Resource Beyond the "66 Game" Rebuild

[Cripps 'n' Blue Bloods]

Use the Force, that's the best way to judge how the rebuild's going.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

B I G | P I C T U R E

1/6th Review | THE "We Did Surprisingly Better Than We Thought We Were Going To Do Games" PERIOD​

YOUTH (23 & Under) AS OF THE START OF THE 2016 SEASON
23: Daniel Gorringe (22 g.p) Jed Lamb (23 g.p) Mark Whiley (20 g.p) Dylan Buckley (28 g.p)
22: Sam Kerridge (27 g.p) Liam Sumner (12 g.p) Blaine Boekhurst (11 g.p) Sam Docherty (48 g.p) Andrew Gallucci (0 g.p)
21: Nicholas Graham (16 g.p) Lachie Plowman (20 g.p) Kristian Jaksch (13 g.p) Matthew Dick (6 g.p) Ciaran Byrne (1 g.p) Patrick Cripps (23 g.p)
20: Jayden Foster (0 g.p) Clem Smith (7 g.p) Dillon Viojo-Rainbow (0 g.p)
19: Billy Gowers (0 g.p) Jesse Glass-McKasker (0 g.p) Charlie Curnow (0 g.p) David Cuningham (0 g.p)
18: Jacob Weitering (0 g.p) Jack Silvagni (0 g.p) Harry McKay (0 g.p)

Carlton has twenty-five players under the age of 24 on our list. In the first period of Carlton's rebuild the team played 11 games, won 6 and lost 5. It was a stellar start to the season predicted by none, not even the Carlton faithful on this board. An undeniable part of that resurgence was driven by the energy and skill added to this group from some of our youngest play makers.

Below is a graphical representation of how the youth have performed over the first 11 games of this rebuild.


Graph: graphical representation of number of "youth" selected in the best 22 (Series 1) along with that youth's performance, by way of AFL Coaches Association votes (Series 2), average youth AFL Player Rating* (Series 3) and average SEN Inside Football Player Rating Points** (Series 4)
* Avg AFL Player Rating = total player rating / number of players.
** Avg SEN Inside Football Player Rating = total player rating points / number of players.

In that 11 game period Carlton played a total of; 14 players under the age of 24. Meaning 56% of our youth managed to pull on the boots at least once in this period.
11 Games Played - Sam Docherty, Sam Kerridge
10 Games Played - Patrick Cripps, Jed Lamb
9 Games Played - Jacob Weitering
8 Games Played - Lachie Plowman, Ciaran Byrne
7 Games Played - Liam Sumner
6 Games Played - Nick Graham
4 Games Played - Dylan Buckley, Charlie Curnow
3 Games Played - Blaine Boekhurst, Daniel Gorringe
1 Games Played - Mark Whiley
0 Games Played - Andrew Gallucci, Kristian Jaksch, Matthew Dick, Jayden Foster, Clem Smith, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, Billy Gowers, Jesse Glass-McKasker, David Cuningham, Jack Silvagni, Harry McKay

There has been a consistent youth presence in our side throughout, with an average of 8.6 "kids" selected every week, the highest number of youth we have taken into a game was the Round 4 loss to the Western Bulldogs, the least amount of youth we have taken into a game were the Round 7 and 8 wins against Collingwood and Port Adelaide. In our Wins we have averaged 8.1 "kids" per game and in our losses we have averaged 9.2 "kids".

Key injuries to players such as Boekhurst, Cuningham, Curnow and McKay have kept them out of senior contention. Players such as Kristian Jaksch, Jack Silvagni and Dillon Viojo-Rainbow have had moments of brilliance at VFL level and will push to be selected in the back half of the season.

Below we can see the trends found in the AFL Player Ratings and the SEN Inside Football Player Rating Points.
Carlton's youth have seen a marked increase across the board under the AFL Player Ratings system. This graph shows a steady upward trend in the average performance of our youth as a whole. Have a look for yourself at; http://www.afl.com.au/stats/player-ratings/overall-standings#club/CD_T30 to see the exponential rise from players such as Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty and Jacob Weitering. Lachie Plowman, Sam Kerridge, Jed Lamb and Ciaran Byrne have seen consistent steady upwards movement. Liam Sumner, Charlie Curnow, Nick Graham, Daniel Gorringe and Blaine Bokehurst all have risen in the rankings this season with only Dylan Buckley and Mark Whiley stalling or falling in their AFL Ratings points.
The SEN Inside Football Player Ratings points are a weekly (as opposed to the cumulative AFL Ratings system) points based system like the AFL Coaches Votes. However this system ahs an advantage over the AFL Coaches Votes as a piece of data to analyse as every single player on the ground is given a score between 1-10 as opposed tot he AFL Coaches sytem which only gives votes to a small handfull. Sam Docherty is inside the top 25 players in the AFL under this system, Patrick Cripps, Sam Kerridge and Jacob Weitering have performed very well and players such as Jed Lamb, Lachie Plowman and Ciaran Byrne have been consistently rated well. The graph below shows the average Inside Football Ratings Points the collective youth scored each week, injuries to players like Weitering and Sumner early in games throw the occasional outlier into the mix bringing down the weekly scores slightly, however in spite of this a positive trend upwards can be seen. This is evidence of the youths increasing impact on the Carlton Football Clubs success on field. If you'd like to look at individual player Inside Football ratings you can check them out here; http://www.aflplayerratings.com.au/



I pose this question to the fans, how have you seen our first 11 games play out? Are you as positive about the youth's influence as I am? Do we expect to see more kids being blooded into the second half of the year? Do we need to be doing more? Enter the discussion below.

