Time to get tuff!!

[BlueGibbs2011]

To put our list in perspective, take a look at the Bulldog's list who most Carlton supporters rate very poorly. This bulldogs list does not even include their young draft picks. Like us, they have 11 rdy made good players if not stars who are rdy to go now. Where the doggies look ahead of us is their good player list where they have 6 players. This compares with Carlton's 2-4. Right now Bullies can field 18 players. Carlton can fill around 15 and hope a couple of players step up to the mark. Also, most of the Bullies star and v/good players are mature where Carlton has some young stars, e.g. Kruezer and Gibbs.


Bulldogs Premiership quality players

• Brad Johnson
• Brian Harris (very good player - slot into our side easy)
• Lindsay Gilbee (very good player - slot into our side easy)
• Matthew Boyd (good - v/good player)
• Daniel Cross (very good player - slot into our side easy)
• Adam Cooney (Star)
• Robert Murphy (very good player)
• Daniel Giansiracusa (very good player - slot into our side easy)
• Ryan Griffen (injury cruelled him last season. Star)
• Scott West (star but getting on. Either way, we'd play him)
• Shaun Higgins (very good player - slot into our side easy)

Good players

• Ben Hudson (good player - slot into our side easy)
• Scott Welsh (good player)
• Nathan Eagleton (good player - maybe very good)
• Mitch Hahn (good player)
• Dale Morris (good player)
  
• Farren Ray (ok player)

Weak or unknown players

• Wayde Skipper (Better than Hackland)
• Will Minson (ok player..better than Hackland)
• Tim Callan (Unknown)
• Tom Williams (Unproved)

This is not a post against Carlton, i'm thinking we will finish between 9th-14th and finals next year. I also think if Ratten has a bit of luck, we are an outside chance of the finals this year. This just shows depending on perspective that we are equal with the doggies or maybe a bit behind - player list-wise.

 

[Donstuie]

Before his injury Cloke definitely showed he deserves a second shot. Certainly would've been far greater value than Hackland

 

[lopezz]

Taking an unbiased (almost hard view), which Carlton players truly have the class to play in our next premiership team? Having looked at our 1995 team, we carried 4 average players. The rest were very good if not stars of the game. Those four ok type players were Hogg, Clape, Pearce and Whitehead. They might have had a decent 1995 but overall were serviceable players. If we take a line through that team and other premiership sides since, then we can afford to carry 4-5 ok players. The rest need to be considered very good if not stars of the game.


Players I'm confident can or will be able to hold a premiership slot in 2-4 years time:

• Walker (star)
• Murphy (star)
• Gibbs (on pedigree & faith - should be a star)
• Judd (star, the moon, the whole universe )
• Fisher (very good)
• Betts (very good)
• Fevola (star)
• Thornton (very good)
• Waite (very good)
• Scotland (very good)
• Stevens (very good)
• Carrazzo (very good)
• Kreuzer (on pedigree & faith - should be a star)

Players I'm not so sure about. Remember, taking a hard line here.

• Houlahan (good...might be too harsh, prob can take one of the last spots on a prem team list.)
• K Simpson (good...lots of fans for this player yet when i do the true test and line him up against other premiership midfields, he doesnt get a guernsey, so harsh i know. I know people will have different opinions here, happy to accept them)
• R Hadley (good...this year will decide)
• S O'hAilpin (still needs to take the next step. Has done all he can so far development-wise.)

Players who are too young or have not had much AFL exposure to judge. That and the fact they are not backed up by being a No1 draft pick (pedigree) as with Gibbs, Murphy and Kruezer.

• S Hampson (hopeful he can make it but unproven)
• Grigg
• Austin
• Bower
• A O'hAilpin
• Jackson
• Jamison (hopeful he can make it but unproven)
• Browne
• Armfield
• Pfeiffer
• Edwards
• Benjamin
• Hartlett
• Anderson

Players I'm thinking aren't making the grade...that is making the grade of a premiership side, e.g. Bentick can make our side now but I doubt he would make Geelong's or WCE's premiership side - time to get tough!

• Russell
• Bentick
• Saddington
• Hackland
• Blackwell
• Cloke
• Bannister
• Wiggins

Above means we have 13 def premiership class players now. Between now and around 2009-2012, we need to find 3-5 more taking into account you can have some average/good players (around 4). Hopefully the 3rd list above of unproven Carlton players will provide 3+ more very good if not star players. That and the draft! Didnt include the rookies except Jamison as they are mostly long shots.

Don't know how we carried Pearce to 55 goals and four in the granny. Whitehead was a first year player who had a massive year, good enough to beat Matty Allen in the side, till he was injured in the granny and we all know that story. Hogg was the hardest man bar dean rice, they can't all be stars but hogg wasn't carried he was our run with man. Clappe played to his fullest in 95 and was an important link man at hff, the last peice of the puzzle from the 94 model.

At that stage we were carrying Luke O'Sullivan, Ron Deulio and Tony Lynn!

 

[BlueGibbs2011]

Ron Deulio

Forgot about him. Loved him even tho you're right.

 

[Il Naso De Gastev]

Taking an unbiased (almost hard view), which Carlton players truly have the class to play in our next premiership team? Having looked at our 1995 team, we carried 4 average players. The rest were very good if not stars of the game. Those four ok type players were Hogg, Clape, Pearce and Whitehead. They might have had a decent 1995 but overall were serviceable players. If we take a line through that team and other premiership sides since, then we can afford to carry 4-5 ok players. The rest need to be considered very good if not stars of the game.


Players I'm confident can or will be able to hold a premiership slot in 2-4 years time:

• Betts (very good)

Players I'm not so sure about. Remember, taking a hard line here.

• Houlahan (good...might be too harsh, prob can take one of the last spots on a prem team list.)

Hard line???

Betts is hopeless, and Houlihan will cost us a premiership before he plays in one.

 

[truebluenavyblues]

Still a few years of development to go guys, even though we will improve considerably this year we are only a skeleton of the finished product.

Our premiership team could look something like:

......?.... Jamison Thorton (Browne BP)
Scotland .....?..... Walker (Grigg HBF)

Gibbs Stevens Murphy (Armfield OB Mid or HBF, Simpson Wing)
Kruezer Judd Carrazzo (Hampson R)

.....?..... Waite ......?.....
.....?..... Fevola Fisher

Thorton will be fine taking the third option on defence.
Armfield is a tough, quick, confident addition, great intangables.
Jamison being groomed for FB in training sessions.

Greatest need, big body, tough CHB

Happy days ahead.

 

[therubbernub]

A good exercise i guess but I keep thinking that it is impossible to properly rate anyone without them being in a functioning team (as opposed to a dysfunctional/Pagan team)
With the added talent this year, we will for the first time, see the real potential of a lot of our players. I know it has been referred to many times, but the broadening of our talent base will bring others into the game.
The reality of football IS that the oposition cannot cover everyone and still play proactive football themselves. As good as Judd is for example, if we were playing 3 players short for (an extreme) example he would be tagged out of the game every time. Of course that doesnt happen , nothing is black or white in footy just shades of grey. The reality of our team over the past 6 years or so is that we were playing with some very average footballers in the side, and those average footballer's opponents were able to tear us apart both offensively and also by nullifying our good to very good players. This will no longer happen IMO and we will really start to see the ability of our better players (some will surprise no doubt!)