Preview 2023 Elimination Final - Carlton vs Sydney Friday 8th Sept 7.50PM @ MCG

[Aphrodite]

Team is in …


IN: Patrick Cripps

9

Patrick Cripps

Age

29

Ht

195cm

Wt

93kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.9

5star

K

9.8

4star

HB

16.1

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

5.8

5star

CL

7.4

5star

D

21.0

5star

K

10.1

4star

HB

10.9

5star

M

2.5

3star

T

3.8

4star

CL

6.3

5star

D

12.6

4star

K

4.8

2star

HB

7.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.2

5star

CL

1.4

4star

, Sam Docherty

15

Sam Docherty

Age

31

Ht

187cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.3

5star

K

15.1

5star

HB

7.2

4star

M

6.6

5star

T

2.4

4star

CL

1.1

3star

D

22.6

5star

K

16.0

5star

HB

6.6

4star

M

7.0

5star

T

0.6

1star

CL

0.4

3star

D

11.2

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

1.4

4star

CL

0.6

3star

, Marc Pittonet

27

Marc Pittonet

Age

28

Ht

202cm

Wt

107kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.7

2star

K

2.9

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

3.1

5star

HO

22.3

5star

D

8.6

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

4.0

3star

CL

3.7

5star

HO

25.9

5star

D

5.8

2star

K

1.2

1star

HB

4.6

4star

CL

2.4

5star

HO

16.6

5star

OUT: Paddy Dow

15

Paddy Dow

Age

25

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.0

3star

HB

7.1

4star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.9

4star

CL

2.6

4star

D

7.0

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

CL

0.0

1star

D

12.4

4star

K

5.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

1.6

2star

T

2.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

, Corey Durdin, Zac Fisher

16

Zac Fisher

Age

26

Ht

175cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.2

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.0

5star

MG

384.0

5star

D

17.0

4star

K

10.0

4star

HB

7.0

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

0.0

1star

MG

384.0

5star

D

12.2

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

1.2

2star

T

3.0

5star

, Ollie Hollands

After starting the last game as sub, Caleb Marchbank has been elevated into the starting 22.

AFL team news: Who's in for the elimination final?

Some big Blues are back for the clash with Sydney.

www.carltonfc.com.au

Backs:	Brodie Kemp	Jacob Weitering	Nic Newman
Half-backs:	Alex Cincotta	Mitch McGovern	Adam Saad
Centreline:	Blake Acres	Patrick Cripps	Sam Docherty
Half-forwards:	Jack Martin	Harry McKay	David Cuningham
Forwards:	Lachie Fogarty	Charlie Curnow	Matthew Owies
Followers:	Marc Pittonet	Adam Cerra	Sam Walsh
Interchange:	Matthew Cottrell	Tom De Koning	George Hewett
	Caleb Marchbank
Emergencies:	Paddy Dow	Zac Fisher	Ollie Hollands
	Jesse Motlop

 

[jimsta10]

McKay in the center bounce was a good experiment but should never be tried again. Pitto should be called back.

Getting back two seniors in Crippa and Doc will boost confidence.

Losing Acres would suck but we will be fine.

Fisher might be on the chopping block and Boyd comes in.

 

[Ezayyak]

Losing Acres can't actually be covered. The guy is a hard running, tough, contested winger who takes contested marks, breaks tackles and gut runs to the siren. He will be a massive blow if he is out.

 

[jimsta10]

Losing Acres can't actually be covered. The guy is a hard running, tough, contested winger who takes contested marks, breaks tackles and gut runs to the siren. He will be a massive blow if he is out.

I think Doc can cover most if not all.

 

[carlton_99]

 

[bigdog43]

Losing Acres can't actually be covered. The guy is a hard running, tough, contested winger who takes contested marks, breaks tackles and gut runs to the siren. He will be a massive blow if he is out.

Funny you say that, I was just thinking this morning that the depth on our wings is so much different to this time last year. Cottrell, Hollands, Doc and Walsh can all play there now.

 

[Juddrockz]

They are.

Yeah,seems they have confirmed overnight Ross Lyon doesn't get his way by playing at Marvel. Good!

