Fev playing out the game with torn stomach muscles...

_________________
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.

Wonderful to watch this game in full, almost live, in Shanghai in the middle of the day as opposed to the early hours of the morning. Thanks to The Australian Television Network.

Whilst thrilled with the win and pleased with the improved intensity of our players, especially the improved tackle count, the Freo players seemed to be constantly able to get their hands free and dispose of the ball when tackled, significantly reducing the effectiveness of our tackles. Too many tackles proved ineffective, and we really didn't hurt the opposition often enough with our tackling. Gibbs aside, we really need to step up the quality of our tackling. The young guys are leading the way here but there is still significant room for improvement.

The other issue, that many others have highlighted, is our entry into the forward line. Unless this and the effectiveness of our tackles improves markedly over the remainder of the season, the clubs above us on the ladder will likely inflict some significant losses on us in the next couple of months.

_________________
A Blues Supporter - not a Blues Bagger.

_________________
Lawrence Lawrence, The man who knows all the rackets and all the racketeers!

Pro's

Setanta - was beginning to have doubts but was very good

Russel - has shown poise and steady improvement in the last 3 weeks. V confident he will be a long term Carlton player

Eddie - 1. Have taken great pleasure in watching his performances this year after all the sh*t i've seen him cop on here...esp knowing all along that those of you giving it to him would be eating your words
2. Have finally settled on a number for my jumper....thanks eddie

Browne - really composed player. Very impressive

Grigg - improving


Con's

Murphy - I love him and he is playing great, but one thing that is annoying me a little is his tendency to play for free kicks...Many are getting stuck into Farmer, but Murph dived yesterday, and has played for free kicks often this season. I'd rather just see him have 100% focus on winning the ball and not worry about trying to score free kicks...

- We have Geelong on the rebound...im a little scared....tho they havent been playing terrifically... Just hope the loss doesn't jolt them back into form because with our injuries etc, we could be looking at a hiding



As a side note, let's not forget that we were playing Fremantle, and we know that freo are not a quick team. Adam Bentick was great, but perhaps that's because the pace of the game was slow. We still have too many slow players in the team and it will continue to be exposed against the quicker teams. I'm just saying this bc people have "changed" their opinion re his position in the team based on this performance, but i know supporters are fickle, and he will more than likely cop it again as soon as next week. Im not saying he's not going to be a long-term player, but i will say that some of these slower/one-paced players will have to go...there are simply too many. But alas, well done Blueboys, it was a very enjoyable victory!!

For the record #1 there is no way that Waite will get cited for the last qtr incident - there was absolutely nothing in it.

For the record #2, there was no way Fev could have passed the ball to my Smurph when he kicked that Bend it Like Beckham goal as he could not have seen him.

_________________
“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.

Gibbs has probably the best tackle technique in the business. He has great closing speed - he lifts his hands high and swipes down and around the player stopping them from doing a Harvey and lifting the ball away from the tacklers grasp.

As weel as being great way to pin the player, it also seems to stop him from pushing them forward. Beautiful work Gibba.

_________________
end of message

Pros:
* Won a game without Fevola and Judd starring, which in itself is pretty impressive
* Useful games from young players Edwards, Grigg
* Sensational game from Setanta, whose competing on the ground is phenomenal for a big fella. Many here have thought it but half back is his spot
* Great defensive game from a different defence whilst Thornton, Banno and Jamison are out
* Bag Murphy all you want but 11 I50's was very impressive
* Gibbs' tackling and his work in the last quarter

Cons:
* These low intensity periods will kill us against any good team. In the second quarter Fev, Edwards, Betts, Bentick etc. all missed shots or laired around. Its not good enough. When Fev and Judd are held we need our secondary leaders to impose themselves somehow and kickstart these - a la the last quarter
*Delivery into forward line with an extra defender or 3 back. This needs to be better for us to have a chance to defeat opposition Coach plan A (Clog Fev). Some long bombs (real long bombs, not just failed passes) from hampson and Bentick stick in the mind.

i like your positivity, but it was ugly and late.

_________________
dane's trolling again

Ryan2000,

you almost answer your own question about the gameplan. You say, why do we play the flanks? But you've already said our disposal is poor. Try and play modern AFL football through the corridor with poor skills and see what happens. You have to be a really, really, really good side to play corridor footy in the mdoern game. We will end up playing the corridor... but only when the skills and confidence have improved. I expect you'll see glimpses of corridor footy in the second half of the season.

