AFL Rd 9 2023 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Western Bulldogs

[LP]

Used to be "stop Judd, stop Carlton". Now it's  "Stop Cripps...". Seems to be working.

After watching the replay, I'd assert Dunkley and Cripps had a pretty good head to head but Dunkley was clearly more involved in chains of play as we would expect given the leg speed difference. In this regard it was quite similar to the Cripps / Kelly head to heads.

However, because Dunkley was a suitable one on one match and could go solo versus Cripps, that allowed the Lions to double team Walsh who then struggled to find his usual time and space. That left us with two prime midfield movers being ineffective.

The mistake might have been that Kennedy probably should have started rather than be sub, because with Kennedy out there adding to Cripps, Walsh, Hewett and Cerra we had greater midfield depth. I suppose nobody predicted Dunkley would get the better of or break even with Cripps.

Hopefully it's a lesson learned for our MC, we gave up an advantage we potentially had with Zorko going out, and turned it into an even battle which we lost.

[Baggers]

As strange as it may seem I'm quite confident we'll account for the Dishlickers this Saturday night.

The season is far from over and provided we work on being proactive re going after our opponents strengths, then tidy up our disposal and have a more aggressive/offensive mindset then we're better than a good chance.

We've also got to address the form of Weiters, Young, H and Crippa.

I can't imagine that behind closed doors Vossy is as cool as his media conferences post game might suggest.

Boyd will probably come in for Newey (who was incredibly frustrated with some of the efforts of his team mates). Then Cottrell should come in for Honey or Dutchy. Either way, Honey must go back to the Magoos. Dutchy really needs to work on his disposal by foot. I'm guessing that our meek MC will probably bring back Fisher.

[LP]

We've also got to address the form of Weiters, Young, H and Crippa.

When we heard about what Weiters has been through, did fans actually think his on field form would escape free of harm?

We need to lift him up, give him some personal wins, let his confidence return!

If I was coaching I'd try my best to artificially create a scenario for him to hit the scoreboard and have the team get around him in celebration.

[ElwoodBlues1]

I want to know whats gone wrong with Young, his confidence looks shot, has he got fitness, personal issues....?

[Professer E]

So H gets whacked high, accidentally of course, but  I assume a player is going to be cited because the head is sacrosanct?  Or is it more MRO chooklotto?

[RiverRat]

The mistake might have been that Kennedy probably should have started rather than be sub, because with Kennedy out there adding to Cripps, Walsh, Hewett and Cerra we had greater midfield depth. I suppose nobody predicted Dunkley would get the better of or break even with Cripps.

My thoughts too.  Kennedy has his limitations  but he offers midfield depth that is lacking if Cripps is not able to dominate and he is a very good converter when resting forward.

[RiverRat]

We've also got to address the form of Weiters

Boyd will probably come in for Newey (who was incredibly frustrated with some of the efforts of his team mates).

Then Cottrell should come in for Honey or Dutchy.

Either way, Honey must go back to the Magoos. Dutchy really needs to work on his disposal by foot.

I'm guessing that our meek MC will probably bring back Fisher.

I thought Weitering played quite well - apart from the couple of horrendous turnovers.  I think he has suffered since Jones departed because they used to interchange to allow Weiters to spend more time at HB, where he was a good distributor.  These days he seems to be anchored deeper in the back line and largely limited to a negative role.

Boyd played okay in the VFL but should be a suitable replacement as he is a decent kick and not hesitant about putting his body on the line.

I watched Dow closely in the VFL game and thought he had perfected a couple of undesirable skills - firstly, the skill to get the ball and hurriedly kick it across his body without looking - secondly, the skill of displaying fast hands to get rid of the 'hot potato' and giving teammates the problem of trying to handle it.  He can stay in the VFL for mine.  Unfortunately, Jack Carroll wasn't much better with far fewer possessions. 

Cottrell put both of them to shame and is a definite must inclusion - at least as the sub.  In the VFL, he showed something that so many of the current AFL team has been missing - he can kick the ball effectively AND he repeatedly steadied (at pace) and had a look where to kick it to place it to advantage.

I think Owies kicked 4 goals 4 behinds (mostly from set shots) with 2 of the misses very narrow.  He needs to be back in the AFL team.

Honey is fast but only in a straight line and that is not good enough for the AFL - unless he is played in a position that doesn't require him to change direction - maybe he could evolve into a Brad Pearce type of leading forward - not sure he has many other options.

Fisher did a couple of useful things early in the VFL game because he showed dash before he momentarily steadied to kick the ball perfectly to the advantage of teammates on multiple occasions.  Regretably, later in the game when tiring or under pressure, he reverted to his usual wayward turnover kicks.

Mirkov is developing into a possibility as a tap ruckman and reminds me a lot of Justin Madden in the way he moves but has to do much more around the ground to be considered for AFL selection unless we are very desperate.

Lemmey showed nothing other than needing much more development.  Binns has some nice skills but is a lightweight and probably less value than Boyd at this stage.

[Lods]

Cottrell put both of them to shame and is a definite must inclusion - at least as the sub.  In the VFL, he showed something that so many of the current AFL team has been missing - he can kick the ball effectively AND he repeatedly steadied (at pace) and had a look where to kick it to place it to advantage.

That's what stood out for me compared to some of the others, and it's why I think he deserves a senior run...'composure'
Not rushed... careful, deliberate and effective.

[LP]

That's what stood out for me compared to some of the others, and it's why I think he deserves a senior run...'composure'
Not rushed... careful, deliberate and effective.

He's a redhead and an elite runner, so higher than average pain tolerance and across a game less fatigue, it goes a long way when looking for some composure under pressure.

It's very hard to stay calm if you feel like you are gasping your last breath, some of our blokes are flat out just trying to catch up, and that is what comes from having too many one paced types!

As much as I like the long term look of Motlop, he lacks run, and that deficit then gets loaded onto others around him. When Fisher went out, good or bad form, we lost run by replacing him with Motlop. Durdin, SoJ, Honey, Walsh, Acres, all of the players in wing or flank rotations had to cover extra ground.

[PaulP]

No Treloar apparently and Ugle-Hagan has to pass a fitness test.