Preview Round 4 Carlton vs Essendon 16/4/11

[TrueBlue05]

I wanna see the Bombers get thumped for one reason!...... I'm over the Media talking them up like their the 2011 premiers!

 

[dylan_mike]

Three changes I'd like to see:

AJ for Carrotts
Hendo for T-Bird
Bower for Duigan

AJ? the forgotten man, how has he been performing in the seconds?

 

[Claypigeon]

just quietly mate, I think going head to head in the midfield has been your plan A for the last 4 years. Every single time we played you during the Ratten regime you came in expecting to spank us head to head in the midfield, and every single time, bar the last when we were despondent, it failed dismally.

I hope your team does go in with that game-plan. I really, really do

So do I. .. and when we beat you, again, does that mean you can stop blaming Knights for everything or is he going to be the scapegoat all year and get none of the accolades for building the side. ..

 

[[ToTTi]]

I think we should bring some pace in....

How far away is Kerr from getting a game? I'd like to see him replace Betts to give him a wake-up call. Kerr and Garlett in the forward 50 would be what Bruce would call 'delicious' !

Surely Army would come back in against the Bombers to play on a Monfries/Davey/Jetta... Replaces Carrazzo or Collins.

And Hendo for Thornton which is a no-brainer...

 

[TrueBlue05]

out: J russel - very average player costs us minimum a goal a game. cost us at least 2 that I can remember on Friday night. He should go out and be thrown out at the Laverton Tip. Can't handball, can't kick, shit under pressure, not the best decision maker, not quick, does not provide a good link up option and these are his good points.
Opposition teams must laugh at us for having him.

Also out: Carrazo and Grigs replacement as well. Both very average games against Collingwood.

In Bower, Army and Hendo

Mate, Jordan Russel has come along way! I Like him!

If you're referring to the free kick Blair got from Point blank range, its not JR's fault. the umpire was a sausage that night!

 

[Claypigeon]

I think we should bring some pace in....

How far away is Kerr from getting a game? I'd like to see him replace Betts to give him a wake-up call. Kerr and Garlett in the forward 50 would be what Bruce would call 'delicious' !

Surely Army would come back in against the Bombers to play on a Monfries/Davey/Jetta... Replaces Carrazzo or Collins.

And Hendo for Thornton which is a no-brainer...

One bad game does not make a dud player. .. go back and look at his form against Richmond then realise he wasn't terrible against the Suns and think again. ..

 

[Lance Uppercut]

So do I. .. and when we beat you, again, does that mean you can stop blaming Knights for everything or is he going to be the scapegoat all year and get none of the accolades for building the side. ..

I really have no idea what you're talking about tbh. Knights has gotten plenty of plaudits for the drafting and development he did. Even some parts of his game plan are quite useful now. Simple fact of the matter is he couldn't do defense and lost the players.

How many times did we play you over that period? 6? In all bar one you went in cocksure your midfield was that much better than ours that you'd win. Every time bar one it turned into a shoot-out you lost.

You might want to go head to head. Again, I hope you do. We'll probably tag Judd because he's, well, Judd; and Murphy is a brilliant player, we'll have to look at doing something about him too.

I hope you let Watson roam free. That would be awesome

 

[dylan_mike]

Mate, Jordan Russel has come along way! I Like him!

If you're referring to the free kick Blair got from Point blank range, its not JR's fault. the umpire was a sausage that night!

No i wasn't refering to that one. That was just unlucky.
I don't want to harp on about him. I personally would love to see him dropped until he gets some form. WHen you compare him to Shaw or Harry, then he is well behind. Even Laidler and Duigan have shown more.

 

[[ToTTi]]

One bad game does not make a dud player. .. go back and look at his form against Richmond then realise he wasn't terrible against the Suns and think again. ..

I don't recall mentioning that Betts was a 'dud player', those were your words not mine.

I just want every player to be kept honest, with pressure to perform, rather than them keep their spot because they have runs on the board...

Betts has been average at best this year. We all know how well he can play, look at his start to last season. Perhaps he needs to be rotated through the middle.

 

[dc king]

I remember a couple years ago we were in the exact same position as essendon are now.. being hyped up as the next big thing.

The pressure will be on them to perform and we'll fly under the radar and give them a reality check they wont see coming.

We have improved yes, and the 70 point win against them last year ended the hoodoo that we were all worried about. I have little doubts of us bringing them back down to earth this weekend, they just havent improved THAT much over one pre-season. Yes they are good, but we are much much better.

