Autopsy 2023 Preliminary Final Blues brave season comes to an end

[4thchicken]

We’ve finished 3rd.


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As many have commented - overall the season was good/a pass mark.

The game itself though was disappointing and really a story of a missed opportunity to get to the grand final - and frankly I'm not sure how anyone can be satisfied by that.

We went from 30 points up to a point behind in just over a quarter - Just like how we obliterated the lions in the 1st quarter, they did the same to us in the 2nd - nothing glorious about that as a response from the lions would have been expected yet we did nothing to stem the flow.

This wasnt a case of trying to maintain a lead for most of the game and running out of legs in the last/a honourable loss - the damage was done early early in the game and we actually managed to close the gap/put some pressure on the lions in the last.

So what happened? - After we jumped the lions in the first quarter, we got smashed in the midfield/clearances, they go a LOT of easy ball movement going forward (hence pressure ratings dropped right off) and consequently had lots of clean scoring opportunities. Final clearance numbers were 44-30 (12-9 CC, 32-21 stoppage clearances) - poor for any game but given we would have been ahead in the first quarter that is a big drop off in 3 quarters. Hard to find quarter by quarter clearance stats but apparently we were ahead in CC 5-1 at quarter time (so essentially we were -7 CC for the remaining 3 quarters). Similarly, we lost inside 50s 64-52 after being +11 at quarter time - essentially -23 in 3 quarters of football (effectively -25 given we had 2 within 30 seconds of the start of the 2nd quarter)

On clearances, most of the damage was done early in the 2nd (when we WOULD have been expecting some sort of response from the lions - According to AFL timelines, by the 7 minute mark of the 2nd quarter Brisbane had won 9 of 11 clearances, and by the 12 minute mark were ahead in the total clearance count 18-12 (with stoppage clearances for the quarter 8-1)

If we had broken even in the centre for the match imo there is a good chance that we might have won that game. Given brisbane's strength in the midfield and the reliance of our game on stoppage clearances, were there things we could have done leading into and during the game to at least break even?
- what if Dow had played? Given Brisbane's dominance in the midfield, what measures did we take to nullify their advantage? Dunkley has played on an uninjured Cripps previously and done quite well - so what coverage did we have given our reliance on Cripps for clearances and his reduced output due to injury? Given the midfield dominance, why didnt we bring our TACTICAL sub on much earlier to try to get back on top in the midfield?

Imo, despite our struggles elsewhere on the ground, we'd had been a good chance of winning the game had we managed to break even in clearances for the match.

 

[TimeFor17]

Having a look at the stats for the first time it seems Boyd and Marchbank did well contrary to what I thought watching live.

The fumbles from Boyd must have solely been early in the first qtr and stuck with me throughout. Similarly with Marchbank he had the only 1v1 loss for our team so a moment or 2 must be clouding the overall as well. Boyds kicking efficiency has surprised me as I certainly remember 1 or 2 kicks that were poor. But again it must be legitimately 1 or 2 (11 effective kicks, 13 overall) that have stuck with me clouding the overall.

8 clangers from Walsh certainly wasn't something I noticed, oof.

I watched it live.
I thought that Marchbank was really solid.
Made good positioning most of the time, took some really good marks, foot skills were solid.
Made a couple of mistakes and think I saw him get turned around once or twice but for a player who has missed so much footy - a solid injury free pre-season could see us with a virtual new recruit next year.

 

[klompy]

Don't know if this is the place to summarise the year as a whole, but I struggle to remember a better year for the club than this one. Clearly a premiership year is better, but this has been a year of the most substantial growth in the club that I can remember in my nearly 50 years of life. For the first time that I can remember, the culture of the club feels modern, strong and sustainable. It feels like high performance. The political power seems more distributed, rather than contained within a shadowy faction....clearly driven by strong leadership across the Chairman, CEO and coach.

One of the great joys for me this year (at least the second half of the year) has been the entertainment factor of attending a Carlton game. I love the sound and passion of a football crowd, but I've always felt Carlton were second tier behind the likes of Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. Certainly that's not the case now. A Carlton game is the best ticket in town. The fanbase has never felt larger, which is incredibly surprising given 20 years of misery. I expect membership to exceed 100k next year, and I'm seeing kids proudly wearing the Carlton gear around the place. It is fashionable to be a Carlton person.....perhaps for the first time that I can remember.

On field the club has made huge strides, but perhaps the next level of growth will be the hardest to achieve. The improvement is not always linear. Lets hope it is! Carlton will feel like a great destination if you are a footballer aspriing for success and excitement. Its been a while since we could say that. The ground and facilities are magnificent. The location is unbeatable.

The club is in great shape and I look forward to the next instalment of the journey in 2024.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

As much as the season was a success, I have been a little taken aback by the pats on the back most fans have all given the team for Saturday's game. We just rolled over and conceded as soon as the pressure came and after getting ourselves in such a strong position, I was extremely disappointed we didn't put up more of a fight.

