Pre-Game Passion: AFL 2019 Rd 3: Carlton vs Sydney

[kruddler]

Gibbons has just been the VFL equivalent of the Brownlow two years running.  Whats the point of dropping him to the VFL when we already know what he is capable of at that level?

Its clear as day that the issue isn't one particular player but a team synergy issue and that will only improve by making fewer changes to personnell or roles.

Just to be clear, i was talking about Fas, and saying the opposite about Gibbons.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Playing devils advocate all 3 have the exact same problem.

They are all simply doing something a little bit alien to what they are used to.

1.  Fasolo.  Has just joined from the mortal enemy and may be doing what is asked of him but the way that we use the footy, and the actions of others could be contributing to making him look poor when he might be the only one in the right place at the wrong time, and hasn't played AFL footy for a while.  All we can ask for is an upward trend in performance.

2.  Gibbons is still trying to pick up the speed of AFL footy and is improving in this facet.  Using Kane Lambert as a basis for comparison (given size and type of player its a pretty good basis for comparison) we shouldn't expect a lot from him this season.  https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/...mbert.html  His first year was playing a finals bound team surrounded by much more mature recruits, and Lambert didnt exactly set the world on fire from the get go.  In fact he didnt really hit his strides until his third year of AFL footy.

3.  Ed.  Learning a new role he is unsuited to.  Now we can point at that and state that its a bad idea, however, we don't see what that allows us to do up the field.  i.e. playing Ed forward might mean we get more midfield minutes into the likes of Dow, SPS, Setterfield, Fisher.  That is arguably better for the team in the long term, than playing Ed at the coal face and when they can do it for longer, Ed might become proficient (enough) forward to give us a couple of different looks to that resting midfielder.


We are still a work in progress, and are going to be for the next couple of seasons IMHO, and that will only be exacerbated by the retirement of elder statesmen who still make up the bulk of our better performers most weeks.  Until they become Jarrad McVeigh types who are contributers without being key to our teams fortunes, we arent going to be much better than we are now.

Good post...Kane Lambert is actually mates with Gibbons and has helped him over the years as he struggled to get drafted, same type of footballer and IMO Gibbons is ahead of Lambert in terms of development at the same stage.
Agree with MBB on Fasalo very lucky to be picked round 1 on the basis of fitness and his pre season activities and Jack Silvagni should have been rewarded for his efforts instead...

[LP]

Agree with MBB on Fasalo very lucky to be picked round 1 on the basis of fitness and his pre season activities and Jack Silvagni should have been rewarded for his efforts instead...

We know from Russell's recent injury report that SoJ has a calf injury.

[crashlander]

Surely Ed Curnow gets a run with role on Josh Kennedy this week? Kennedy was outstanding against Adelaide and will punish us if left to run unchecked. Ed's finishing was never a strong point so not sure why they're trying to make him into a forward option at this stage of his career....the guy can run all day.

I know our coaching staff are not that fond of the 'run with player'. I things were otherwise, we would have more of them on our list. However, on thing we have been very poor with over the last few years is stopping the oppositions' best players. Granted we need first shot at the ball if we are really going to get somewhere with our midfield, but turning a champion into a spud can change the game.
Take last year's game against Hawthorn, for example. We allowed Hawthorn's to mid to run around on his own, without even a token attempt to control his output. He managed 40+ possessions. Granted that a half fit Cripps got well over 30, but that was a lethal mistake. Ruining Mitchell's game would have given us a huge boost, not just from the 30 less possessions he may have got.
We do NOT have to closely tag all of an oppositions' mids, but taking out a key player could be crucial.
I think it is a better use of Ed Curnow to squash a danger player, rather than expect him to kick numerous goals.

However, as I said, we do not appear to be fans of close tags these days.

[LP]

I know our coaching staff are not that fond of the 'run with player'. I things were otherwise, we would have more of them on our list. However, on thing we have been very poor with over the last few years is stopping the oppositions' best players.

I presume it's because young players really don't learn very much watching an opponent instead of monitoring the general play, and usually all you make the kid is an easy target for their opponent's team-mates to pick off around stoppages.

But what are we teaching the soon to be 30 year old Ed Curnow?

[jeza]

I don't think our small forward setup has benefited from losing Cunningham. He was the one setting things up - and kicking them himself in the JLT.

