Carlton gameday thread

[Young Blood]

First time I've seen the boys live since Round 1.

ROK was immense. Shaw did his thing as usual. Very encouraged by Smith & White. Good to have McV back. Not a lot of other positives. Grundy remains unconvincing. Bevan has taken several steps backwards this year; his disposal was woeful today (not the only one).

Surprised at some of the positive reviews of Barlow. Some good today but just as much bad. He'll be on the list next year but has a long way to go if he's going to make it. Still dubious in a contest.

I'd like Pyke or Currie to play so LRT can play back - CBolton needs some support. And surely it's time to see what DOK has to offer. If Schmidt is available he should be playing seniors.

[Primmy]

I've worked out why we like that strip so much. Its the intensity of the red. Don't know if I would call it darker, its just so intense. Just like us... However, after a good washing I doubt the white would stay white.

[Nico]

First time I've seen the boys live since Round 1.

ROK was immense. Shaw did his thing as usual. Very encouraged by Smith & White. Good to have McV back. Not a lot of other positives. Grundy remains unconvincing. Bevan has taken several steps backwards this year; his disposal was woeful today (not the only one).

Surprised at some of the positive reviews of Barlow. Some good today but just as much bad. He'll be on the list next year but has a long way to go if he's going to make it. Still dubious in a contest.

I'd like Pyke or Currie to play so LRT can play back - CBolton needs some support. And surely it's time to see what DOK has to offer. If Schmidt is available he should be playing seniors.

I felt the same about Barlow as did the people we go with at the post game discussion. Whilst does some handy things lacks footy smarts and doesn't do much off the ball. His appaling kick just our side of centre in the 3rd q when clear and running forward was plain dumb, and didn't have an eye for either White of MOL and tried to pass to a player surrounded by 3 players, for any easy turnover. He needed to kick over the Carlton huddle at our 50 metre line.

[Nico]

Whilst we were in front at half time and we were competitive our skills and game plan really were very ordinary. One reason why the state of play at half time was as such was that Carlton were just as bad. In some areas they were way ahead of us namely centre clearances, clean possessions and constant pressure on the ball carrier. We were on the other hand prepared to play back off the ball carrier and cut them off further up the ground. To me it was only a matter of time before they found a way though.

Watching this game from high up at the Docklands Stadium really gives a good view of what the plays are, set ups etc. Our turnovers all game were just palpable and a lot of it was poor disposal selection.

Our centre clearance work and stoppages all round the ground were simply sub standard. When the ball was on our side I watched closely at our ball up stoppage set up. If you picture a radius of about 7 to 10 metres, we had numerous players inside that radius with rarely a player out side. Carlton a few inside but always 3 outside. Invariably when the ball came whether forced or by either side there always seemed a Carlton player there to take the ball away. Our renowned clearance work has deserted us.

The players: Stats for our game were simply a lie. We had so many players with high stats yet they had vitually no influnce on the game.

McVeigh - couldn't believe 30 possessions the 2nd highest for the game. He had the tag on Judd and most of his stats were short kicks to nothing, under pressure or around the corner. A waste of midfield talent in the role.
Goodes - one of our best but also one the worst for decision making.
Bevan - I counted at least 7 horrible unforced errors plus that last Q grubber when kicking for goal. Also couldn't keep up with opponents.
Handball and kicking skills of Barlow, Goodes, Richards, J Bolton, Ablett (except his goal) Bird, Jack, Mattner, Bevan were not even up to suburban standard. I can forgive under pressure stuff but not when free and under no pressure.
ROK - why did he and others persist in going short from 50 metres. MOL was a standout culprit. My son was watching on TV and Dunstall was saying why were they ignoring White after quarter time.
Handballs were missing targets by a mile.
When was the last time Jude Bolton played on from a mark 20 metres in the clear.
Why is it the opposition players are in space on the wing regularly, yet on the odd occasion we are, our players ignore the play.
Grundy absolutely had his pants pulled down by Fisher mainly due to little or no midfield pressure on ball carriers after half time.
Craig Bird had nothing stats 3 kicks, 13 handpasses mostly in packs to no where and dinky little ones at centre bounces. I thought he was quite disappointing.
Hanneberry. - For a first game quite acceptable. Some have commented he wasn't up with the pace. I disagree, for a player who doesn't train with the club his fitness looked good and he got to most contests as well as anyone on the ground and certainly didn't look lost.
Vespremi isn't getting a chance being played as a lead up forward. Rarely gets to the fall of the ball close to goals because of that.
Kirk was suffering from the whack he got last week to the shoulder and I still reckon Goodes is carrying some sort of injury. Either that or the ploy to play him forward is a dismal failure. I would rather he play back to assist with height.
Mattner is clearly not right after his kidney hit a few weeks back. I don't get why he doesn't kick through the footy when breaking off half back when players are loose.
White - huge plus but for whatever reason they refused to kick to him one out and he proved with that 2nd Q goal he has the agility to win those contests on the ground.
Smith - I thought was our best not just for his job on Betts but because he was cool under pressure and didn't make a mistake.. I would put him in the midfield.
LRT - leave him down back.
Richards - enough said.

