G’ Day Guys, this will be considered pretty controversial for some to appreciate, however IMO with the list that we have now assembled; it is necessary to make the hard decisions on match-ups. In previous years, there has been the almost season defining Probables V Possibles matches. Why season defining you may well ask? Simple really, the MC decide who are their Core players who they expect will make up the bulk of the Senior side and then throw in a couple of promising lads at the deep end. Then they have pitted them against the reserves. All this does is cement in kids minds that they aren’t thought highly enough of, to cut it at the top level. I reckon this is too old school and should be scrapped.

A better concept would be to even out the 2 teams and create some serious contests. Lets have a bo-peep at some of the developing kids before the serious stuff starts and get an idea on exactly what they need to do to step up to the next level. Imagine if you were an 18 year old boy and you were picked in the Possibles and had to mark Fevola or Thornton for the entirety of the scratch match? If you got towelled up then nothing is surer than your confidence and season is stuffed and you would be back with the dew kickers. Even if you get a few possies, this has usually been put down to the supposed Superstars slow start to the year and would be considered promising at best.

Would it not be logical to try to match up each contest with players of similar ability/experience all over the park? Instead of young Flinty on Fev, why not play Thornton on Fev and Flinty on another 2nd year player. We need to develop the entire list and no better way than making the match-ups as even as possible. Sure if a kid smashes his opponent, he can be reassigned a tougher opponent in the second half or in future games. If said kid shows that he is too good for his first match-up and holds his own against the experienced player, then it is obvious that we have got a goodun to work with. This is the way I would handle the step-up process. This way we can gauge natural progression. It would also create more confidence for young kids that the MC thought that they warranted the tougher opponent and were maybe on the fringe of a bright future rather than the current situation.

Deficiencies can also be ironed out with this process. The coaches can see exactly what a lad needs to do to compete at the higher level. Aside from body size issues, they can determine chinks like: not keeping their feet, weak tackling, inability to get arms free, incorrect positioning at the ball drop, premature elevation (Commetti), hands out in front of face, spoiling, not filling the hole, shepherding, leading too early, loose checking and amongst a raft of other considerations; disposal skills both by foot and hand.

Assuming that everybody is available injury wise and topping up with young Tommi and a couple of others where needed, who should play on who? I have tried to match up Rookies, First year players, Second year players and Experienced players against each other where possible. This would be my ideal match-ups to start:


Backs:...... Lappin......Thornton......Austin
Forws:...... Young.......Fevola........Benjamin

HBack:...... Flint........S O'hAilpin.....Russell
HForw:...... Jackson......Fisher.......Edwards

Centre:...... Scotland....Murphy.....Houlihan
Centre:...... Stevens....Blackwell....Simpson

HForw:...... Wiggins....Kennedy....Whitnall
HBack:....... Walker......Bower.......Cloke

Forws:....... Betts..........Waite........Kouta
Backs: ...... Anderson....Hartlett…..Bannister

Follow:...... Ackland.....Carrazzo.....Grigg
Follow:...... Hampson....Bentick......Gibbs


Inter:... A O'hAilpin...Saddington...Teague...Raso
Inter:... Jacobs.....Jamieson...McLaren...Johnston


What think you, my Blue Brethren? What match-ups would you like to see?

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

I tip the blue team by 3 goals.

murphy has to play on gibbs......has to be done...

I hear what you're saying BB, but if the selection commitee want to see Gibbs on Grigg perhaps they could get a tape of Vic Country vs. SA. This is the AFL and nursing 18 year olds through preseason is not going to help them when they find themselves in match situations against bigger and more qualified opposition.

I think the match-ups should represent a challenge for the player and also give the coaches an idea what they're dealing with. I'd like to see Cloke get a run on Fev and I'd like to see Hartlett and maybe Bower get a run on Fev too, because these guys could realistically be turned to in a match situation and asked to play on a key forward. We already know T-Bird can match up on a Hall or a Neitz and Austin will never be in that situation this year, so you give Austin a bloke like Fisher and you use Thornton's size and defensive nous to try out Kennedy.

