Who will be better in 2026? Carlton or North Melbourne.

[BlueJet]

What's cute is that Fadge tries so hard too.

 

[Gw2_James]

The best option was making the most of the handful of elite players Carlton had on their list and building a list around them that was capable of contending for premierships over a 5 year period, as everyone expected when they saw the likes of Cripps, Weitering, Curnow, Walsh and McKay emerging.

But that was clearly too difficult for Carlton to navigate, and instead they didn't have the list management team to build the list around them, or the coaching team to motivate the squad or develop a game plan capable of contending for flags over multiple years.

So now they find themselves in their 5th rebuild in the 21st century, without contending for a single premiership.

We tried that, didn't work. We bought in the likes of McGovern, Martin, Saad, Williams, Hewitt, Cerra and even tried to get Papley and others to come. Your way would of had us completely bottoming out in a few years, collecting spoons again.

Yeah we have a handful of elite players, individually they're good but they don't have that team winning mentality, so I'm more then happy to see a few go.

I'm glad our list management team has realised that this group of players wasn't going to get us anywhere (like I'd been saying for years) and have decided to bring in fresh new recruits over the past few years just before Tasmania come in and make it even more difficult to get good players.

Your team on the other hand, ballsy list decisions to go all out for another premiership. Based on what we've seen from clubs in previous situations, you'd think your club probably has one more year or so of trying to pinch one before those older players retire and you're down near the bottom for a period of time.

Or maybe you'll buckle that trend and somehow get by just fine with late draft picked players.

 

[Fadge]

We tried that, didn't work. We bought in the likes of McGovern, Martin, Saad, Williams, Hewitt, Cerra and even tried to get Papley and others to come. Your way would of had us completely bottoming out in a few years, collecting spoons again.

Yeah we have a handful of elite players, individually they're good but they don't have that team winning mentality, so I'm more then happy to see a few go.

I'm glad our list management team has realised that this group of players wasn't going to get us anywhere (like I'd been saying for years) and have decided to bring in fresh new recruits over the past few years just before Tasmania come in and make it even more difficult to get good players.

Oh no.

Why would a team risk building a list that could contend for flags and then bottom out again, when they could consistently finish between 8th and 14th without ever challenging for a flag?

Oh boy...

 

[Fadge]

I'm glad our list management team has realised that this group of players wasn't going to get us anywhere (like I'd been saying for years) and have decided to bring in fresh new recruits over the past few years just before Tasmania come in and make it even more difficult to get good players.

LOLOLOL.

I hope your supporters have been calling you a troll in the same way they have me, for saying that the recent group weren't going to contend for flags.

 

[Gw2_James]

LOLOLOL.

I hope your supporters have been calling you a troll in the same way they have me, for saying that the recent group weren't going to contend for flags.

They weren't calling me a troll because i still had us in a realistic 5th -12th spot (which i was correct) whilst you had us finishing 16th or something like that.

 

[Fadge]

Your team on the other hand, ballsy list decisions to go all out for another premiership. Based on what we've seen from clubs in previous situations, you'd think your club probably has one more year or so of trying to pinch one before those older players retire and you're down near the bottom for a period of time.

Or maybe you'll buckle that trend and somehow get by just fine with late draft picked players.

'Ballsy' to do what you think is best to contend for premierships for as long as possible when your list is in a premiership window?

Oh boy.

Carlton supporters should know as well as anyone how hard it is to build a list good enough to contend for premierships. I'd be ropeable if my club chose to give up on contending for a year or two to do a 'reset', in the hope they can be back contending for premierships in 5 or 6 years...

 

[Fadge]

They weren't calling me a troll because i still had us in a realistic 5th -12th spot (which i was correct) whilst you had us finishing 16th or something like that.

LOLOLOL.

'5th to 12th'.

Nice, broad range....

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

They weren't calling me a troll because i still had us in a realistic 5th -12th spot (which i was correct) whilst you had us finishing 16th or something like that.

17th*

 

[Gw2_James]

'Ballsy' to do what you think is best to contend for premierships for as long as possible when your list is in a premiership window?

Oh boy.

Carlton supporters should know as well as anyone how hard it is to build a list good enough to contend for premierships. I'd be ropeable if my club chose to give up on contending for a year or two to do a 'reset', in the hope they can be back contending for premierships in 5 or 6 years...

You don't think going all in for the now, with an aging list, isn't ballsy? It's risky, what if majority of your senior players retire and all you got left are a small handful of young kids who just aren't up to it?

 

[Fadge]

You don't think going all in for the now, with an aging list, isn't ballsy? It's risky, what if majority of your senior players retire and all you got left are a small handful of young kids who just aren't up to it?

Clubs like Collingwood contend for premierships every chance they get.

Teams like yours avoid the pressure of expectation by winning the draft every year and building for '4 to 5 years down the track'.

 

[Gw2_James]

Clubs like Collingwood contend for premierships every chance they get.

Teams like yours avoid the pressure of expectation by winning the draft every year and building for '4 to 5 years down the track'.

