball was being delivered into the forwrd 50 .......but looke all class when moved to the BP in the last qtr and was the architect of most of our transitions in the last qtr

His ability to play forwd and back as a kPP will keep him in the side ....and frankly I can't see anyone performance knocking him out of the side

Walker: You couldn't pick him round 1 based on todays performance

He looked slow, his kicking was woeful and he just doesn't look in any form

You'd pick Henderson or Davis over Walker ATS on performance

Haven't read any other posts on todays game so it'll be interesting to see how my observations compare with the experts


Davis: Gee I like the lad

He's quicker than I imagined and played mostly as a forwrd where his movements around the forward line although not producing much in the way of stats said he was a natural forwrd .....but also one that will be an imposing forwrd.

He'll get games this year no doubt ......when and how many will depend on injuries and structure ......he's not yet demanding a position

Dangerfield: nice day for a stroll on Optus Oval

Thought the lads was in second gear most of the day ....looked slow and was hardly noticeable

That was until the last qtr when there was something to play for ......all of a sudden he was the prime mover ....he was super quick and super agressive

Seems like during the silly PS season he treats the games accordingly ...... there have always been players who cannot get themselves up for practice games

Mckernan: First things first .....he will not be an AFL ruckman

He pushed, he scragged, he did everything but couldn't get his hands to the ball at contests .......he gave so many free kicks away today in his efforts to compete it was silly

He didn't get a lot of ground time ......and when he did he just looks a long way away from AFL standard ATS

He looked much better in the last qtr when played at CHF ......to me he will be either a CHB or key forwrd ......but not a ruckman

Young: Impressive mover and good size about the lad

Got good game time in the BP and did some impressive things but his turnovers by foot will kill his AFL career if not corrected

He's young (sorry for pun) and there's plenty of upside

Can't see AFL in the cards for him this year

Sloane: Sorry forgot him ........terrific game and a lock in round one

Good to see him kicking more this year .....last year in his only AFL game but more importnatly in the SANFL i thought he was handballing far too much

Schmidt: Sorry he is just a player and I will be surprised if he makes the grade

Was tagging Judd today who was talked about on radio as BOG .....so that says something

He is slow of foot and mind ......and they're not good combinations to have in an AFL footballer

 

[WaynesWorld19]

According to the call, Hentschel did some very good things today so not sure why he's been bagged so much?

Think some are trying to justify their call of him not being the player he was

Well he is moving just fine ......the way the ball is being delivered into the forwrd 50 is horrible ......bomb it long to Tippett

As the other tall forwrd who is more a leading/opportunist player ....that type of forwrd entry does not suit him and I dare say the club either

When he went back in the last qtr he was great and no way will he be out of the round 1 side

 

[crow_fish]

Hi all,
First ever post, long time crows supporter and gold member living in vic. Was lucky enough to get day off work and see the game. After reading many enjoyable training and nab challenge reports hope i can return the favour.

I think we perform well against carlton, having good record over recent times. And considering were they have been on ladder in recent years not suprising. I was reasonably confident going to game, but i had seen any play this year. Only followed postings on here and other news.

What noticed most in 1st Qtr, was how well our zone was working, Carlton really struggled getting ball out from kick outs. While we were very good from kick outs with normally finding a clearing kick. Sure the efforts in training is this area over a number of years have paid off, in being when of better sides. Noticed this a lot in the first qtr giving number of behinds which were kicked. Our forwards were having set shots are lot of time from wide/deep in the pockets. IMO it didn't help that at stages when took ball 60/70 out we didn't get it in quick enough and therefore it left forwards leading to boundary line. Starting six backs at start was Bock, Rutten, Young, Doughty, Stevens, Johnock. Was few changes as game went on, especially noticeably with Hentschel going back and Stevens seemed have space when forward. We did get good run with umpiring in first qtr but this turned in the 2nd qtr.

In the 2nd qtr we seemed to get caught out from our turnovers and this proved costly on occasions. In 2nd half commencing with tippett in the ruck and judd going to backline. Are forwards seemed to look to one another in shock not knowing what to do. Runner came out and restored order. Interesting note from this was pup beat judd with a step to snap a great goal early in 2nd half.

Would be interested to hear if the blues used more players and the two subs. As didn't notice Jordan russell to last qtr, he had some telling touches and look fresh. Thought carlton had better of us in the last qtr and are putting these down to this fact they may had fresh legs. As I was seated opposite side to the bench maybe someone can assist here ?

Will give some thoughts on players performances in another post.

 

[Huntercrow]

I'm confused.

Either Jacky had 1 possession and a very poor game or a very good 1st half running out of legs in the second

 

[WaynesWorld19]

I'm confused.

Either Jacky had 1 possession and a very poor game or a very good 1st half running out of legs in the second

The latter ......certainly had more than a few possessions

Think some may have confused his and Petrenko's possessions .....they were both playing around the forward 50 and look similar

 

[Good Win]

Gee i can't wait for R1! They're mocking us

Had a lecture from 3-5pm so missed most of the game . Got home in time to listen to most of last quarter though. Very impressed with our youngsters, and we did well to win (considering Carlton were almost full strength).

Good to hear that Hentschel had a better game. Dissapointed with Walker's (lack of) form. Tippett, gun! Sloane, Cook, Armstrong, Petrenko

I haven't seen much of Armstrong yet. For those who watch him in the SANFL, which player(s) does he play like most?

 

[Firewalker]

Well the clash guernsey turned out to be everything we feared it was going to be, they do not look like the Adelaide Football Club wearing that they looked more like the Basketball team from the Creighton University Bluejays, Omaha. The socks could've at least matched the guernsey but Reebok couldn't even do that, a big thumbs down to the AFC and Reebok.