 

[TrueBlue05]

No i wasn't refering to that one. That was just unlucky.
I don't want to harp on about him. I personally would love to see him dropped until he gets some form. WHen you compare him to Shaw or Harry, then he is well behind. Even Laidler and Duigan have shown more.

Laidler and Duigan shown more????......NO WAY MAN

Duigan got pinged twice in a gap of 30 secs for pushing the ball out of bounds on purpose! thats just stupidity! and who has Laidler played on and beaten??

they will both be omitted long before it even crosses Ratts' mind to drop JR!

and i don't think hes comparable to Shaw and O'Brien, hes more of a small back-man

 

[juzz88]

People being very harsh on wanting Collins drop. First game of the season in a new team, with only a quarter to adjust against the best team in the competition?

Definitely would give him another go - and not start him as the substitute. From what I saw in the preseason, he's not a ball magnet but a classy player who can get into dangerous positions and hurt the opposition with his disposal. Give him time to work his way into the game and he'll contribute.

I just think it was a poor decision to debut him in such a big match, and I think that this week isn't any better for game number 2.

Let him have a week with the Ants and maybe bring him back in Round 5 against Adelaide, or Round 10 against Melbourne.

There's no shame being dropped (it's such an ugly word) when you are that young. Just like there is no shame in Watson being dropped. These two aren't expected to be playing at AFL level just yet.

Although I still vote Watson stays.

 

[fnm_just a man]

Geez some fans are fickle...JR really hasn't been that bad. It might help to see his performances again. I think many are remembering a couple of errors and running with it... Betts also has been ok. Not worthy of being omitted that's for sure. However, I am expecting a better 'goal-scoring' performance this weekend....what's with all the crazy overreacting since the Collingwood game? I still think we did well!....RELAX GUYS!!

 

[Kades_Dad]

As a long term Russell critic, I can say that he wasn't that bad. He kept Didak reasonably quiet and always puts his hand up to take the opposition's best small to medium forward.

 

[Faz 2000]

Russell had an off night against the Pies - he didn't stick a tackle, didn't provide much run, etc. However, having one off night against the dominant team in the comp does not get you dropped. In what was certianly a huge surprise to me, Russell has become a real player. Expect him to bounce back this week.

Collins made the worst debut I've ever seen, which is a pity. He didn't deserve that. Coming into a big game against a strong opponent half way through must have been tough - but he could not have been less impressive. We'll see if they persist with him.

I doubt Betts gets dropped, but I'd like him to extract the digit and show us more of what he did against Richmond.

The Bombers are a pretty serious outfit this season, it would seem, and probably at right about the level we hope/believe we're at, too. So this is an early "8 point game". I hope we find a way to win, cos I'm sick of losing to these chumps.

 

[Claypigeon]

I don't recall mentioning that Betts was a 'dud player', those were your words not mine.

I just want every player to be kept honest, with pressure to perform, rather than them keep their spot because they have runs on the board...

Betts has been average at best this year. We all know how well he can play, look at his start to last season. Perhaps he needs to be rotated through the middle.

I didn't say you did. .. but your using one bad game to say he has had a poor start when it has been one great game, a serviceable game and then a poor one against one of the best defenders in the league. .. As highlighted you are extrapolating one game into a average start. .. Go look again at the Richmond and GCS games and then realise it was just the Collingwood game. .. I'd start him on the bench this week, just to send a message but I wouldn't drop him, that would be over reaction. ..

 

[Jabba73]

just quietly mate, I think going head to head in the midfield has been your plan A for the last 4 years. Every single time we played you during the Ratten regime you came in expecting to spank us head to head in the midfield, and every single time, bar the last when we were despondent, it failed dismally.

I hope your team does go in with that game-plan. I really, really do

How many times did we play you over that period? 6? In all bar one you went in cocksure your midfield was that much better than ours that you'd win. Every time bar one it turned into a shoot-out you lost.

You might want to go head to head. Again, I hope you do. We'll probably tag Judd because he's, well, Judd; and Murphy is a brilliant player, we'll have to look at doing something about him too.

I hope you let Watson roam free. That would be awesome

Watson has played well against us the last few seasons. We have always had a hard tag on him and that has generally meant it is 4 on 3 in the centre circle as we have one looking for him and not the ball. He is very good in traffic and generally has the ball gone long before the tackler catches up with him.

