Preview 2023 Preliminary Final Carlton vs Brisbane Sat 23rd Sept 5.15PM @ Gabba

[Aphrodite]

TEAM IS IN …


IN: Jordan Boyd, Jack Martin

19

Jack Martin

Age

30

Ht

186cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.2

4star

K

10.0

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

3.7

5star

G

0.9

4star

D

14.9

4star

K

7.9

3star

HB

7.0

4star

M

4.3

4star

T

3.6

4star

G

1.1

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.0

4star

G

0.6

3star

, Harry McKay

10

Harry Mckay

Age

27

Ht

200cm

Wt

106kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.9

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

2.4

2star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.4

5star

D

6.6

1star

K

4.6

2star

HB

2.0

1star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

2star

G

1.4

5star

D

8.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.4

4star

T

0.8

3star

G

2.0

5star

OUT: David Cuningham, Brodie Kemp, Matthew Kennedy, Matthew Owies

AFL team selection: Four changes for preliminary final

Carlton has named its team for the preliminary final.

www.carltonfc.com.au

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

 

[CCurnow3votes]

Marchbank continually found himself in the right position last night then butchered it. Dropping marks, spoiling, team mates. That’s better than being being anonymous I guess but was poor.

He didn’t have a great night did he - weird as he was great vs swans

 

[CCurnow3votes]

If it bleeds brother , if it bleeds...

We will make it bleed …

 

[Jimmae]

OUT: Pittonet, Kennedy, Cuningham
IN: McKay, Silvagni, Martin

Jack buys us more run through the attacking half, and can help grind down their ruck and inside mid rotation.

Cuningham unluckier than what people here seem to think given Owies' performance, but I don't think he's good for a full match at the moment. Sub opportunity for him or Dow, probably Dow.

Surely we don’t play four tall defenders for this game. They only have Daniher and Hipwood but have smalls like Cameron, Rayner, McCarthy and Bailey. Could get slaughtered on the ground if we go in too tall.

Cincotta to Rayner, Marchbank and Newman keeping an eye on McCarthy at times.

I'm expecting Gunston back in, which is where McGovern and Marchbank would go for stints, and that pushes Bailey into midfield. Kemp will have a height disadvantage against Hipwood, but he'll be on his shoulder for most of his leads.

The rest figures itself out.

We didn't beat Melbourne because we have fielded a team that was big and strong and crashed and bashed to victory. We won because they kicked really poorly and we had enough quality in the side to make the most of opportunities.

Boxing them out and forcing them to run wide absolutely hurt their ability to finish, and where they were finishing from.

That was part of the defensive structure and tactics, but I don't want that to continue against the Lions as it barely worked, especially considering that the Dees picked an injury sub in 2023.

We need to fix what we're doing up forward, and compliment it with how we move the ball in transition.

 

[Thrawn]

OUT: Pittonet

Lol, just stop.

 

[rp84]

Brisbane deserve to be red hot favourites but all this stuff I'm reading about being lucky or not deserving or Bradburying is driving me nuts.

The main aim of the game is to kick it through the big sticks. We've done that better than our opposition every week bar one for 3 months.

The only loss has come with the cue firmly in the rack.

 

[JustaBattler]

Not suggesting we will definitely win, more that I believe it's a genuine 50/50 like last night

Pussy

 

[Jimmae]

Lol, just stop.

lmao, good post?

Thanks for the input, I guess

 

[Lukeblueboy]

I agree with a lot of that but I think we need to look back to our wins over Port, Collingwood and Melbourne. Top 4 teams. We fielded faster teams we fielded teams which were better offensively and better with ball movement.

We are ignoring the elephant in the room. We look slow. We were very lucky to have won. Our two wins have been less about us being good and more about luck. Our ball movement is stagnant. Brisbane's ball movement against Port in the first final was fast, direct and pretty damn good. Being a final and playing a good side, well they destroyed that theory that our ball movement is stagnant because these are good sides and it's a final.

These are our Home and Away sides against the top 4 teams we beat. They are quicker. There is an extra runner in defence, apart from the Collingwood game. Fisher and Saad or Saad an Boyd. Our finals teams doesn't have the extra runner and low and behold we aren't good coming out of defence and aren't moving the ball quick or direct and our forwards have struggled because of it.

