Preview 2023 Rd 23 Carlton vs Gold Coast Saturday August 19 2:10PM @ Heritage Bank Stadium

[Aphrodite]

Team is in …

AFL team news: McKay back in Blue

Harry McKay will be back for the Blues in Round 23.

www.carltonfc.com.au

IN: Harry McKay
OUT: Lachie Fogarty (soreness), Ed Curnow

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

 

[DangerousD]

While i think moving forward id like TDK and SOS sharing the ruck, i don't know how you bring SOS back from a knee injury and put him in the ruck

 

[CaptainCharisma]

I've seen the media make some silly calls and discussion for content generation, but the Harry chat has been ridiculous. The fact some of our supporters have bought into it is mind boggling.
He is in our most important half dozen players and is a walk up start under any circumstance. What the opposition has done to Charlie the last two weeks just doesn't occur with H around.

I think the selection dilemma for this week now is if Pittonet and Docherty are right to get through the game.
Pitto's knee is strapped up like a mummy, he played an important role last weekend to allow TDK to run Gawn ragged late but SOS is there to cover for this week if necessary.

There are going to be unlucky players for the next two weeks and hopefully an elimination final after that. Good luck to the match committee making those calls.

IN - McKay, Boyd (SOS)
OUT - Motlop, E. Curnow (Pittonet)

Fisher as sub instead of Ed and cover for Doc if he doesn't get up.

 

[Schoonerman]

There’s too much mulling over the line-up in here. I mean… I guess that’s reasonable in a pre-match thread.

But what I am wondering is what proportion of the crowd will be Carlton? I am sure we can get it well north of 50%!

I’ll be there

 

[TheRedPill]

Harry is an elite player and makes us significantly better. His last few games prior to injury were excellent, and his selfless buy-in to a better game plan was evident. Charlie will be the happiest man alive when an athletically gifted 200cm Coleman Medallist joins him in the forwardline and draws the double/triple teams away. Make no mistake, we are already a handful but stopping our twin towers will be a supremely unenviable task.

Further to that, if he is deemed ready to go by the medical staff, he MUST play - for two reasons.

Firstly, he needs to get his match conditioning back up before he’s exposed to the frenetic intensity of finals footy, and he won’t do that sitting on the sidelines. He needs it to play at his best, and it will also play a role in injury prevention. It’s very hard to simulate match fitness without actually playing.

Secondly, our game plan and team cohesion continue to evolve. It’s no surprise the various components of our team under Voss are starting to click as they near the 40-50 game mark together - players always rave about how the game slows down when you know not only what you’re meant to do, but know what to expect from the teammates around you. He will play a key role in shaping that evolution even further. Both Harry and the team will benefit greatly from additional time spent figuring out the optimal set-up.

Lastly, my view is that he should not be playing ruck at any stage EXCEPT some very occasional relief around the F50. He is not a ruckman, despite his height, and the nature of the position lends itself to an increased injury risk. That’s why Pittonet is a great asset - he’s just a tough body who bangs in 50 times a game and wears down the opposition. Harry is a Ferrari and you don’t frivolously use them to crash and bash.

 

[Fevolution!]

I was only a week out with Harry coming back

Good guess!

 

[Benaly28]

Further, 1st quarter against the Dees we had 22 inside 50s to 4. Went into the break with a 1.3 to 1.0 lead.
Our Harry-less balance was doing wonders...

I think one of the major issues was that we long bombed many times going inside which was silly as we know that Lever and co.mop that s*** up but yes having another tall forward could’ve have helped.


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[teagueyubeauty]

Further, 1st quarter against the Dees we had 22 inside 50s to 4. Went into the break with a 1.3 to 1.0 lead.
Our Harry-less balance was doing wonders...

24-4 actually, for one goal…the 2 headed monster is a no brainer


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[windows1]

I reckon….

Boyd, SOS sand McKay into 23. Boyd or sos sub.

