AFL Elimination Final 1 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Sydney

[Lods]

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/05/v...g-carlton/

Hoyne is a one-ruck guy but he's changed his mind as to which ruckman offers more.

Hoyne says the Blues should stick with that mix, saying Tom De Koning has had an excellent six weeks in the ruck.

“I just want to put this on the agenda for Carlton supporters as well,” he said.

“His best position, the last six weeks, he is clearly a ruckman. He is not a forward.

“I would not be playing Pittonet. I would be keeping this really simple. Let this guy go.

“As a ruckman over the last six weeks he’s been the eighth best ruckman in the competition. As a forward, sixth worst forward in the competition.

“Just put Harry McKay in the ruck for five minutes per quarter. The second ruck role, we talk about it a lot, it’s 20 minutes a game. Don’t lose sleep over it.”

This is an enormous swing in two months, with Hoyne saying mid-season that Pittonet statistically was a significantly better ruckman than De Koning. The young Blue has clearly broken out since re-signing.

[LP]

Hoyne is a one-ruck guy but he's changed his mind as to which ruckman offers more.

If Negrepontis is using Hoyne as his source I'd suggest he needs to find a more stable source!

I seriously doubt well consider centre square rucking Harry in finals except if all our other ruck options go down, F50 is a different matter and Harry and Cripps have done well in F50 boundary line stoppages.

Rnd 24 was a good a test as you can create and in the centre Harry was pretty much a fail, in rucking terms Harry has;
"All the gear and no idea!"

Given how much they flip I can't take the likes of Hoyne, Negrepontis and others seriously, they wax and wane almost based on a quarter by quarter basis.

They take a stance that is very reminiscent of the early noughties when Grant Thomas wasted St Kilda's good list fortunes by trying to assert you don't need rucks, spent most of his 6 years trying to ruck Koschitzke after Everett left. I recall they had Hayes, De Santo, Riewoldt, Ball, Harvey, Gehrig, Black and others and burnt their chances by trying to ruck a solo B-grader against the likes of Lade and Brogan in a final with Brogan being among the BoG. Port did to the Aints what we should do the others using Pitto and TDK. Thomas never learned, he kept repeating the same mistake, rucked Ackland against Jolly and Ball a year later for the same result, and another year later lost to the Dees who had Jamar and White with White among the BoG!

Finals are high pressure affairs that a very rarely blow outs, most games are in the balance late, and while legs get weary the talls do not get any shorter!

[tex]

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/05/v...g-carlton/

Hoyne is a one-ruck guy but he's changed his mind as to which ruckman offers more.

Probs why we need to keep Jack.
Try and TDK and JSOS second ruck combo.

[Lods]

Probs why we need to keep Jack.
Try and TDK and JSOS second ruck combo.

I just have a feeling they'll announce Jack before we play on Friday night.
Send the fans to the game on an extra high.

[pew2]

anyone else concerned about the press on swans ,How lucky to be there North game and ADL game also they are saying how they fall away in last Q, i dont know what to think anymore

[PaulP]

anyone else concerned about the press on swans ,How lucky to be there North game and ADL game also they are saying how they fall away in last Q, i dont know what to think anymore

I'm not worried about the press around Sydney, I'm worried about them as a team.

[PaulP]

I just have a feeling they'll announce Jack before we play on Friday night.
Send the fans to the game on an extra high.

It does seem like a good time to do it.

[LordLucifer]

I have an uneasy feeling about this one.

Everything says we should win and win well but the massive media microscope on the players coupled with the onslaught of platitudes make me wonder if their heads may be way too inflated to do the job.

IMO, our biggest opponent is actually ourselves, if our players think this game is in the bag before it has even been played, then the Swans are the sort of team that will make us pay for that.

Hope I'm wrong & Voss has been drilling them all week about how much work is needed to win a final. 

[kruddler]

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/05/v...g-carlton/

Hoyne is a one-ruck guy but he's changed his mind as to which ruckman offers more.

The problem is the small sample size.

Pittonet has come back from injury....and TBH, hasn't looked anywhere near his best. To the point where if given the opportunity, i'd pick TDK and Jack this week over him. 8th best ruck is a middle of the road ruck, which is acceptable. 6 worst forward is the elephant in the room and something i've been saying. He is either #1 ruck, or he is playing 2's. We can't afford to have him as #2 ruck.

Harry as a ruck is far from ideal. He is poor in the ruck. And very poor when it hits the ground. Another area where someone like Jack is a plus.

End result is our ruck setup this week will not be great no matter what option we end up choosing.

[kruddler]

Not sure if its been mentioned, but there is only 2 teams in the 8 we haven't won against.
Lions and Swans.
We were in a different stage of development/form last time we played both, but it gives us something to prove.