 

[The Blue Weirdo]

McKay in the center bounce was a good experiment but should never be tried again. Pitto should be called back.

Harry didn't look comfortable as a centre square ruck, but performed okay in the forward contests.
Do we bring in Pitto to solve this, but then TDK goes from our best player to almost invisible? (Swan's ruck duo don't look too threatening?)

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Cincotta with only 6 disposals, 2 kicks and 108m gained has put himself in the firing line for selection after having a very solid season.

 

[curnow inferno]

We will beat em at the G

Acres will be fine, same with Weitering

McKay as a ruckman is not the go, Pitto will come in

Cripps, Doc, Mots come in. Boyd, Kennedy still in the mix

Hollands, Fisher, Cincotta, Dow, Durdin, Cuners under pressure to hold their spot

What makes you think acres will be fine?

 

[charred_fate]

Funny you say that, I was just thinking this morning that the depth on our wings is so much different to this time last year. Cottrell, Hollands, Doc and Walsh can all play there now.

They play a very different game to Acres though. Acres is more of a line-breaking, pack-crashing, strong tackling winger capable of contested marks with elite running as a bonus - Crisp like. I also think we’ve got no one to truly cover him.

As an aside, Hollands may be saved by Acres’ injury, but too physically weak for finals footy imo. Not doubting his heart. Fish in similar boat.

Pity we’ve had to make so many changes to the team over last few weeks. Bit unsettling.

 

[Blue__Balls]

Cincotta with only 6 disposals, 2 kicks and 108m gained has put himself in the firing line for selection after having a very solid season.

I don't think Voss and Co are going to be making snap judgements off that one game.

Players very likely told to play it a little safer as the game progressed, and gameplan looked nothing like our best footy of the last couple months which indicates we were electing to play a kick-it-down-the-line game instead of the hard-running corridor game we've become accustomed to.

The stuff that I think will come under review are the silly brain-fades (ie. Fisher's weird 50m penalty from the middle) and sloppy play (ie. Cuningham being uncharacteristically fumbly). Even if we're coasting a little from a physical standpoint, I suspect that the coaches would still want to see players being mentally engaged - focused and switched on to the game around them. A quiet game is a quiet game, but a player being overawed or panicked in a R24 dead rubber would have to be looked at closely before playing finals.

Pending news on certain players, I'm thinking it'll be:

IN: Cripps, Docherty, Pittonet, Motlop
OUT: Dow, [Fisher/Cincotta], Cuningham, Durdin

FB: Kemp, Weitering, Newman
HB: Docherty, McGovern, Saad
C: Acres, Cripps, Hollands
R: Pittonet, Cerra, Walsh
HF: Cottrell, McKay, Martin
FF: Owies, Curnow, Motlop
I/C: [Cincotta/Fisher], Hewett, TDK, Fogarty
Sub: Dow

Relatively like-for-like on three changes. Cripps for Dow, Doc for Fisher or Cinc, Motlop for Durdin. The final change I've got is Pitto in for Cunners - nominally we lose some pressure, but I've already got Cottrell, Martin, Owies and Motlop up forward plus Fogarty on the bench, so I don't think we're under-represented in the forward pressue department.

Coin flip on Fisher vs. Cinc. Might be match-up dependent - is there a small we want Cinc to lock down, or do we want another creative playmaker off half back?

Dow squeezed with the full midfield brigade back, but he's been playing good, impactful footy and so I think he may get the nod as sub. Can bring him on late as a tactical sub for some drive out of the stoppages. Enough flexibility around the ground from others that if he comes in early we can shuffle some magnets and make it work.

Alternative sub options would be Cunners (on profile he's perfect, but I don't know if he can come in and impact straight away late in a game or if he just bobs up for 2 or 3 touches and a bit of pressure), and Curnow (if they want an experienced player who is somewhat versatile (mid/fwd/wing/tag) to help plug a gap).

Left-field option....if Kennedy is firing on all cylinders and tearing it up at training, I could see him coming in, Cottrell going to the wing, and Hollands coming out. Not sure I love the move, but I think it would warrant some consideration.

 

[pressurepoint]

In: Cripps, Doch, Kennedy (to sub), Motlop, (Boyd?)
Out: Fogarty, Cincotta, Acres, Marchbank, (Fisher?)

