When will the Carlton FC Arrive?

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Part 2 of this thread is here:

 
Jul 23, 2018
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Luckily we don’t butcher our number one picks.

Imagine watching Hugh McCluggage dominate all year and then taking a midget back pocket with the first selection in the draft.
Clug has had a great season, Taranto has been good too, but we love Pigeon when hes in the side (he's been injured for most of the year). He's 23 and played 90 games so too early to tell whether the pick has been butchered or whether he's hit his ceiling as a player. Carltons 3 number 1's in a row in Murphy, Gibbs and Kreuzer i wouldn't consider butchered even though there were better players taken after them
 

Rich01

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Who cares what pick he went at? If he establishes himself as a 2nd tier mid which helps us progress up the ladder, why does it matter? Our match winning mids are Cripps and Walsh anyway.
That’s the difference in expectations I spose. The Jack Graham types my expectation should be a 25-40 pick. A top three pick should be a match winner.

There’s a reason why clubs value higher picks.
 

Ambrosia

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Who cares what pick he went at? If he establishes himself as a 2nd tier mid which helps us progress up the ladder, why does it matter? Our match winning mids are Cripps and Walsh anyway.

Don’t really see how Dow becomes a 2nd tier mid unless he struggles to find the ball but for mine he either fixes up his disposal/decision making and becomes a very good player or he doesn’t and he’s off an AFL list in a few years.
 
Don’t really see how Dow becomes a 2nd tier mid unless he struggles to find the ball but for mine he either fixes up his disposal/decision making and becomes a very good player or he doesn’t and he’s off an AFL list in a few years.
Agreed. Nothing about him is average. He's got an interesting mix of elite attributes and substandard attributes.

Having said that, his trajectory this season has me confident he'll end up an excellent footballer.
+ Elite breakaway pace
+ Ground ball get game is strong
+ Strong through the core (haven't seen this till this year)
+ Good decision maker by hand
+ Has shown he can kick some very classy goals -
- Very poor tank (still struggles to play more than half a game in the middle)
- No impact when not on the ball
- Iffy disposal (much improved this year, though small sample size)
- Poor presence around the contest when he doesn't win the footy (though seen marked improvement here in recent weeks)
- Poor defensive effort (still gives up the chase way too easily). Probably stems from lack of fitness
- Seems timid / lacks self belief. Looks to be playing with self belief, though worried it'll leave him vulnerable to a downturn in form. Luke Power made an interesting comment on a podcast that he's working hard to get some of the players to separate their onfield and off-field personalities. Feel like Dow would be one of those

Let's also not forget that 2020 was a write off for him, through injury and covid.
 

Donnini

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Dec 16, 2020
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Seems like two sides in this thread.

Essendon fans who want Carlton to remain bad and;

Carlton fans who hate the fact that Essendon are currently performing better than them.

Well we beat them and they havent played as many top four teams as we already have.
 

WalshistheGOAT

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That’s the difference in expectations I spose. The Jack Graham types my expectation should be a 25-40 pick. A top three pick should be a match winner.

There’s a reason why clubs value higher picks.
I would agree that Dow has been disgustingly underwhelming so far, but in the last month he has looked far far better as a footballer. Not on the stat sheet as much but his disposal is infinitely better than in previous years, he looks very strong around the contest and has genuine explosiveness which was said to be his strength in juniors. Would I prefer Jack if I wanted to win a game right now? Absolutely. But according to those at the club the 'Penny has dropped' for Dow which has reflected his return to the side. If he has a a big off season I can see him easily growing into a A- player. The same being said he could just as easily have an injury interrupted pre season and come back just as underwhelming as he has been til now. I still have my doubts around Dow accumulating enough ball to become an A grader but he certainly has been showing the 'traits' of why he went so high the last 4-5 games.
 

Cadillac

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Essendon arent performing any better than Carlton
They’re currently inside the 8 while being thrown up as a wooden spoon contender and got smashed in the off season for losing Orazio, Daniher and Saad. Your club topped up by trading your first rounder and paid heaps of coin for Williams and Saad. And they’re still ahead of you.





🙃 lol.
 
Sep 16, 2014
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Spot on.
The expectations on these players by Carlton supporters in this thread are extremely low.

Dow looks like a 2nd tier mid at best. All sides need these, like we do with Jack Graham at Richmond. Hopefully he gets to that level at the blues. Will be handy if he does. But that shouldn’t be the expectation for a number 3 pick. He should be a match winner.

Cuningham has had good games but mostly disappointing ones. Fisher is hit and miss. Nothing to write home about. The ACL for DC will make it harder for him to progress.

SPS is meh. He’s an unassuming Atley type (who incredibly should notch 250 games). If he has a similar output to Atley from here I think that should be the expectation. But for a top 6 pick you’d expect more.

The wishy washy view on Kennedy is indicative of the players they carry on their list. Play many ordinary games and a couple of decent ones with 20 odd possessions and you are talked about as a team regular.
That's your worst troll yet mate, as we win more games you're going to have to get better.
 