Game Plan:

Centre Clearances - my hobby horse yes, but by gee that was just as poor as it gets. Watching from high up, Jolly (43 taps) was just hitting it anywhere but near our players. I know I will get howled down for this but I thought he looked like he was merely accumulating stats. His taps gave us nothing. We were playing behind our men tagging and I counted 2 centre breaks and they were not clean direct clearances whereas Carlton just swept it away and our backs were under constant pressure as a result. Something has to be done in this area NOW.

A complete negative mindset eventually split us apart. I can't see how most of the side playing a negating role does anything towards winning games. We kicked 9 goals for the game for goodness sake and it is not the forwards fault.

We rarely have a stoppage close to goals these days because our players upfield have forgot the fundamental principle that you need to get it near the goals to be able to kick them. ROK's goal at the end of the 3rd Q was one of the few times we created a stoppage close to goals. The way we play allows the defence to easily clear the ball with little or no midfielders present to apply forward pressure.

At the Hall of Fame I spoke to a bloke who we have watched the footy with for decades and he was ropeable at the crap we served up (agreed with him) and the continuing trend week in week out of nothing with any flair, and we agreed that it is time the coaches took the blame the game plan instead of the tired old excuses they trot out. All very well to get up there and say the future is rosy and we won't be down for long, and say the things the punters want to hear, but it appears to many we are more lost that an English bushwalker.

[10Totti10]

The Swans lack consistency. Against Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, and Adelaide, we have dominated the first half. We have played really well. Our second half is horrible. Usually in the 3rd quarter or 4th, we will concede anywhere between 5-8 goals. It shows that we lack the fitness to keep up with some of the other teams. In pre-season training, our fitness needs to be our focus point. Bulldogs, Geelong, and Hawthorn all underwent rigourous training sessions to reach where they are now, and thats what we need to do. Players like Johnston, Hanneberry, Smith, need to bulk up a bit more, and if we can do these things I have no doubt that we will be a top side within 2-3 years. I think our younger guys have the skill, to match it with the best, but we need to improve on these things. Another thing I noticed this year is that alot of young guys have very good kicking ability. Players like Meredith, Smith, Veszpa, Hanneberry, Jack, and Barlow all have pretty accurate kicking, which is what we need.

I agree with u Nico, though I thought Bird was good. He went for the hard footy, and if u watched him, he was getting heaps of contested possies. I was happy with his game.
Also I though that Barlow, and Jack's disposal was pretty good, and they only made one or two mistakes. Im pretty happy with Barlow's progress, as last year he showed little, but he is coming good.
And I think that we need to change our gameplan. Need to run with the ball, stop this congested footy, and Jolly needs to start tapping to advantage. His taps just went everywhere, and thing about being a good ruckman is tapping it to our own man.

[Nico]

The Swans lack consistency. Against Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, and Adelaide, we have dominated the first half. We have played really well. Our second half is horrible. Usually in the 3rd quarter or 4th, we will concede anywhere between 5-8 goals. It shows that we lack the fitness to keep up with some of the other teams. In pre-season training, our fitness needs to be our focus point. Bulldogs, Geelong, and Hawthorn all underwent rigourous training sessions to reach where they are now, and thats what we need to do. Players like Johnston, Hanneberry, Smith, need to bulk up a bit more, and if we can do these things I have no doubt that we will be a top side within 2-3 years. I think our younger guys have the skill, to match it with the best, but we need to improve on these things. Another thing I noticed this year is that alot of young guys have very good kicking ability. Players like Meredith, Smith, Veszpa, Hanneberry, Jack, and Barlow all have pretty accurate kicking, which is what we need.

