Round 10 v Carlton @ Marvel Stadium

[H2F]

So much better with Blakey taking the kick ins too

Does my head in when it resorts back to Lloyd.

[stevoswan]

Well of course we lost Dawson and Hewett without bringing anyone in.

We caught the competition by surprise last season.

Hickey 2021 was one of the most dominant from a ruck i have seen.

Our 2 most structually important players are over 30 and nearing the end Rampe and Hickey.

Good points. Yes, we need to get active at the trade table at seasons end. There are potential holes to fill.

[Industrial Fan]

I don’t remember Longmire bringing up free kick differential in a post match before.

It’s a good question if they’re there as a result of our setup or if it’s something else.

I don’t remember a game in the last 20years where we’ve had a 20-8 margin. Happy to be corrected but it just seems to be a long term trend.

[Nico]

I was at the game and watched it from level 3 that gives a whole ground view. I watched both Bell and Wicks closely. Bell was mostly in no man's land without a player. When he did fluke a possession he slaughtered it. 3rd quarter we were on a roll and kicks into the man on the mark. Last quarter at a critical time choked again running into goal. He's a bona fide, rolled gold spud. As for Wicks I have no idea what he is in the side for. Offers absolutely nothing. What is it? His forward pressure. That didn't exist tonight and got done like a dinner one on one, and is slow to boot. Both of these players are not up to AFL standard. Bell looks like a millionaire, plays like a pauper. These blokes are not going to take us to a flag. I don't give a continental about forward pressure if they can't win their own footy.

So we lost it at selection. How dare they select the above before Campbell. Someone said Campbell needed a rest. On what basis? Didn't look like he needed a rest tonight. Then Kennedy. The reason why he injured himself was because he was too slow to the contest. In the 2nd quarter they had him at centre bounces. Who in the hell is the midfield coach. Carlton had Hewett and Cripps defensive side at centre bounces, our blokes again blocking and holding and slow to move, their half backs and wings came in quickly for the dish off. We did nothing to try to arrest this and Carlton were roving to our rucks.

From memory they got at least their first 3 goals of the 2nd quarter with clean direct clearances. David King highlighted on 360 last night Carlton's centre clearance dominance. No.1 in the comp by a country mile.

Mills; why do they persist in stuffing Mills around by trying to use him as a run with player. Might work against poor sides but sure as hell doesn't work against top players. He is wasted this way. Let him run free and let the opposition worry about him.

I would persist with Hickey and Ladhams. Please not McLean.

Gulden was good again but must get those unforced errors out of his game.
Parker great. Just never stops.
Blakey puts in every week, Papley was very good from limited opportunities.
Thought Jmac found a bit in the last quarter.
Hard to blame the defence in that 2nd quarter when our mids were non competitive. 2nd half they were very good.

[neilfws]

A range of emotions through that game. Looked well-beaten at half-time, almost the great comeback, but just couldn't find a way to get those 2-3 crucial goals.

Highlights for me: McDonald. Growing in confidence all the time. P McCartin, pretty solid and his kicks to a target inspire confidence. Blakey, seems to get crunched almost every week and somehow bounces back up again. Also good to see Papley coming back into form.

Not the worst loss, but the challenges continue for the next couple of weeks.

[waswan]

I was at the game and watched it from level 3 that gives a whole ground view. I watched both Bell and Wicks closely. Bell was mostly in no man's land without a player. When he did fluke a possession he slaughtered it. 3rd quarter we were on a roll and kicks into the man on the mark. Last quarter at a critical time choked again running into goal. He's a bona fide, rolled gold spud. As for Wicks I have no idea what he is in the side for. Offers absolutely nothing. What is it? His forward pressure. That didn't exist tonight and got done like a dinner one on one, and is slow to boot. Both of these players are not up to AFL standard. Bell looks like a millionaire, plays like a pauper. These blokes are not going to take us to a flag. I don't give a continental about forward pressure if they can't win their own footy.

