Pre-Game Passion: AFL 2019 Rd 3: Carlton vs Sydney

[Thryleon]

The season is a write off if we don't win this week (not that our expectations are that high anyway).  The boys have all been pumped up over the off season.  They are playing very nicely in patches, but not for 4 quarters.

I'm calling it.  This is the game they're going to fight like mad for the full 4 quarters.  That's what I want to see.  Not just pride, but commitment to the cause, from start to end. 

Blues by 34 points.

P.S. - I must be off my nut.

I fell for the hype.

Originally I had set more realistic expectations, and failed to listen to my gut.  We have roughly a quarter of our senior list in the medical room, and not likely to play for a few weeks (although we might rush Marchbank in this week), and sure enough all the blokes that Russell told us were fine (are actually not) who are playing, and their time on ground combined with their effectiveness is reason enough to believe that they have sold us false hope AGAIN.

CARLTON
Player
Injury
Estimated Return
David Cuningham    Bruised kidney    2-3 weeks
Charlie Curnow    Knee    2-3 weeks
Tom De Koning    Knee    7-9 weeks
Sam Docherty    Knee    Indefinite
Matthew Kreuzer    Knee    1 week
Darcy Lang    Foot    2-4 weeks
Harrison Macreadie    Back    1-2 weeks
Caleb Marchbank    Back    Test
Jarrod Pickett    Knee    Indefinite
Tom Williamson    Back    2-4 weeks
Updated: Tuesday, April 2

Early prognosis

The Blues believe Marchbank will be available for selection this week after a summer hampered by a back problem, but Kreuzer remains another week or two away. Curnow and Cuningham will miss most of the next month, with Lang, Macreadie and Williamson a little bit behind them. - Riley Beveridge 

Sure, a few of these have gone down recently, but there are rumours that Murphy and Jack Silvagni have both got injuries too.

Fasolo and McGovern are not exactly cherry ripe irrespective of what they told us before the season started.

I'd wager we have a few more that have question marks over their fitness too based on Time on Ground percentages.  Sam Walsh is showing us similar time on ground percentages to blokes that have had more years in the system meaning that our previous work was either rubbish or that they all have question marks.  Paddy Dow is one of them who is staying on the ground for less time than walsh, and he has played 22 AFL games already.