We now have the quality in the middle to have 4 blokes looking for the pill which gives us a much better chance of winning it. That is all. We wont be letting him roam free, we will be making him compete for the ball, not just look to dispose of it before the tackle sticks.

 

[Jellycup_84]

AJ? the forgotten man, how has he been performing in the seconds?

listed as one of the best players last week.....
(and the week before i think)

and heard he had 20+ dispoasals and the person he was playing on never got a possesion

definatly an in for me

 

[Blue since 72]

Ins: Bower (must play) and Hendo as a minimum. Army and Lucas a chance.
Outs: Thornton and Carrazzo with Hammer and Walker on notice.

Need to see Gibbs play, not tag.

Couldn't agree more. While you need to pay attention to opposition playmakers I believe the coaching staff are guilty of over doing it far too often.

Gibbs is a play maker and should be given his head. If he tags he generally does a good job but he can't give the team enough value in this role.

Someone like Carrots is better suited generally as he'll still rack up possessions anyway but his kicking is nowhere near as good as Gibbs.

Gibbs should be used as an offensive weapon.

I'd much rather see our midfield go head to head with opposition midfields.

 

[Blue since 72]

just quietly mate, I think going head to head in the midfield has been your plan A for the last 4 years. Every single time we played you during the Ratten regime you came in expecting to spank us head to head in the midfield, and every single time, bar the last when we were despondent, it failed dismally.

I hope your team does go in with that game-plan. I really, really do

Bullshit. The fans may have thought your team was gonna get spanked by our midfield but I seriously doubt Ratten was prancing around thinking it was in the bag.

He's actually quite conservative and when playing perceived bogey sides he'll go more defensive than not.

The media in particular, rightly or wrongly wack on about the quailty of our midfield but Ratts doesn't seem to believe it as I hardly ever see it given a licence to flat out go for it.

This year Gibbs in particular and Murph should really have self expectations of stepping into the upper echelon of midfielders and Ratten should back those expectations in, not use them as taggers like he did with Gibbs last week.

 

[free at last]

does anyone of you blue supporters know how hendo has been going in the magoos? really rate this young key forward.what are his chances of getting a run this friday nite?

 

[Stamos]

does anyone of you blue supporters know how hendo has been going in the magoos? really rate this young key forward.what are his chances of getting a run this friday nite?

We're playing Saturday arvo , and he should be in this week. Had hip surgery and missed much of the pre-season, which is why he wasn't in from round 1.

 

[Winner]

Their ruckman involvment going forward relys more on fast breaks, and drifting forward, rather than winning one on one battles with their opponent. We are favoured by the game being at the G.

Our ruckmen going forward is all about exploiting one on ones, nobody in your side would beat Hille and Ryder in a one on one marking contest. They are too tall and are too strong at marking.

 

[Blue since 72]

Watson has played well against us the last few seasons. We have always had a hard tag on him and that has generally meant it is 4 on 3 in the centre circle as we have one looking for him and not the ball. He is very good in traffic and generally has the ball gone long before the tackler catches up with him.

We now have the quality in the middle to have 4 blokes looking for the pill which gives us a much better chance of winning it. That is all. We wont be letting him roam free, we will be making him compete for the ball, not just look to dispose of it before the tackle sticks.

Apologies for following you around this morning but We're obviously on the same page. It would be like trying to tag Simon Black; ie no point. He's so good in close that the ball is gone before any tagger could lay a hand on him.

I'd like to see our blokes go head to head with Watson to win that first disposal. I think the rucks will be quite even so guys like Ed, Judd and Murph need to have their attacking game on and don't make the priority "where's Jobe".

Personally I'd try Judd off the contest (he'll probably get a tag anyway) and use Murph in close more often (he is actually very good in traffic). Judd with more space to work could be beneficial to losing his shadow.

So far this year Judd still seems to be doing a fare bit of 'in close' work which is what I thought Ed was for. Geez if Eddie gets a game (I'm sure he will) run him through there as well and I do think its time to try something different with him. With Jeff and 2 to 3 talls down front we're not going to lose anything by sending betts into the middle now and then. Surely he's got enough of a tank to do the odd 5 minutes. You could rest Murph or Gibbs down there (they know where the goals are).

 

[HARKER]

I'd like to see our blokes go head to head with Watson to win that first disposal. I think the rucks will be quite even so guys like Ed, Judd and Murph need to have their attacking game on and don't make the priority "where's Jobe".

Robbo though may be there for some time just to put mini Watson off his game.