2018 Rd 13: Post Game Prattling-Carlton v Fremantle

[LP]

At least McKay runs around,  he can also kick.

I support McKay being dropped though, you cannot have +200cm players taking zero marks in reasonable weather conditions at Geelong! It was near perfect for a +200cm type.

In regards to the young blokes, I don't care whether they kick 3 goals or 5 straight behinds, as long as they bring something that benefits the team! I want the effort and some presence, some sacrifice!

[Professer E]

Don't see Casboult doing much either,  actually I'm not sure what he does. Agree that McKay needed a spell,  but it's time injuries notwithstanding.

[blue4life]

Casboult just isn't any good but we haven't had a decent key forward since Fevola and he's the best of a crappy lot.
Our desperation is showing by playing Kerr, who is way off the pace of senior AFL football.
We'll have to go back to the draft and try and get one but we need to give up on finding one at pick 20 or 30, the Ben Browns of the world come along occasionally but most of the real good kids command a high price.

[LP]

Casboult just isn't any good but we haven't had a decent key forward since Fevola and he's the best of a crappy lot.
Our desperation is showing by playing Kerr, who is way off the pace of senior AFL football.

If Kerr is off the pace, then McKay and Levi must be in Emergency for resuscitation!

I do worry when I hear our coaches telling us Kerr needs to improve his running patterns, I have to question their knowledge of forward play. Because I've watched Kerr closely and he's a mile ahead of our other KPF options when it comes to leading for the football. For that matter, SoJ is also well ahead of some of the other options, but he just doesn't have the necessary size, strength and pace to fill the role. At the moment our best KPF would be a Kerr/SoJ hybrid leaving Charlie free to roam upfield!

A game or two back Kerr was up and about but we either butchered the ball trying to deliver it, or we ignored him completely. Our ball carriers just couldn't bring themself to pull the trigger early enough, and it seems our coaches blamed Kerr's running patterns. Kerr must have been doing the Billy Brownless decoy forward role but without Carlton having anyone except Wright to fill Ablett Snr's job!

In the last McKay game I think Kerr and Charlie also played together. McKay repeatedly committed two mortal sins for an AFL KPF. Firstly, he took his direct opponent to the contest even when we had one on ones inside F50. Secondly, instead of competing overhead he roved leaving some smaller players trying to mark the football. He had zero marks on the day!

If you want to be the man, you had better be the man!

[ElwoodBlues1]

Kerr moves and acts like a real forward, lost confidence with his kicking after that passing fiasco to Kreuzer but he knows how to lead and get the footy
and the kid also doesnt mind a bit of push and shove either and is made of the right stuff,. We need to persist with him...

[blue4life]

Kerr moves and acts like a real forward, lost confidence with his kicking after that passing fisaco to Kreuzer but he knows how to lead and get the footy
and the kid also doesnt mind a bit of push and shove either and is made of the right stuff,. We need to persist with him...

By all means, I doubt that he'll make the grade but I'll be very happy to be proven wrong.

[LP]

Kerr moves and acts like a real forward, lost confidence with his kicking after that passing fiasco to Kreuzer but he knows how to lead and get the footy
and the kid also doesnt mind a bit of push and shove either and is made of the right stuff,. We need to persist with him...

Yep, I've noticed we've give him some runs in the ruck as well, he has the leap and aggression.

When the coaches come out and bag his running patterns, I'm assuming this is one of three things;

- They are not talking about leading patterns.
- They are offering a bog standard cliché answer to a press nerd.
- They are idiots!

[thrunthrublu]

Hard to be a successful coach when you don't have them cattle,  and those you'd have aren't utilised to their strengths.

we havent had cattle for 15 years,

[Thryleon]

Yep, I've noticed we've give him some runs in the ruck as well, he has the leap and aggression.

When the coaches come out and bag his running patterns, I'm assuming this is one of three things;

- They are not talking about leading patterns.
- They are offering a bog standard cliché answer to a press nerd.
- They are idiots!

They arent worried about his leading, they are worried about the timing of his leading.

I.e.

Hes leading along with other forwards or he isnt leading when he should be or perhaps not as often as he could be.

Im no expert but thats how i interpret speak.

[LP]

They arent worried about his leading, they are worried about the timing of his leading.

I.e.

Hes leading along with other forwards or he isnt leading when he should be or perhaps not as often as he could be.

Im no expert but thats how i interpret speak.

That how I initially interpret the speak coming from the coaches, and I think it's rubbish.

Kerr's a natural forward, he is by some margin the best lead up forward we have, I'm not saying he is Fev or Lance, but he's better than the others we have. Kerr actually leads up the guts regularly, but our mids and HBFs are dead-set petrified of kicking it there! Either they have no confidence, or they do not want to chase if they fork it up, or they are told not to! As a result everyone ends up in a pocket!

The other problem is our mids and HBF mark the ball on the wing and go sideways, or the kick the ball on his head, or kick the ball over his head, or kick the ball 30m away from where he's heading! Which often results in our KPF, whoever it is, marking the ball 70m from goal!

If Fev was in the current team he would be going ballistic, taking off his boots and throwing them at the bench!

I am reminded of a Dev team I was involved in many years back, we had a coach who told the mids they had to run straight at goal, get the ball and go, even if it meant you ran into opponents. He coached this tactic because as the time we had a goal kicking but dud KPF, who couldn't think his way out of a paper bag but could mark and kick goals given a one on one. But, he gave and we got exactly one chance at leading per midfield play which the coach wasn't prepared to burn on a delayed exit from the midfield. In the end the opposition quickly learned our tactics and we lost the finals series, we had structured a game plan around a player's weakness.

It reminds me of Carlton, we can't kick so we don't, and in the process of trying to minimize mistakes/risk we remove all opportunity and unpredictability! We are a pre-programmed car crash!

If our kids have any talent, give them some advantage and see if they can make something of it, don't smother then to death trying to keep them safe!