ITCHY EYEBALLS
I see you watching me watching you
He’s played 49 games…ffs!
Opinion The 'Carlton related stuff that doesn't need it's own thread' thread Part 2
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I just have (probably overly) fond memories of Houlihan so it was an extreme call, though I know he was lambasted just as much as Lachie.
ITCHY EYEBALLS
I see you watching me watching you
What are your next words of wisdom?
Dom over Bam Bam
give the guy a chance.
Hoops was responsible for some of the softest acts I’ve seen on a footy field.
LOB should aspire to surpassing him
I stand corrected. Houlihan was 4x the player LOB is.
Sounds like a trip down memory lane required. Upon watching, he just had a lot more IQ than LOB has at present.
myblueroan
The truth sometimes arrives on horses. 🐎
How good was that!
He had presence.
I rarely notice LOB except when he makes clangers.
No comparison as players for mine. LOB will hopefully grow into his own style and be a great player for us.
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It was about delivery, hoops could hit you with his left or right
Hoops has him covered in either era
Exquisite was Hoops. Fev has said on many occasions that Hoops was the best and he used to lick his chops when Hoops was was running at him with ball in hand. The three best kicks of the footy I have seen at Carlton are Diesel, Hoops and Scotto.
In any other era of this club, Ryan Houlihan is an undisputed club legend
- Apr 4, 2018
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Really enjoyed that. Cheers.
Putting the elite kicking to one side he was also very good with ball handling, outbodying his oppo in contested situations, reading play and ground level work.
I know highlights generally show the good stuff but that one was super impressive. I’d forgotten how good he was.
Bradley was also superb imo.
It helped Hoops that Fevola knew how to lead really well. Helped him serve it to him gift wrapped.
Biggest difference between Ryan and Lochie - Ryan very good burst speed, allowing him to get clear and hit up an opponent under little pressure.
Lochie is all slow twitch fibres. He's got the acceleration of a freight train. I don't think he lacks courage or is scared, he just lacks power in his legs to impact in a one on one. Opponents close in too quickly and he's under pressure. Once he's going he's pretty speed but he really needs to work on his acceleration over the first 10 metres.
- Jul 25, 2018
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Until I see LOB knock out a player with a shirt front; he is a rung below Hoops. Saddest part of the clip is about Kennedy at the end 
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He was much better than LOB at the same stage of their careers - but also helps to play for the 2000-2001 side in your first two years than the teams LOB had to play in, you can just come in and play your role in a good side. 26 goals in his 2nd season for Houlihan, was a crafty HFF.
Who knows where LOB goes from here. I did find the Age article funny, going on how he has improved etc.....but then 'and appears to have booked his spot for Sunday’s clash against Collingwood.' - even the article says he isnt a lock week in week out
Its a bit like the praise he got in an earlier game then found himself out of the side 2 weeks later.....he is still only a couple of bad games in a row from finding himself out of the side due to his weaknesses (a bit soft and prone to costly errors)
Isn't this kinda the issue from many on this board/the broader supporter base re gauging performances from LOB and Plowman - the good stuff isn't appreciated?
ferrisb
Brownlow Medallist
I actually think LOB's kicking is overrated (at least consistency wise).
His best kicks are beautiful 55-60m passes, delivered lace-out, weighted beautifully. Just works of art. Belong at the Louvre, behind bullet-proof glass. chef's kiss
But I reckon he shanks a higher % of kicks than any other Carlton player (ex-Dow last couple of years). Lost count how many he's kicked out of bounds on the full over the years. And how many absolute howlers he's made.
Maybe that's a result of him aiming for perfect kicks and missing the perfect spot of the ball. Maybe playing on the wing means kicks are more likely to go out of bounds. I think it's mostly due to his kicking (and/or decision making) turning to crud when under pressure; although to his credit he seems to have improved that a lot this year.
All I know is the player whose kicks most often get me off my seat yelling bravo is LOB. And the player whose kicks most often have me screaming in frustration is also LOB.
Note: I've been a LOB skeptic for a long time, so maybe I just notice his mistakes more than others. So it could just be me.
LanceRomance
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His kicking can be elite but does do some dumb shit, like out of bounds on the full as you say. I find his kicking of 2 steps is elite - when he kicks on instinct. when under pressure he can be bad and too much time to think about it he can be bad.
LOB has a fairly unusual ball drop where he bangs the ball onto the foot from a high position. I think that this results on poor kicking when under pressure. Once he is in space or kicking over the mark is like its laser guided. One other thing that makes his kick so good is his distance control where he can put it into the perfect spot to run onto. This is a super skill. AW was a player who could kick it well but seemed to have poor distance control which meant he was much better up forward where kicking goals doesn't require distance control as often(just stick it somewhere in the top deck).
Good post and I've felt the same, with regards to his close in pressure game I have to refrain from calling him a witches hat anymore so he is improving.
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Whatever happened to that Kennedy guy
I only watched a couple of minutes of it - plunkett, mccormick, sporn etc
also found it funny that highlights include some nice clean pickups followed by a really shit kick or they stay on the vision because a commentator is giving him praise (as if that makes him a better player)
like the very first clip. Great piece of play, kicks it straight to the Richmond guy.I only watched a couple of minutes of it - plunkett, mccormick, sporn etc
also found it funny that highlights include some nice clean pickups followed by a really shit kick or they stay on the vision because a commentator is giving him praise (as if that makes him a better player)
But geez that was fun to watch.
Gethelred
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There were three tackles laid in that vision; not, three tackles by Houlihan, three tackles total.
On one hand, he's classier than LOB is on that footage, but you can't blind turn like that in modern footy. Tackling is a more necessary part of the game, and you're just not getting the space and the time he has in that footage these days. You put LOB back then, and he'd look a hell of a lot better.
Careful, I tried to make this exact point and was stiffly rebuked and accused of making things up.
I think his consistency has improved since coming back into the side this time round. I can only recall one bad shank and it was this weekend, unless I'm mistaken. But traditionally I think exactly the same - his kicking looked great until suddenly he nearly misses his boot and kicks it 15m oob.
Touch wood he seems to have worked through that bit now. He's turning me but I'm not a full blown beLoBer yet, need to see it for a more sustained period before I'm convinced he's through it but he's certainly on the path now.
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