Pre-Game Pressure: AFL 2019 Rd 5: Carlton vs Western BUlldogs

[kruddler]

I'll let you in on a secret, Bolton doesnt know this one either, keep it to yourself.
Ready, Gibbons is a midfielder, bet that surprised you?? won two Listons playing as a mid.....You thought he was a small forward and Brendon thinks he is a tall marking target.

I'll let YOU in on a secret. We have no fit small forward types available, so we have to play someone out of position.

Why not let it be the guy who kicked 2 in 2 minutes in his first ever run in an AFL (albeit preseason) match?

I take your point about him being a mid, but he obviously has smarts and has proved he can kick a goal, so that puts him above all other options for that role.

Also, don't lash out at Bolton for players kicking it long to Gibbons. Lash out at the forwards coach for allowing the forwards to give Gibbons the prime position to the approaching mid.

[Gointocarlton]

For some reason I cannot explain, I have a feeling there is going to be a very different feel about the Blues this week.  Last week's horror may actually be the pinpoint time we will all remember that this side started to come of age.

Fingers crossed.....

I hope you're right Tonyo because I actually feel the opposite. I thought that loss was soul destroying and we would have been better off being belted by 100pts. Whats strange for me is that someone like Nick Riewoldt says we have been in every game and could have won each one of them. Whilst thats probably correct, to me it would be a mighty effort to front up this week and turn it around enough for a win. You never know, its all up to the players as Cripps said today.

[PaulP]

If Gibbons is a natural at getting to the right place in the F50 to jag a mark, then surely one of the talls can just shadow him and get to the right place and mark it instead.

[ElwoodBlues1]

I'll let YOU in on a secret. We have no fit small forward types available, so we have to play someone out of position.

Why not let it be the guy who kicked 2 in 2 minutes in his first ever run in an AFL (albeit preseason) match?

I take your point about him being a mid, but he obviously has smarts and has proved he can kick a goal, so that puts him above all other options for that role.

Also, don't lash out at Bolton for players kicking it long to Gibbons. Lash out at the forwards coach for allowing the forwards to give Gibbons the prime position to the approaching mid.

Garlett is fit, Polsen is fit, Fisher and SPS have both played small forward at times.......Gibbons has been tried in 4 games in that position and failed to kick a goal....thats enough sample size to show its hasnt worked....even Ed Curnow who has minimal forward nous has been more effective.
Our midfield hasnt been that great either....Cripps aside its been the newbie Walsh who has been our next best mid...SPS has used it better than most but isnt a big ball winner.

Plenty of evidence for Gibbons to be tried in his preferred position......if you watched him play in the VFL you would have seen Gibbons kicked goals by drifting down forward while playing as a midfielder but not as a permanent forward.

After the first forward thrust went to Gibbons the message should have gone out about where to kick the ball and where not to kick the ball, sure Teague is the forward coach but Bolton is meant to be coaching the team and has overall responsibility, maybe we have a breakdown in the coaches communication as well as the players or maybe Robert Walls has taken over unofficially...at the end of the day its Bolton officially steering the ship and setting the course....
When you are 3 from 36 and making Mark Neeld look a genius tactically then a gentle lashing is the least of your problems.I guess we can look forward to Bontempelli running around on his own for 100 mins this week too. Oh yeah thats right the excuse is development...about the only thing we have developed is a losing mentality unfortunately.

[jeza]

Gibbons ran 17km in one of our games.

That is why he's been getting a lot more of the ball than Polson, etc. He's got a midfielder's tank which he's using to pretty good effect. The goals will come. He kicked 3 in a JLT game.

He probably misses Cunningham - if I remember correctly he fed 2 of Gibbo's goals to him.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Gibbons ran 17km in one of our games.

That is why he's been getting a lot more of the ball than Polson, etc. He's got a midfielder's tank which he's using to pretty good effect. The goals will come. He kicked 3 in a JLT game.

He probably misses Cunningham - if I remember correctly he fed 2 of Gibbo's goals to him.

Fair point..small forwards can hunt in pairs ie Eddie/Cameron from the crows...no Cameron now and Eddie is less effective..

[deags]

Teague is the forward coach. I would have thought he would have more control over the way the forwards are playing.
I don't think BB is solely responsible for the way the team is playing.

I dont think that leading or having a high work rate is natural for McKay. My biggest knock on him when he was not getting picked was work rate, or lack thereof.
Maybe he just needs time to learn how to run patterns and work smarter.
With 3 taller options down forward, at least one of them should be in the vicinity of the goal square whenever we move forward, ready to lead out.

[Baggers]

@Baggers
They play like they're nervous Baggers, jittery players make mistakes.

Exactly. And that's a symptom of not knowing what to do or having been given excessive information and are just plain confused.

...or been given contradictory information, one thing from the senior coach and another from the forward line coach... and perhaps another again from the midfield coach  :o

[LP]

Fair point..small forwards can hunt in pairs ie Eddie/Cameron from the crows...no Cameron now and Eddie is less effective..

Or it could be chook running, a la Jason Tutt or the old Liam Jones!

On the game;

Lots of people are tipping us to win each week, in a circumstance that is described as an upset victory.

Does that have an effect on our opponents that leads to the post-Carlton loss syndrome? (In that clubs might be inspired by the idea of an upset loss to not lose to Carlton, making every such game a sort of mini-final!)

[DJC]

Gibbons ran 17km in one of our games.

That is why he's been getting a lot more of the ball than Polson, etc. He's got a midfielder's tank which he's using to pretty good effect. The goals will come. He kicked 3 in a JLT game.

He probably misses Cunningham - if I remember correctly he fed 2 of Gibbo's goals to him.

And he’s not playing exclusively as a forward. 

I thought he played his best game last week and I would like to see him get more time in the midfield.  I think that his effectiveness will improve as his teammates adjust to his kicking limitations.