• Cripps takes Walsh mid role
• Doch takes Cinc's back role
• Kennedy takes March's sub role
• Motlop takes Fogarty's fwd role

Magnets: Walsh takes Acres' wing, Dow plays full game inside, Cuningham into the mid rotations where he is used best.

Issue: Not sure if you can play Fisher spare at the back, with Doc there. Would prefer to play Boyd to lock down.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

This will be only the second time i've attended a Carlton finals match, with the last being the Semi Final loss in 2011(?) against the Eagles at Subiaco Oval.

 

[Banga19]

They play a very different game to Acres though. Acres is more of a line-breaking, pack-crashing, strong tackling winger capable of contested marks with elite running as a bonus - Crisp like. I also think we’ve got no one to truly cover him.

As an aside, Hollands may be saved by Acres’ injury, but too physically weak for finals footy imo. Not doubting his heart. Fish in similar boat.

Pity we’ve had to make so many changes to the team over last few weeks. Bit unsettling.

Generally agree about Hollands, but I think Sydney will be a match where this isn't exploited. I see them as having more running power than big body power. In fact, our contest work is going to be a big advantage, need to score off the back of it and defend well

 

[HarryFlashman]

Harry didn't look comfortable as a centre square ruck, but performed okay in the forward contests.
Do we bring in Pitto to solve this, but then TDK goes from our best player to almost invisible? (Swan's ruck duo don't look too threatening?)

Was nice of Vossy to read BF & throw Harry in the centre.
It proved everyone wrong
Those who didn’t want it to happen (u don’t drive a Ferrari in a Paddock- I was one of those) were shown that u can (but it’s probably not advisable)
Those thinking it was a good tactic & would work well- Nope, it sucked
Happy for him to do the forward ruck work thou- pissed me off big time when Crippa was doing some of it- wanted him to be getting the tap or blocking up/providing space.
Harry can snap quickly too

 

[HarryFlashman]

Generally agree about Hollands, but I think Sydney will be a match where this isn't exploited. I see them as having more running power than big body power. In fact, our contest work is going to be a big advantage, need to score off the back of it and defend well

I think it’s the exact opposite- this is a game where Hollands could be exposed big time.
They run just as hard but are more mature bodies.

 

[blueboy25]

Not a great effort on the weekend but all of a sudden we want to drop players who have been in good form over the past 4-6 weeks just because they had a bad game on the weekend.

 

[Blue__Balls]

Was nice of Vossy to read BF & throw Harry in the centre.
It proved everyone wrong
Those who didn’t want it to happen (u don’t drive a Ferrari in a Paddock- I was one of those) were shown that u can (but it’s probably not advisable)
Those thinking it was a good tactic & would work well- Nope, it sucked
Happy for him to do the forward ruck work thou- pissed me off big time when Crippa was doing some of it- wanted him to be getting the tap or blocking up/providing space.
Harry can snap quickly too

Pre-finals in a dead rubber was the right time to try it. At the very least it gives the coaches a bit of vision to go through with H and identify how he can address some of the more obvious errors. You never know what's going to happen with injuries, and we know Pitto has been out a bit this year, so getting H to a point where he can halve centre bounces in a pinch is worthwhile. He's also not going to be up against 204cm Keeffe every other game. Other finalists' second rucks:

Collingwood - Cox @211cm
Brisbane - Daniher @201cm
Port - Hayes @205cm
Melbourne - Van Rooyen @193cm
St Kilda - Hayes @194cm
GWS - Keeffe @204cm
Sydney - McLean @197cm

Harry's got a decent size advantage over 3 of them, including McLean who we get in the first final, and Van Rooyen who we could certainly get in the second final.

I don't think it's a failed experiment, I think it's low-cost planning and insurance which could make a difference in a close final.

 

[jimsta10]

Harry didn't look comfortable as a centre square ruck, but performed okay in the forward contests.
Do we bring in Pitto to solve this, but then TDK goes from our best player to almost invisible? (Swan's ruck duo don't look too threatening?)

I'd rather see Pitto given that chance than Harry potentially hurting that knee again.

