AFL Rd 9 2023 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Western Bulldogs

[crashlander]

I mentioned before that Acres's disposal was poor (47%)

I also mentioned that sadly it wasn't the worst.
Both Cripps (42%) and Weitering (46%) were poorer.
I cut them a bit more slack than Acres because of the attention Cripps gets, and the fact that a lot of Weitering's kicks were hacks out of defence under pressure.
But still poor and costly.

On the small forwards... if you could take the best bits of Motlop, Durdin and Owies and combine them into one player we'd have a super small forward.
But they take up three places, not one, and I'm not sure we benefit with all three playing at the same time.

Indeed, some damning data there.

[1] Blake Acres: He had a shocker last night, and his percentage was waayyy down. He has been good for us this year and I do think he is a reasonable pickup, but he didn't have the right matchup last night. I would have swung him forward for a while, as most of our small forwards don't have any marking power (the exception is Owies). Changing things up might have lifted his confidence.

[2] Jacob Weitering's disposal has been a problem this year. He is turning the ball over far too often for a guy whose kicking is normally pretty good.
To be honest, he is not looking at his best, even if he did destroy his opponent last night. But he isn't showing the steadiness he often brings.

[3] Our small forwards are a problem. Owies was great last night, but he is the only one who has some decent forward craft. He is also the one most likely to get a snap goal, but even he isn't getting many of these. Part of the problem is that we are usually going forward into a crowd. That would make it hard for any small forward.
But both Corey Durdin and Jesse Motlop are really cold at the moment. Neither offers anything in the air and their opponents are often among our opposition's best players. Jesse has a few moments of real magic, but they are few and far between. Corey is just struggling to get the ball.
I'd drop one or both, if there was anyone to be brought in: Jesse needs to work on his body strength and tank, both of which are poor. He also needs to work on getting in the right places, as he just doesn't. Corey needs a couple of good pre-seasons to build his tank up. He also needs to work on his positioning around the packs, as the opposition small defenders just run the ball out and get kicks at will.

[4] I was hoping that Ed Curnow could play as a defensive forward, but he seems to be struggling this year. He has played a couple of good games, mostly as a defensive mid, but he isn't having the impact he might have. He really struggled last night, when he came on as sub.
I think that Brodie Kemp might have been a better option.

[5] Who do we play as a small forward?
One of our options is Matthew Cottrell. He didn't run out the game as well as he usually does, a left over from his lack of preseason. But he runs hard, he has a real presence in the air, he chase hard and he can convert nicely. It would be good while he builds up his match fitness and we work on developing Durdin and Motlop (I'd be putting a LOT of kms into both of them and no small time in the gym).
I would also consider bring Alex Cincotta up the field. He didn't play that well last night, but he has a future. His kicking has depth and he runs hard.
I'd also consider playing Blake Acres up there if he is having a crappy night (as he didn't last night). His ability in the air would make him a lot more dangerous than our present options.
That said, I prefer to have him on the wing, but I do want options.