It was probably a foregone conclusion but Brianna Davey has been awarded Carlton's inaugural AFLW Best & Fairest award with Danielle Hardiman in second place and Alison Downie third.

It's interesting to see key defenders and a ruck in the first three places. 

Well done ladies and let's hope for an improved team performance in 2018.

This Sunday afternoon at Piranha Park (I wonder if Coburg know that Brazilian prostitutes are nicknamed 'Piranhas'?) we play Coburg in a match to commemorate Vicky Cleary and Family violence.
Coburg have not set the world on fire yet: they have not won a game so far. However, they did well against us last year.

Our ruck situation this week will be interesting. Kreuzer will probably return for Carlton, so Phillips will likely be available. However, he is probably the only ruckman who will be available, with injuries to Gorringe and Korchek.

The fitness of impressive VFL player Marcus Stavrou and Carlton rookie Jesse Glass-McCasker is very much in doubt. Both we thumped last week late in the game. Sheahan is unlikely and neither Lamb nor Sumner will be ready to return either.

Thought it might be a reasonable discussion for us to muse over when we believe the slack we members/supporters are cutting BB, SOS and Triggster re the 'reset', should be over and why. Finite goals must be set, it's when humans are at their best... open ended goals breed failure.

Yes, they're delivering on no more quick fixes and no more saviours. Ripper. Turning over the list and getting young talent into the place looks to be going well also. Ripper. So when does the consistent impressiveness start?

I don't buy the approx 5 year cr@p for a second. Most 5 year plans fail badly. 3 is good as there's enough tolerance in the first year to 18 months to rip things down, set the set the new foundations then restart ...but have some pressure build pretty soon after that to deliver or begin to deliver on the promises - and the bottom line is that we're building/doing all of this for the stated goal of 'sustained excellence'.

For me the honeymoon period must be over by the middle of next year., with obvious signs of strong improvement by the end of this year. Of course there could be mitigating circumstances such as unreasonable numbers of injuries.

(And by the way, Triggster... you owe us big time for removing Eddie from us to go to the Crows. So, how about a major coup/signing or two at the end of this year!!!!)

Thoughts?

Five rounds in and I’m feeling a bit disappointed. In part it’s because I was expecting the team to build on last year’s efforts, but it seems they’ve decided to strip things back even further before starting to put it all back together.

I understand the approach that’s being taken and that any success coming from it will take time….but that doesn’t stop me from wondering about a few things.

You see… nothing is guaranteed in football.

So comments like … “Give them time and we’ll reap the benefits!” …”Wait until they’ve played 50 games together and see how good they’ll be!” don’t mean a lot to me.  They’re just optimistic guesses.

The reality is that this time we’re trying a different approach to the past. Whether it’s a successful approach is yet to be determined. So while we wait to see the outcome it’s quite legitimate to keep asking questions and judge performances… as we see them at the time.

Here are some of the things that I’m not sure about just at the moment….and the reality is anyone trying to answer some  them is just expressing a  “gut” guess... but by all means have a stab! We’ll have to wait a season or probably longer for the answers. Some will remain a mystery.

Q1-What did Bolton really think going into this last game? Did he expect the possibility of a 100 point thrashing or did he expect the kids to put on a bit of a show?
Q2-Has that result influenced the selection process for upcoming games?
Q3-No doubt youngsters will benefit from game time… but is that more beneficial when you’re surrounded by more experienced players?
Q4-What do the senior players feel about being surrounded by such a young group? How do they feel about carrying an extra burden with the knowledge that they may not be around to taste any success?
Q5-How do experienced fringe players feel about being passed over for selection to get games into kids? The message for these guys is “You’re finished!”…how does that affect team dynamics? They may not be the future but they are the “here and now” and as such can be a positive or a negative influence depending on how they’re managed.
Q6-Despite comments to the contrary, wins don’t seem to be important at the moment and it’s all about development. But how long can folk hold the faith while that process occurs?
Q7-How good a match day and tactical coach is Bolton. He has wraps on him as a developer of character. What’s he like as a developer of footballers.
Q8-Are we asking too much of Weitering and Cripps…both appear to be hampered by injuries that aren’t serious enough to stop them from playing but what’s the mental toll of continuing to push the injured body?
Q9-We’ve seen some “flashes of brilliance” by a few of the young fellows (e.g.Fisher’s goal) but does that necessarily indicate a champ in the making? I remember a “weave and dodge” from Boekhorst in one of his early games that had us a bit excited, but nothing much has come of that….yet. These guys will develop at different rates. Some won’t meet expectations others will exceed them.
Q10-Can we hold the group together? Players like Cripps and Weitering, should they continue their development, will attract decent offers down the track. Will we be at a stage where some of the burden has been shouldered by others and they’re happy to stay?

Some of these will impact in the short term, others are longer term considerations but they do indicate that the rebuild process is a little more complicated than just “Wait a couple of years and everything will be fine.”

Back in the 70's and before, Logic Night was compulsive viewing.  Bert was at the top of his game, we couldn't wait to see which overseas stars made geese of themselves and we seemed to take a genuine interest in the results.

They were on tonight, I neither knew nor cared and came across the program by accident, stayed 5 minutes and left.  Is it me, is it a sign of the times, is it because TV Week is no longer a household essential?

