Rd 2: Carlton vs. Sydney: Post Game Passion

[PaulP]

That slickness has been a rarity the last couple of years though.

Oh I agree. What I saw last week makes what I saw this week even more dispiriting. Clearly we don't play in a vacuum, and credit has to be given to the Swans, who are a class above us in every respect (and a class above several other teams too). 

[ElwoodBlues1]

Oh I agree. What I saw last week makes what I saw this week even more dispiriting. Clearly we don't play in a vacuum, and credit has to be given to the Swans, who are a class above us in every respect (and a class above several other teams too).

Agree....Swans have the equipment to win the GF if they can make it....Buddy back gives them the flair they need, they smacked us like most would expect but we battled on and players like Weitering and C. Curnow would learn plenty and  showed some ability....might have got ugly without the two ex Crows lads who have been very good...

[PaulP]

Agree....Swans have the equipment to win the GF if they can make it....Buddy back gives them the flair they need, they smacked us like most would expect but we battled on and players like Weitering and C. Curnow would learn plenty and  showed some ability....might have got ugly without the two ex Crows lads who have been very good...

Yes. Kerro and Wright definitely among the votes for mine. The Doc was very good as well.

[DJC]

Papley was a good pick up.  Still, it's probably easier when you come into a very strong and hard midfield.

The Swans had obviously put a lot of work into nullifying Cripps.  He will have to work on his bag of tricks to prevent other sides shutting him down.

[Baggers]

I'd play Jones ahead of Everitt next week........just sick of Everitt coasting along providing no effort or pressure unless its obvious he has to contest...

We're on the same page, EB1. Like many I saw Everitt take short steps and fail to put his body on the line on more than one occasion this evening... not only does that betray the team ethic but it can only demoralise team mates. I've said it before and I'll say it again, when the heat is on Everitt goes missing. He's a kind of luxury player, the bloke who you'd park up forward when you've got 21 other blokes who are fair dinkum.

We've now got the worst ever CFC forward line and probably the worst forward line in the AFL at present, particularly in relation to tall forwards. Personally, I'd replace Everitt up forward with White and have Byrne take White's place down back.

As unpopular as this opinion is, Meat is not a key forward.

[townsendcalling]

Swans didn't have it all their own way in the first half.

Hit the post a few times we could have easily been a goal or two  down at half time instead of 38.

We then only got beaten by a goal in the third.

Last was a struggle but they are a battle hardened team full of stars.

Not to bad .

I will be sleeping a lot better than Melbourne and Richmond supporters tonight.

[BluePhantom]

Skill difference between the teams is noticeable but not as much as I thought after just watching the game.
Yeah it was a 10 goal difference but we skillfully hit the post 4 or 5 times and kicked it straight to them MANY times. Tidy just that part of the game up we probably wouldve still lost but not by much,
Kerridge, Bl**dy Kerridge, the new young Carazzo. Our new turn over king, yes he gets the ball but he can't kick. His decision making is WOEFUL.
Simmo must have had his wrong contacts in today.
TOOOO many times they had an overlap and way too many free players along the wing and in their forward line. It looked like our players were playing off them filling a gap but it allowed them way too easy ball movement. NEED TO FIX THIS. What happened to man on man when the oppo has the ball.

We must stop kicking to our forwards HEADS and kick it to advantage. We did it a few times and when Cas came charging out in the last and marked it I had flashbacks of Fev. We can do it.

I did like the fact that when one player was pushed or man handled off the ball another two came in to protect. The melee at half time was good to see.

We get it in our forward 50 a zillion times for a few shots on goal that we don't convert, THIS must have a sapping effect on ALL players.

Some green shoots...how GOOD is that 2 gamer kid. Crikey is he really that good?
Charlie will be heaps better for the run and I loved how BB put the two young'uns in the forward line together.

[Jofo]

Oh well, we didn't get the chocolates tonight but I saw some glimpses of what Charlie Curnow could be for us one day. We could have got a lot closer but for some poor kicking at and around the goals. Swans were just too good in close and they gave it off much more cleanly. Some poor umpiring decisions and non-decisions let the Swans off the hook in the second.

[Bear]

Cripps seemed to lack a bit of energy... well down on his standard and only got going in the 2nd half. Murphy also quiet.  Not a lot of impact from our midfielders.

Swans had 60 more possessions, 25 more inside 50's and smashed us in the centre clearances...  just didn't get our hands on it enough. We had some patches where we were competitive, but  Sydney are bloody impressive.

It was good to see Weitering for the first time, just looks like a really good, smart footballer, his kicking really stood out.  Curnow did OK for his first game, settled as the game went on. 

[crashlander]

Papley was a good pick up.  Still, it's probably easier when you come into a very strong and hard midfield.

The Swans had obviously put a lot of work into nullifying Cripps.  He will have to work on his bag of tricks to prevent other sides shutting him down.

It was inevitable that someone would do their homework: he was too good last year to ignore. And he will get better, even if he won't get a lot quicker.

However, of all the things we have done to alter our game plan, the least effective thing appears to be our midfield. We set up in a way that doesn't close other teams down but is ultra attacking. Now that works fine if your ruckmen get a lot of taps and direct them to quality mids. It doesn't work when we lose the taps, or can't direct them.
But, one thing in its favour, it is very direct when we actually get the clearance.

Our ruck division is REALLY in need of some work.
Kreuzer has been ordinary to poor. He has barely taken a mark in any of the games so far. He hasn't been a dominating presence in the middle and he has not done well in the taps. His commitment and 2nd efforts are 2nd to none, but it is the marking around the ground and the getting of good taps that makes a champion ruckman.
Phillips is promising. He needs to develop his body a bit more yet, but he can take a mark. He needs to work on his positioning, especially around the ground. His leap in the middle is impressive. He can't have had a good night tonight, but it will be a couple of years before he is at his best.
Gorringe is a speculative pick: he has a heap of potential, but has questions about his intensity and the position he will eventually play. If we get anything out of him, then we have done well.
Korchek is another who is some way off but who has the potential to be impressive. He has played maybe 2 games of footy so far and been bad. But it will take a couple of years before he is ready.
Wood: well, we already know his strengths and weaknesses. I think he will get games this year as the other go up and down. H has already done more and better than I expected, but he is just not a premiership ruckman (except possibly for the Baby Blues).
We also have Casboult and Rowe who can do some ruck work and Aurecchio (spelling is probably wrong - I apologize) around the edges. I am not expecting big things from him, but he is better than many of the failed ruckmen we have trialled this century.

Until we find or develop a top class ruckman we are not to succeed. Have a look at the effect a guy like NicNat or Goldstein has on a team and you see our weakness. Even Hawthorn's ruck, relative no names as they are, do enough to nullify their 'betters' and they tap the ball to exactly where their mids are waiting for it. Notice how more effective they were today with Ceglar in: he isn't a superstar, but he does what he needs to do.