NAB Challenge: Carlton vs. Sydney at Etihad

[DJC]

We all see things a bit differently but I though Jamo was exposed trying to cover Rowe who lost his opponent far too frequently and that Rowe was the reason Jamo looked bad.

Fair play to Rowe who hits each contest like it's his last but he either wins it or loses it, and not much in between.

Jamison has no confidence in his shoulders.  None.  Saw him go to spoil and it looked like he did all he could to keep his arm locked in place and prevent pain before it came.

Both of them look to be on their last legs.

That's true Thry, and you get a different perspective if you're at the game or watching on TV.

In fact, Rowe stood Buddy for longer than Jamison did and managed to neutralise most contests.  Weitering actually won his one on ones with Buddy and that's quite an achievement for the young fellow.  Jamison managed to neutralise Buddy on several occasions and really only lost contests when he gave Buddy too much space.

Our zone defence gave Buddy a bit of an advantage but Jamison played into his hands by zoning too far off .  Unfortunately, Jamison doesn't have the acceleration to cover the space he gave Buddy.  One of Buddy's marks against Jamison came from a rebound after a turnover.  That was in the first quarter when Buddy gave Heeney an easy goal.

After watching the replay, I suspect that my criticism of Jamison was probably not entirely justified.  We are playing a team defence and one player over committing or giving up too much space makes it harder for everyone else.  Jamison and Rowe were put under extra pressure at times by their team-mates.  However, I do think that Jamison's shoulders and/or his conscious or subconscious concerns about them have reduced his ability to mark and spoil.

Even with Jamison and Rowe's faults, I think that it is important that they continue to hold down the key defensive posts and allow Weitering the opportunity to use his ability to read the play, take intercept marks and provide run out of defence.  I can't see Plowman displacing either of them but he could be an upgrade on White (although White's hardness is admirable).