Rd 21: Pre Game Speculations: Carlton vs Brisbane

[crashlander]

Don't know what our problem was on Sun but I'm very hopeful of a bounce back this week and will definitely be tipping us. 

We failed miserably on Sunday, but I can see Bolton doing something about that. We have usually responded well to poor performances the next week.
That said, we have also played Brisbane a number of times lately when we were expected to win big. It hasn't happened. Last year we got pounded by an ordinary Brisbane side, though we were at a pretty low ebb at the time. That we responded well afterwards when the cupboard was bare (talent wise due to injury) is a positive we must cling to as best we can. It is the only flotsam in the neighbourhood.

One thing that also gives me hope is the way we responded to St Kilda this time. Granted that a lot of our players were down or made mistakes by the bucket load, but we responded VERY WELL to some of the issues from last time.
[1] Rucks: our rucks won more taps outs in general and more taps to advantage. We did MUCH better in the centre square, where we got more clearances and better clearances. We didn't do as well around the ground, and Hickey did take some marks and kick a goal, but we were not embarrassed, like we were last time.
[2] Midfield Structures: this was also very much better than last time. We stopped Jack Steven cold: I don't think he has a single centre clearance. Cripps did well in the centre, as did Gibbs. Nor were their clearances as ineffective as last time: they were the only times we actually gave our forwards a chance. That the ball came straight back over their heads with no pressure is another issue.
[3] Tactically we matched up better. That things did not work out well was due to our relative lack of intensity and our lack of skill.
This week that should not be as much of a problem as Brisbane have shown less intensity and less skill than us. Hopefully having Murphy back will help our midfield as well. he has been sorely missed.