Blues hope fewer kicks to Fevola mean better results

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25315071-19742,00.html

Sorry had to post this.

Great article about one of our most glaring deficiencies in the past - our one dimensional forward line...

Couldn't help but get excited, the way it was written.

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quality article.

and IMO spot on. i have been saying ti for sometime, but Garlett/Robinson (and we can assume Yarren is going to be quality) have made a massive impact on our side.

everyone knows our midfield is quality, had potential to the be the best ...


but i dont think anyone actually realises how much potential our forward line has... it could be anything and if they continue to improve in the same manner that they are at the moment, we seriously have the potential to be best forward line in a comp.

and as it is, i think our defence is developing nicely as welll really starting to develop a side of real quality all over the park.

this team will continue to improve and take the next level, and in all honestly i dont think there is a side that has as mch potential as us, hawthorn included.

and unlike the saints who should have done alot more with the quality they have in side, i think Carlton demands and achieves success.

culture

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

All that and Fev will still kick a century one season.

As the midfield dominates more and more the entries into the 50 become cleaner and more frequent Fev will get just as much opportunity and so will everybody else .

There are going to be games where Fev kicks some oiutrageous bags of goals.
Yet the spread will be much more rounded.

Thats what happens when youre a good team and well drilled.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Does that mean you're happy with our style of play and how the team is being coached this season?

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Good to see Ralph put in a bit of effort.

The blues really have struck gold with the early good form of MR and JG in the forward 50.

Everyone raves about our #1 draft picks but we've really filled out the team with some great lower draft picks it seems.

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There's so much I could say...

Of course i am so far.

Weve come a long way.

And i hate a right to be unhappy with the gameplan last year.They knew that and its fixed at this point.

The real test will come against a team that is dour and uber defensive like the Saints.

Though i totally believe teams that play one style of defensive footy like that will lose their way at some point in the city and hang themselves in their own web.

Ideally you need 3 or 4 gameplans and you should be able to switch between them according to whats going on.

Teams that are playing a defensive style relying on tackling and getting huge numbers back to frustrate and then catch teams on some kind of break will just lose themselves in a maze of monotony.Its mot really what players have been brought up to love about our game and wont enjoy it when things go belly up.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Not to re-ignite the debate from last season, however I think we were trying to play this style last year, but the players weren't quite ready so it had to be simplified.

The players are a year older and more experienced, have had another pre-season to be better drilled, we've added some pace and defensive pressure in the forward line and maybe most importantly Richard Hadley is fit.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

just on that, i actually think, our game plan is about right.

not too defensive, not too attacking, and its generally producing some good performance.

we attack at the right times, we slow the game up at the right times ... really starting to develop.

put it this way - i have seen more growth in the side in the 18 months than ratts has been coach than for the entire period that was Pagan (not pagan bashing here either)

we are finally, really starting to go places.

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

I agree with Synners re. his lament about the one-dimensional gameplan in '08; on the forwardline and it's new-found potency, it is worth remembering that in '95 (don't need to remind you all, do I?! ), we had a multi-pronged attack featuring Clape, Pearce, Sticks and Spalding, with the midfield chipping in. For years, Fev and sticks had/have been the mainstays of our forwardline, so its nice to see some unpredictability thrown in.

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Be positive to all those @ TC- the wait is almost over!

As much as I love the fact that finally we know what our spine will be Jamo, Waite, Kruize, Cloke, Fev. And that it seems that all the players know the game plan and thier roles in it.
The thing that has really impressed me from Ratts and Co is just how much better the skills have improved over the summer.
Waites got rid of his floaters, Murphys kicking has improved out of sight, Russels efficiency is now up over 80% and the overall bullet handballs mean that we are finding our players rather than handing it to the opposition.

Hard to believe that it's pretty much the same team as last year.

Good job Ratts

I reckon the guy to thank most is Swanny.

A whole heap of resources have been pumped into get this all right... and still alot to go

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I am enjoying how Ratten is playing everything down this year.

He has matured very quickly as a coach.

I will not be surprised if he coaches for a loooong time.

Go Blues!

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They coud'nt.....could they?

Sorry I forgot about a couple others

GOOD JOB DICK!!!!!
GOOD JOB SWANNY!!!!

..agreed, we tried this gameplan a little last year, but didn't have the cattle to actually carry it off.. ..don't forget fisher's inaccuracy made us look more one-dimensional than we actually were.. ..also factor in no CHF presence made us use betts in this way.. ..now, fev has proper help, and also betts has proper help, enabling him to rotate thru the middle late in the game when others are more spent.. ..bettsy is actually great for clearances in the middle..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

1. Emergence of Garlett and Robinson helping Betts
2. Betts' improvement
3. With big Sam Jacobs in the ruck, we've had Cloke in the forward line more often than last year.



In the last 2 games our skills have been excellent, we were so good in close at the contests with our handballs and kicking was mostly pin-point...we hardly made any turnovers with skill errors which was great to see.

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Carlton Premiers '10

Well I hope we target him this week because he always destroys the bummers.

what i like about Ratts and the MC's work is

1. Skills improved out of sight

2. Ratts is playing the style he wants. He is not copying the style of another team or employing tactics that don;t suit our cattle (ie Wallace, Tigers zone with poor foot skills). We are playing our own style. Attacking from half back, tons of fwd pressure, multiple goal kicking options and everyone knows their role.

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Go Blues

our improvement has come from a number of factors. My top 10 (in no particular order of importance)

1. Richard Hadley's inclusion. An inside player with very good skills, has freed Judd to a degree and is more damaging than previous players like Carrots. He has been awesome.
2. Gibbs, Murphy (and soon to see Grigg) with more games under their belt have gotton stronger and fitter.
3. The whole team understand the gameplan better. It is so obvious we know where to run now. Our midfield spreads really well from clearances which makes it easier for players to make decisions and also means it looks like their skills have improved.
4. Backline is settling down (well before Jamo's injury)
5. CJ's inclusion and use of the ball is exceptional
6. Jacob's inclusion and Kruz's improvement mean our ruck is competative and the game plan most definetly uses our rucks to play a key role.
7. Forward pressure - Garlett and Mitch Robinson have added another dimension; Fev is awesome at the moment with his tackles.
8. Our forward line offers variety - they may not be the best players ie Cloke/Wiggins who are honest battlers, but our attack is like Nathan Bracken's variation of balls, it is our mix of options that enables use to be competative with Fev the standout and Betts now benefiting from Robo and Garlett in particular
9. Ratten is getting better and his back room staff is getting better (thanks Swanny)
10. Ratten has been able to re-inject our sense of identity as the Blues. I for one do not underestimate how important this has been in getting players to understand that they play for the Blues and that means you are expected to deliver and win.

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The glass is neither half full nor half empty. Rather the glass is twice as big than required.

This has also allowed Cloke to stay forward more.



I am so so so so so glad that we picked Ratten over the other candidates because of this reason. How good is it that he instils this mentality into the entire team? I doubt any other coach would have been able to...i think that is a key area the likes of Wallace went wrong...
I love it how you see him barracking in the coaches box...its not just 'business' he is genuinley into it and passionate.

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Carlton Premiers '10

Good to see Wiggo finally getting his dues too!