I think the probables vs. possibles works because it's about laying down challenges and putting people under pressure and seeing how they perform. If you're a poss, they're saying: 'we don't have you in the best team, show us why we're wrong' for the probs there's arguably more pressure they're saying: 'you're our best and we've given you a challenge we believe is within your capabilities, show us our faith is justified'.

I think a bit of reality is extremely beneficial in these matches, for example I love the fact that Ryan Jackson is being made to shadow Nick Stevens at training, it's a beneficial exercise for all involved even though it may seem a mis-match to have a second year rookie duking it out with our most accomplished runner. Fact is, Stevo's future is being tagged and RJ's future is a negating mid-fielder. We play Scotto on Stevo and they play 50m wide of each other all day, kick 4 goals each and walk away thinking about pay rises.

and Lappin is assigned to Young because???? other than that, i like.

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Blue is the Colour, Football is the game...

BB good post...

Although I agree with much of what BB said, i agree more so with Blu944.
Yes we want to create some serious contests, but I'm not sure that matching players up based on how many years they've been at the club is the best way to do it. IMHO we need to use intraclub practice matches (and specific match ups) to test all players. We need to take players out of their comfort zones somewhat. Like Blu944 said, there's no point matching Scotland on Stevens and letting them run wide. Better to play taggers on both in order to give them practice (and test them) in dealing with taggers.

I agree with BB that they should scrap the concept of Possibles vs PropabIes though. Not just for the message it sends the players, but because they need to name the sides based on good match ups, not who our best side is. Intraclub practices matches aren't for practicing game plans (thats the NAB cup) - it's all about learning more about the players as individuals.

Here are my suggested match ups. I've done them in terms of finding players that can learn from playing on their respective opponent. Also I really think its important that our #1 and #2 ruckman go against each other in the practice match - so Ackland vs Cloke from the get go.

FB Anderson S O'hAilin Saddington
FF Betts Fevola Hampson

HB Bower Thornton Lappin
HF Waite Kennedy Gibbs

C Carrazzo Stevens Grigg
C Blackwell Jackson Simmo

HF Fisher Whitnall Houlihan
HB Scotland Flint Russell

FF Wiggins Kouta Edwards
FB Bannister Hartlett Austin

RR Ackland Young Murphy
RR Cloke Walker Bentick

INT A O'hAilpin Jacobs Teague
Benjamin Jamieson

Some specific matchs up that I am really interested in seeing:
Santa vs Fev - good experience for Santa and I think it would be a nice challenge for Fev

Lappin vs Gibbs - both light but tall players who are great on the group and solid in the air. They could play either HB or HF and change up in the second half of the match.

Young tagging Walker and Jackson tagging Stevens. Good experience for the toungsters.

Betts vs Anderson... two excitement machines.

I could go on and on. So many good match ups.

Does anyone know when the first intra club match is?

Id love to see those exact match up BrizyBlue... for the below reasons

1) SO Whitnall can towel up Cloke and expose him for the no good hack that he is, sorry i cant rate that bloke

2) Scotland to show up Nick Stevens, and show many other supporters what ive been saying for a long time, he doesnt like to go get his own footy

3) And id put a real tight defender on Waite because he needs to learn to play hard and stop trying to show pony.

4) Would love to see Murphy on Gibbs... to see how Gibbs goes.

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Matty Kruzer you star!

Jeez Holliwood you are an angry young man. Don't hold back.

Waite show pony?? Hardly. Injury prone .... yes. Hard working .... yes. Show pony... NO

Brizzy... how many times have you seen Waite try to make an easy mark look impossible by flying early etc, not to mention him not being able to keep his feet. He has a heap of talent, and i hope he proves me wrong... just too inconsistent.

Sorry for not being all positive but i just like to say it how i feel it is.

