Resource Beyond the "66 Game" Rebuild

[JustaBattler]

It's hard to compare a team that was more set in stone, decided and peaking against a team that is still verging on that.

Midfield.

Walsh - Judd. Won't be long and we will be comparing the two and arguing over who is better. A big call but I am confident.

Cripps - Murphy. At their best both the same quality but very different players however going into finals where that games can be hard physical slogs, give me Cripps.

Gibbs - Cerra. Gibbs was always a disappointment around this time. Malthouse somehow got him going and he played some good footy for a couple of seasons under he and Bolton for memory. His last season for us was really good, then to Adelaide and nothing much again. Cerra is already where Gibbs was most of his career and his best is yet to come at only 22.

Carrazzo - Hewett. Tough question. Lets see more of Hewett.

McLean - Kennedy. We spent good picks and coin to get Mclean who at best was handy but spent a lot of time in the VFL. Same with Kennedy but he's probably slightly better than McLean now and younger. Give me Kennedy.

Joseph - Curnow. It's Curnow.

Kreuzer - TDK. TDK is a younger version who is showing the potential to be able to go forward which is something Kreuzer lacked. IMO TDK will be a pretty comparable if not better ruck when he develops. If he grows into the player his talent suggests, TDK will be better but that could be a couple of years away but lets see.

Warnock - Pittonett for sure.

Then you have depth in our current list. Curnow, Dow, Carroll, Stocker, Setterfield. Something that 2011 list didn't have and why it fell over. I think we had Lucas as a reserve mid and whoever had been dropped, usually McLean. Midfield has a lot more depth. Miles better depth, it's bottom end in the best 22 is better, the top end could match that side but it had a very good top end. That side was all about Judd and Murphy, for the first time since 2000 we had two elite midfielders. Then we didn't again. We could have 1-4 next year if things go right. That's huge, potentially.

As for wings, 2011 was probably a little better thought we really didn't have definitive wingers for memory, it was shared by a few such as Scotland, Simpsons, Curnow, Robinson Armfield if my memory is right? Our current wings are still a work in progress. O'Brien, Philp, Newnes, Cerra, Carroll, Cuningham? Who's it going to be? Someone else?

Forward line.

Curnow and McKay v Waite and O'Hailpin. No contest.
Betts, Armfield, Walker, Garlett, Robinson and Ellard V Owies, Durdin, Martin, Motlop, Silvagni and Honey. Our current crop will be terrific but they are still developing. IMO will be better at the pressure side of things. That group in 2011 carried us a lot, it's kicked a lot of goals. The current group are very talented but lets see, they are very new.

Miles and miles ahead in talls. We had some good small and medium forwards which carried us in many games for our lack of tall forwards. Our young group of smalls has so much potential and IMO is going to be a more modern, pressure orientated group. But it's still developing, lets come back to this and the end of the season.

Defence

Weitering v Jamison. Weitering is the better player but Jamison was a decent full back.
Henderson v Young/McDonald. Henderson was pretty good, the other two are yet to prove themselves.
Plowman v Laidler. Same same. McGovern could be better.
Yarran v Saad. Both are/were pretty good when on.
Scotland v Docherty. At their best both are terrific, Docherty hasn't had the best luck it's fair to say.
Duigan v Williams. Williams probably if fit.
Thornton - Marchbank/McGovern.


I can see that our depth is a lot better than that side. A hell of a lot better. If Jones was still there then our talls are hands down miles ahead. Smalls and medium players are about the same.

Our quality is still developing so it's hard to say. On potential and where I think some of those guys can go as players, our current team goes past that side and that could be this year. This is going to be an interesting season and a season of rapid growth I am hoping.

Lets hope that our current side does what that old list couldn't. Fill it's own holes with quality players coming through. provide a steady stream of young players coming through in general. Provide genuine depth and injury cover. Not be too reliant on individuals. Bat deep in all areas. Become elite in the physical, pressure and defensive side of the game.

As for our 66 game rebuild... more like 161 game rebuild. It should be finished. We should be ready to go!

I think we are nowhere near finished the rebuild or reset - we are a middling team that hasn't even played together under new coaching. This year ( hopefully) is the start of developing a genuine on-field set of expectations and minimum standards - where that takes us and how fast - is anyone's guess. The team could gel and make finals or it could tread water whilst Voss rotates his way through a bunch of blokes until he gets 4 quarter hardness from his starting 22.

I expect a pretty significant culling of the list at years end.

 

[Blues90]

Because SOS said so: Five years, four head coaches and two CEOs: The verdict on Carlton’s 66-game rebuild

5 to rebuild the list isn't the same thing as 5 to contend

 

[gbatman]

I think we are nowhere near finished the rebuild or reset - we are a middling team that hasn't even played together under new coaching. This year ( hopefully) is the start of developing a genuine on-field set of expectations and minimum standards - where that takes us and how fast - is anyone's guess. The team could gel and make finals or it could tread water whilst Voss rotates his way through a bunch of blokes until he gets 4 quarter hardness from his starting 22.

I expect a pretty significant culling of the list at years end.

100%. We're going to know where we stand and where to take our list.

 

[HereComesJuddy]

I think we are nowhere near finished the rebuild or reset - we are a middling team that hasn't even played together under new coaching. This year ( hopefully) is the start of developing a genuine on-field set of expectations and minimum standards - where that takes us and how fast - is anyone's guess. The team could gel and make finals or it could tread water whilst Voss rotates his way through a bunch of blokes until he gets 4 quarter hardness from his starting 22.

I expect a pretty significant culling of the list at years end.

Problem is, the rebuild should have started in the football department at the same time. Having the people we have now back then, things would be different for sure.

I too agree the rebuild hasn't finished, but when will it? What I do like is that we have a lot of the pieces required to be a sensational team along with good players from other clubs wanting to play for us. It's a massive plus considering where we have come from.

Then again, a few players could really stand up in 2022 and we deem the rebuild complete and we then just need a few top ups.

Either way, we are starting to see and believe what we have in front of us as our team is something special.

 

[JustaBattler]

Problem is, the rebuild should have started in the football department at the same time. Having the people we have now back then, things would be different for sure.

I too agree the rebuild hasn't finished, but when will it? What I do like is that we have a lot of the pieces required to be a sensational team along with good players from other clubs wanting to play for us. It's a massive plus considering where we have come from.

Then again, a few players could really stand up in 2022 and we deem the rebuild complete and we then just need a few top ups.

Either way, we are starting to see and believe what we have in front of us as our team is something special.

I think rebuild is 80% done and maybe more if a few of teh developing mids lift. However the reset has (really) only just begun as far as on field performance goes - Voss has to spend as much time getting Williams/McGiovern/Martin/Saad earning their dollars as developing young kids who we would like to see performing like Fisher/Dow/LoB/Stocker/Kemp etc....

I'm not ruling out finals and I can't rule out a similar middling finish either....that's the thing about where teams like Carlton are at...and the difference between contending or not ( for Carlton) will be the midfield game and maybe or maybe not- sorting out a defensive framework that will work week in week out with Weitering in or not....and then the team learning to play as a team week in week out - for 4 quarters.....

the whole building to contend is a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces in it and luck is a big factor as well...

All that said above - I'm confident we are on the right path - now the club and players have to do the time doing the right things.