Also, I have set up a poll in the OP, asking you, who do you think out of our youth have convinced you, COMPLETELY, that they will be part of our best 22 at the end of this rebiuld (aka finals 2018). Vote above.

 

[Jeremias]

Great work FBI - loving this thread.

You ask a good question in the poll and it is something I've been tracking myself as the season progresses.

I've classified our "youth" into a number of different categories - with the top tier being those who I can confidently say will be there on the other side of this rebuild.

Obviously the categories are somewhat fluid, with players able to move up and down throughout the year...as it stands right now I have 6 players in that top tier:

- Patrick Cripps
- Sam Docherty
- Jacob Weitering
- Lachie Plowman
- Ciaran Byrne
- Sam Kerridge

 

[passmark]

No Armfield.

Poll can't be taken seriously.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Great work FBI - loving this thread.

You ask a good question in the poll and it is something I've been tracking myself as the season progresses.

I've classified our "youth" into a number of different categories - with the top tier being those who I can confidently say will be there on the other side of this rebuild.

Obviously the categories are somewhat fluid, with players able to move up and down throughout the year...as it stands right now I have 6 players in that top tier:

- Patrick Cripps
- Sam Docherty
- Jacob Weitering
- Lachie Plowman
- Ciaran Byrne
- Sam Kerridge

Sam Kerridge is definitely the hardest one to pick for me, I think he's so close. With his sort of role as a midfield rotation/half forward flanker I see his position as the most volatile, with people like Charlie Curnow, Liam Sumner, Jed Lamb, Jack Silvagni competing with him for the spot. I couldn't guarentee he'll be there on the other side of the rebuild playing a game every week, but I think at minimum he'll be that player you put in every week to round off the bench and might miss one or two or three games a year for team dynamic. Similar to what Wright is for me now.

 

[Jeremias]

Sam Kerridge is definitely the hardest one to pick for me, I think he's so close. With his sort of role as a midfield rotation/half forward flanker I see his position as the most volatile, with people like Charlie Curnow, Liam Sumner, Jed Lamb, Jack Silvagni competing with him for the spot. I couldn't guarentee he'll be there on the other side of the rebuild playing a game every week, but I think at minimum he'll be that player you put in every week to round off the bench and might miss one or two or three games a year for team dynamic. Similar to what Wright is for me now.

I've been a fan of Sam's since before he came over from Adelaide and I think very quickly he's shown his value to this side. Very solid all round footballer but I do agree he'd be last on the list I provided.

Comparing him to some of the other names in that group isn't fair given the talent there. There is no comparison to be made. He's not someone who we're relying on or expecting to develop into a star as a few of the others project, but I do I see him as being of enormous value, both through the rebuild and on the other side.

I don't see him as competing with any of the players you've named. Has spent the majority of this year on the wing but his flexibility is a real advantage insofar as he'd be a very capable contributor in a number of positions - not just through the midfield, but up forward too.

I said at the time he came across that he's as certain as you can be to play 100-150 solid games for the Carlton Football Club and nothing I've seen has made me rethink that stance. He won't be a star but he's as tough as they come, a real leader, and should be a very valuable role player at the other end of a rebuild.

 

[ShanDog]

Can we get some labels on those graphs please? I have NFI what I'm looking at.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Can we get some labels on those graphs please? I have NFI what I'm looking at.

Which one Shan?

Edit: The combined graph has had the explanation added from the OP

 

[1981]

Apparently we are one of the older teams running around. I don't place much stock in those things often but in saying that I guess it will be a challenge of sorts for BB to bring the kids in and retain the results we are currently getting, of course Remembering BB doesn't place stock on wins more so effort - clever isn't he !!!

 

[My name geoff]

I've been a fan of Sam's since before he came over from Adelaide and I think very quickly he's shown his value to this side. Very solid all round footballer but I do agree he'd be last on the list I provided.

Comparing him to some of the other names in that group isn't fair given the talent there. There is no comparison to be made. He's not someone who we're relying on or expecting to develop into a star as a few of the others project, but I do I see him as being of enormous value, both through the rebuild and on the other side.

I don't see him as competing with any of the players you've named. Has spent the majority of this year on the wing but his flexibility is a real advantage insofar as he'd be a very capable contributor in a number of positions - not just through the midfield, but up forward too.

I said at the time he came across that he's as certain as you can be to play 100-150 solid games for the Carlton Football Club and nothing I've seen has made me rethink that stance. He won't be a star but he's as tough as they come, a real leader, and should be a very valuable role player at the other end of a rebuild.

Sam Kerridge competes hard from the first bounce till the final siren. Very underrated attribute to have and a very underrated player in my view.

 

[Masqualero]

All of them will make it. Go Blues.

 

[Styxx]

Apparently we are one of the older teams running around. I don't place much stock in those things often but in saying that I guess it will be a challenge of sorts for BB to bring the kids in and retain the results we are currently getting, of course Remembering BB doesn't place stock on wins more so effort - clever isn't he !!!

I think to an extent that has been massively blown out of proportion.