I am hoping Vossy has the ruthlessness to not just accept that and expect us to be better next year and will be making the calls in list management that will see us elevate because if we stand still there is at least 6 other teams ready to go straight past us..

 

[BlueGum]

As much as the season was a success, I have been a little taken aback by the pats on the back most fans have all given the team for Saturday's game. We just rolled over and conceded as soon as the pressure came and after getting ourselves in such a strong position, I was extremely disappointed we didn't put up more of a fight.

I am hoping Vossy has the ruthlessness to not just accept that and expect us to be better next year and will be making the calls in list management that will see us elevate because if we stand still there is at least 6 other teams ready to go straight past us..

Pat yourself on the back for not enjoying the season because we lost in a prelim. You are so much better than those that celebrated the achievements. Your attitude will, no doubt, strengthen the resolve of the coaches and players to do better next season

 

[thylacine60]

As much as the season was a success, I have been a little taken aback by the pats on the back most fans have all given the team for Saturday's game. We just rolled over and conceded as soon as the pressure came and after getting ourselves in such a strong position, I was extremely disappointed we didn't put up more of a fight.

I am hoping Vossy has the ruthlessness to not just accept that and expect us to be better next year and will be making the calls in list management that will see us elevate because if we stand still there is at least 6 other teams ready to go straight past us..

because no-one else except you "was extremely disappointed" - who are these people who feel the need to admonish supporters for acknowledging growth & progress at the club? dead-set bonkers.........let's all just run around with our bottom lips dragging to prove what amazing supporters we are.............

 

[carlton_99]

As much as the season was a success, I have been a little taken aback by the pats on the back most fans have all given the team for Saturday's game. We just rolled over and conceded as soon as the pressure came and after getting ourselves in such a strong position, I was extremely disappointed we didn't put up more of a fight.

I am hoping Vossy has the ruthlessness to not just accept that and expect us to be better next year and will be making the calls in list management that will see us elevate because if we stand still there is at least 6 other teams ready to go straight past us..

I'd recommend listening to Voss' interview with Whateley yesterday - big emphasis on "not standing still" and "taking nothing for granted"

 

[thylacine60]

hardly......

 

[Blue1980]

How many clubs at any one point in time are in their premiership window? (Hot tip….it’s more than one).

About 6-7 teams each year can realistically win. If football is a failure when you have odds of 16ish percent then why bother? You’re almost always going to lose. Always going to fail. If anything but beating 16 percent of odds equals failure then life is basically a misery following this game. Win one flag in a 5 year block of your window and all the other years are failure. There’s no joy there. What’s the point? Why follow the sport. A premiership is a pass mark you said. Hahahahahaahaha

Premiership window doesn’t mean premiership. It means get up there and get a number of chances. Sooner or later you’ll get lucky.

And frankly, with the draft and salary cap…..the team that wins most years out of the 6-7 who COULD…..is just the luckiest. Good run with injuries. Good draw. Good run of home finals. A lot of domino’s have to fall your way.

So I guess you’re entitled to your view….and I’m entitled to say it’s insane, demoralising and self defeating to think this way and I want no part of it and hope you’re alone with this type of thinking.

I also used to think that expecting nothing but a flag meant you’d achieve better results, when I was like 14-15.

Now I realise the reality is no matter how much we expect we aren’t owed success any more than any other fanbase.

I’d love for us to win the flag every year, but the idea that it’s flag or bust, like you’ve pointed out means you are just going to lead a miserable existence, no matter who you support. Even Geelong “failed” for 11 years before winning last year.

 

[BM123]

I'd recommend listening to Voss' interview with Whateley yesterday - big emphasis on "not standing still" and "taking nothing for granted"

Great stuff by Voss and I'm glad he's trying to use the disappointment from the loss to push the players further. All the recent dynasties experienced their fair share of heartache and used it to push themselves forward.

 

[Peacock]

Carlton went into the finals series with at least 7 players who probably wouldn't get a start in any other finalists list - Marchbank/Cincotta/Kemp/Owies/Motlop/Cuningham/Hollands -

Not sure I agree with that, there are so many teams which means there are crap players in every team.

 

[Irish BlueBagger]

Yes you can, I watch Collingwood do it every week, they go full on attack mode, then sit back and absorb absorb absorb, this is part of the reason why they always surge in the last quarter because they are still so fresh relative to the opposition. Brisbane's plan was to absorb pressure in the first quarter and then blow us away. Our plan was to go toe to toe with Brisbane for four quarters. When we didn't adjust and go defensive in the second it was game over.

To continue with the autopsy - another thing that is staggering, how do you not have a plan B for Charlie? This is the third final in a row he's done nothing, why not let him get up the ground and have a run around? Something? ANything??

Voss and his coaches are pretty clueless tactically. It was clear to anyone watching footy that Collingwood were doing something different in the back half of 2022 and they almost made a Grand Final on the back of it, but rather than analysing what they were doing and copying it, Voss's answer was to keep using our old game plan when the entire competition had moved on. Our old game plan was one that Collingwood's game plan was designed to destroy. The fact that our coaches didn't understand this is absolutely mind blowing to me. This is why we found ourselves sitting in the bottom 4 after 15 rounds. So yeah some credit for digging ourselves out of a hole, but we shouldn't have been in one to begin with.