So we lost it at selection. How dare they select the above before Campbell. Someone said Campbell needed a rest. On what basis? Didn't look like he needed a rest tonight. Then Kennedy. The reason why he injured himself was because he was too slow to the contest. In the 2nd quarter they had him at centre bounces. Who in the hell is the midfield coach. Carlton had Hewett and Cripps defensive side at centre bounces, our blokes again blocking and holding and slow to move, their half backs and wings came in quickly for the dish off. We did nothing to try to arrest this and Carlton were roving to our rucks.

From memory they got at least their first 3 goals of the 2nd quarter with clean direct clearances. David King highlighted on 360 last night Carlton's centre clearance dominance. No.1 in the comp by a country mile.

Mills; why do they persist in stuffing Mills around by trying to use him as a run with player. Might work against poor sides but sure as hell doesn't work against top players. He is wasted this way. Let him run free and let the opposition worry about him.

I would persist with Hickey and Ladhams. Please not McLean.

Gulden was good again but must get those unforced errors out of his game.
Parker great. Just never stops.
Blakey puts in every week, Papley was very good from limited opportunities.
Thought Jmac found a bit in the last quarter.
Hard to blame the defence in that 2nd quarter when our mids were non competitive. 2nd half they were very good.

+1 About Mills
We destroyed Hewitts time at the club making him a run with, now we have a Brownlow fancy tagging, madness.

Coaches box needs a rocket

[Ralph Dawg]

With Rowbottom out, the coaches thought it wise to play our best midfielder as the run with, defensive mid? Just madness.

[i'm-uninformed2]

We’ve got five games, including last night, in a row that are effectively eight point games but more importantly, a good insight into what we need to do to consolidate our list build.

I said in the drafting and trading thread: it’s likely 2021 was our 2008, when we almost pinched a flag before our time like Hawthorn did, but our real window probably comes 2024 onwards when our 22 and under elite crew is fully mature, and we still have Mills, Heeney and Paps at their peak.

We’ve got a lot right in recent years so we need to be ruthless about what’s left to do.

[Hotpotato]

I was at the game and watched it from level 3 that gives a whole ground view. I watched both Bell and Wicks closely. Bell was mostly in no man's land without a player. When he did fluke a possession he slaughtered it. 3rd quarter we were on a roll and kicks into the man on the mark. Last quarter at a critical time choked again running into goal. He's a bona fide, rolled gold spud. As for Wicks I have no idea what he is in the side for. Offers absolutely nothing. What is it? His forward pressure. That didn't exist tonight and got done like a dinner one on one, and is slow to boot. Both of these players are not up to AFL standard. Bell looks like a millionaire, plays like a pauper. These blokes are not going to take us to a flag. I don't give a continental about forward pressure if they can't win their own footy.

So we lost it at selection. How dare they select the above before Campbell. Someone said Campbell needed a rest. On what basis? Didn't look like he needed a rest tonight. Then Kennedy. The reason why he injured himself was because he was too slow to the contest. In the 2nd quarter they had him at centre bounces. Who in the hell is the midfield coach. Carlton had Hewett and Cripps defensive side at centre bounces, our blokes again blocking and holding and slow to move, their half backs and wings came in quickly for the dish off. We did nothing to try to arrest this and Carlton were roving to our rucks.

From memory they got at least their first 3 goals of the 2nd quarter with clean direct clearances. David King highlighted on 360 last night Carlton's centre clearance dominance. No.1 in the comp by a country mile.

Mills; why do they persist in stuffing Mills around by trying to use him as a run with player. Might work against poor sides but sure as hell doesn't work against top players. He is wasted this way. Let him run free and let the opposition worry about him.

I would persist with Hickey and Ladhams. Please not McLean.

Gulden was good again but must get those unforced errors out of his game.
Parker great. Just never stops.
Blakey puts in every week, Papley was very good from limited opportunities.
Thought Jmac found a bit in the last quarter.
Hard to blame the defence in that 2nd quarter when our mids were non competitive. 2nd half they were very good.

Thanks for your observations from the ground, Logan is a natural. The Carlton midfield did as they pleased .