Part of the reasoning I would imagine being that only Weitering has been playing any conistent footy this season out of our last two drafts (with most if not all of Boekhorst, DVR, Foster and Smith potentially on the chopping block), also pared with the original expectation we would essentially play only the 18 or 19 year olds with Lamb, Sumner, Wright Kerridge originally having minimal expectations.

We did do a solid job rebuilding the 21-25 ahe bracket first go through so it's a case of outting game time into that.

 

[HBF]

*BUMP*
Thought we might need to remind ourselves we're only 12 games in. As I said in another thread, for all the good we have achieved this year, lets not throw it away on one game of footy.

 

[AB_Blue]

If you told me we would be a game out of the 8 at bye round.....I would have asked you to hand over the meds......

Despite today's disappointing result we are still right on track

 

[FlowersByIrene]

*BUMP*
Thought we might need to remind ourselves we're only 12 games in. As I said in another thread, for all the good we have achieved this year, lets not throw it away on one game of footy.

Definitely a speedbump today, but we havent been knocked back.

Keep moving forward to the end goal.

 

[RudyBlue]

Definitely a speedbump today, but we havent been knocked back.

Keep moving forward to the end goal.

An old Carlton administration would have thought we were premiership contenders after knocking off Geelong, dropped everything and ran with that idea.
The great thing with this new Carlton is our on and off-field visions are crystal clear. SOS and Bolts know exactly what sort of list they want to create and will refuse to get ahead of themselves in pursuit of that end goal.

 

[HBF]

An old Carlton administration would have thought we were premiership contenders after knocking off Geelong, dropped everything and ran with that idea.
The great thing with this new Carlton is our on and off-field visions are crystal clear. SOS and Bolts know exactly what sort of list they want to create and will refuse to get ahead of themselves in pursuit of that end goal.

Well said RB.
At the end of day we're 12 games into a rebuild and doing better than anyone predicted we would.
We're also getting games into a number of our younger players, guys developing in the VFL and we still have C.Curnow and McKay recovering from illness and injury.

 

[RudyBlue]

Well said RB.
At the end of day we're 12 games into a rebuild and doing better than anyone predicted we would.
We're also getting games into a number of our younger players, guys developing in the VFL and we still have C.Curnow and McKay recovering from illness and injury.

It's entirely likely we'll get worse before we keep getting better. Our good results this year have come off the back of mature aged players peforming way above expectations within a system geared towards their strengths. Common knowledge would suggest we need to get 30-40 games (at a minimum) into guys like SOJ, Curnow, McKay etc before they will perform a role consistently.

Patience is the key and I think Bolts is well and truly aware of where we sit.

 

[HBF]

It's entirely likely we'll get worse before we keep getting better. Our good results this year have come off the back of mature aged players peforming way above expectations within a system geared towards their strengths. Common knowledge would suggest we need to get 30-40 games (at a minimum) into guys like SOJ, Curnow, McKay etc before they will perform a role consistently.

Patience is the key and I think Bolts is well and truly aware of where we sit.

Completely agree with this.
Hopefully Charlie comes back soon after the bye so we can get games into him.
Then SOS and McKay later in the year.

We are right on track.

 

[Soapy V]

It's entirely likely we'll get worse before we keep getting better. Our good results this year have come off the back of mature aged players peforming way above expectations within a system geared towards their strengths. Common knowledge would suggest we need to get 30-40 games (at a minimum) into guys like SOJ, Curnow, McKay etc before they will perform a role consistently.

Patience is the key and I think Bolts is well and truly aware of where we sit.

agree. we are still playing players that wont be there in 12-24 months and have a lot of kids that havent played yet. mckay cuningham silvagni boekhurst curnow jaksch etc will need time and will be inconsistent. if we get a number of more young kids in to side next year i can see us around the bottom 2-3 next season. thats okay if we can see a future and i believe we can

 

[RudyBlue]

agree. we are still playing players that wont be there in 12-24 months and have a lot of kids that havent played yet. mckay cuningham silvagni boekhurst curnow jaksch etc will need time and will be inconsistent. if we get a number of more young kids in to side next year i can see us around the bottom 2-3 next season. thats okay if we can see a future and i believe we can

I mean who knows what Bolts can get out of a committed bunch of kids, but people need to understand we still have a lot of players to move on and replacing them with kids would typically correspond to a move down the ladder before moving up.

 

[RudyBlue]

Completely agree with this.
Hopefully Charlie comes back soon after the bye so we can get games into him.
Then SOS and McKay later in the year.

We are right on track.

Think I read SOS has the most vfl goals for this year's first year players.
Hopefully McKay and Cuners can get over their injury issues and make a good push for selection.

From what I've seen and heard, Ben McKay is a brute in the contest.

 

[JustaBattler]

Byrne/Docherty/Cripps/Weitering are class players I can see being part of a contending list.

Need to see more from Plowman/Sumner/Lamb/Phillips/C.Curnow/Boekhurst - but at this stage I think are worth investing time into.

I have no real view on Jacksh/HarryMcKay/Cuningham/Gorringe but young Jack seems to have the footie smarts beyond his years.

Of the older players

Kreuzer/Murph/Rowe will be lucky to be around in 4 years time and Gibbs is borderline. - scratch Simpson/Walker/Jamison/D.Thomas/White/Armfield/Everitt already from a 3-4 year view. That si 10 AFL players some of great quality that need to be generated found - to stay where we are....