 

[Juddernaut08]

Pre-finals in a dead rubber was the right time to try it. At the very least it gives the coaches a bit of vision to go through with H and identify how he can address some of the more obvious errors. You never know what's going to happen with injuries, and we know Pitto has been out a bit this year, so getting H to a point where he can halve centre bounces in a pinch is worthwhile. He's also not going to be up against 204cm Keeffe every other game. Other finalists' second rucks:

Collingwood - Cox @211cm
Brisbane - Daniher @201cm
Port - Hayes @205cm
Melbourne - Van Rooyen @193cm
St Kilda - Hayes @194cm
GWS - Keeffe @204cm
Sydney - McLean @197cm

Harry's got a decent size advantage over 3 of them, including McLean who we get in the first final, and Van Rooyen who we could certainly get in the second final.

I don't think it's a failed experiment, I think it's low-cost planning and insurance which could make a difference in a close final.

yup. and look at TDK, he's similar to Gawn in that he plays a lot better when Grundy/Pitto sit out.

It's a tough decision indeed. Would be great to have a fit JSOS. I expect they'll play Pitto though.

 

[Crippa#9]

Harry didn't look comfortable as a centre square ruck, but performed okay in the forward contests.
Do we bring in Pitto to solve this, but then TDK goes from our best player to almost invisible? (Swan's ruck duo don't look too threatening?)

The elephant in the room....Harry is a shadow of his 2021 version. That year he was almost unstoppable as an aerial threat and kicking goals at will. Watched him closely last night and whilst you would never question his work ethic (it's elite) his confidence when presented with a one-on-one is bereft...not to mention his set shots...
He's looking for the body as opposed to simply "I'm gonna lead, jump & mark this ball and don't give a s**t who my opponent is."
He makes the contest but it feels like watching him live he knows he's not going to clunk it like he was in 2021.

Appreciate he's not the mean, daunting Charlie Dixon type but geez you'd love to see him have a bit more intimidation about the way he plays given his size and ability. Only 2nd game back from injury and playing an unfamiliar role so probably being harsh but just have such high expectations of him.

I'm a huge fan of H but at 25, presumably at his peak & being paid massive coin he's GOT to find his mojo in September for us to go deep imo.

 

[Arr0w]

Another two weeks of selection debate. Yay!

Question marks on all the below:
Pittonet - do we prefer a 2 ruck set-up?
Acres - plays if not injured
Weitering - plays if not suspended
Fisher - does his form warrant a game?
Kennedy - can he play without a game in two months?
Dow - everyone’s favourite discussion

Cripps and Docherty will be right?

Think Pitto is a lock, same with Cripps, Doc, Mots. Big calls on Boyd and Kennedy

Players under pressure to hold their spot, Cincotta, Fisher, Cuners, Dow, Hollands, Durdin. Dow the likely sub, unless we want more versatility

Can't see Doc going back, at best will be used as a defensive mid

 

[AB_Blue]

I'd rather see Pitto given that chance than Harry potentially hurting that knee again.

Absolutely….Voss is no mug……he knows what wins us games..clearances and brutal ones at that…especially against Melb

Pitto plays with TDK and H…we bring in a runner in the last and Harry does 5 in the ruck

Fresh legs on the G…..

 

[KohPhi]

Not a great effort on the weekend but all of a sudden we want to drop players who have been in good form over the past 4-6 weeks just because they had a bad game on the weekend.

Agree with your post, and if that was our strongest side, I'd say everyone would be safe. But we have to bring in 3 (Doch, Crippa, Pitto) and a 4th, Motlop more than likely comes straight back.
Selection will be very interesting next week.

 

[macky99]

Think Pitto is a lock, same with Cripps, Doc, Mots. Big calls on Boyd and Kennedy

Players under pressure to hold their spot, Cincotta, Fisher, Cuners, Dow, Hollands, Durdin. Dow the likely sub, unless we want more versatility

Can't see Doc going back, at best will be used as a defensive mid

We already have 4-5 players that have missed a far degree of footy that will be better for yesterday's run.
Not sure Kennedy & Boyd who have missed a far amount of footy will be in the mix, pretty sure Kennedy would have played yesterday.

Need match hardened players in finals.