Stevens is over rated, will not get a hard footy
Waite tries to be too flamboyant and cant kick
Fisher great hands but cant kick
Bentick tries hard, but cant kick
Carrazzo tries hard but cant kick
Wiggins tries hard but cant kick
Houla beautiful kick, but weak
Thornton a gun defender but a dog for trying to back door us

Whitnall our best player by a mile
Walker gun.. but cant kick
Simpson will be a star, but craps himself in front of goal
Murphy gun... will be our next captain
Fevola gun best kick for goal weve had in ages
Scotland gun
Kouta is a champion leads by example
Lappin gun

This is how i see it... too many players cant kick a footy

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Matty Kruzer you star!

I agree with a couple of your points. Sometimes you have to be tough to be fair. Although I definitely think you are off the mark with a couple of players.

Stevens is our best onballer. He had a pretty bad injury last year and still did ok. You put him in a team where he has support and he is a star. You don't release how much help other speedy onballers (like stevens) get in other sides, with blocking, sheparding etc. Judd gets so much help. Just ask Aka. Stevens gets nothing. He has great skills, great awareness and reads the game like a book. Gun and will prove it this year. I don't think his toughness is an issue, but his defensive side could use a little improvement.

Waite doesn't try to be flamboyant - he can't help that he's a 5'8" player in a 6'4" body. He's style looks flashy but he isn't trying to be so. He is tenacious and tries his heart out. Remember the days when SOS couldn't keep his footing. With age he will get better at that just like SOS did. Probably still needs some extra weight to play KP, otherwise a tall wingman could be interesting.

Agree with your assessment of Fish. Great hands and reads the flight well, just needs to improve his kicking

Bentick and Carrazzo agree. I love both their commitment just wish Bentick was a little faster and cleaner with his disposal. Carazzo is a ball magnet as well just needs to improve his kicking a bit (especially for goal).

Wiggins disagree. Tries very hard and is a really good kick both sides. Just last year was rushing it too much, which will improve with experience. His technique is solid however.

Houla is definitely more of an outisde player, but has worked on his size and toughness. You need all types in a team.

Simpson is a star and I don't think there is any crapping in front of goal, or anywhere for that matter. The guy is so gutsy for his size.

Don't disagree with your assessment of all the others...

Hard but fair Hollywood. I've forgiven Thornton and blamed admin and necessity to be tough with contracts for his stance, and he finally saw the light. Stevo will be much better as the team progresses and carried injuiries last year. I like Waite but he has great talent and needs to use it, he is a dumb footballer too often, and doesn't work hard enough often enough (ie he needs to chase like eddie betts). Alas you are spot on with your can't kick group. I would add a few more to the list

- true, can't argue there

- true, but his only season where he had limited interuptions (injury etc,) was brilliant and shows just how much talent he has!

- True

don't like his kicking~!

- Can you blame him for trying to get out. I'm sure he loves the club but to be honest i can't remember Carlton re-signing a player WITHOUT something going wrong and the player ending up un-happy (Kouta & Lappin 06', Fevola 05', Russell-Fisher-Thornton 06', etc etc etc)

- true

Improved Out-Of-Sight last year and finished in out top 5 B&F IIRC.

Man i thought he put through some gem's last year. And our whole team bar Fev crapped themselves in-front of goals, but i blame that on our gameplan and NOT the player.

Goes without saying really!

True

Maybe not a gun, but a handy pick-up nonetheless.

100% true

Not a gun but close to a champion of the CFC

Yes, tis true..................but i have absolute faith in 99% of our playing list and honestly believe that we are MUCH BETTER THAN A 16th PLACED TEAM!

I'm not saying we should be making the finals, nor am i expecting us too, but we are NOT the team that should be finishing last!

North & Essendon* were in worse positions than we were last year (interms of Injuruy's & form and what-not!) and to a certain extent so was teams liek Port Adelaide & Brisbane.

Some people say "he can't kick"...........................but i say "He's got no confidence"!

The Talent IS THERE! They will deliver for us PROVIDED the respective people Deliver them the confidence & belief they require!

So.......................in saying that.........................i really don't care what match-ups the Intra-Club match goes with.