Kerridge/Graham/Wright/ maybe Whiley are depth type players.

Long way to go in a proper rebuild - but great progress made in 'reset'.

I see us being middling to bottom 8 but just as easily or worse than this year for the next two years as young ones develop and we actually get a midfield together. Bottom eight is achievable with two very good midfielders brought in.

Meanwhile GWS will begin their era of domination and Norfs/Hawthorn slide faster than people think - next year.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Had a busy day guys, Game 12 round up will be up tommorrow morning whilst the Warriors demolish the Cavs

 

[FlowersByIrene]

GAMES 12-22 ​

Graph: graphical representation of number of "youth" selected in the best 22 (Series 1) along with that youth's performance, by way of AFL Coaches Association votes (Series 2), average youth AFL Player Rating* (Series 3) and average SEN Inside Football Player Rating Points** (Series 4)
* Avg AFL Player Rating = total player rating / number of players.
** Avg SEN Inside Football Player Rating = total player rating points / number of players.


GAME 12 - LOSS vs St Kilda (78-110)
9 Youth Players
OUT: Nick Graham
IN: Liam Sumner
Coaches Votes: Sam Docherty (1)
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 353.5 (+), 5
Sam Docherty - 334 (+), 6
Sam Kerridge - 141.1 (+), 4
Lachie Plowman - 136 (+), 5
Jacob Weitering - 91.8 (+), 4
Ciaran Byrne - 83 (+), 2
Jed Lamb - 75.8 (-), 5
Daniel Gorringe - 68.8 (-), 3
Liam Sumner - 49.3 (+), 3

Avg Rating: 148.14, 4.1

We got reminded this week that we are still a rebuilding side, coming from a low base, but still improving. This was a halt to the momentum, but it wasn't a step back.
Sam Docherty was dynamic in the first quarter, at quarter time he'd already had over 250m gained, he finished the game with 29 disposals, at 86% efficiency, took 8 marks, one contested and had an amazing 9 rebound 50's. Sam Kerridge collected 27 disposals, although didn't have too much impact with them, 19 were handballs but he did go at an impressive 89% efficiency, only laying one tackle was dissapointing. Patrick Cripps looked off the pace this weekend but still managed 26 disposals at 80% efficiency, q0 clearances, including 7 centre clearances showed just how phenomenal this man is, even when he's not at the heart of the game. Jacob Weitering had a tough time in defence, as did all our defenders, his opponent found a few on him but Weities still found 16 disposals and took 6 marks. Liam Sumner was good in his return, being creative form his 13 disposals, he had 4 marks, 4 tackles and 3 inside 50's. Lachie Plowman started well but tapered off, finishing with 15 disposals, 8 marks and going at an impressive 94% efficiency. 5 1%ers and 4 rebound 50's showed he did a lot with what was coming at him down in defence. Jed Lamb was physically abused all day, but nothing came, he had 15 dispsoals, 4 inside 50's and kicked a goal. Daniel Gorringe struggled, only had 7 disposals and wasn't very effective. Needs to do more than 9 hit outs per game as we were thoroughly beaten when he lost the tap. Ciaran Byrne had almost no impact, but when he did have the ball, all 14 times he went at 100% eff.

From the Magoos:
This weekend: Box Hill v Northern Blues - Saturday June 11, 2pm, Box Hill City Oval

After being named in the Blues' initial 25-man squad for their round 12 clash against St Kilda, father-son draftee Jack Silvagni kicked another four goals as he inches closer to an AFL debut. In attack, big man Kristian Jaksch kicked four goals, while Dylan Buckley added two in the surprise 36-point win over the more-fancied Hawks.

GAME 13 - LOSS vs GWS (65-127)
8 Youth Players
OUT: Daniel Gorringe (Hip), Dennis Armfield (Groin)
IN: Jason Tutt, Andrew Phillips
Coaches Votes: none
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 361.4 (+), 5
Sam Docherty - 334.2 (+), 8
Lachie Plowman - 144.1 (+), 4
Sam Kerridge - 131.3 (-), 5
Jacob Weitering - 102.7 (+), 5
Ciaran Byrne - 86 (+), 5
Jed Lamb - 77.6 (+), 2
Liam Sumner - 54.7 (+), 3

Avg Rating: 161.5, 4.6

HAD TO CUT DESCRIPTIONS OUT OF FOLLOWING FEW GAMES TO FIT POSTING LIMITS, SEE ORIGINAL POSTS IN FOLLOWING PAGES

GAME 14 - LOSS vs Collingwood (45-57)
9 Youth Players (Jack Silvagni - Debut)
OUT: Jason Tutt
IN: Jack Silvagni
Coaches Votes: Sam Docherty (1)
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 367.3 (+), (score not available)
Sam Docherty - 339 (+), 7
Lachie Plowman - 152.5 (+), 4
Sam Kerridge - 134.1 (+), 8 (is this 8 an error?? his tagline was, Butchered ball from a win. Decision making a concern, and just laid one tackle, as Kedge worthy of 8 points?)
Jacob Weitering - 109.5 (+), 2
Ciaran Byrne - 95.1 (+), (score not available)
Jed Lamb - 86.1 (+), 7
Liam Sumner - 61.8 (+), 6
Jack Silvagni - 4.4 (+), 5 (Debut)

