2018 Rd 2: Pre game Palaver; Carlton vs. Gold Coast

[Thryleon]

Bolton talks about a performance mindset, and talks about dangerous thoughts that can adversely affect a performance mindset - the concept of a danger game falls into this category IMO.

GC are a big unknown for mine. On paper they have a handy list, and there could be a honeymoon period with the new coach. I'm tipping us solely for the fact that it's at Etihad.

That's true Paulp.  No sporting organisation can afford to think about games not being losable.  Actually they shouldn't be thinking about the result at all.

A coach once told me that the ladder is simply where you end up relative to the rest of the competition and the ladder will look after itself provided you focus on the next contest (note not even match,  but contest).  You win more contests than your opponent, you win more games.  The more games you win the better chance of finishing higher you have.  If you don't win a contest the best way to make up for it is win the next contest.  The point being that if you contest wisely you will win mire of them and win mire games.  He then steered this onto tactics stating that contests are important to win in critical areas.  You can lose the battle but win the war.  Then put that in context of types of play and game situation.

Moral of the story is, focus on what you have to do next, otherwise you lose sight of the now. 

[PaulP]

That's true Paulp.  No sporting organisation can afford to think about games not being losable.  Actually they shouldn't be thinking about the result at all.

A coach once told me that the ladder is simply where you end up relative to the rest of the competition and the ladder will look after itself provided you focus on the next contest (note not even match,  but contest).  You win more contests than your opponent, you win more games.  The more games you win the better chance of finishing higher you have.  If you don't win a contest the best way to make up for it is win the next contest.  The point being that if you contest wisely you will win mire of them and win mire games.  He then steered this onto tactics stating that contests are important to win in critical areas.  You can lose the battle but win the war.  Then put that in context of types of play and game situation.

Moral of the story is, focus on what you have to do next, otherwise you lose sight of the now.

I guess my point was this : if one starts with the concept that there exists such a thing as a danger game, then simple logic dictates that there also exist games that are not danger games. And the minute you think that, you drop your guard, however slightly, and that's not a good performance mindset. I think that's what Bolts was getting at, and I agree. Which is why I stated that IMO, every match is a danger game.

[laj]

We're at the stage now that we need to win these types of games. Good performances and very honorable losses to the premiers are great but mean nothing if we lose to the Gold Coast at home. Not sure about changes yet. look at that as the week goes on.

[Jack Burton]

I'll be shocked if Kreuzer plays, he grabbed at his groin repeatedly after he hurt it, tried to contest the next ruck contest, grabbed it again and then limped off. He tried to come back on in the last quarter but was clearly hampered. Kennedy was hard to tell, when he first did it I thought he might have hurt his achilles, he just pulled like he'd been shot after kicking the ball, but then he limped off, so can't be achilles. If he's damaged ligaments I hope they give him a week or two to get it right rather than rush him back, inject it and keep making it worse or not allowing it to heal properly. We need both of these guys badly, but not just for round 2

[crashlander]

I've never been a fan of playing half fit players. As a result, I would not be selecting either Kreuzer or Kennedy.
That means at least 2 'ins'.

Lobbe is probably one more week away. He didn't play against Richmond (2nds), although he was there. He'll be right to play by round #3, but he is very doubtful for the Suns.
Phillips started quite well against Richmond (2nds), but he ran out of gas in the 3rd quarter. Soldo took over in the ruck and made the most of his opportunities. I would prefer to have Phillips play at least 2 more games in the VF before considering him for senior selection.
De Koning did OK, especially as the game wore on. His general level of athleticism and his spring at the centre bounces were obvious and appreciated. Around the ground Soldo out-bodied him: he has a 4 year head start of de Koning. De Koning also so some very nice marks late in the game and has a quite decent left foot. I that he was quite similar to Harry McKay: at one point he gathered the ball and went for a gallop, but got run down because he didn't have the game awareness yet.

These are our ruck options. I can't see any of them being cherry ripe for next week, even with a 9 day break. Certainly, Lobbe and Phillips will be in the picture, but I would give them time. Otherwise we may well ruin them.

Of the not quite ruckmen, we do have a few options:
Harry McKay is the 1st who comes to mind. He is not a ruckman at this time, but has the tools to do the job in short spells. He might get done in the centre square, which would put us at a severe disadvantage, but not as much as when Gorringe was there last year.
A reasonable option is playing Harry forward and rucking Casboult.         
Something of a forgotten player is Sam Rowe. He is set for his return to playing next weekend. He can do the ruck job and can play key forward or key defence. I don't think he is ready yet, but he remains an option and a long way from the worst one.
Even Patrick Kerr can play ruck, as he has a good spring. Not my first choice but it depends on who is fit enough to play.                                                         

[LP]

If it's a illiopsoas muscle, he's got it for the rest of the year, it won't get worse but it won't get better either.

[crashlander]

To replace Kennedy we also have a few decent options:

[1] Sam Kerridge: Sam's form has not been that great, but he did get a lot of the ball against the Tigers. He turned it over and dropped a couple of crucial marks, but he can snap a goal (his set shots are less reliable).
[2] Darcy Lang: Lang is going the play this weekend. The question is in which team. I would like him to come through the VFL, but we might take a risk. He is a senior play and would be a reasonable replacement.
[3] David Cuningham: Cunners still has some issues, especially on the defensive side of his game, but he was explosive out of the middle against Richmond and his kicking has the depth to get over the back. His form is quite decent.
[4] Nick Graham: Graham was probably our best mid the other night. He didn't get that much game time, but he got the ball and he used it very well. We know he doesn't have the pace we like, but he does get the ball.
[5] Cam Polson: No. he didn't have a good night in the middle and struggled to have an impact.

[Jack Burton]

Thanks for that, I like hearing what the guys are doing in the VFL. For me it would be a choice between Cuningham and Kerridge. I don't think they will bring Lang straight in after missing most of the pre-season, and I'd be surprised if they go back to Graham ahead of Cuningham. It will depend if they feel we need an experienced player (Kerridge) or happy to play another youngster (Cuningham)

[LP]

For Kennedy it's Cunningham or Graham for me, Kerridge is more of a stopper.

But the word I have is Kennedy could be OK to go with the 9 day break.

[Jack Burton]

Excellent, I thought he showed plenty on Thursday before he hurt himself