I like the extra height. But I also like the extra run from half back. I think we have done it better this year with the run but we have won finals with the height.

Quicker midfield. Hollands and Acres in two of those games. Docherty and Acres in one of them. Dow appears in all three games, we all know he injects speed and carries the ball forward of the contest which the forwards love.

Our speed around the ball and behind the ball is an issue. It won't hold up against a real top team, they will be too quick for us and the contest won't be relevant if they kick straight.

I think Martin and McKay solve our forward issues.

I think we need to go back to our original backline structure and go with another genuine attacking half back flank to partner Saad. Whether that be Docherty or Fisher or Boyd. They are all good options.

I think Hollands on a wing is going to happen. That run down tackle. His ability to make space. He was there against Melbourne and Collingwood and he was good.

Speed is king and we need it. I've said it all year. The better sides have embraced it and how the new rules have opened the game up to the quicker players.

I think Dow as sub, to come on around the mid way mark and inject some run out of the middle absolutely must happen. Dow's break away speed has been a crucial factor in the below three wins.

MELBOURNE SIDE H/A win
Weitering Kemp Newman
Cincotta Fisher Saad
Hollands Cripps Acres
Cottrell Fogarty Motlop
Martin Curnow De Koning
Pittonet Docherty Hewett
Dow Marchbank Cuningham Owies
Curnow

COLLINGWOOD SIDE
Kemp Weitering Newman
McGovern Marchbank Saad
Acres Cripps Hollands
Fogarty Cuningham Cottrell
Martin Curnow Pittonet
DeKoning Hewett Docherty
Motlop Cerra Cincotta Owies
Dow
Dow comes in early for Cerra has a ripper

PORT SIDE
Weitering Kemp Saad
McGovern Boyd Newman
Acres Cripps Docherty
Fogarty Cottrell Curnow
Motlop Martin McKay
DeKoning Cerra Walsh
Silvagni Cuningham Hewett Cincotta
Dow
Dow 64% TOG plays a big part

We didn't beat Melbourne because we have fielded a team that was big and strong and crashed and bashed to victory. We won because they kicked really poorly and we had enough quality in the side to make the most of opportunities.

We should have lost this game by 3-5 goals or more, they were poor and butchered it. It's awesome to get a win but we can't pretend that we won because we played well and were too good for them. We won on luck.

Sydney would have beaten us last week if they had have kicked straight as well. Again we won on luck.

We can't ignore that we have gotten away with it two weeks in a row and the current team has problems. It's not the same structured team that got us here.

When luck runs out we will lose. So we can't go up there with a big slow team that struggles to move the the ball and apply outside pressure due to lack of speed and players who take the game one and hope that we beat Brisbane in a close ugly game and hope that they don't kick straight either.

We won because guys like Saad and Walsh took the game on and generated some run and put some speed into the game for us.

Reality is, we should have lost and had we lost we would have been scrutinised for selecting a side that is structurally different to the sides fielded during our winning streak. A side that is slower and doesn't run and carry and take the game on as well. Does not run from behind the footy as well.

We turned our season around by injecting pace and pressure into our forward line and centre square group and injecting much more pace into our defence. We turned our season around by having midfield rotations.

To me we have fallen back on the mistakes we made earlier in the season a little. We have won on luck and effort, not merit like we were in the games I listed above where we outplayed them all over the field and were too quick and too good.

We need to make some changes before the luck runs out.

I'll say it again. Melbourne kick straight. How critical would we be of the team and coaching group? We'd be hammering them over the changes to team structure and not learning from our past recent success. That would be the narrative on here.

I can see why we went that way in defence, try and hold them up and get our intercepting game going but it's robed peter a lot to pay paul and has gone away from what has brought us success and got us back into finals. We didn't have much choice with what we had to go with forward. Guys like Hollands and Dow are awfully unlucky as they drove a lot of our big wins. I think they should be in our plans next week.

Lions will be looking to do what they did to Port. Go forward from stoppages, go fast and direct up the middle. It's what has got them there. At our best this is what we have don this season but it worries me we have gone away from that a little this finals series.

I think we can still bash and crash them up but also quicken the team up a bit. Tough one, really tough one.

This is absolutely spot on imo as well gman

 

[Thrawn]

I want the players to use those cringe, shitty songs they play as fuel to beat them.

