Preview 2023 Rd 2 Carlton vs Geelong Thursday March 23 7:20PM @ MCG

[Aphrodite]

Team is in …

One (forced) change:

OUT: Hewett (hand)
IN: Durdin

AFL team selection: Blues make one change

Corey Durdin will return for Round 2.

www.carltonfc.com.au

Backs:	Nic Newman	Lewis Young	Lachie Cowan
Half-backs:	Sam Docherty	Jacob Weitering	Mitch McGovern
Centreline:	Blake Acres	Patrick Cripps	Ed Curnow
Half-forwards:	Jack Martin	Zac Fisher	Jack Silvagni
Forwards:	Corey Durdin	Charlie Curnow	Harry McKay
Followers:	Tom De Koning	Adam Cerra	Matthew Kennedy
Interchange:	Ollie Hollands	Jesse Motlop	Matthew Owies
	Adam Saad
Emergencies:	Josh Honey	Lochie O'Brien	Marc Pittonet
	Lachie Plowman

 

[branedotorg]

Looked fine on Friday morning having breakfast in Altona.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

probably over buttered his toast, just after you left, leading to a lubricated slapstick incident

 

[Ald Gardiner]

Tom Stewart is a massive loss for the Cats. He always carves us up.

Also didn’t play in the latest carve up last year

 

[Aphrodite]

Thanks ladies and gents. Hope you enjoyed! Tried to add a "wittle" Pommy flair to the preview!

Also important to note I included Dow as my super sub, so should end the rumours that I hate my son's favourite player

Go blues excited for this . As I don't know about anyone else but I'm hungry for footy

Now that's what I call a preview Pommylovescarlton

 

[Coops93]

Tom Stewart is a massive loss for the Cats. He always carves us up.

The way we incessantly bomb the ball forward and not try to hit targets is Stewarts wet dream. Big out for us.

 

[Blue__Balls]

What other role could we play Jack Martin in to get him going? I've mentioned before that at the Suns he wasn't a forward but rather a loose intercepting HB/Winger & impact on baller/forward for stints. We've obviously pushed him forward but he's shown over a fairly long period of time now that he doesn't have enough impact up there.

I don't really know of a position on our team now where we can throw him. He seems to have lost his impact ability on ball, and we're pretty set when it comes to HBFs and I think the wingers role these days has moved on from how he played there back at the Suns. Definitely wouldn't back him to have the tank to keep up with modern wingmen.

I don't really see a spot for him now.

He'd certainly be an option down back should McGovern miss at any stage. Has the height and speed to come off his man and intercept, tackles well, generally makes pretty good decisions and executes well by foot. Biggest question mark would be on whether he's diligent enough to adhere to the defensive structures we have in place, or if he's going to be led away too easily, opening up holes for the opposition to exploit.

My view is that if he's in the side we need to use him at the centre bounces more often. Get him around the ball and tell Cripps and Hewett to try and get the ball to him in a bit of space.

I wonder if he switches off mentally at half forward when the ball constantly bypasses him. Giving him a hot start with 10-15 touches to half time might keep him more motivated to stay active as the game progresses.

 

[Aphrodite]

I was being facetious apologies…

I was right btw.

Facebook fan page rumour

 

[Stamos]

Any burning questions for next week?

I'm having Monday arvo beers with someone who may have some answers.

What happened to Fisher after quarter time?
Started really well, then got 1 touch in 3 quarters.

 

[Aphrodite]

Please don’t roast me for this cause I love Hewett as much as anyone but it could be a blessing in disguise.


The midfield is just too similar. Need to change some things in there. Might give us a couple of games to figure that out

'Blessing in disguise'

You will be roasted and you will like it!

 

[agro]

Will still play

Please don’t roast me for this cause I love Hewett as much as anyone but it could be a blessing in disguise.


The midfield is just too similar. Need to change some things in there. Might give us a couple of games to figure that out

Cripps, Hewett and Kennedy are fine in the middle - but not at the same time - need a burst player to accompany two of them for Centre bounce attendances, whether it be Fisher, Cuningham, Dow - someone with some acceleration.

 

[JustaBattler]

Good post. I completely agree. Our biggest area of improvement at the moment is development of younger players and our reluctance to turnover injury prone and underachieving players. IMO the coaching is fine. If Thursday was anything to go by Voss has added new elements to our game plan, most notably we are actually capable of defending opposition rebound and working the ball down the ground once the opposition have got numbers back.

On the weekend Carlton v Richmond was the best contested and most tactical of all the games -I watched them all - much to my family’s dismay. Richmond tried to take our preferred game plan away from us and we tried to take their preferred game plan away from them. The Tigers couldn’t score nearly as heavily as they have against us in years gone by from transition and they denied us scoring as heavily from stoppages as we did round 1 last year.

