Post Game Philosphical Discussion: AFL 2020 Rd 18: Carlton vs Brisbane

[LP]

Who's the better player to have kept?  Simpson or Polson?  Don't answer that.

It's Simmo's time, it is the right time for him to leave.

Polson has become a whipping boy, in shit conditions he wasn't as bad as fans make out, two weeks ago it was Plowman being baked by fans.

[Thryleon]

Polson is just not good enough.  He isn't the whipping boy, plowman is.  Plowman was our best if not second best tonight.

[jeza]

Walsh and McKay's late season form along with the Martin acquisition were some of the biggest positives for me on the season overall.

McKay in particular was clicking into a higher gear in that last month - he could be a superstar and partnering with Charlie is something to look forward to next year.

We don't bat deep enough beyond Walsh and Cripps (and Cripps was injured all year) in the midfield but there are a few options floating around there. Massive off season for us.

[kruddler]

Who's the better player to have kept?  Simpson or Polson?  Don't answer that.

Polson won't be kept either.

[shawny]

Cas should be on the trade table imo. Don’t need him. I have a soft spot for him as I think he plays for the jumper more then most bit while he still has some value this is the last year we will get some th info for him.

He is pretty hopeless when it comes to roaming a forward line with other tall forwards. Too often he spoils a marking contest with Harry as he gets involved when he should not go up. If Charlie is back in next year and with TDK I can’t see a spot for him except as a back up. I would take the risk and put him on the trade table.

Back on tonight’s game Walsh is a guy running star in the making if not one already. So rapt we have him. Martin is also a much better player then I have him credit for. Os willing to do the hard stuff and is very creative with ball in hand.
Thought Kennedy works hard all night and how we retain him.

[kruddler]

Polson is just not good enough.  He isn't the whipping boy, plowman is.  Plowman was our best if not second best tonight.

Agree on both counts.

[Thryleon]

Cas should be on the trade table imo. Don’t need him. I have a soft spot for him as I think he plays for the jumper more then most bit while he still has some value this is the last year we will get some th info for him.

He is pretty hopeless when it comes to roaming a forward line with other tall forwards. Too often he spoils a marking contest with Harry as he gets involved when he should not go up. If Charlie is back in next year and with TDK I can’t see a spot for him except as a back up. I would take the risk and put him on the trade table.

Back on tonight’s game Walsh is a guy running star in the making if not one already. So rapt we have him. Martin is also a much better player then I have him credit for. Os willing to do the hard stuff and is very creative with ball in hand.
Thought Kennedy works hard all night and how we retain him.

Its amazing.  Casboult was on tonight.  Threw his weight around and was doing well until he lost that marking contest against neale.  After that he went into his shell and was a lost cause. 

[LP]

Its amazing.  Casboult was on tonight.  Threw his weight around and was doing well until he lost that marking contest against neale.  After that he went into his shell and was a lost cause.

Levi's aggression is artificial, it doesn't come naturally to him and when Brisbane lifted intensity and aggression he retreated.

[LoveNavy]

In all, a good effort against a top side. The difference came down to the frees and the period we couldn't clear it from d50. Resulting in coughing up unanswered goals.

Our marks i50, tackles, ruck and clearance work were there abouts. Our kicking for goal was as good as you'd expect in the wet.

I thought Willo played well after a quiet patch. Thank goodness for Samo, who played like it was dry. Simmo finished an outstanding career in full flight. Jones 1% created a headache. Plow had some good  patches and got the better of his opponent, as did Weiters aside a couple of poor kicks when the heat was on. Polson I'm afraid doesn't have it, despite having mental toughness to burn. He was BB's love child IMO. Experiment over, and the results are in.

Jack is exactly what we hoped he'd be. Walsh is just all class and Ed did Ed. Kennedy was good around stoppages.

MC responsible for the mismatched of our talls. H made his mark and the most of his opportunities. Imagine when he can play like that consistently ??Gibbo, Cunners, and Eddie quiet. Albeit on the back of bugger all i50's.

Frustrating when at times we looked so good, then went missing. Glad the boys fought back for our Champ Simmo.

#thanksSimmo ?
#thanksKreuz ?

[JonDorotich]

Final thoughts,after missing the finals AGAIN!!

PLEASE Mark Murphy, do the right thing by the club and retire.

He can't stick a tackle to save his life. His shoulders are stuffed and he's afraid of a dislocation. He had his jaw broken, and doesn't want it to happen again so he skirts packs rather than go in hard. Add to that his decision making and the little kicks he does which  are disastrous for the team, and only selfishness would make him play on.

Eddie is gone. Ambassador for the club, great. Playing next year, no way.

Here are some others that haven't got it. By that I mean, football brains, the courage to tackle and tackle hard, and general ability to play the game at the highest level.

Cunningham. He gave us one good game this year, and that's all we got out of him, and we won't get any more. He missed a tackle in the last quarter and stood in the centre of the ground not even bothering to chase. That's him in a nutshell.
Poulson, not up to it. OK reserves player, nothing more.
Petrevski Seaton, tackling virtually non existent against opponents bigger than him. Doesn't want to get hurt. We don't get enough out of him. He isn't good enough to win us a game.

Williamson must learn to kick with his right foot.  Simpson did. If he can't, he's no good to us because he's too predictable. Simmo never was.
Mcgovern, getting 700 large a year, to stand there. It's actually sickening to watch his virtual non participation.

Plowman, as Jack Dyer used to say, a good ordinary player. But he's a turnover merchant and too easily out bodied.
Gibbons, can't kick, and the big boys find him out. Another one who won't win you a flag.
Dow, too weak, hasn't built up physically, and can't kick.

There are more, but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

So, the fact is, that it is a miracle that we won 7 games, and came close in others, carrying so many passengers.

The good.
Obviously, Cripps, Walsh, Mackay, Weitering, the Curnows, hopefully Charlie is back bigger than ever next year. Levi has been good, but is 31 next year.  So is Ed Curnow,  but he's a different type of player with at least two more decent years in him.
We need more out of Jack Martin, hopefully he will have an injury free year, but the class and ability is there.

Bottom line.
Get rid of the passengers, the blokes who won't go in, the ones  who can't stick a tackle, the ones who will look at who is  coming towards them as they go to pick up the ball, rather than picking it up first and being prepared to take the hit if and when it comes.

We need to be ruthless at the trade table.
We need coaches who can actually teach our players  the skills of the game, so that they hit targets rather than continuously turn the ball over.
And we need Teague, to be less of a mate, and more of a bastard to the players when they don't perform and not make excuses for them.

I really believe having supported this club for 67 years, that we aren't far away, but they have to be ruthless.
67,000 plus decided that they would become members this year. A record.

They did it, because they actually believed that we were not only  headed in the right direction, but that playing in finals this year was a real possibility.

If the club allow emotion to over-rule common sense and refuse to make the hard uncompromising decisions to take the club forward, many thousands of those 67,000 will disappear, never to be members again.

It starts at the exit interviews on Monday, goes to the draft and the trade period and onto the pre-season where the team needs to be vastly improved skill and tackling ability wise, out of sight, compared to this year.

If they get it right, and it won't be easy, then  all of us who have been starved of the ultimate success for 25 long years, might see us reach the pinnacle that we so desperately desire.

ANOTHER CARLTON PREMIERSHIP

I love this post