People can say it's negative, but this is why I say if we don't shake up our coaching group I can see us missing the 8. If we could switch our entire coaching staff with the entire coaching staff of Collingwood or Geelong I would be jumping out of my skin for the future coming off the back of a prelim, but I don't see it with what's there right now. Is there anyone that would seriously prefer our coaching group over Collingwood or Geelongs? I have absolutely no doubt if every club rated each others coaching group we would be ranked in the bottom quartile. With McQualter missing the Richmond job he is the first we should be getting across, Voss should have no say in it.

Mate it's a sure sign that you're doing something wrong, when Pies supporters start liking your posts.

 

[lily of laguna]

As much as the season was a success, I have been a little taken aback by the pats on the back most fans have all given the team for Saturday's game. We just rolled over and conceded as soon as the pressure came and after getting ourselves in such a strong position, I was extremely disappointed we didn't put up more of a fight.

I am hoping Vossy has the ruthlessness to not just accept that and expect us to be better next year and will be making the calls in list management that will see us elevate because if we stand still there is at least 6 other teams ready to go straight past us..

I know it’s been said but there is a huge difference between being proud of the team for their amazing turnaround mid season and being unable to enjoy that because we lost the preliminary final.

I don’t think there would be any supporter patting the team on the back for that game in isolation but when it is off the back of the season in entirety it’s a great effort and an awesome achievement.




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[Peacock]

Mate it's a sure sign that you're doing something wrong, when Pies supporters start liking your posts.

It wouldn't surprise me if Pies supporters were liking my posts, I'm the Ron Barassi of BigFooty, loved by supporters of all clubs.

 

[Neese]

Ugh some people are never happy unless they are being negative.

 

[JustaBattler]

Not sure I agree with that, there are so many teams which means there are crap players in every team.

Simple exercise for you to fit any of these into Brisbane or Collingwood team... or GWs oMelbourne? Sydney? How about Adelaide?

Btw- they arent 'crap' thy are what they are...and what we've got.

 

[athensblue]

The fact that the Blues are back and respected and hated by many is a huge success. We have been the laughing stock of the afl for 2 decades.

Follow up next year and the next few years with top 4 finishes, on a macro level the club is once again a success
Win one flag, next year or in the next 3 and underpinn this success.

Go backwards next Yr and that's a fail

Now that the disappointment of the loss has settled, finally after a long time, can smile about where we sit and where we are going.

 

[Peacock]

Simple exercise for you to fit any of these into Brisbane or Collingwood team... or GWs oMelbourne? Sydney? How about Adelaide?

Btw- they arent 'crap' thy are what they are...and what we've got.

Pointless exercise.

In the first half of 2022, how many Collingwood players would you have said would get into Geelong or Melbourne's side? Probably hardly any.

 

[windows1]

Did we shower enough love on Jordan Boyd’s game?

17 disposals
461 metres gained
4 tackles
Only 1 turnover and 82 percent DE

Didn’t lose a one v one this year.

We have been robbed of a full season from him due to injury.

Can’t wait to see what he does next year.

 

[JustaBattler]

Pointless exercise.

In the first half of 2022, how many Collingwood players would you have said would get into Geelong or Melbourne's side? Probably hardly any.

I match Carlton players against their direct opponents to see what the chances are of a win or a loss so for me it is never a pointless exercise comparing teams - YMMV of course.

 

[bigblueboy]

Pointless exercise.

In the first half of 2022, how many Collingwood players would you have said would get into Geelong or Melbourne's side? Probably hardly any.

There’s still significant growth for so many who played on Saturday night.
Most of our so called “role players” are still finding their feet at AFL level - think the challenges we saw around team selection late in the season speaks to the growth of options on the fringes of our best 22, a great indicator of the strength of our squad.

 

[JoeyPBLUES]

Did we shower enough love on Jordan Boyd’s game?

17 disposals
461 metres gained
4 tackles
Only 1 turnover and 82 percent DE

Didn’t lose a one v one this year.

We have been robbed of a full season from him due to injury.

Can’t wait to see what he does next year.

1 of those 4 tackles was one of my highlights for the game too, when Boydy absolutely decimated that donkey looking Daniher in the middle of the Gabba

 

[Irish BlueBagger]

A tired Carlton team played a fresh Brisbane Lions team on their home turf, and yet we still got within three goals of them at the end.

We aren't that far away at all, and it would be sweet to see us hopefully dethrone the filth as champions next year.

 

[T2B_]

I didn't see that the team just rolled over and conceded, to be honest. We just looked like we had nothing left.

These guys aren't superhuman, there is a limit and we were banged up from the outset.

 

[Jimthegreat]

Great year for us but our season came down to what happen mid-season losing 8 from 9. Come good in a big way but was too much. When you have 6 of your best out and flog Collingwood as we did you can only think about what might have been.