This is a crucial game especially for Ratts as he has set finals and a finals win as the acceptable goal for this year...which makes this game a must win....

IMO we will tsruggle again this week...the game plan which Ratts implemented has evaporated over the last few weeks due to two things..one, teams have worked it out and have found it to be one dimensional in that we cannot adjust when we are played tight and our run is nullified early on and two injuries to some extent have resulted in static players being brought back into the fold i.e Thornton which have only assited the opposition in stopping our momentum in games...if Brisbane come out half fired up they will get the job done unles we can come up with something new...

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Too true J&K. If you want to stop the blues the first place to start would be to come up with a way to stop our run out of defense.Teams lately have done that too easy lately. Not having a gameplan focussed on tall forwards is a good place to start for opposition teams.

We need to learn how to graft out wins when we are not allowed to play the way we want. Its all in the players heads. They did well against freo to stick at it but buggered it all up by not kicking goals. They need to find that steel. If they cant then Ratts should trade off those who are not capable.

Thornton should not play in our backline again in my opinion.

I agree and feel that this is where maturity is the next level for this group (mind and body). When we can run free we are wonderful but at the moment when the clamps are applied we are like Elsie returning to the easy feed rather than hunting for our own. I also think this is where we need the big high flyer forward who can grab a few. It'd be nice to snag one or two goals a week with marks in the goal square.

Born Free as free
as the wind blows
as free as the grass grows....


Run free Bluebaggers

or

Go get your own @#$%&! pill!

or

Protect the poor bugger in Navy Blue who has the @#$%&! pill! (hint: it's probably Judd)

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

We should win, as Brissy are "gone", but how can you tip us with any confidence ?

This will be very close. At the very least I want to see every player doing his bit to help Juddy when its his turn. Top 4 is out of the question now, but just want to see us finish off the year with pride in the jumper.

Not sure this has been asked yet.

Why the @#$%&! are we playing on a Thursday night in the middle of winter?

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"I had to eat"

Dunno? Are Thursday nights different in winter?

They're colder than Summer........

When Houlihan was used as a defensive forward on Fisher and co, he nullified their ability to run the footy out of the half back line as well as kicking goals and giving them off.

He was lauded by the so-called experts on radio and TV. His doubters here shriveled to a trickle (miracle of miracles) and he looked at home and played good footy.

I'm not suggesting for an instant that he is the only reason we have fallen by the wayside but if opposition teams like North play a loose half back and Houla is playing at the other end of the ground, just maybe it is contributing to a breakdown in the game plan that worked so well against Geelong, StK and others.

Put him back on the loose man and then play though him.

We have a chance to consolidate in the top 4-6.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

Cos it's school holidays in Vic & parents would love to take their little ones to Etihad on a freezing winters Thursday night in Melb & then stand on a freezing platform at Southern Cross station & wait for about 20-30 minutes for a train and get off at their unmaned station & get belted up by thugs on the way to the car park

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

Hmm...so many interesting points raised here.
1./ was Lassie a free loader or a free roamer...or both?
If both...then she is like Elsa..except that she, (Lassie )was really a
male.
which brings me to
2./Houla.
I agree with Blue Sombrero. He is great as a defensive forward..and
I hope he gets the chance to play that role again on...
3./Thursday nite footy.
giving us the shortest 'back to it' after the break..then the longest
break in to the following Sunday.
Very odd draw. it seems colder when you know you have to get up
early the next day. Brrrr. (but if we win..we won't notice!)

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

This is our third Thursday night game for the season I think.

Maybe something to do with the split round ie get footy back on as quick as possible. I dunno.

It's about trialling different time slots for team 17 and 18 come into the competition.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

I was certain we would beat Freo after the pathetic North Melbourne loss.... we should have beaten Freo but as many of you posted on here everything that could have gone wrong did... Murph late out, Kruz goes down early in the game and we kick 1.12 ?? It couldnt have got any worse!
Given that, im predicting a fired up Blues outfit to come out and smash Brisbane, we generally match up well Vs them, and even if somehow Brown plays ill be happy, he isnt fit and we will run off him and hurt him the other way. Plus early this season when they were winning, we JUST lost at the Gabba and it took an unstoppable performance from Brown to beat us ( without Judd and Bower )

OUT: Waite, Kruzer and Thornton
IN: Hammer, Murphy and Ohailpin

Blues by 43

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Matty Kruzer you star!

Just seems an odd time of year to trial a mid-week match. I know it's school hols, it's also bloody freezing. I also know they really only care about TV know too.

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"I had to eat"

Can't find a link for the story but Courier Mail reporting that JB will not play until Round 16 against Hawthorn. Jesse O'Brien will debut for the Lions. Simon Black and Ash McGrath expected to return...

O'Briens profile...

Gee he looks happy in that photo...

Please... please.. do something about Simon Black. Don't let him play a blinder.. again..

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Koperek.

x2
except...by 44

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Gut feel is that we'll pump these flower. They lost to the Tiges on their home ground FFS!

Since last game Ins: Judd, Bower. Lions Outs: J Brown (likely). Enough said.

Their midfield is shite and having Murph back will add to their woes big time.

Blues by 48 pts, a nice tune up for our Doggy bitches the next week.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/blues-may-load-up-on-ruckmen/story-e6frf9jf-1225884982799

Santy may not play and all three talls might....

Murphy in and Robbo a chance....

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31-3-2015 - R.I.P AFL, corrupted lying pricks
12-5-2015 - Go WADA
18-8-2015 - Suffer Hird* u lying flower
12-1-2016 - CAS goes bang, happy new year.. Drugcheats forever..

Not mad on the three of them playing none of them are exactly setting the world on fire - Taking in three blokes trying to find their feet not a good idea if you ask me.

Would rather go with an extra mid and rotate them through the forward fifty or play white in there and least that gives you more flexibility than have three blokes who struggle like hell to catch the ball over their heads

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws