AFL Rd 11 2023 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney

[pinot]

Ditch three small forwards until we find the right ones that can play their role.
Bring in players whether tall or short with leg speed capable to play high half forward.

Leave Charlie, Harry and Owies in the forward 50 and patrol that space. They always get double teamed anyway

Push McGov and Kempy as high half forwards replacing Durdin and Motlop. Both capable in the air on the ground and deliver moneyball kicks they are also fast enough to apply forward 50 pressure and potentially more than Durdin and Motlop.

They should also have the tanks to block space in the corridor and push into defensive 50 when required. SOS should play as third tall defender as too slow around the ground.


Need something radical to change up this ball movement.

[LP]

This focus on the forwards kicking or the defenders failing to work miracles is a smokescreen for the real problems, which almost exclusively emanate from our stoppage rotations.

I get we have a kid like Motlop who doesn't chase, he might one day, he does the odd cameo, but it just that a cameo, but he has time on his side if he develops the right habits, it's a big if!

For several weeks now fans have been unloading on the likes of McGovern, Weiters, Newman, Cincotta, Cowan, etc., etc. But you go back and watch the behind the goals footage it's just impossible. They are permanently isolated and outnumbered 3 or 4 to 2, the defence issues Voss talks about are not coming from our backline players, the problem comes from further up the field, we've all been saying this for seasons now but it seems it's become too uncomfortable to talk about.

Acres started with some glimmer of hope, he was deep running goal square to goal square, but he's caught the surrender bug.

Doc is about the only one left pushing deep into defence, he is probably the only one out there with a good enough excuse not to!

SoJ is a shadow of himself, confidence shattered, ........... I blame his old man!

Durdin, I've no idea what he is trying to be, the one thing he is good at he no longer does.

Cripps looks broken, many of us warned about this, the game style he played last season was brutally unsustainable.

Cerra gets lots of footy, hurts nobody!

Hewett, after making a world of difference is now behind Kennedy in the pecking order.

Walsh missed pre-season, looks rusty, works his ar5e off, probably won't improve or regain the silk much in 2023, needs a pre-season.

Pitto is playing at the best he can possibly play, we aren't going to get anymore out of him when we need a whole other gear!

It goes on and on, no point complaining about players like Ed, gave us everything he's got, if anybody expects him to blossom in some new freshly discovered role they are kidding themselves. The real crime is that we seemingly have almost nobody to replace him!

[JonDorotich]

Interesting you say the three butchered the ball, I agree about previous weeks but Acres ran at 96DE% for his 25 touches (of which 24 are listed as effective) which is outstanding. Gov at 75% but only touched it 8 times (2 marks all day)and SOS at 50% for his 12 touches. It was Govs worst game for us this year I reckon. When he is not marking (or rather intercept marking) and pin pointing passes out of defence, like Weitering he is next to useless for us.
I doubt they'll give up on Gov after one poor game, our defence was abysmal for a large part of the first half yesterday. I sat on level 2 behind the goals we were defending in that first qtr and they were all over the place. Losing their man, poor handovers, mis match after mismatch the Coll fwds were licking their chops at how poor we were at maintaining structure down back (which was a strength last year). Poor old Weiters is a shadow of his former self at the minute, I really felt for him yesterday. He just panics about what to do when the ball comes near him, I could see every one of those instances unfolding at the end I was sitting at.

Fair enough re Acres, although I think he’s a list clogger
From what I’ve seen, he makes poor decisions under pressure, his kicking is unreliable (at best) and he is as slow as treacle (running and getting his boot to the ball)
Freo said he wasn’t worth the money we paid - unfortunately they have a no returns or refund policy!

[ElwoodBlues1]

Fair enough re Acres, although I think he’s a list clogger
From what I’ve seen, he makes poor decisions under pressure, his kicking is unreliable (at best) and he is as slow as treacle (running and getting his boot to the ball)
Freo said he wasn’t worth the money we paid - unfortunately they have a no returns or refund policy!

Kicks its 15m backwards to easy open targets, my DE% stats would be good if I did that all day......

[Thryleon]

We won't get anywhere until we stop replacing people and start making people better.

Paddy Dow is the key to our changing fortunes. 

[kruddler]

We won't get anywhere until we stop replacing people and start making people better.

Paddy Dow is the key to our changing fortunes.

1st line makes sense

2nd line makes me depressed if true.

[rocky]

We won't get anywhere until we stop replacing people and start making people better.
Paddy Dow is the key to our changing fortunes. 

Agree with no. 1 but no. 2?? He's in the last year of his contract and the club refuses to play him at senior level so I'm sort of confused as to what you think the club will do. Are they going to have a radical change in their thinking?

[pinot]

Dow's DE is woefully inadequate. So is Eds btw.
He has little peripheral vision other than whats ahead of him and will miss the target 20 meters out 40% of the time.
It's unfortunate but expecting Dow to kick to advantage is never going to happen.

[WASurfer]

Townsend....can't see us going in with the 4 smalls in Fisher, Owies, Durdin and Motlop.....if 3 of them can't hit the scoreboard, one more won't make a difference....certainly not on the SCG.

[Thryleon]

For those that missed it, dow is the key, because he has all the attributes to be a senior footballer, and wants to play for us, refused to leave, and despite us being woeful, he can't unlock the tools to be a senior footballer.

Dow represents everything that's wrong with us.  Top draftee, capable, wanting to, yet somehow the same kid we drafted on draft day.

Thats why we aren't getting anywhere and that's why we won't get anywhere until we unlock how to take a young kid, and make him a senior footballer.