For me, it's all about the change of Game-Plan and style of play.
- Run with the ball,
- don't Flood,
- put faith into other forwards such as Waite.
- Get aggresive.

I saw HEAPS of the above last season - just not from our team!

_________________
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

I like it BB, but I would like to see these match-ups-

Russell on Benjamin/Jackson

Austin/Flint on Edwards

Ackland on McLaren-- I am still not convinced that Ackland will be our first ruckman.

Hampson on A. O'hAilpin/Jacobs

Walker on Kouta-- Purely for Walker's development. Throughout his career his opponent will often be a big-bodied medium sized midfielder/forward.

Bannister on Wiggins

This is exactly my point
' You put him in a team where he has support and he is a star '
This is my whole issue, a few of my friends think this bloke is a superstar.

Positive
- Lovely kick of the football and is a smart footballer, no issue there

Negative
- Refusal to man up when we dont have the footy
- Only runs hard into space to try to get a cheap kick
- The following players had more tackles than Nick Stevens in season 2006, Bentick, Betts ( playing as a small forward ) , Kouta, Scotland and BARNABY BENCH!! Are you serious... please dont tell me the bloke has a defensive bone in his body.

Please see this link for proof of him being a gimp

http://www.thesexysquad.com/gallery/dis ... =41&pos=17

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Matty Kruzer you star!

its hard to know which way is best.

do your set kids challenges and see how they go and where they are at

do you use the games to get the best 22 playing together and trying to put all the trainig drills and set ups into practice

are our better players (fev for example) going to get more out of playing on a kid or playing on a thornton?

there won't be just 1 scratch match so a combination of all is needed over the pre season

i personally like the idea of picking best fwd line and putting them in team a
then picking the best backline and putting them in team b
and splitting up the rest based on match ups

eg/ bentick v blackwell
stevens v gibbs
houlihan v russell

Is actually in the top 2 or 3 at the club for hard ball gets, 1st possessions and clearances.

Barnaby Bench had more tackles than him in season 2006... is he for real. Like i said, no defensive side to his game

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Matty Kruzer you star!

Ahh think you should check, I will also extremely critical of his tackling last year until I found out that he'd been playing with a pair of cracked ribs since Rd 3

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tr-c ... t=TA&st=TA

Both had the same and were equal 5th at the club. Can't see much evidence to back up your claims.

Told ya it would be controversial, didn't I? It is amazing how different people see different things. I guess that's why none of us are selectors!

I reckon some of you are being a bit harsh on a few of the boys. Without pointing out exactly who has been harsh and about individual players, let me say that in the past due to lack of depth; we have had to go with players that are underdone and definately injured. This wouldn't happen at most other clubs. They would be sent back to the ressies or given a couple of weeks off to recover. In our instance, they are in the run on side and have rarely been rotated.

It is not too long ago that our midfield consisted of Kouta, Campo and Hulmey in total. We have come a long way in the space of 5 years or so and it would be refreshing to see our boys given the opportunity to recuperate sufficiently.

That being said, yes we have a couple of outside types and I even concede that a couple could be labelled as soft, but look back over the past great Carlton teams and loh and behold for every in and under type you will find an outrigger just waiting to take the glory for the clearance.

95 Premiership Team: Ratts, Browny & Diesel: Braddles, Campo & Clape.

We just need a couple of the current midfielder types to step up and put their scone over the pill to help out AB and Blackers! I reckon with Ratts and Braddles at the club, we will soon see a sorting out of the wheat from the chaff. My tip is that Carrots will become an in and under type this season as well.

2007 Crop: AB, Blackers & Carrots: Murph, Stevo & Bagpipes.

I reckon that these guys are gunna be used more in flanker/pocket roles rather than in the guts, but may have cameos from time to time: Walker, Simpson, Betts, Russell, Koutoufides, Houlihan, Gibbo, Griggy, Benji & Jacko.

There is plenty to work with and I look forward to the continued development of the new breed Blue!

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!