Rd 8: Post Game Euphoria!: Carlton vs Port Adelaide

[PaulP]

Bett's wished him well and called him a legend before the game.

I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know. He's right of course.

And just one more reason to like Eddie.

[Alto]

thoughts on Armfield? Reckon he has added run, breaks lines and adds heaps of tackle pressure. In the last quarter he cleared the ball from the back flank in heavy traffic and thrust it forward

[crashlander]

Jamo is shot and Walker is another servant of the club who needs to retire with him...got some good spoils in late in the game when he went back but I thought he looked
off the pace of the game, lacks depth in his kicking and doesnt have the initial speed he once had to beat players on the lead...

If anything showed that the guard is changing, it was today's game. Next week we will probably have to replace 4 players, unless our medical staff are REALLY impressive. It puts us in a very poor position, as these are key players, but....
If anyone in the VFL had really stood up, it would not feel so bad. But that is another tale.

Jamo: the guy is doing everything he can, but he is just a shadow of the player he was. He was terrible early. But when Rowe had to go forward (and then into the ruck), Jamo stood up. He kept the tall Port forwards under control, even if he did drop a mark an U10 player would have held.
His retirement is not far away: those saying his body is shot unfortunately have the right of it. He has lost the closing speed and the leap that made him so effective in his prime. How his shoulders still manage to allow him to play is amazing. When Port were winning in the middle early, he just couldn't maintain contact.
Walker is looking somewhat similar. The things that made him dangerous as a forwards are just not there at the moment. When he had his big year as a forward he kicked effectively and accurately: the most accurate in the comp that year. Now he struggles inside the 50 and rarely get it straight. He isn't holding his marks and he is not breaking contact on the lead. He is also getting caught from behind: unheard of in his prime.
I would not play him in the forward line any longer, except, perhaps, as a shock tactic. He did much better in defence when moved there.
He needs to play out the season, but #1 is going to be available sooner rather than later.

[Vivian]

Great effort from many and Murphy's defensive effort in the last minute was magnificent. Aside from the plaudits for the usual suspects, a player that has improved greatly this year is curnow. His effort and running is as good as ever, but he is getting into good position and his disposal is much cleaner. A couple of his kicks inside 50 were great today. Even if that one to jones in the last looked a bit lucky.
Well done.

We are going to have some sore players, hopefully all bar Casboult are right for selection next week. Its not like we have much coming through, given the destruction of the reserves today.

[LoveNavy]

So impressed with our tenacious 4qtr effort against the tide of injury.....
Kruuuuuzzzz, set the tone. Our leaders really followed and got full buy in from each and every player. Sam Rowe has been developing since Jamo played 2s IMO. However, I did not expect to see what he bought to his game this week. Rowe down back, Rowe up forward, Rowe in the ruck, Rowe hits the scoreboard.

Gibbs sensational again, as was Docherty, Cripps, Murphy, Simmo, Byrne, Sumner, Lamb, and Byrne. Plowman bounced back in an undermanned defence, and 2e, Wright, Everett were solid.

A couple of guys had a quiet game, but in all an outstanding effort from a unified group. I think we can safely say the days of "the boys went into their shells" are a thing of our dark misguided past. We were steely and approached every contest with the belief of winning it. Amazing...gutsy team effort - I hope Jamo and Simmo feel the love.

Bolton and his crew have galvanized this group and the learning environment is unequivocally optimizing the boys output. I'm dreaming of what's to come if this is what can be done with this list.

Go Blues.

[LordLucifer]

Anywhere you can plug in a computer with internet connection ? You can listen to the radio stations (ABC, SEN etc.) through the afl.com.au website.

Very difficult when I'm running a market stall unfortunately.

[PaulP]

thoughts on Armfield? Reckon he has added run, breaks lines and adds heaps of tackle pressure. In the last quarter he cleared the ball from the back flank in heavy traffic and thrust it forward

He gets a bit of a bake on here, but I've always liked him, ans I think he brings some positives to our team. Thought his game was good.

I'm interested in thoughts on Thomas' game ?

[crashlander]

I like Mr Plow.

Started on Wingard, ended up on Dixon. Think he is a really solid defender, doesn't panic and does some great spoiling. Copped a massive knee in the back from Dixon and shook it off.

With the injuries we had, there were a LOT of changes when it came to who played on whom. Plowman, Tuohy and Docherty all sent time of Wind-bag, whose only kicks we 'Joe - the - Goose' types. He was well Beaten by everyone who played on him. In fact, in the last quarter Docherty had 13 possessions on Wind-bag. That was wonderful to see.

Plowman showed his versatility in the way he handled Dixon and Westhoff as well as Wind-bag. Like you, Bear, I really liked the way he just got up and went on with the game.
In fact, the way our defence responded to our injuries was excellent. I really liked that. In the past few years we have haemorrhaged goals. Not any longer. They may have got some easy ones - many of their goals were pretty easy, in fact - but they got very few opportunities of any sort.

[PaulP]

Very difficult when I'm running a market stall unfortunately.

ah - yes, I guess it would be, unless you get one of those USB things connected to your laptop. I see people at the cafes using them. I don't know exactly what they are, but they give you data on your laptop, I think.

[Dominator_7]

Such fight!! Such spirit!! Such determination!!
This side is unrecognisable from that from the past 2 years!!