Rich01

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I would agree that Dow has been disgustingly underwhelming so far, but in the last month he has looked far far better as a footballer. Not on the stat sheet as much but his disposal is infinitely better than in previous years, he looks very strong around the contest and has genuine explosiveness which was said to be his strength in juniors. Would I prefer Jack if I wanted to win a game right now? Absolutely. But according to those at the club the 'Penny has dropped' for Dow which has reflected his return to the side. If he has a a big off season I can see him easily growing into a A- player. The same being said he could just as easily have an injury interrupted pre season and come back just as underwhelming as he has been til now. I still have my doubts around Dow accumulating enough ball to become an A grader but he certainly has been showing the 'traits' of why he went so high the last 4-5 games.
I acknowledge your optimism.
I’ve heard this from Carlton supporters before. With Kennedy. With SPS. Jack Martin. Fisher. Setterfield.

Dow may buck the trend and having hope for a young player is what is as football followers do. I prefer a pragmatic view.

Personally I wouldn’t be relying on him to make it as any more than a Jack Graham type based on what I’ve seen of him and the development of players at the Blues.
 
Sep 16, 2014
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What in my post do you disagree with?
Call it out and discuss otherwise move on.
You underrate all Carlton players but that's alright because it's only your opinion. We will improve our win loss ratio again this year and won't be far out of the eight. Stocker looking like he'll be a player so you can put that trade to rest, all in all we'll be rid of you in another couple of seasons mate, so start packing.
 

Ambrosia

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You underrate all Carlton players but that's alright because it's only your opinion. We will improve our win loss ratio again this year and won't be far out of the eight. Stocker looking like he'll be a player so you can put that trade to rest, all in all we'll be rid of you in another couple of seasons mate, so start packing.

Underrating is trolling now?
 

Ambrosia

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Mate keep out, he's been going for years, we've put up with him and so he should be a grown up and put up with us.

Posters have been going at Carlton for years and sadly for their supporters they’ve generally been proven correct.

Exact same can be said of certain posters on Essendon as well.

It’s very much a put up or shut up for perennial under performing teams.
 
Sep 16, 2014
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Posters have been going at Carlton for years and sadly for their supporters they’ve generally been proven correct.

Exact same can be said of certain posters on Essendon as well.

It’s very much a put up or shut up for perennial under performing teams.
One more win and we'll have improved every year for the last 3 years, under performing yes, improving yes.
 
Jul 14, 2005
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The Stocker trade has basically become a SOS meme, but with Kemp another week or so away from debuting it actually looks like he’s smashed it out of the park.

Stocker, Kemp and Philp for McAsey and Pedlar is currently looking very one-sided.

Can’t wait to see Stock ply his trade as a mid. Reckon next season he will make the move up, and Kemp will takeover his general role in defence.

The trade that keeps on giving.
 

Ambrosia

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The Stocker trade has basically become a SOS meme, but with Kemp another week or so away from debuting it actually looks like he’s smashed it out of the park.

Stocker, Kemp and Philp for McAsey and Pedlar is currently looking very one-sided.

Can’t wait to see Stock ply his trade as a mid. Reckon next season he will make the move up, and Kemp will takeover his general role in defence.

The trade that keeps on giving.

Never understood the criticism for the trade. I mean if SOS’s team rated Stocker that highly then it was a no brainer.
 
Jul 14, 2005
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Agreed. Nothing about him is average. He's got an interesting mix of elite attributes and substandard attributes.

Having said that, his trajectory this season has me confident he'll end up an excellent footballer.
+ Elite breakaway pace
+ Ground ball get game is strong
+ Strong through the core (haven't seen this till this year)
+ Good decision maker by hand
+ Has shown he can kick some very classy goals -
- Very poor tank (still struggles to play more than half a game in the middle)
- No impact when not on the ball
- Iffy disposal (much improved this year, though small sample size)
- Poor presence around the contest when he doesn't win the footy (though seen marked improvement here in recent weeks)
- Poor defensive effort (still gives up the chase way too easily). Probably stems from lack of fitness
- Seems timid / lacks self belief. Looks to be playing with self belief, though worried it'll leave him vulnerable to a downturn in form. Luke Power made an interesting comment on a podcast that he's working hard to get some of the players to separate their onfield and off-field personalities. Feel like Dow would be one of those

Let's also not forget that 2020 was a write off for him, through injury and covid.


Nice summary.

Dow is clearly someone who thinks quickly, which is detrimental when he’s lacking confidence and he starts making these anxiety-induced mistakes, but is a serious weapon when he’s comfortable.

His hands are super quick, and he has the breakaway speed to burst out of congestion. A lot of his improvement has occurred in the margins. Where he used to be caught he’s now coming in 10-20% quicker and becoming harder to tackle.

The next step is obviously getting his fitness and body up to a point he can compete for longer at the stoppages, and win more hard ball using his strength.
 
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