Avg Rating: 149.9, 5.57

GAME 15 - LOSS vs Adelaide (47-107)
8 Youth Players
OUT: Ciaran Byrne
IN: Dennis Armfield
Coaches Votes: none
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 380.4 (+), 6
Sam Docherty - 351.9 (+), 7
Lachie Plowman - 157.7 (+), 3
Sam Kerridge - 136.6 (+), 5
Jacob Weitering - 113.8 (+), 5
Jed Lamb - 85 (-), 2
Liam Sumner - 68.2 (+), 3
Jack Silvagni - 13.6 (+), 2

Avg Rating: 163.4, 4.1

GAME 16 - LOSS vs West Coast (75-82)
12 Youth Players
OUT: Andrejs Everitt (omitted) Levi Casboult (susp) Andrew Walker (knee) Dale Thomas (calf)
IN: Dylan Buckley, Kristian Jaksch, Charlie Curnow, Nick Graham
Coaches Votes: Sam Docherty (9)!
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 387 (+), 7
Sam Docherty - 356.6 (+), 7
Lachie Plowman - 161.6 (+), 5
Sam Kerridge - 143.1 (+), 7
Nick Graham - 127.8 (+), 6
Jacob Weitering - 124.7 (+), 5
Dylan Buckley - 121.7 (+), 5
Jed Lamb - 86.8 (+), 1
Liam Sumner - 71.7 (+), 1
Charlie Curnow - 38 (+), 3
Kristian Jaksch - 37.2 (+), 3
Jack Silvagni - 17.4 (+), 2

Avg Rating: 139.46, 4.3

GAME 17 - LOSS vs Sydney (68-74)
11 Youth Players
OUT: Kristian Jaksch (Omit) Jed Lamb (Omit)
IN: Levi Casboult, Blaine Boekhurst
Coaches Votes: Patrick Cripps (6)
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 401.4 (+), 9
Sam Docherty - 361.1 (+), 7
Lachie Plowman - 167 (+), 4
Sam Kerridge - 143.5 (+), 4
Jacob Weitering - 133.5 (+), 5
Dylan Buckley - 129.3 (+), 4
Nick Graham - 127.5 (-), 6
Blaine Boekhurst - 91.9 (+) 4
Liam Sumner - 83.7 (+), 5
Charlie Curnow - 42.1 (+), 3
Jack Silvagni - 24.5 (+), 3

Avg Rating: 155.0, 4.9

I'll admit, I'm not against honourable losses, I'm just happy to see the boys put in efforts worthy of praise, especially in a rebuilding phase, but these last couple are a bit heartbreaking, so close, against two good teams, but couldn't get over the line.
Patrick Cripps put in a phenomenal physical effort. He's superhuman, honestly, 32 disposals, 22 contested, 4 marks, 1 contested mark (a beauty by the way, one hander on the forward flank I think) 11 clearances! and an astonishing 13 tackles, what a freak. Sam Docherty continued to impose his will off the back flank, he had an uncharacteristic 2 clangers, but had 30 disposals at 73%, 11 marks, 3 rebound 50's and 4 inside 50's, All Australian Lock is firming. Nick Graham had a standout game, and it's so good to see him performing, 22 disposals, 2 marks, 6 clearances and 10 tackles. He gets a bit of a bad wrap for his 4 clangers, and his eff is only 68% but he;s building and putting in hard work, which is what we need. Dylan Buckley has been in solid form since his return, playing off a forward flank he had 12 disposals, laid 4 tackles, had 4 inside 50's and kicked a wonderful goal. Blaine Boekhurst came back into the side and after a fumbly, jittery and inneffective first half he came into the game ending up with 13 disposals, 3 tackles including an amazing chase down over about 100m, kicked a goal and had a goal assist. That's abotu where you want a young wingman to be tracking, postive. Jacob Weitering went forward and back, copped some knocks and di some good things, 14 disposals at 71%, one clanger, 4 marks, 1 contesed mark and 7 1%ers in a performance we've come to expect from him. Sam Kerridge had a poorer game, he copped a big knock to his shoulder at one point but still managed 17 dispsoals at 64% for the day, only had 2 clangers, and positively had 4 inside 50's. He struggled but it wasn't an abysmal effort. Lachie Plowman did a really good job in defence, he had 10 disposals at 80% eff, took a big contested mark and had 7 1%er acts, which really cements him as a quality one-on-one defender. Jack Silvagni had limited affect ont eh stats sheet, didn't take a mark, but had 5 touches, drew a free kick in the forward fifty and slotted through a goal, his work rate from inside 50 is excellent for such a young kid, and his two inside 50's reflect that. Charlie Curnow did what we fear is a Medial ligament after Cas fell on him and will likely be out for the rest of the season, he had 6 disposals took 2 big contested marks and put through a lovely goal before he got injured. Liam Sumner had 13 disposals, which is a good effort for him, even with low numbers he can still be damaging, he went at 100% efficiency had 2 rebound 50's, 2 tackles and 2 inside 50's he also kicked a phenomenal goal out of the air and had a goal assist to boot, top game from the kid.

From the Magoos:
This weekend: Northern Blues v Footscray - Sunday July 24, 2pm, Ikon Park

On the back of his 38-possession, two-goal game last week, midfielder Mark Whiley was again in the thick of the action with a team-high 31 disposals.
The former Giant has featured in just one game for the Blues this season against Gold Coast in round three. Forward Harry McKay kicked three goals, while Kristian Jaksch chipped in with two to round out the Blues' best. American import Matt Korcheck kicked the sealer late in the match from a strong contested mark deep in attack.

