AFL Rd 22 2024 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Hawthorn

[crashlander]

It’s not just injuries

Our list lacks athleticism/power and pace.
Key defensive stocks shot, 5-10 players completely overpaid and injury prone and we lack ticker.
Voss gameplan was cut to ribbons by a far better coach.
Miles off I’m afraid
All on the trading block to clean this up

All too true, alas. This time last year, our 2nd tier players stood up. This year, very few of them have made the sort of performance we require.
[1] Injuries: we've had more than anyone else but Richmond. It makes a difference.
But what was worse was that we rushed guys back into the team after long breaks who were severely underdone. That is not smart management.
[2] Last year a lot of guys stepped up and saved their careers. This year, most of them have gone backwards. Our small forwards were dynamic and made the play; this year, nada. Boyd, Fogarty, Martin, Motlop, these guys have barely fired a shot in the last 6 weeks. Last year Cuningham looked to have made it: now he is almost certainly out the door.
[3] Marc Pittonet: Early 2022 Pitto was the most effective ruckman in the competition, up until he was injured. Last year he was solid. This year ... He isn't getting the taps to advantage and is not beating guys he would have murdered last year. He rarely had anyone take marks against him in early 20222 and for much of last year. Now?
It has really hurt our midfield setup and exposed our lack of pace.
[4] Our general lack of athleticism: lots of other teams appear to have a lot better levels of athleticism than we do. It was really clear today where our lack of pace was exposed. Our lack of desire ... we don't often see that, but we could be accused of that today. We wouldn't man up.
[5] Our game plan: other seem to have worked out our game plan, which hasn't held up under pressure. That is never been Voss's strength. We really need to get someone in with the ability to make a strategic move midgame and to pick apart other teams'  plans.

In conclusion, we don't deserve to be in the finals this year. We need to start making plans for next year, and trading out players has to be among those plans. We need players with extreme pace. We need players who can hit targets: that was one of the main differences today between us and Hawthorn. We need a 2nd key defender. We need small forwards who get where the ball is, not where it isn't. We need a fitter, faster line-up and we need to be able to adjust our battle plan. And, most importantly, we need a fitness guy who can get us on the park. We haven't had a full list to select from since early 1996: that's 28 years!