Rnd.2 Match Day Thread Carlton V Sydney. 4.40pm Etihad Stadium.

[Scottee]

I think one or two of the youngsters were feeling a bit sore after the game.

[Mug Punter]

McVeigh in jones out.

Carlton were good in patches but couldn't sustain the effort.

Big men ripped them apart, youngsters were good again. Mills had a fair few clangers and poor decisions this week.

You could we be right there but I'd like to see us persist with Jones so I guess that means Robinson would make way which also seems grossly unfair.

No idea where you'd fit Reid in, clearly there is a place for him in the best 22 but we may ease him back through the twos to defer the decision I'd think.

So, out of the 22 we have the following knocking on the door by my reckoning - BJ, Rohan (when fit) McGlynn and Rose. We'll still be still be stretched at times depth wise, and I suspect all these guys will get some senior footy this year, but no I see it as more of an opportunity.

[barry]

I think all the first year players will be rotated in and out of the team over the year. They won't be able to sustain 22 games in a row

[Levii3]

Is it just me or did Hewett look a bit tired half way through the third

Umpires were trying to please the crowd it seemed at times the two most infuriating ones were Blaine DiCaprio Boekhorst and Ed Curnow grabbing Sinclairs arm and hitting himself in the head until he got a free kick i mean seriously what the hell...

You can't take jones out of the side, McVeigh is good but Jones has the speed needed to play HB even Robbo looked better today. Mills tried to squeeze the ball into some places which i don't mind practice makes perfect Malceski didn't get good overnight

Is Heeney injured or something seemed off today?

[Levii3]

Hope Tippet gets some positive media this week everyone is quick to jump on him when he has a bad game but no one acknowledges him when he's playing well and no one talks about his tackling and harassing around the ball I don't understand why people seem to think he's soft

We did a great job stopping Cripps and Murphy today props to the midfield great effort

[dejavoodoo44]

No but you'd hope the tribunal has the balls to lighten his wallet by a few $.

Or maybe as a means of public shaming, there needs to be a new category created at the Logies: Best Performance By A Staging Footballer.

[Industrial Fan]

Jones is too much of a walking clanger for my liking.

He is quick but his temperament is rubbish and his kicking needs some work.

Will get found out at the pointy end like he was last year. Pallet and Hewitt are much more our style of player.

[dejavoodoo44]

Hope Tippet gets some positive media this week everyone is quick to jump on him when he has a bad game but no one acknowledges him when he's playing well and no one talks about his tackling and harassing around the ball I don't understand why people seem to think he's soft

We did a great job stopping Cripps and Murphy today props to the midfield great effort

Yes, that's one thing that impressed me today; how well the midfielders, especially Mitchell, harassed and locked down their opponents.

[mcs]

Jones is too much of a walking clanger for my liking.

He is quick but his temperament is rubbish and his kicking needs some work.

Will get found out at the pointy end like he was last year. Pallet and Hewitt are much more our style of player.

Jones needs time and patience - we surely all remember when many people (myself included) referred to McVeigh as McHack. Yes he needs to work on his kicking, but he is coming on, and needs to be given an extended run in the team, as there is potentially a very decent footballer in there. The temperament side is not such an issue to me - yes he has the odd brainfart, but you need a few players will to play a bit on the edge, and he will improve in that respect over time.

I love what Papley and Hewitt have done so far - Papley in particular is a real little livewire, and our forward line looks so much better with the structure we've had so far. Hewitt was a bit quieter today compared to last week I felt, but still had some really good moments. These young guys will be up and down a bit, but we need to have some faith, take the good and the bad, and enjoy the ride. That extends to Mills and Heeney as well.

[dimelb]

The usual suspects played well, as we expect them to: KJ, Parker, Hannebery, Josh K, Mitchell, Buddy, Reg, Laidler, Rampe etc. etc. Not taking them for granted, just pleased with everyone's contributions. And the youngsters are going well.

The ones who haven't played for us until this season are particularly important and are contributing to what is shaping as a very formidable team. Callum the Large had a top game, as others have noted the strength of his combination with Tippett - what a pair - and although Callum the Less had his share of clangers, he still shows brilliance at times to make the mouth water. I was particularly impressed with the ongoing development of George Hewett and Tom Papley. It is a huge advantage to have genuine first grade ready contributors like that, and while they may need a break as the season wears on, I hope to see them there at the pointy end.

The future looks exciting. Bring on GWS, and we'll need to be firing on all cylinders to get over them.

[ugg]

A lot has been made about the debutants from last week - Hewett, Mills and Papley - and rightly so as they've deserved the plaudits going their way (In particular, Papley was again excellent today). However I was also just as impressed by some of the experienced but lower stature players from the past few years - Lloyd last week and Cunningham this week - who before the season began I felt would have to improve if the team was going to replace the loss of the experienced Goodes, Shaw and Pyke.

Cunningham's left foot pass on the run to a leading forward, was as Bruce McAvaney would say, simply delicious.

[longmile]

Reading the west coast bigfooty forum right now is some of the most fun I've had at other people's despair for a lil while. I know its very early on but they're absolutely putrid over the Jetta and Sinclair trade. Cant help but feel we had a massive win there

[wolftone57]

I'd rate Kizza as our most improved and he was by no means poor last year

While Kizza got heaps of the ball last year even he would admit his disposal was really crap. He is normally very good in that department but seemed to be always rushed last year. that was in part due to his rib soreness and in part due to psychological effects of his rib injury

[Mug Punter]

I think all the first year players will be rotated in and out of the team over the year. They won't be able to sustain 22 games in a row

You're probably right there but it would only if their form warranted it. Of the three I can see George being the most likely to have a spell, probably for Reid he's almost there but he looks like he needs just one more pre-season in the weights to handle the rigours of a full AFL season

On the other hand we're only a couple of injuries away from our supposed depth being a bit of an illusion. BJ is a long way off and I don't know how Rohan will go this year tbh. Sure we've got Jarrad and Reid to come back and McGlynn will challenge fore a spot but we'll get injuries and rotating players won't be an option.

[Industrial Fan]

Jacks movement and particularly his change of direction has improved moreso than his kicking