GAME 18 - LOSS vs Hawthorn (55-74)
10 Youth Players
OUT: Charlie Curnow (knee)
IN: Anrejs Everitt
Coaches Votes: Patrick Cripps (6)
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 409.4 (+), 8
Sam Docherty - 361.4 (+), 7
Lachie Plowman - 171.7 (+), 6
Sam Kerridge - 147.3 (+), 6
Jacob Weitering - 137.2 (+), 6
Dylan Buckley - 132.5 (+), 6
Nick Graham - 126.8 (-), 5
Blaine Boekhurst - 110 (+) 6
Liam Sumner - 92.4 (+), 4
Jack Silvagni - 29.3 (+), 5

Avg Rating: 171.8, 5.9

Another top Eight side, another close loss. We really fought hard in this one, polish just wasn't there going inside fifty and kicking on goal.
Patrick Cripps picked up another 6 Coaches Votes in a sublime performance, he had 11 clearances, half the number the enitre Hawthorn side had all day, he had 31 disposals, 18 contested, took 4 marks, laid 3 tackles, had 3 inside 50's kicked a goal and took a lovely 3 bounce run to hit a player on the chest to set up a shot on goal in one of his five score involvements. Sam Docherty had a near flawless day, besides that one pretty big flaw, he had 2 clangers, but went at 96% eff for his 25 disposals which included 7 marks, 5 rebound 50's and 5 1%ers. Dylan Buckley bobbed up big, his run and carry and his presenting on the wing and flank were top notch, he had 19 disposals, kicked a goal, took 7 marks and had 3 1%ers, another good performance since his return. Sam Kerridge did an excellent negating job focussing on Sam Mitchell and keeping him to 22 disposals, going the other way Kedge had 16 of his own, including 4 clearances and 5 tackles. Blaine Boekhurst continues to double grab the ball, im hoping this is a result of his glove and not a lack of touch, but he worked his way into the game, providing some quality run, 20 disoposals at 80% eff is very promising, he will be happy with his two inside 50's and his goal assist. Nick Graham didn't do anything wrong and his continuing a quality vein of form, he had 18 disposals, 3 clearances, 3 rebound 50's and 3 tackles. Liam Sumner continues to bring pressure and dash, he only found the ball 10 times and went at just 50% but only had the one clanger and kicked a goal. Jacob Weitering copped a knock late but played well most of the day, he had 15 disposals at 80% eff, something we're coming to expect from him, he only got on the end of one mark but made 5 1%er acts which is great to see. Jack Silvagni was kept out of it for most of the first half but ended the day with 7 disposals at 85% eff, taking 4 marks including one contested, he ended the day with figure of 1.1. Lachie Plowman did a great job down back, he had 14 disposals at 93% eff, with 4 1%er acts.

From the Magoos:
This weekend: Werribee v Northern Blues - Sunday July 31, 11.40am, Avalon Airport Oval

Midfielder Mark Whiley was again the pick of the Blues' inexperienced group, leading his AFL-listed teammates on the stats sheet with 25 touches in the 63-point loss. In attack, speedster Clem Smith and tall Kristian Jaksch kicked two goals apiece. Defender Matthew Dick injured his hamstring and took no part in the second half, while former Giant Jed Lamb came off the ground with an apparent right groin complaint but managed to return.

GAME 19 - LOSS vs Hawthorn (51-122)
9 Youth Players
OUT: Andrejs Everitt (Omit) Liam Sumner (Omit)
IN: Andrew Walker, Dale Thoms
Coaches Votes:
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 419 (+), 7
Sam Docherty - 368.3 (+), 6
Lachie Plowman - 170.1 (-), 3
Sam Kerridge - 150.7 (+), 6
Jacob Weitering - 147.7 (+), 4
Dylan Buckley - 134.2 (+), 3
Nick Graham - 117.3 (-), 3
Blaine Boekhurst - 114.1 (+) 5
Jack Silvagni - 36.1 (+), 5