 

[sbwan]

24 degrees and dry, light winds forecast. Just about perfect.

 

[GeorgieBoyBlue2]

Out. Owies Marchy Cincotta Pitto

In. Martin McKay Boyd Dow

Charlie Curnow

30

Charlie Curnow

Age

28

Ht

194cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.3

3star

K

9.7

4star

HB

3.6

3star

M

5.3

5star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.3

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

4.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.8

4star

lucky to be spared has been atrocious

 

[BM123]

Brisbane deserve to be red hot favourites but all this stuff I'm reading about being lucky or not deserving or Bradburying is driving me nuts.

The main aim of the game is to kick it through the big sticks. We've done that better than our opposition every week bar one for 3 months.

The only loss has come with the cue firmly in the rack.

People will say anything to try and diminish our hot streak. We don't have to justify punishing Melbourne for wasting their momentum.
We've just come out on top of two finals hardened sides and it feels so good.

 

[GeorgieBoyBlue2]

May was way to influential last night, Charlie should learn how to defend. Still think he would be an awesome CHB

 

[JustaBattler]

Carlton isn't going to beat Brisbane by trying to manufacture an outside game against the best outside running team in the competition on their home ground....playing three wounded in Cripps/Docherty and Acres ....

Carlton will want to maximise contested ball and smash their midfield to pieces and deprive them of the ability to play their fast paced high kicking skill game.

That is how I am thinking of best team for this game.

 

[gullie man]

He didn’t have a great night did he - weird as he was great vs swans

I thought he was pretty good first quarter and a bit, but then something happened and terrible

 

[thylacine60]

Eyes on the prize: Your first look at the two battles for the AFL grand final

The league leaders, an orange tsunami, a navy blue juggernaut, and the unbeatable Lions den: The preliminary finals are set. Here is your first look at the match-ups.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Kernafides]

Owies has kicked 27 goals this year...he ain't being dropped

 

[LemmingMaster]

Lol, just stop.

He's given up on Newman at least.

 

[CCurnow3votes]

Lions are a juggernaut up at the Gabbatoir but they have a soft underbelly I feel, a tendency to go into autopilot and fall back on the individual brilliance of certain key players.

We have to ruffle their feathers a bit and turn the game into a contested slug fest. If they get off the leash and convert their chances, we're done for.

If it’s close …they could well bottle it under pressure.

They will be clear favourites.

Not sure their belief is as strong as ours.

 

[Jimmae]

Carlton isn't going to beat Brisbane by trying to manufacture an outside game against the best outside running team in the competition on their home ground....playing three wounded in Cripps/Docherty and Acres ....

Carlton will want to maximise contested ball and smash their midfield to pieces and deprive them of the ability to play their fast paced high kicking skill game.

That is how I am thinking of best team for this game.

The best outside running teams in the competition are on the other side of the draw... Lions bolt through the corridor with power and some speed, but especially elite footskills.

Athletically the team I'm nominating goes right up against them, but perhaps lacks a little strength over the ball compared to their best stoppage combination.

I think we'd actually match them for speed almost to a man, then beat them in terms of endurance. Issue is being able to pressure their ball use enough.

 

[BIuebagger]

To everyone on here going to make the trip up, and to those QLD Blues, please be loud and let the boys feed off the energy. Jealous!

McKay and Martin back in. I dunno about the outs, Kennedy at the moment for Martin I think. Hollands staying in the 22 could be considered but I don’t mind him as the sub again with Doc and Blacres sore.

One word. Tenacity. Bring lots of it.

 

[Jimmae]

He's given up on Newman at least.

Almost like his form got a lot better, and the shift in the style of football suited him...

 

[Shambolic]

He didn’t have a great night did he - weird as he was great vs swans

I think he was fumbly but in the right positions

Im a Kemp fan but Kemp's decision making in the second half was poor

I like both but we need certainty / skills / precision ec.

Then again finals footy...

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Contested footy and KPP have won teams finals since day dot.

We will always be in with a chance if we can play our own way.

Keep them close all night then pounce in the last. We have the belief now.

 

[Shambolic]

Owies has kicked 27 goals this year...he ain't being dropped

50th game too

27 goals from 18 games - 1.5 pg. Extraordinary. Completely different players but Betts averaged about 1.8 over a very long career - almost 3 in the Crows years. 1.5pg is ace. Love it.