This week is another challenge against a seasoned well drilled team who will try to do the same and did so successfully last time we played them. Of course there will be some tweaks required because Geelong have historically relied on controlling possession more than Richmond have, although again we saw Geelong evolve their game to be more attacking last year. I’m hopeful we will see the players and coaches with a plan to combat and exploit Geelong.

Agree with you regarding the game plan as executed against Richmond- and trialed against Collingwood - Sydney was about getting run into legs and making a couple of marginal player calls eg Owies V Honey and Cincotta V Cowan. Pre-season chit chat is all about people over estimating what should naturally occur - the real season is about witnessing what has developed.

I too agree regarding the Richmond V Carlton game as being far more interesting than most games - perhaps eclipsed by teh Geelong V Collingwood and the pantsing of Brisbane- but neither of those game showed off anything 'new' to me anyway.

I think Voss and co have put a lot of thought into how best to combat the run and gun game styles of Richmond/Collingwood and the more aggressive Geelong - more aggressive because they now have the best winger in the game on their flanks in Isaac Smith - THE bloke who sets up most of their end to ends and sometimes finishes them himself.

Unfortunately, this is another week we go into the game sans the best transitional runner on our list in Walsh - the looses of WIlliams and the silliness of Cuninghams latest injury - really hurting the overall access to quality leg speed and transitional play let alone kicking ability we have.

Hopefully Pittonet is played as well as TDK. I'm so over the forward structure that I think even Dow would be an improvement on the three shorter options being played - the sooner Martin and his mates down there either lift to bog average standards of play the better- but I would think this week is a perfect opportunity for redemption for them.

Voss and his team are being under rated by too many at this stage IMO and Richmond are as well. It was a big time arm wrestle and our list has more to come in than their does.

 

[Arr0w]

I would add Martin, Doc, Mots, Durdin to more of our stoppages, need players with more agility/speed

 

[footyfan1978]

Dow best on by the Flemington straight

Good to hear.

Having seen our last practice game v Sydney in person and last Thursday night it was improved showing but we still lack the composure and cohesion in how we move the ball. But apart from some really horrific mistakes by McGovern the backline was very solid so good to see that much improved on the really ordinary display v Swans in praccy match. I still concerned when I at the match with our starting midfield that sometimes too one dimensional. Crippa, Kennedy and Hewitt are going to beat up on a lot of midfields in there, but fast breaks like Demons really good at is something I think we needed added to the mix. I think all those three in there at same time is not the best mix. Dow just needs to be given a proper go in there and it seems crazy to keep him on list if we not going to use him. I scratch my head what we doing there but I have confidence the coaches will work it out in time and will adjust and work out the best mix in time. If Dow comes in , great, because he does provide that burst that the other three to do not really have.

Our forwards did not get great delivery last week so hopefully they work on that and smalls get to the feet of Harry, Charlie and Jack a bit more.
That we improved from last praccy game to round one was encouraging so expecting another improvement in movement and forward set up this week.

I have us winning by 19 points.

 

[jimsta10]

Most likely Facebook/Twitter fan pages.

Does Facebook still exist? Thought the youngsters are into Tiktok now?

 

[jimsta10]

I would add Martin, Doc, Mots, Durdin to more of our stoppages, need players with more agility/speed

Remember that game where Martin played on-ball? was it against the Dogs?

 

[TENACIOUS]

Going to be a tough, close battle...

Geelong get opened up with speed and elite kicking, something we aren't renowned for...

Blues by 122 points

(less the 2 on the end)

 

[Beyond Blue]

What other role could we play Jack Martin in to get him going? I've mentioned before that at the Suns he wasn't a forward but rather a loose intercepting HB/Winger & impact on baller/forward for stints. We've obviously pushed him forward but he's shown over a fairly long period of time now that he doesn't have enough impact up there.

I don't really know of a position on our team now where we can throw him. He seems to have lost his impact ability on ball, and we're pretty set when it comes to HBFs and I think the wingers role these days has moved on from how he played there back at the Suns. Definitely wouldn't back him to have the tank to keep up with modern wingmen.

I don't really see a spot for him now.

Floating around loose across half back for a poor team without any accountability for your opponent is literally the easiest role in the game.

After 9 years in the system I think “the jury is in” on Jack Martin…a gifted junior unable to replicate this at senior level due to his body and mind not being up to the rigours of being an elite footballer.

Personally, unless there is a pretty significant turnaround this season, I’d cut my losses and try and ship him out at the end of the season, albeit it’ll be difficult as he is contracted and based on performance has little value.

Tom Stewart is a massive loss for the Cats. He always carves us up.

Agreed but they also beat us pretty easily last year without him.

 

[Sam The Doc]

Also didn’t play in the latest carve up last year

Haha! When he went down on Friday I thought that would help. But then instantly realised he wasn't there last year!
Atleast Jack Henry isn't there either.

 

[thylacine60]

Rumours of George having a hand injury on GuesSEN.