Avg Rating: 184.2, 4.6

Okay, it was a really bad day, we got smashed, maybe it was a hangover from recent good performances, but it was inexcusable in my books, and the worst part was, along with a lot of senior players, it was the kids who let us down. This week's review will focus on the negatives a bit more than the positives, so be warned.
Patrick Cripps, was really our only youth player who stood tall, he had 32 disposals including 17 contested, he had 6 clearances, took 6 marks, including two contested, laid 6 tackles and kicked 2.2. Crippa unfortunately made 7 clangers in a tough game, and needs to find a way to convert better. He could of had a 30+ possession game along with 4 goals and put in a performance of the season but inaccuracy let him down. Sam Docherty made unusual errors by foot, with 2 clangers and went at only 73.3 eff, much lower than his traditional 90%+, he had 30 disposals and took 8 marks, had 5 rebound 50's and 4 1%ers but didn't have his standard polish, still tries hard every week. Jacob Weitering needs to impose himself on the game more, he had a game absent of flaws but didn't play flawlessly. With 15 disposals at 87% eff, 4 marks, 4 tackles and 6 1%ers it was a solid performance, but we needed more from him, it will come in time with age and experience though. Dylan Buckley needs to find a way to influence the game for four quarters, and to limit errors, Buckley had 5 clangers in 14 disposals, he laid 6 tackles, but failed in a defensive role on Leigh Montagna, after a good performance last week, it was disappointing to see. Nick Graham's biggest flaw is hard to put a finger on because he has a couple, he makes mistakes by foot and doesn't find enough inside ball for a predominately inside midfielder, he had a mere 11 disposals, which included 2 clangers, he laid 4 tackles but his day was fairly barren besides that, in a side begging for more ball winners, Graham needs to do more. Sam Kerridge played a quality defensive roll on Jack Steven, but needs to do more going forward, and needs to be cleaner doing it. He had 15 disposals at a shocking 54% eff, and had 4 clangers, no matter how good his defensive efforts are, if you turn the ball over, questions have to be asked. Jack Silvagni, is all class when he has the ball, he makes space excellently and evades defenders really well, but he needs to impact the game for 120minutes, not in patches. This will come with age and experience. He had 14 disposals, took 4 marks and had 4 i50's. Blaine Boekhursts biggest issue continues to be a complete lack of touch, the man cannot pick up a ball in one motion, he dropped a crucial mark on the defensive fifty and fumbles when picking up the ball far too often, he had only 12 disposals at 58% eff and whilst his kicks look beautiful, 3 clangers and only 2 inside 50's tells the story in this game. Lachie Plowman had a day he'd rather forget, only finding 5 disposals and taking 1 mark, he made no errors, but couldn't curtail his opponent only managing 3 1%er efforts.

From the Magoos:

This weekend: Northern Blues v Richmond - Saturday August 6, 2pm, Ikon Park

Midfielder Mark Whiley (27 disposals, eight tackles) was once again the most consistent performer of the Blues' inexperienced group. Tall Kristian Jaksch joined the pair among the best, after ending with 17 disposals, seven marks and a goal.


GAME 20 - LOSS vs Brisbane (95-99)
9 Youth Players
OUT: Nick Graham (omit) Andrew Walker (Ret.)
IN: David Cuningham (DEBUT), Liam Jones
Coaches Votes: Patrick Cripps (6)
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 431.4 (+), 7
Sam Docherty - 374.1 (+), 6
Lachie Plowman - 164.8 (-), 4
Jacob Weitering - 157.4 (+), 5
Sam Kerridge - 155.1 (+), 5
Dylan Buckley - 139.5 (+), 5
Blaine Boekhurst - 121.8 (+), 5
Jack Silvagni - 49.5 (+), 6
David Cuningham - 2.1 (+), 4

Avg Rating: 177.3, 5.2

It still hasn't really sunk in we lost to Brisbane, at times we looked hot and tired, at times we had run, we came into the game, and completely drifted out of it. This was a game of yin and yang, a seesawing affair that almost saw us come away with a win.
Patrick Cripps broke the 20 Contested Possession mark for the 4th time in his career, intent on chasing down the man who has done that 32 times in Josh P Kennedy, if he can't catch JPK, maybe he can catch Gary Ablett on 18. Cripps was injured in the second quarter and missed a fair amount of game time, but regardless still managed to collect 24 disposals at 67% eff, including an astonishing 11 clearances, 8 tackles and 5 inside 50's in only 74% time on ground. Jack Silvagni has a stellar game, as he quickly looms to be our best forward player, SOJ had 8 disposals, three of which went through for Goals, he took 2 marks, laid 4 tackles and showed the crowd some excellent steps and movement to walk though traffic and deliver to a player or unto goal. Sam Docherty went at a lower DE than we are used to, as he collected 18 disposals at 77%, he still managed plenty of link up run with 7 marks, 3 clearances, 3 rebound 50's and 2 inside 50's. Dylan Buckley had a compelling 2nd and 3rd quarter performance but was completely absent in the first and last. He finished the day with 14 disposals, 2 clearances, 6 inside 50's and a goal assist. Sam Kerridge did a bit of a run with job on Daniel Rich and did it reasonably well but on the offensive side made to many mistakes, he had 4 clangers and went at 65% efficiency in a down day for him. David Cuningham had, in my eyes, an impressive debut, it was great to see him line up at the Centre Bounce for the first play, but he spent the majority of the game forward, he had a team high 22 pressure acts, had 7 disposals at 85% and impressively laid 8 tackles. Lachie Plowman did some very good things and some very bad things, a big sank cost us a goal but he shut down his opponent well, he had 4 1% acts, took 5 marks and had 10 disposals at 90% eff. Blaine Boekhurst continues to look out of sorts with his wrist and spent a lot of the game with minimal impact on it, but when he could find the the ball he had 11 disposals at 72% eff, had a goal assist and took his chance to kick a goal. Jacob Weitering had 8 intercept plays, including 3 marks, he had 13 disposals, 3 1%ers and did a reasonably good job on his opponent all day.


From the Magoos:

Bye.

