AFL Rd 6 2022 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Fremantle

[crashlander]

Looks like Cripps wants to play badly. I'm not all that surprised, but I hope we don't play him if he isn't ready to go. I hate playing half fit players.

[bobby]

- Silvagni is an excellent contributor against non-ruckman opponents - however, I think we need a better back up ruckman unless the Duckers are similarly limited.
- Newnes performed admirably (especially early) and seemed more dangerous in attack (although he missed some opportunities) than LOB has been - deserves to hold his spot.
- Cottrell was good enough and deserves to hold his spot.
- Parks was passable as our 3rd tall defender but might struggle to hold his spot if a better option is available.

- Martin and Fisher showed up at stages - Durdin and Owies had limited opportunities but consistently delivered pressure when the ball went forward (not so often in the 2nd half) - one of them might get a rest (for team balance) if we need to play a back up ruckman.
- Kennedy has gone off the ball the past 2 weeks but probably has enough credits in the bank to hold his place.

I think Kennedy is a carrying a quad injury. He may well be sitting out if Cripps wasn't already out.

[WASurfer]

Heath Chapman and Hayden Young out with COVID for Freo....that's two of their best medium sized, running half-backs. Some talk over here that there might end up being one or two more before Saturday! There's 3 others but not blokes that are in their starting 22.

[capcom]

Every little bit helps

[dodge]

Looks like Cripps wants to play badly. I'm not all that surprised, but I hope we don't play him if he isn't ready to go. I hate playing half fit players.

Hope he wants to play well, not badly, Crash!

[ElwoodBlues1]

Heath Chapman and Hayden Young out with COVID for Freo....that's two of their best medium sized, running half-backs. Some talk over here that there might end up being one or two more before Saturday! There's 3 others but not blokes that are in their starting 22.

Been talk that Luke Ryan might also be doubtful, cant see Freo being able to compete if they lose too many players to CoVid, they just dont have the depth IMO and this might be good timing for us to steal an away win which has been rare in recent years.

[Mav]

Remember, Lachie Schultz is presumably returning after a week on H&S Protocol. Griffin Logue, a 194cm defender, would be a possible in given that he was very unlucky to lose his spot last week after being in the best against the Giants.

[WASurfer]

EB....their backline is probably one area where they have multiple options to cover a few players out. Joel Hamling hasn't been able to get a game and Griffen Logue was dropped for last week despite getting votes in the AFLCA Award the week before. They've also still got Ethan Hughes and Nathan Wilson who were previously regulars in their back half. Logue will probably come back in this week.

Pearce and Cox down back will be much harder for McKay and Curnow compared to what they had to deal with last week. But it all comes down to the work in the middle. When we've been firing in first/second quarters, it's been out of the middle quickly and into the tall forwards....it's where the 6/6/6 rule works IMO.

[ElwoodBlues1]

EB....their backline is probably one area where they have multiple options to cover a few players out. Joel Hamling hasn't been able to get a game and Griffen Logue was dropped for last week despite getting votes in the AFLCA Award the week before. They've also still got Ethan Hughes and Nathan Wilson who were previously regulars in their back half. Logue will probably come back in this week.

Pearce and Cox down back will be much harder for McKay and Curnow compared to what they had to deal with last week. But it all comes down to the work in the middle. When we've been firing in first/second quarters, it's been out of the middle quickly and into the tall forwards....it's where the 6/6/6 rule works IMO.

Surfie, Hamling is a good footballer going by his work for the Dogs and Wilson also handy.Havent seen as much of Logue but he was an early pick from memory and a good size as Mav suggested.
Chapman and Young are more the good kicking rebound type and I was thinking it's that rebound and setting up play further up the ground that might be missed and Ryan is their key intercept player.

[Mav]

It'll be a clash of styles. We are now a contested ball team. Our centre square crew tries to win the ball from the centre bounce or stoppages around the ground with quick kicks to Harry and Charlie. Freo bases its game around turnovers and it then spreads wide, developing overlaps that allow it to run the ball up to F50. Freo rarely goes back down the line after an intercept. They bust their balls to keep width for a fast switch.

If we can keep the ball in and around contests, we'll have the advantage. If Freo is able to keep the ball in the open, then they have the advantage. Unfortunately, the Freo gameplan is pretty much what Hawthorn used against us in the last 3 quarters. 

I said a while back that Brayshaw is their Cripps. Having looked at some of their games, that's wrong. He's more like Sam Walsh. Brodie is more like Cripps. At centre bounces, Brayshaw tends to play the sweeper/shoulder position behind his ruckman. The ball is tapped to Brodie or Serong and Brayshaw waits for an opportunity to take a handball receive. He's not just a receiver though - he's a hard nut as much as Sam Walsh is and like Walsh runs hard. Gerard Healy suggests he's a weapon on the turnover as he runs forward and creates an overlap forcing defenders to come up to him. Frederick is important in this regard as well as he has serious pace but also a good tank. He can happily come up to the wing and in the blink of an eye he's back at the feet of the tall forwards. Gerard Healy suggests Frederick's opponents should stay goal side of him for fear of him losing them on the way back. Obviously, Lachie Shultz is creative once the ball hits the deck and Michael Walters is still a good player in general play even if his goalkicking radar has inexplicably gone haywire.

Losing 2 of their rebounding defenders will disrupt their game to some degree, if only because stability in the back 6 is critical. Freo have worthy replacements but the cohesion built up over the last few weeks won't necessarily be there even with experienced inclusions such as Logue and Wilson.