 

[Faz 2000]

I would add Martin, Doc, Mots, Durdin to more of our stoppages, need players with more agility/speed

A recurring theme I see in our recruitment, development and use of players is we have had a tendency to end up with one-dimensional players. A lack of in-game flexibility within the team. Part of this is we have drafted and targeted "best of breed types".

Eg. Cripps, Hewett are inside, handball-first clearance mids all day long. They're built for it, they're good at it.
Harry and Charlie are blue-chip tall forwards. Why would you use them as anything else?

Where it leaves us, though, is predictable. We have plan A, and that's it.

Take an example from another club... check out Tom Papley's stat line from the GC rout at the weekend. He's a small forward, and he did that job nicely with 2 goals. He also had 7 inside 50s and 7 (!!!) clearances, including two Centre Clearances.

Contrast to our team on Thursday.... the 4 guys with the most inside 50s were Harry and CHarlie... ideally the guys being kicked TO, and Kennedy and Ed Curnow... two guys not renowned for their silky moves and disposal. Jack Martin 2, Motlop 2, Fisher 1. These are the pacier types you'd HOPE should be doing it.

Clearances were a similar story. Most was Hewett (8), Cripps (7), Kennedy (4), TDK (3)... everyone you'd expect. On debut Ollie Hollands managed 2, which had him ahead of 17 other Blues. So is the rest of the team crap at it, or do they defer to the big guns because they're so good at it? OR, are Hewett/Cripps/Kennedy so one-dimensional we HAVE to have them in at the coalface because they can't be anywhere else?

This is hardly a well-researched and thought-through thesis, but I think there's something to it. Your suggestion about bringing different types into different parts of the game might well be a part of the way forward.

 

[JoeyPBLUES]

Rumours of George having a hand injury on GuesSEN.

FFS

 

[thylacine60]

Don't shoot the massager.....

 

[Arr0w]

A recurring theme I see in our recruitment, development and use of players is we have had a tendency to end up with one-dimensional players. A lack of in-game flexibility within the team. Part of this is we have drafted and targeted "best of breed types".

Eg. Cripps, Hewett are inside, handball-first clearance mids all day long. They're built for it, they're good at it.
Harry and Charlie are blue-chip tall forwards. Why would you use them as anything else?

Where it leaves us, though, is predictable. We have plan A, and that's it.

Take an example from another club... check out Tom Papley's stat line from the GC rout at the weekend. He's a small forward, and he did that job nicely with 2 goals. He also had 7 inside 50s and 7 (!!!) clearances, including two Centre Clearances.

Contrast to our team on Thursday.... the 4 guys with the most inside 50s were Harry and CHarlie... ideally the guys being kicked TO, and Kennedy and Ed Curnow... two guys not renowned for their silky moves and disposal. Jack Martin 2, Motlop 2, Fisher 1. These are the pacier types you'd HOPE should be doing it.

Clearances were a similar story. Most was Hewett (8), Cripps (7), Kennedy (4), TDK (3)... everyone you'd expect. On debut Ollie Hollands managed 2, which had him ahead of 17 other Blues. So is the rest of the team crap at it, or do they defer to the big guns because they're so good at it? OR, are Hewett/Cripps/Kennedy so one-dimensional we HAVE to have them in at the coalface because they can't be anywhere else?

This is hardly a well-researched and thought-through thesis, but I think there's something to it. Your suggestion about bringing different types into different parts of the game might well be a part of the way forward.

I understand Voss wants bulls at stoppages, but you always need a different mix, otherwise you become predictable, in all areas

Guys like Hewett started as a medium forward, with decent output, he also spent time as a shutdown medium defender to great effect, so he does have versatility.

Same goes with Kennedy as a strong marking, penetrating set shot, medium forward

This is where I believe Voss should be making some subtle tweaks

Rotate Hewett, Kennedy and say Martin, through the middle and forward. You could probably add Doc to that mix

I think that would give us more string to our bow

 

[luke livingston seagull]

Rumours of George having a hand injury on GuesSEN.

Hopefully just a mild case of leather poisoning

 

[NavySteel]

I understand Voss wants bulls at stoppages, but you always need a different mix, otherwise you become predictable, in all areas

Guys like Hewett started as a medium forward, with decent output, he also spent time as a shutdown medium defender to great effect, so he does have versatility.

Same goes with Kennedy as a strong marking, penetrating set shot, medium forward

This is where I believe Voss should be making some subtle tweaks

Rotate Hewett, Kennedy and say Martin, through the middle and forward. You could probably add Doc to that mix

I think that would give us more string to our bow

Wonder how many rounds it's going to take before the power button goes away?

Understand the need to lockdown, but not at the cost of stifling our own momentum....

Agree with you - tweaks can generate the gear shifts we need.

Gameday paradigms, if you will.

 

[Schoonerman]

Rumours of George having a hand injury on GuesSEN.

Pretty sure ol mate Sam Edmund got the info from here first