VFL 2022 Rd 12 Carlton vs Essendon at Windy Hill

[ElwoodBlues1]

Watched it on-line - the game was stuffed by a 5-goal wind going to one end of the ground, which we did not use at all well by bombing long into an undersized forward line.  To make matters worse, the Bombers kicked almost half of their score going into the wind. 

The gap between AFL and second-tier competitions has never been bigger IMO.  I don't think they can continue to run a 21-team competition in the VFL, the standard is pretty ordinary on average.  James Stewart, who is really a bit of a spud, looked like a world-beater out there, in what was a scrappy, awful game.

On the other side of the coin, guys who look average in the VFL can suddenly play far better in the AFL simply because they are surrounded by higher-quality ball users.  Dow looked a cut above, and I think he comes in for Cerra.  Setters got the ball a lot, but he still does some remarkably dumb things. 

And someone needs to get into Ben Crocker's ear about his on-field body language.  He either looks disinterested, or sooks in the forward pocket.

I'd be sooking too if I kept being overlooked at draft time and having to play as a KP forward, think he has improved from his old Collingwood days and is a wily operator who could play some senior footy. Tory Dickson was a premiership player who kicked around in the VFL for a fair while for Essendon but then was recruited by Ken Hinkley I think, for the Dogs, who was very under rated until everyone noticed he converted everything that came his way. Conversion is an under valued skill IMO and I think Crocker could be a Tory Dickson type at the right club.