Post Game Passion: AFL 2019 Rd 7: Carlton vs. North Melbourne

[DJC]

Well, everyone has had the chance to rant and rave, but to be frank, this was no big surprise - even the bookies had Norf at $1.45 before the game, so the writing was on the wall.

I am not making excuses, but do the sums

- we had 2 weeks of being up and about and some of the young guys clearly got ahead of themselves.
- we lost 4  experienced players to injury - in particular, with no Newman and Simmo, the back six lost all sense of direction, no Kreuzer stuffed up the centre square, and McGovern's big body was a loss. We do not have enough experience and size in the side to lose that much in one hit.  With the ins, Stocker/Williamson were not ready, Phillips is a bit of a doofus, and Charlie is as cold as an iceberg right at the moment
- Norf were always going to come out breathing fire - and on the back of a good last quarter against Port last week, they had discovered some mojo.
- Brad Scott planned perfectly - he specifically targeted Cripps with Ziebell/Cunnington, and with no other big bodies giving him a chop out, he was blanketed
- He also sat Todd Goldstein on the wings in front of the leads from big Harry so we could never get past the wing easily, which led to a string of horrible turnovers as the wobbly defenders looked for other escape routes

However, just like after the shocker on the Gold Coast, I am predicting a much improved effort this week. 

That is how this season is panning out for all teams - if you stroll onto the ground thinking it's going to be easy, you will get blown away.

No point losing faith now - we have to just re-focus on the next contest.

Nothing like someone making sense after a predictable loss ????

My daughter celebrated a significant birthday on Sunday at a winery near Bannockburn (with no mobile reception) and I was blissfully unaware of the scores.  I had intended to watch the replay, regardless of the result, but I think that I’ll give up on that idea ????