Polson did give off 2 nice handballs, kicked one and grazed the inside of the post with another. Gibbo missed a gettable one but did play a pretty reasonable game I thought.

Fas is the one. He is off the pace and needs to build confidence and match fitness in the VFL.

I'd love to see Jack back in this week in place of CC. His tackling is first rate and is generally good for a couple of goals if given half a chance.

[flyboy77]

CARLTON
Player
Injury
Estimated Return
David Cuningham Bruised kidney 2-3 weeks
Charlie Curnow Knee 2-3 weeks
Tom De Koning Knee 7-9 weeks
Sam Docherty Knee Indefinite
Matthew Kreuzer Knee 1 week
Darcy Lang Foot 2-4 weeks
Harrison Macreadie Back 1-2 weeks
Caleb Marchbank Back Test
Jarrod Pickett Knee Indefinite
Tom Williamson Back 2-4 weeks
Updated: Tuesday, April 2

Early prognosis

The Blues believe Marchbank will be available for selection this week after a summer hampered by a back problem, but Kreuzer remains another week or two away. Curnow and Cuningham will miss most of the next month, with Lang, Macreadie and Williamson a little bit behind them. - Riley Beveridge

SYDNEY
Player
Injury
Estimated Return
Heath Grundy Back Test
Matthew Ling Toe Indefinite
Jack Maibaum Knee Season
Daniel Menzel Groin 3-4 weeks
Sam Naismith Knee TBC
Nick Smith Hamstring TBC
Durak Tucker Knee Indefinite
Updated: Tuesday, April 2

Early prognosis

Grundy looks unlikely to be fit to play Carlton this week so could miss his second game in a row, while Menzel and Smith are continuing to train with no set date on their returns. The Swans are hopeful the pair could play in the next 2-3 weeks. - Adam Curley

[LP]

The whisper network is still saying sMurph 50/50 for this week.

[Tragic]

The season is a write off if we don't win this week (not that our expectations are that high anyway).  The boys have all been pumped up over the off season.  They are playing very nicely in patches, but not for 4 quarters.

I'm calling it.  This is the game they're going to fight like mad for the full 4 quarters.  That's what I want to see.  Not just pride, but commitment to the cause, from start to end. 

Blues by 34 points.

P.S. - I must be off my nut.

[Thryleon]

The season is a write off if we don't win this week (not that our expectations are that high anyway).  The boys have all been pumped up over the off season.  They are playing very nicely in patches, but not for 4 quarters.

I'm calling it.  This is the game they're going to fight like mad for the full 4 quarters.  That's what I want to see.  Not just pride, but commitment to the cause, from start to end. 

Blues by 34 points.

P.S. - I must be off my nut.

I fell for the hype.

Originally I had set more realistic expectations, and failed to listen to my gut.  We have roughly a quarter of our senior list in the medical room, and not likely to play for a few weeks (although we might rush Marchbank in this week), and sure enough all the blokes that Russell told us were fine (are actually not) who are playing, and their time on ground combined with their effectiveness is reason enough to believe that they have sold us false hope AGAIN.

CARLTON
Player
Injury
Estimated Return
David Cuningham    Bruised kidney    2-3 weeks
Charlie Curnow    Knee    2-3 weeks
Tom De Koning    Knee    7-9 weeks
Sam Docherty    Knee    Indefinite
Matthew Kreuzer    Knee    1 week
Darcy Lang    Foot    2-4 weeks
Harrison Macreadie    Back    1-2 weeks
Caleb Marchbank    Back    Test
Jarrod Pickett    Knee    Indefinite
Tom Williamson    Back    2-4 weeks
Updated: Tuesday, April 2

Early prognosis

The Blues believe Marchbank will be available for selection this week after a summer hampered by a back problem, but Kreuzer remains another week or two away. Curnow and Cuningham will miss most of the next month, with Lang, Macreadie and Williamson a little bit behind them. - Riley Beveridge 

Sure, a few of these have gone down recently, but there are rumours that Murphy and Jack Silvagni have both got injuries too.

Fasolo and McGovern are not exactly cherry ripe irrespective of what they told us before the season started.

I'd wager we have a few more that have question marks over their fitness too based on Time on Ground percentages.  Sam Walsh is showing us similar time on ground percentages to blokes that have had more years in the system meaning that our previous work was either rubbish or that they all have question marks.  Paddy Dow is one of them who is staying on the ground for less time than walsh, and he has played 22 AFL games already.