PRO:

When we win beat Geelong next week, we will have one more games that last year!

_________________
dane's trolling again

The media have completely missed the issue with this game. We gave away an average of nearly 50games per player, or over 1,000 games of experience.

We sent out a bunch of kids which included two ruckman and our defence , the last positions you want fielded by juniors, and we won.

Half the team was under 22yo .

This game probably won't be remembered for more than 24 hours, but it was a great achievement for the young kids and their ability to win a game that was lost. When Judd, and Fev couldn't grab the game by the nuts, Pfieff, Brown, AB, Gibba and Hammer got the job done.

Regardless of how useless Freo are, this was a great victory.

_________________
end of message

OK MAJOR positives for me!

We beat those scumbag Dockers! Before I had Foxtel and when I was living in Hobart, I used to go to Wrest Point Casino to watch our games. They would be coming in from over in the west. I'd watch Medhurst and Farmer tear us up. I'd watch them kick goals and salute the heavens like they were gods themselves. I'd watch the crowd literally cream themselves at the thrashing that was coming our way. I'd watch our players despondently chase them. I remember T-Bird follow Pavlich over every square inch of Subiaco. He pushed him wide to the flanks... Pav was ineffectual, but took 18 marks or something stupid, and so the press fawned all over him and gave him the three votes. And the blueboys would head off the ground dejected and disspirited. I HATE THE DOCKERS! Biggest positive to me was sending these scum back home with their tails between their legs. Farmer, Bell, McManus, etc... you aren't even fit to walk the same ground as my boys in the Navy Blue!

The other major positive was Fev. Why Fev? Well, I'm a trade Fev man, but on Saturday he did what I want him to do. And that is, he had a poor game, but he never lost his bundle. He kept tackling and chasing and harrassing even though nothing was going right for him. His chase and tackle to set up the Judd shot at goal in the last was inspirational. Fev... if you keep that up on your bad weeks then you'll quickly win me over.

Also, I'm happy with the games of Grigg (exceptional) and Edwards (keep him in there). Young Steven Browne is going to be an absolute beauty too!

Absolutely quoted for Flowering Truth Molly.

There will be a lot of payback games coming in the next season or two and this is the start of it - next will be the game at Subiaco where we keep Farmer to 1 kick - which will be a kick after the siren that he will miss.

Fev - oh Fev. Where to start, I am far from being an apologist for Fev's on-field demeanour when things dont go his way, however I want to point out some things.

On Saturday through family and logistical circumstances I could not attend Carlton -v-Freo Game - however I had to attend the Dreamtime Game (more like Wankfest but thats another story) because Ms Agro Junior was umpiring an Auskick Grid Game at half-time during this game (and she did really well actually - but again another story).

This is the story - actually I saw a really shit Essendon* (and that makes me happy because these morons are delusional) and an improving Richmond (who should have beaten them by 15 goals). But what I was annoyed at most were the number of free kicks that Matthew Lloyd and Matthew Richardson received in marking contests - that Brendan Fevola would never receive.

If the Umpires and Jeff Gieschen were fair dinkum they would have a good look at how Brendan Fevola gets raped and pillaged week after week and start paying a few of these free kicks to him - or stop paying these free kicks to every Full Forward.

Because if it was good enough to put Lance Whitnall in the Umpires DVD with regards to shepherding out of marking contests - which meant that Lance Whitnall was the only person in the AFL they ever paid this free kick against - it would be good enough to start paying the legitamite free kicks that Brendan Fevola should be receiving in marking contests.

_________________
"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Pro:

Held our nerve and came from behind when the team could easily have dropped their heads (or would have in recent years).

Won with Fev having minimal impact.

Was there to see it live.

Pavlich hitting the post and the ground over boundary line made me feel warm inside.


Cons:

Fev was held constantly yet the umpires ignored that and instead paid free kicks for "OMFG, I'VE BEEN SHOT!!!!!" dives from Farmer and Pavlich.

Was sitting directly behind the guy who started most of the "FREEEE-OOOOOO" chants. (Dunno why we ended up sitting in the middle of the Freo fans)

Freo's accuracy in front of goal, and our disposal around the ground.

Jeff Farmer. Has there ever been a more despicable person to take to an AFL field? Celebrates as though he's just cured cancer every time he kicks a goal no matter when in the game or what the scoreline. It's all about Jeffrey.

_________________
"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I like to do Biggest Pro, rather than list of pros, and this week will have to be Ratten.