Yeah well like i said, your club took the risk it for the biscuit approach, all in to sneak another premiership. We played it safe. It'll be interesting to see where both teams are at in about 2-3 years time. My guess is we'll be starting to make top 8 by then, whilst you'll be falling out and rebuilding.

I think that's a fair and logical guess, your stars will be retired by then and playing youth/rebuilding whilst our youth will be starting to enter their prime.

 

[Worm4]

Tell us mr know it all, what was the better option, going to the draft for the past few years and next year until Tassie come in or should we of done what your team done, offer 1st rd draft picks for old b-c grade player's until we inevitably are forced to go full rebuild?

You do realise that you are exchanging in conversation a poster who once stated that Matt Owies was going to be a significant loss for the Blues . He truly had him at All Australian levels ( like he also does for TDK even though he has never made the AA squad )

 

[Fadge]

Yeah well like i said, your club took the risk it for the biscuit approach, all in to sneak another premiership. We played it safe. It'll be interesting to see where both teams are at in about 2-3 years time. My guess is we'll be starting to make top 8 by then, whilst you'll be falling out and rebuilding.

Love this....

Pies 'risking it all' just to 'sneak in ANOTHER premiership'....

Blues 'played it safe', despite not being anywhere near a premiership for a quarter of a century.

And the rationale is that Carlton folk are hoping that they 'start to make the top 8 again within another 3 or so years'....

FMD.

 

[SSSSSS]

North should be better.

North should be better than a lot of the bottom rung teams every season for the last few years.

The problem is they keep shitting the bed. I can't remember a side that has so consistently found the funniest ways to lose than North. They would be doing much better than their ladder positions would suggest if they stopped finding defeat in the jaws of victory.

My heart says North but my head says the Blues - purely based on North stinking it up rather than the Blues being of any relevance.

 

[Robertio]

Love this....

Pies 'risking it all' just to 'sneak in ANOTHER premiership'....

Blues 'played it safe', despite not being anywhere near a premiership for a quarter of a century.

And the rationale is that Carlton folk are hoping that they 'start to make the top 8 again within another 3 or so years'....

FMD.

 

[Fadge]

You do realise that you are exchanging in conversation a poster who once stated that Matt Owies was going to be a significant loss for the Blues . He truly had him at All Australian levels ( like he also does for TDK even though he has never made the AA squad )

More things that were never said.

Though Blues went backwards after Owies departure, and look like continuing their downward trend into 2026, so there is that.

 

[voorhees]

North still hold on to all that mental scaring it has carried for so long now.
Will be swimming in the bottom 4 off the ladder come 26'.
The blues will end better - or there will be hell to pay down at visy Park.

 

[Andrewgtv05]

Don't deflect, stick to the thread topic.

On the thread topic - 0 top 4 finishes in 25 years has Carlton as THE SINGLE WORST PERFORMED TEAM in that time, with Carlton long odds to break that streak in 2026, and far more likely to finish bottom 4 than top 4.

Which means the discussion around whether North or Carlton will finish higher in 2026 is both interesting and valid.

We finished 2nd in 2000

 

[Crankyhawk]

Another Carlton thread. Fmd
Give it a rest

probably because we can't do a "where is Carlton at" thread, so they make comparisons with multiple teams in order to determine where Carlton is "at"; but it would be very tough for Carlton posters to keep up with the volume

 

[Fadge]

We finished 2nd in 2000

Oh no.....

Another one...

 

[Pleasedontfail11]

We finished 2nd in 2000

26 years ago

 

[Worm4]

26 years ago

Its 2025, if you ask yourself what happened 25 years ago to the day, what year are you referring to ?

 

[Fadge]

Its 2025, if you ask yourself what happened 25 years ago to the day, what year are you referring to ?

OMFG.

 

[doppleganger]

Yeah well like i said, your club took the risk it for the biscuit approach, all in to sneak another premiership. We played it safe.

Pies were finishing top4 in 18-19 whilst Carlton were down the bottom getting top 10 draft picks.

Pies were finishing top4 in 22-23 whilst Carlton were a 5-10 team.

Pies once again finished top 4 in 25, and Carlton back down the bottom more interested in draft picks.

When are Carlton going to try and go for a flag??

North will shoot past them at some point if Carlton keep being Carlton.

It'll be interesting to see where both teams are at in about 2-3 years time. My guess is we'll be starting to make top 8 by then, whilst you'll be falling out and rebuilding.

2-3 years time, Crippa, Hewett, Haynes, Newman will all be done and Weiterz and McKay past their best.

I think that's a fair and logical guess, your stars will be retired by then and playing youth/rebuilding whilst our youth will be starting to enter their prime.

We will have the AFL MVP in his prime.

 

[Pleasedontfail11]

Its 2025, if you ask yourself what happened 25 years ago to the day, what year are you referring to ?

That's a fair point I was wrong. But it's still over 25 years ago. Fadge said "in 25 years".