Totti, we had supposedly our best pre season for years. Bolton and Goodes had ops and came up well and others had much more time to get fit, yet we are not playing out games. I don't buy that it is just because we have more young players. A lot of these guys don't get the game time to get tired. Nick Smith had 83% and he was still going strong at the end.

Game plan, game plan game plan is why we score so poorly. You win few games kicking 9 goals 9.

[10Totti10]

Totti, we had supposedly our best pre season for years. Bolton and Goodes had ops and came up well and others had much more time to get fit, yet we are not playing out games. I don't buy that it is just because we have more young players. A lot of these guys don't get the game time to get tired. Nick Smith had 83% and he was still going strong at the end.

Game plan, game plan game plan is why we score so poorly. You win few games kicking 9 goals 9.

Bolton has not recovered from that knee injury he had a few weeks back. Goodes is in awesome for, and TBH I think that he might win the brownlow.
I think when we get more games under the belts of our younger blokes, they will be better. We will prob finish 11th or 12th next year, but we will ultimately be better for it. We really need to draft a quality forward and backmen next year.

I honestly think that Roos has to change his gameplan if he wants to start a new generation. Needs to inject pace, and needs to run more. Also need some more indigenous talent. Under the guidance of blokes like MOL (prob remain with the club in some way or another) and Goodes, they could become really good.

[royboy42]

Is Nick Smith reminding anyone else of Nick Fosdike...the way he runs and disposes of the ball. Hope he's as good...sure seems to be developing nicely!

[ScottH]

Is Nick Smith reminding anyone else of Nick Fosdike...the way he runs and disposes of the ball. Hope he's as good...sure seems to be developing nicely!

Best game yet, yesterday.

[Triple B]

Is Nick Smith reminding anyone else of Nick Fosdike...the way he runs and disposes of the ball. Hope he's as good...sure seems to be developing nicely!

Not at all, he's much more an inside player then Fossie.

He won't be playing his whole career as a defensive small, just there at the moment until his body gets capable of handling the hustle and bustle of the midfield stoppages.

[Number 43]

Smith and White both very good yesterday. I agree. Hannaberry will be back at school in Melbourne next week. Which young player from the reserves can we replace him with? DOK?

[Primmy]

Smith and White both very good yesterday. I agree. Hannaberry will be back at school in Melbourne next week. Which young player from the reserves can we replace him with? DOK?

If possible I would love to see Tim Schmidt get some time, he has been dogged by injuries but I like the way he plays.

I was very proud of Nick Smith. He is holding his own and NOT looking for someone else to tell him what to do. Becoming his own man.

The kiddy was just fine for a kiddy. We have a keeper in Danny boy,don't we.


We have a future, it will take time, and I haven 't seen another club do it any differently. Its the nature of competitive sport.

[royboy42]

Not at all, he's much more an inside player then Fossie.

He won't be playing his whole career as a defensive small, just there at the moment until his body gets capable of handling the hustle and bustle of the midfield stoppages.

I agree with the inside player. I was more referring to the way he moves over the ground..he has the flow that Fossy showed.

[Bear]

Name and shame!

It's been done to death... by me and others.

[rojo]

Totti, we had supposedly our best pre season for years. Bolton and Goodes had ops and came up well and others had much more time to get fit, yet we are not playing out games. I don't buy that it is just because we have more young players. A lot of these guys don't get the game time to get tired. Nick Smith had 83% and he was still going strong at the end.

Game plan, game plan game plan is why we score so poorly. You win few games kicking 9 goals 9.

I am glad that someone agrees that the Sydney game plan is redundant and may be 50-75% of the reason the Swans are being outplayed and overrun.

It is going to be interesting to see how we play against Melbourne and Richmond who like Carlton and Essendon etc. are developing attacking, play on at all costs game styles. How often can the Swans players keep up 4 quarters of negative, close-down-the-game style of footy? No wonder Kirk, Bolton, Goodes etc. look tired at times. Just about every team in the competition has worked out how to break down the Swans' game plan. Yet we have Mattner stating that all the Swans need to do is to get back to 'the game plan' and all will be well !!!! Weird.