He was my all time favourite player for the blues...had his number on my back an all.
He is so truthful and everything he says, happens.

-He told us Judd will be right for round 1...it happened
-He told us Waite will only be played in defence....it happened
-He told us Fev was in career best shape before the year began...it happened
plus many things he promises or gives an answer to, he delivers...but this is not why i absolutely adore the guy.

He is a problem solver. He sees what is wrong with the team, and he works on it.

I want all you guys to look at our first 3 games.
-Our structure in the middle was typical and does not work (ie all attacking and I50 type players type players...judd, stevens, murphy)
-our defensive was terrible
-our tackling was terrible.
-and we conceded way too many goals in red time of each quarter

look at saturday's game and he how he has changed the way we play oh so quickly. We have a more defensive attack at the ball. Every point mentioned above has been rectified
- our structure is the middle is alot more complex to figure out (ie. defensive type player have all had role in their, like bentick, pfieffer, browne, etc.)
-our defensive structure look very confident and we are rebounding very well, however reforming our defense line quickly)
-our tackling has improved x1000
-we are controlling the end of each quarter with possession football. I still hear carlton fans booing when we do that, i just think they don't understand what we're doing. We are a young side that still needs to grow fitness, but what even more important is the mental toughness of kids. If they work their butts out all quarter, and in the space of 2 minutes of a little foot break action, the opposition kick 2 or 3 goals, it would mentally affect the players. and this possession game is a masterful plan by ratten.

We however now have got new problem, like entry into our forward 50, however i am confident that ratten will come up with a solution, the way we lead or try to drag opposition players away from fev to create space...i don't know, but i know the ratts will.

He hardly uses excuses or blames players, which is another reason why i love him. He is quick to acknowledge the good work of our players, especially th younger one that would normally get criticised, like our whole defense. He never uses injuries as excuses and just tries to overcome them. He is willing to ask questions of the kids, and if they do their jobs, they are rewarded.

I think he faces a major delima with week, with who to drop. Bentick, Grigg and Pfieffer all had good games. Russell also had a pretty good game. We get cloke, banno and t bird back...

In conclusion... thank god we don't have "i can take this team to the finals in 08" Knights as coach.

_________________
cruise (Kreuze) missile:
a very accurate flying bomb.
SOURCE: http://library.thinkquest.org/3785/glossary.html

...and that right there is the reason they're so shit .

_________________
end of message

Well done Habib. Bit of patience is all it takes. Trying to fix problems that occur in a 2 hour game 7 days apart is not a simple task. It actually takes a number of 2 hour blocks to get some sort of relevant data to work with. After 9 blocks of 2 hours plus some practice matches the Coaches now have some useful information to work with. A patten starts to emerge and decisions can be made with a better idea of the subsequent/probable outcome.

They are starting to know the strengths and weaknesses of each player within a team game plan and the players are starting to understand each other. Players are settling into positions and getting the hang of it. Each player is playing with a higher degree of confidence this year than has been in the past.

Russel, Bower, Carrats and Waite are great examples of letting players settle into identical roles each week.

Slowly slowly gain the knowledge and then use it to improve.

If you take the scatter gun, knee jerk reaction road week in week out you will never have any form of consistent data to work with.

Regards Cazzesman

_________________
Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Cazz can I ask given your comments what's the go with Russell? To me he hasnt had the same position but has gone from defensive half-forward, to in the guts to all places in defence. I am impressed with how sure he is getting with his hands and his tackling but I was of the view that he was being moved around like buggery.

And I believe when Pavlich went for the hungry option, kicking that goal from well outside 50 that Bower nearly touched, nothing was mentioned about him being selfish & not passing it off to Bower's opponent who was standing about 20 meters out, directly in front, on his own.

It annoys me too!!

_________________
Witty signature required.

In the first 1/4, I was disappointed to see Stevens follow Ding Dong to the goal square. I thought Ratts was making a mistake and according to the guy next to me, so did the MMM panel. By games end, Stevens was our most effective midfeilder (and Bentick), Bell was a non issue and Stevens had his breaks in defence rather than on the bench. Good coaching Ratts.

The advanatge of Thornton and saddington and Jamieson being injured is that Bower Grigg and Setanta have had to step up and they have. Getting game time into players is vital. Giveing them such responsibility is irreplaceable experience.

I feel we are still Fevola and Judd conscious but as the team matures, this will be rectified.