GAME 21 - WIN vs Melbourne (78-58)
8 Youth Players
OUT: Jack Silvagni (leg) Sam Kerridge (soreness) Blaine Boekhurst (omit)
IN: Andrejs Everitt, Liam Sumner, Nick Graham
Coaches Votes:
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 441.9 (+), 9
Sam Docherty - 381.5 (+), 7
Jacob Weitering - 168 (+), 6
Lachie Plowman - 161.4 (-), 6
Dylan Buckley - 153.2 (+), 7
Nick Graham - 116.8 (+), 6
Liam Sumner - 100.8 (+), 4
David Cuningham - 8.7 (+), 3

Avg Rating: 191.5, 6


It felt good to hear the song again. Patrick Cripps was phenomenal and best on ground in the win, picking up 30 disposals, 19 contested, finding 12 clearances, laying a whopping 13 tackles, kicking a goal, hitting a beautiful goal assist and sending the ball inside 50 5 times, it was a complete performance, raw ability, determination and strength. Sam Docherty continues his AA form with 26 disposals at 80%, 6 marks, 6 rebound 50's and a game high 600+ metres gained. Dylan Buckley morphed into his father and played a great game finding the goals 3 times, in 12 disposals, he had 4 unfortunate clangers, but his positives far outweighed the negatives. Nick Graham came into the side as an emergency and had 19 disposals, laid 7 tackles and kicked 2 goals. He would rue his 4 clangers and 47% disposal efficency but his effort is there. Jacob Weitering had a game high in intercepts, finidng 16 disposals at 87% he looked back to his composed best, taking 8 marks, including one contested, rebounding form 50 3 times and having 4 1%ers. He also managed to keep his direct opponent Jack Watts goalless. Liam Sumner was another late inclusion and his run was noticeable on a wet, heavy day, he had 10 disposals at 80%, took 5 marks on the spread, had 3 1% acts, had an inside 50 and kicked a goal. David Cuningham continued on with his form form the first game, finding moments to impact the game but not executing all of them. He had 11 disposals at 63%, laid 6 tackles and had an inside 50. Lachie Plowman had 10 disposals at 90%, took 5 marks, had 2 reound 50's and one 1% act.


From the Magoos

This weekend: Northern Blues v Williamstown - Saturday August 20, 2pm, Ikon Park

Two-metre-tall teenage forward Harry McKay has placed himself in the frame to make a final-round AFL debut following an impressive showing in the Northern Blues' 55-point loss to Williamstown at Ikon Park on Saturday. The No. 10 pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft missed the first half of the season with a stress fracture in his back, but despite limited opportunities against the Seagulls, the 18-year-old kicked one of his team's six goals and moved well.

Dropped midfielder Blaine Boekhorst was serviceable without dominating in gathering 24 possessions, while Kristian Jaksch had 16 touches and struggled to make an impact.

GAME 22 - LOSS vs Essendon (79-103)
10 Youth Players
OUT: Andrejs Everitt (Omit) Ed Curnow (Knee)
IN: Jack Silvagni, Sam Kerridge
Coaches Votes:
Player Ratings Points (AFL,SEN):

Spoiler

Patrick Cripps - 447.8 (+), 7
Sam Docherty - 391.6 (+), 7
Jacob Weitering - 179 (+), 6
Dylan Buckley - 162.5 (+), 6
Lachie Plowman - 155.7 (-), 3
Sam Kerridge - 145.5 (-), 5
Nick Graham - 124.5 (+), 4
Liam Sumner - 102.2 (+), 2
Jack Silvagni - 46.6 (+), 5
David Cuningham - 13.3 (+), 5

Avg Rating: 176.9, 5


It was with a whimper rather than a roar that we fell across the line at the end of 2016. A loss to the arch rival drug cheats is too hard to bare, so let's not discuss it.
Patrick Cripps broke 20 contested disposals again as he collected 23 contested possessions in his 32 possession game, his disposal efficiency was an impressive 81%, he had no clangers outside his two free kicks against, he willed his way to 10 disposals to take his yearly total to the 4th greatest amount in a season of ALL time, he also laid 8 tackles and had an inside 50. Sam Docherty was named in the AA squad this week and capped off his season with another great game, 26 disposals at 73%, 8 marks, 9 rebound 50's, 7 bounces, 4 1% acts and 3 inside 50's in another prodigious effort between the arcs. Dylan Buckley found 21 disposals at a disappointing 57% eff. He had 5 clangers, but also had 5 inside 50's and slotted a late goal. Sam Kerridge came back in and did a reasonable job on Goddard, he had 17 disposals at 64% eff, with 3 clangers, 4 tackles, 3 1%ers and 3 inside 50's but was wasteful in front of goals with 1.3 on the scoreboard. Nick Graham had limited impact with 20 disposals at 60%, 5 marks on the spread was impressive, but made almost no impact elsewhere on the stat sheet, 5 inside 50's is something to note, but eggs across the rest of the board. Jack Silvagni came back in to excite the fans on a dark day, he had 8 disposals at 25% eff, with 2 clangers, he kicked 2 behinds and had 2 inside 50's but his forward pressure with 7 tackles was the most important aspect of his game. Jacob Weitering was our best performed key defender with 17 disposals at 94% eff, 3 marks, no clangers, a contested mark, 4 rebound 50's and 4 1%ers. What a season by the no.1 pick. David Cuningham has impressed me in his short time, he had 13 disposals at 69% and managed 6 inside 50's in that batch, 3 marks, 2 clangers, 2 tackles and a rebound 50 rounded off a promising game. Lachie Plowman had a disappointing game, only finding 12 disposals at 58% eff, he had 3 1%ers and 3 marks but couldn't impose himself on the contest. Liam Sumner was very quiet with 9 disposals, 2 tackles and 2 inside 50's,

From the Magoos
Kristian Jaksch was prolific with 27 disposals.