Doc rested. Ed out. Then no idea beyond that. Cuners, Fog, Fish, Cotts, Hollands. Any of them would be seriously stiff. Weirdly I don’t see it being Cuners despite others saying it. Topped pressure acts and had 7 tackles. I would go with Pitto.

I just think we really want to continue with the highest pressure we can muster. McKay back means TDK should be first ruck which leaves nothing for Pitto.

In SOS Mckay
Out Doc Pitto

Sub Boyd instead of Ed.

 

[Accidental genius]

There's some pretty bad colds going around at the moment, likewise with gastro Just hope you don't get your head on TV haha

There’s a bit of that going around, have been looking forward to it for ages & only realized a couple days ago that I can’t go

I’m not ill. I’ve to go somewhere else.

 

[Benaly28]

With these players coming back and others going back to VFL level it might help our reserves play finals as well.


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[Jeremias]

There's some pretty bad colds going around at the moment, likewise with gastro Just hope you don't get your head on TV haha

Plenty of costume shops on the Coast...you reckon Accidental genius should pop into one on the way to the game?

He can even re-name himself 'Accidental idiot' to complete the disguise

 

[lily of laguna]

There’s too much mulling over the line-up in here. I mean… I guess that’s reasonable in a pre-match thread.

But what I am wondering is what proportion of the crowd will be Carlton? I am sure we can get it well north of 50%!

We haven't had a away game at the Gabba this year so there should be a lot of SE qlder blues fans keen to get their fix for the year.

I'm coming in from Nthn NSW.

I have 4 seats (2Ads + 2Chn) available if anyone is struggling to get some tickets.

 

[lukep_86]

I’m not ill. I’ve to go somewhere else.

I know, I was just trying to be funny (obviously didn't work).

 

[windows1]

On math- Witts rucks about 87 percent of the game. In party because Levi is such an ineffective back up ruck. Levi wins 37 percent of hit outs but only 14 percent to advantage. SOS only wins about 1/4 but those he wins go to advantage pretty high. Im more than happy with the SOS vs Casboult match up. TDK plays ten percent less game time than Witts. Equates to 7 ruck contests sos will need to do against Witts. That’s a risk worth taking vs having way too tall a forward line that ends up losing our forward pressure.

I think the best we have looked is TDK in ruck, dominating ground ball, and sos as back up ruck doing the same. I expect that combo to restart this week.

 

[lily of laguna]

On math- Witts rucks about 87 percent of the game. In party because Levi is such an ineffective back up ruck. Levi wins 37 percent of hit outs but only 14 percent to advantage. SOS only wins about 1/4 but those he wins go to advantage pretty high. Im more than happy with the SOS vs Casboult match up. TDK plays ten percent less game time than Witts. Equates to 7 ruck contests sos will need to do against Witts. That’s a risk worth taking vs having way too tall a forward line that ends up losing our forward pressure.

I think the best we have looked is TDK in ruck, dominating ground ball, and sos as back up ruck doing the same. I expect that combo to restart this week.

Listening to Voss on multiple occassions recently, there is no way Pitto gets dropped for SOS.

I loved what SOS did when Pitto and TDK were out injured, and the romantic in me wants JSOS to play every game possible, but Voss loves what Pitto brings and the 4 year deal suggests that he is highly regarded.

 

[SurreyBlue]

The Mckay talk about him not fitting into our best team just highlights how much the media or more importantly, who in the media has no idea!!!

 

[SurreyBlue]

Listening to Voss on multiple occassions recently, there is no way Pitto gets dropped for SOS.

I loved what SOS did when Pitto and TDK were out injured, and the romantic in me wants JSOS to play every game possible, but Voss loves what Pitto brings and the 4 year deal suggests that he is highly regarded.

I agree but i feel he isn't currently fit.

 

[JustaBattler]

Pitto and TDK are a 1 - 2 combination , Pittonet does the bullocking work on the oppos #1 ruck and TDK then mops the floor with them - has been a developing strategy for quite a while- and very obvious to me anyway in the games against St Kilda and Melbourne really paying off ...we have one genuine hard nut and a developing other high jumping getting harder with every game in TDK - a great combination. No accident Carlton is back to dominating clearances either is it? No accident that TDK is playing a lot better with Pittonet as his ruck partner either.

