Why?

[Blueinblood]

I want you to tell me some realistic reasons why we will beat Richmond.
I am still not convinced yet. Lets be honest, they have a great forward line. We don't have a clear matchup for Brown Pettifer or Deledio. Should be able to hold Richo and any other tall they throw down there. Which small defender will play

Down the other end we are struggling for qaulity talls. Will we play Edwards and Hartlett? Who will kick all our goals

Rucks looking very shaky if Hampson doesn't play

The only real dominance we have, and this will be the case for most of the year, is out midfield. More class. Less pace but more skill. Although our 2 key players are coming back from injury?

So why do you think we will win.



Personally i think it'll be close but i want some reassurance

 

[I love DELEDIO]

FAinally some 1 with abit of sense good work Blueinblood

 

[MBIB]

I want you to tell me some realistic reasons why we will beat Richmond.
I am still not convinced yet. Lets be honest, they have a great forward line. We don't have a clear matchup for Brown Pettifer or Deledio. Should be able to hold Richo and any other tall they throw down there. Which small defender will play

Down the other end we are struggling for qaulity talls. Will we play Edwards and Hartlett? Who will kick all our goals

Rucks looking very shaky if Hampson doesn't play

The only real dominance we have, and this will be the case for most of the year, is out midfield. More class. Less pace but more skill. Although our 2 key players are coming back from injury?

So why do you think we will win.



Personally i think it'll be close but i want some reassurance

I would rather be in Richmond's shoes (shudder at the thought) for this game because we are ones expected to win.

I believe a lot of people go by the theory that we've had the wood over them even when we were pretty ordinary. From last year we can add Judd and Stevens into the midfield.

I also think it will be close, new team newish coach, new game plan..

A very general answer but I'm too hot and bothered to get into stats

 

[Accepted 04]

It will be a very close game but I think Richmond will just win because we have a very dangerous Forward line and your defence is a bit under manned but your midfield will be very, very strong

 

[DaveyBlues]

Chuck Thornton up forward as he'll be too slow, add in maybe Joey in Walker's spot to take care of a dangerous small if he's not injured. I havn't seen much of him but all I hear is good stuff.

 

[Beloved]

FAinally some 1 with abit of sense good work Blueinblood

Speaking of having no sense...

 

[Tom Blue]

You win the midfield, you win the game.

Not always, and I know it's a very ignorant statement, but it definately helps our cause.

With all the traffic going one way (hopefully) I reckon Fev, Harts, Eddie and Edwards can get the job done. Add Gibbs + Cloke down there and you've got a nice variety of sizes.

 

[BlueFeaver]

I'm not convinced either.

I think we have to many players underdone from mid-preseason operations.

I actually thought we wouldn't hit our peak until round 4.

But, you never know. Richmond looked woeful during the NAB Challenge and were playing with near full strength teams.

 

[juzza316]

We will most likely not win and unfortunately bigfooty will become unbearable with all the people that think that we will win by 6 goals plus, having to lick their wounds. Dont get me wrong i hope we win, but we have by no means earnt a right as favourites for this match. 50/50 game IMO

 

[Kramer1]

Why all of a sudden has the Richmond attack turned into the most menacing thing in AFL football. It's essentially the same attack that was the 13th most effective last year...and whilst our defence is still shaky, im liking it a lot more than last year.

I too think it will be a close game. Fev will kick six and well win by 12 points.

 

[btdg]

I've said elsewhere that I think Richmond deserve to be favourites. Our key guys (Stevens, Judd) are underdone, we have more injuries, and Fev has been a moron again and got himself in trouble. Basically, we're not going 100%. But Richmond, on the other hand, would have to be going full barrel for round 1 - Wallace's job surely rests on a few good early performances.

That said, I thought Richmond would be up and about early last year for the same sort of reasons, and they stunk. Wallace kept his job, has taken them no-where in 3 seasons, and I don't see any real reason why that would change now. So there's every chance we'll get a win. We've just got more unknowns right now...

 

[HBF]

Superior midfield, and no-one really capable of shutting down Fevola.

 

[audas]

Blues will win not because we are better , but because Richmond are useless. The only reason we are questioning the result is becuase we are starting to believe the Tigers hype. Same thing EVERY SINGLE YEAR...they are the best and will win - 4 rounds in reality is back and they are dropping off dump trucks of manure at their HQ.

Don't listen to tigers supporters regarding the tigers.

 

[judd5]

Did anyone watch the preseason when they put their best team on the track and were smashed by a half strength St. Kilda???
Let's be honest, there forward line isn't that good, their midfield is pretty poor and so is their defence.
Thier rucks aren't too much better than ours minus Hampson and Kreuzer.
Having said that i think it will be close because we aren't great either.

 

[Rambo Stallone]

Superior midfield, and no-one really capable of shutting down Fevola.

Yes but Fevola hasn't shown a lot for over 6 months or more since his injury and might struggle to kick 6 goals first up.

 

[Bluegene]

Yes but Fevola hasn't shown a lot for over 6 months or more since his injury and might struggle to kick 6 goals first up.

Well who has shown anything for 6 months?

 

[Tiger67]

Why all of a sudden has the Richmond attack turned into the most menacing thing in AFL football. It's essentially the same attack that was the 13th most effective last year...and whilst our defence is still shaky, im liking it a lot more than last year.

I too think it will be a close game. Fev will kick six and well win by 12 points.

That was no fault of the guys in our forward line.
If you actually look at it from a forward 50 entry perspective then we actually rated 2nd in the comp behind Geelong.
For us to improve we need to get the ball into our forwardline more times than the opposition.
Even when we beat Collingwood last year they had more forward 50 entries than we did.

