AFL Rd 2 2022 Post Game Permutations Carlton vs Western Bulldogs

[LordLucifer]

So much to like in the first half, so much to dislike in the second.

I'm not a fan of Setterfield and probably never will be, twice he ran past a Dogs player with the ball preferring to guard space rather than tackle, his up & under kicking is hard to cop too.

I've never been a Plowman convert and as soon as he came onto the ground, we seemed to go to poop. This was partly to do with the inbalance created by McDonald going off but also because Plowman falters under pressure.

LOB tried hard but seems just that fraction behind the play and I can't see him being kept at the club because of it, the bluff & tackle on Richards was superb though.

On the positive side, there are a handful of players who are under the microscope this year and in principle, are playing for their future. McGovern, Fisher, Pittonet, Fogarty, Newman ....... even Owies, all have had good & bad times recently but there is a much more noticeable level of desperation from them. Doesn't mean they will all go the full distance but at least they have all bought in to the attitude & game-plan.

I was genuinely concerned in the second half, they came hard at us and the strong & assertive manner in which we played in the first half virtually disappeared. Had the Dogs been more accurate from their set shots, they would have run over us in the last.

We can thank small mercies they didn't all the while being mindful that a dominant first half does not always win you games against the good teams.

Hope they learn from the fluctuating fortunes in this match, use the 10-day break to freshen up and then really put the Hawks to the sword.