 

[Beyond Blue]

Boyd was elite in the vfl last week. Deserves promotion. Too good for that level.

The same could have been said of Fisher when he went back to the 2s as well. Boyd hasn’t reached a level when he is a walk up starter. By all means if Boyd plays well next week and Fisher falters then I’m sure a change will be considered but I think Fisher played well enough on Saturday night to keep his spot for at least another week. It is a very good problem for us to have.

 

[KingCharles]

Harry for Motlop
Walsh for Hollands
Cerra for Dow
JSOS for Pittonet
Gov for Cincotta
Boyd for Fisher
Kennedy sub for Ed

 

[F_therest]

I thought that plenty of times against Melbourne. With such a tough contested (and wet) game there wasn't a lot of chances to link up with overlap handball, and a lot of kicks just going for territory. Harry is as good as anyone between the arcs, let alone what he does to make a tall defender accountable and thus free up C Curnow.

Finals will be similar level of pressure. We only just beat Melbourne by a Marchbank fingernail, and Harry could make a difference in other close encounters.

Also, I'm keen to see him in a team that's playing confidently. Wouldn't be surprised at all if the yips ease off now that everything isn't up to him. Just a chance he kicks 6.0 in his first game back.

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I reckon there is zero doubt in Voss' mind that Mckay will come straight back in when fit. Interesting to hear so much media talk about considering leaving him out.

As you say, finals will be intense pressure with more long kicks down the line...Mckay will be a huge asset for that and to make life easier for Curnow who has been double teamed the last 2 weeks.

We won the first 3 games of this winning run with him in the team and right now everyone is playing so much better than earlier this year.

Also, although a tall McKay's defensive pressure efforts have been excellent all year.

Whoever he replaces will be stiff...Motlop was pretty quiet against Melbourne, but was excellent the weeks prior. I think Fog and Cunners are locks right now because they also spend time in the midfield. Martin obviously. Cotts maybe but think he stays with his toughness and running power.

 

[The Bighouse]

The one opportunity I was looking forward to watching blues live and I have another commitment that afternoon.

I’ve been free all saturdays so far this year.

I’d be putting in my apologies now…

 

[SOSforPM]

Love to see how they train for this …

Harry High (forward) Pants.

Start Charlie on the open side for a right footer and Harry on the open side for the left. Keep them guessing on who goes high after…Harry predominantly higher when the ball Is coming from deep as he seems to be the better dump kick option especially late in games.

Don’t get this the team may be better without Harry in it trash. He would’ve been gold when saints suffocated Charlie early and we would’ve got better return against Melbourne from our early dominance also.

Harry was our best player in our early run. To me it looked like he had learned to impose his body and was putting on elite pressure for a big guy. The guy has great speed for big man.

 

[SOSforPM]

The H talk in the media is silly on the face of it. Of course we're better with him in the side. But it's also silly because much of it seems to assume that our team balance is some precious, fragile thing and one false move could see it ruined.

But that's just not so. We've copped injury after injury, lost a number of players with unique (to our list anyway) abilities, but we've kept on performing and kept on winning. Our forward line has been taller and smaller, our back line has had more and less run, we've had games with two rucks and games with none, and we've continued to get the job done.

That's not to say that team selection is irrelevant. We want our best players playing, and in a tight game the individuals on the field can make the difference. But if we've shown one thing in the last couple of months it's that we don't need to worry about one selection here or there upsetting the balance of our team. We'll cope.

Spot on we won’t just cope we’ll get better…A lot better!

 

[Juddrockz]

Just bring in the fittest team to get the job done.
Crippa copped that bad knock to the kidneys last week and it was a seriously tough game on the body. There would be some sore bodies this week that may need a week to recover possibly Crippa,we wont know until we know at selection.
Fortunately we have some depth now and some decent players returning from injury. Good place to be in before finals.