Just a massive yawn!!

Hey ????

I'm currently doing an AFL Project & for it, I need to find 30-40 words that fans think best describes Carlton.

They can be anything from special numbers, Surnames, First names, Nicknames etc. Just anything synonymous with your Blues.

If anyone's keen to drop a few suggestions, that'd be awesome ????

Thanks in advance ????????

Bryce Gibbs & Marc Murphy. I'm so over these guys.

Has there ever been a more over rated duo than these two? Jesus, talk about turn over kings and soft at the contest. I hope that Bolton trades both these clowns at seasons end so I at least don't have to waste my time watching their continued ineptitude representing this once great club.

I would prefer to watch an entire team of 18 year olds getting smashed week in week out, that show some heart than these two constantly turning it over and putting team mates under pressure. For two that are supposed to be skillful players, I'm yet to see any evidence of that. Marc Murphy's missed goal in the first sums him up at the club perfectly. When you need him or his cohort to do something to give the team some heart you can guarantee they'll f*ck it up.

Over the last couple of weeks there are numerous examples from both the to illustrate their sh*tness. Go watch the games again and do it critically and you'll see what I'm talking about. People giving either of these two votes in any game is beyond belief in my eyes. It's like you blokes are watching a different game to me or are living in an alternate world where lack of skill and softness is to be lauded. They are kings of killing momentum and sucking the life out of the side with their efforts and poor execution of basic footy skills. Although, Casboult and his goal kicking is right up there as well in this regard.

Look at Samo Petrevski-Seton, now that's someone with poise and doesn't panic even under extreme pressure. Hits a target 95% of the time and is in his 5th game. Then look at Gibbs and Murphy's constant turn overs and mis-kicks. I can't remember the last time either got the ball to spin correctly through the air using a drop punt. It's just embarrassing! Having said that, Docherty hasn't been much better.

You would expect Murphy as the captain of the club to show at least some grunt at the contest, but all he does is soft it up when he's there and allows opponents to run past him like he's standing still. Our back line is placed under so much pressure because these two effectively put on zero pressure at the source. They allow their direct opponents to simply stroll through the centre of the ground unimpeded. It sh*ts me no end when I see Murphy with his customary head wobble to make it look like he's putting in an effort. I don't see the head wobble when he has the ball on the outside running 1 minute later in preparation for another turn over.

Don't give me this bullsh*t that they're both spent from running covering for the kids, that's just plain crap. If anything, it's the other way around because the kids are constantly having to sprint back trying to make up for the inevitable turn over. All the while, those causing the turn over stroll back without a care in the world. It's like they're above all that and aren't required to put in the effort to run back and support.

They are the two of the most selfish players in the AFL with zero commitment to the cause and are only in it for themselves and what the club can do for them.

Northern Blues On Channel 7 today at 2.30

Not looking forward to this after tonight, but at the MCG and with Kreuzer back we will be better.

NORTHERN BLUES v. WILLIAMSTOWN

Round 2 - 22/04/2017

02:40

Preston City Oval

Northern Blues

B: 4. S. Russell, 26. A. Silvagni, 51. B. Smedts
HB: 49. D. Armfield, 34. J. Glass-McCasker, 13. C. O'Shea
C: 7. D.  Buckley, 8. L.  Russell, 62. B.  Boekhorst
HF: 32. N. Graham, 48. K. Jaksch, 1. T. Wilson
F: 31. P. Kerr, 14. L. Jones, 56. A. Gallucci
R: 19. H. McKay, 72. S. Kerridge, 60. D. Cuningham
Int: 21. C. Barrett, 6. G. Strachan, 3. K. Declase, 22. C. McCabe, 12. Z. Ballard, 25. K. Keppel, 30. S. Bolger, 20. D. Stevens

23P: 35. M. Stavrou

In: K. Declase, Z. Ballard, S. Russell, S. Kerridge, G. Strachan, S. Bolger, C. McCabe, K. Keppel, C. Barrett, D. Stevens

Out: C. Sheehan,  A. Phillips,  C. Polson,  M. Korcheck,  L. Sumner,  Z. Fisher

I don't know if Sumner was dropped or is injured. He didn't see out last week. Korchek is a surprise. He wasn't that bad. Sheehan missing again is a disaster, as he was excellent last week.
This team is not as strong as last week's.

Williamstown

B: 7. N. Sing, 35. B. Myers, 19. D. Kempster
HB: 17. J. Charleston, 30. K. Gray, 18. J. Greiser
C: 14. A.  Siposs, 16. B.  Bewley,
HF: 3. S. Dunell, 13. A. Cordy, 6. M. Gibbons
F: 10. L. Masters, 33. T. Currie, 2. B. Cavarra
R: 49. N. Meese, 1. E. Carr, 24. W. Wheeler
Int: 26. J. Newman, 25. J. Pongracic, 5. L. Schultz, 31. D. Fahey, 9. A. Marcon, 4. B. Jolley, 44. J. Owen, 20. M. Norton, 11. J. Dorgan

23P: 37. N. Ebinger

In: L. Schultz, M. Norton, J. Pongracic, J. Owen

Willi look strong, but it would be nice to give them a blood nose.