[waswan]

Any how you can kick into the man on the mark with the standing rule is disgraceful

[Roadrunner]

I was at the game and watched it from level 3 that gives a whole ground view. I watched both Bell and Wicks closely. Bell was mostly in no man's land without a player. When he did fluke a possession he slaughtered it. 3rd quarter we were on a roll and kicks into the man on the mark. Last quarter at a critical time choked again running into goal. He's a bona fide, rolled gold spud. As for Wicks I have no idea what he is in the side for. Offers absolutely nothing. What is it? His forward pressure. That didn't exist tonight and got done like a dinner one on one, and is slow to boot. Both of these players are not up to AFL standard. Bell looks like a millionaire, plays like a pauper. These blokes are not going to take us to a flag. I don't give a continental about forward pressure if they can't win their own footy.

So we lost it at selection. How dare they select the above before Campbell. Someone said Campbell needed a rest. On what basis? Didn't look like he needed a rest tonight. Then Kennedy. The reason why he injured himself was because he was too slow to the contest. In the 2nd quarter they had him at centre bounces. Who in the hell is the midfield coach. Carlton had Hewett and Cripps defensive side at centre bounces, our blokes again blocking and holding and slow to move, their half backs and wings came in quickly for the dish off. We did nothing to try to arrest this and Carlton were roving to our rucks.

From memory they got at least their first 3 goals of the 2nd quarter with clean direct clearances. David King highlighted on 360 last night Carlton's centre clearance dominance. No.1 in the comp by a country mile.

Mills; why do they persist in stuffing Mills around by trying to use him as a run with player. Might work against poor sides but sure as hell doesn't work against top players. He is wasted this way. Let him run free and let the opposition worry about him.

I would persist with Hickey and Ladhams. Please not McLean.

Gulden was good again but must get those unforced errors out of his game.
Parker great. Just never stops.
Blakey puts in every week, Papley was very good from limited opportunities.
Thought Jmac found a bit in the last quarter.
Hard to blame the defence in that 2nd quarter when our mids were non competitive. 2nd half they were very good.

Agree with everything you said Nico. I’ve felt this way about both Bell and Wicks, and unfortunately they are not what we need or want. The selectors need to accept that for now, at least, these guys are VFL level and should stay there until they break the door down consistently. Don’t want to be negative but it is painful to watch these 2. And please don’t bring up last week’s stats for Wicks- this was the game where every player needed to show up and he was towelled good and proper.

[Roadrunner]

With Rowbottom out, the coaches thought it wise to play our best midfielder as the run with, defensive mid? Just madness.

Absolutely Ralph. It looked like Carlton had about an extra 2-3 players everywhere in the first half. Our mids were nowhere near the ball and they waltzed it out time and time again. This put enormous pressure on our defence and it didn’t help that Tom Mc dropped marks he usually takes. I blame the coaches (and selectors) for the first half debacle.

Hello my friend TB! Do you still want to give Bell a go in midfield? Just asking…………

[Nico]

Agree with everything you said Nico. I’ve felt this way about both Bell and Wicks, and unfortunately they are not what we need or want. The selectors need to accept that for now, at least, these guys are VFL level and should stay there until they break the door down consistently. Don’t want to be negative but it is painful to watch these 2. And please don’t bring up last week’s stats for Wicks- this was the game where every player needed to show up and he was towelled good and proper.

By playing these 2 consistently is accepting mediocrity. We were minus 69 on possessions at half time. I rarely say much about the coaches but that midfield smashing in the 2nd quarter needed attention, and I have been saying for years we get the centre bounces wrong. They just picked the ball off and our blokes were nowhere to be seen.

[Nico]

On Campbell playing HBF. I don't recall Walsh being blooded off a HBF. Campbell is a midfielder. They slaughtered Hewett last year off the HBF. What coaching genius thought that was a good move? How long did they leave Mills there? Campbell is quick and courageous and lacks nothing on his attack at the footy. Last night showed the value of his penetrating kicks and speed but he is kicking from half back. Get him into the midfield action and don't waste his talents, and we might see some quality delivery to our forwards.

Campbell was so well regarded in the draft 17 other clubs would have taken him if we didn't.

[Roadrunner]

Such a shame about Joey- sad to see a champion suffer like this. However, it will force the coaching staff to devise better strategies and introduce some players like Gould and Roberts to the team. This year we’re clearly not top 4 so let’s keep building for next year and beyond.