 

[serenityNow]

Why? ......................Because Richmond are Shit.

 

[iRemember87]

I would like to pose this....

We are looking for answers as to why Carlton will beat RFC, well what are the reason that RFC will beat Carlton.

- First ball is won in the midfield, regardless of a quality ruckman a good midfielder will rove the ball off anybody (carlton have a better depth midfield). I'm not saying RFC won't win the ball, but i expect our mids to be stronger all over the field.

- Both backlines are young and inexperienced, but from looking at the preseason, our backline seems to be better performed.

- Forward lines, with our injuries, RFC have the strong forward line, but we have the best forward....RFC will be Fev conscience which will allow others to get the goals, people like Harts, Houla, Edwards, Betts all need to take advantage of this. RFC have Brown and Pettifer who can be dangerous, but they play similar roles, with Brown playing, Pettifer will be quiet and is to inconsistant. Richo is no danger IMO

- Running players, Carlton have this covered all over the ground and our new game plan is orientated in this way.

and lets not forget RFC still have Wallace!!

Case closed....Carlton should still win by 5 goals.

 

[Snout]

I'm a Tiges supporter, and I'm not sure about this one. Think it could easily go either way.

There are 4 players in the Richmond fwd line that demand a quality defender. You can't put an inexperienced opponent on Brown, Richo, Deledio or Pettifer and expect them not to hurt you on the scoreboard.

The Blues haven't got a great backline, so I reckon the answer is to put a fast backline in. Concede goals, but hurt the tiges going the other way when they stuff up their entry into the fwd 50. The Richmond fwds don't chase.

If you're relying on your midfield to get first hands on the ball off our rucks, then you may not find it all smooth sailing. Foley, Tuck, Johnson and Coughlan (if he plays) are all strong extractors. Foley especially so. Stevens and Gibbs don't like the rough stuff, so you'll be relying on an underdone Judd, Carrazzo, Simpson, and Murphy to get first use of a ball that will most likely be tapped to Richmond's advantage. Maybe I'm looking at it with rose-tinted glasses, but the ruck imbalance makes it seem fairly even to me.

Outside midfielders, again, I think we're both pretty evenly matched. Tiges might have the edge in pace, with a slight trade-off in skill. Close checking, one-on-one footy might be their undoing - pressure and the younger Tiges don't seem to mix that well.

To be honest, I know next to nothing of your forwards outside of Fev (who will probably be taken by Bowden, who is too selfish a player to successfully sit at full back). King and Newman are decent half back flankers, who will cause trouble for inexperienced forwards with pace and skill respectively. Thursfield's a decent backman, but not sure who he matches up against in the Carlton fwd line - he doesn't have the body mass to go with Fev, and he might be a bit short for any giants you've got hidden away. So, in a nutshell, our backline probably isn't any stronger than yours.

I have a feeling Thursday will be a shootout, with the winner being the team that holds their nerve. Fitness will come into it too.. we had you guys on toast last year, but we couldn't run out the fourth quarter. Story of our season, really. Too many kids with not enough preseasons in their legs. Sad to say, I think the same may hold true this time around as well.

Really looking forward to this one.. will no doubt be a very entertaining game.

 

[lids2004roar]

If you lose this game it will be because of Tambling and Deledio IMO

Both are capable of turning on a BOG performance and if it happens we might be a chance, but I am tipping Carlton to win.

One surprise for you guys - I reckon the midfield battle won't be as one-sided as you think.

I just hope we start Kane Johnson on the bench... can't have him starting like he did last year

 

[Kramer1]

Maybe I'm looking at it with rose-tinted glasses

Were all guilty of this. See for mine your forward line is OK. Richo is a star, Deledio and Brown are handy when on song, poor when not, and Pettifer is a battler.

Foley goes well. Tuck & Johnson are battlers, and certainly won't cut any team to pieces. I doubt Coughlan will play...but won't be at his best if he does. To be honest I'd have higher hopes for Polo ahead of Tuck, Johnson or Coughlan.

Cloke and Simmonds cancel each other out. Practically same height, and at their best, good servicable ruckmen. Not sure who your back-up ruck is. A lot could rest on whether or not Hampson get's up for us.

I probably like your backline best. Bowden and Newman are quality, King runs around like an angry little oompah loompah, but does get a bit of the ball.

Bring on Thursday night!

 

[Carson_Kressley]

whats wrong with you people. have some confidence in your side for gods sake you all call yaselfs blues fans yet u doubt we can beat the weakest side in the afl come on guys have faith. richmond aint got nuffin they got a aging forward that aint accurate when kicking at goal. there centreline wont match ours. our running players will outrun them all over the ground. we will win this game easily i am tipping this is going to be our biggest winning margin for 2008. so get some faith and passion for your club otherwise u might as well pull on a tigers jumper and sit with the richmond fans and cheer every time richo gets the ball and kicks a point.

 

[prettyboy65]

If you lose this game it will be because of Tambling and Deledio IMO

Both are capable of turning on a BOG performance and if it happens we might be a chance, but I am tipping Carlton to win.

One surprise for you guys - I reckon the midfield battle won't be as one-sided as you think.

I just hope we start Kane Johnson on the bench... can't have him starting like he did last year

haha kicking it the wrong way hahaha

yeh richo and brown need quality defenders

but deledio will surely start midfield
its common sense

 

[Dramoth]

Superior midfield, and no-one really capable of shutting down Fevola.

Agreed there HBF.

While we are still a little light in defence, winning the ball out of the centre and streaming forward is where we stand a much better chance of winning the game.

If we can hold their forwards to under 100pts, then thats a win there because I think that we can kick over 100pts with the delivery we will get into the forward line.