WOW........That was such a shit show it's taken me nearly half the morning to come on here and have a look.

Based on the one game and the Aints practice game......we have a lot of work to do.

For those who were talking about top 4, let's be serious we need to make the 8 first.

IMO we have done this to ourselves the last 3 years at the draft/trade table, other teams are getting quicker and we are still one geared.
New year same problems, too slow in the middle, not enough skill by foot, poor transition from D50 to F50 and our deliveries into F50 would make the AA team's forward line fail to score.
Most of our '65' forward entries were too shallow and to packs or outnumbered players.
It's not that hard to make a team rule to address this:
1. Only go into F50 shallow if there is a target you can hit, otherwise chip the ball around until you can find one or get the ball closer to go deep to the square.

We did this a few times in the 1st quarter and guess what, it worked.
Plus this not only slows the game down for our slow team but it also gives our defence time to set up a wall for repeat entries, gives our smalls a better chance of crumbing and keeps the ball away from McLovin and Haynes who were both horrid.

The only players that can hold their heads up are Cripps, Weitering, Hewett, JSOS, TDK and Campo (great first game even though he missed a few targets).

I really feel sorry for Crippa as he may not see a premiership with us now, I still think not trading for Houston was a huge mistake.
For anyone out there still thinking a player that is both quick and can kick the footy wouldn't have a spot in this team is just delusional.
We needed him last night without a doubt, our backline was a shambles. Ollie tries hard but I just don't see it and Cowan is not consistent enough.
Doc is done so we don't have him either anymore. Bring in Boyd please, at least he has speed and can kick the footy.

Kemp, McLovin and Haynes all need marking practice this week..........no seriously, they need to kick the ball at them from about 10m away at full speed to the head until they stop dropping the ball. So costly.

And Acres and Harry need to see a shrink, you can't be that shit at kicking the footy at this level, surely.

Anyway rant over, hopefully this was more about being underdone before the start of the season than anything and we are gearing up for a spectacular finish and all this is just a tired Carlton supporter being presumptive.

And I hope we field a quicker more agile team against the Dawks as I can see us losing by 100.

Edit: And I really didn't like the 1 ruck show, it took Cripps, Weitering and to a lesser extent Harry away from doing their own roles.
We should've had Young in to let TDK rest up forward and do some damage without Curnow there or at minimum provided an alternative target for the long bomb.

I didn't like Harry's decision to snap a set shot around the corner when 20 out ( and under kick it, albeit for a goal).
It just sent a strong signal of mental vulnerability that contributed to the team malaise.
Also, early, twice Walsh burned team mates in a better position: he goaled once but they were selfish acts.
Generally there was a lack of physical intensity and intent: JSoS wasn't amazing but he certainly stood out in that regard.

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Agreed, Gartos. Such a bad look, especially when it goes through at a height Sandilands might have got a touch on. Didn't he stop this shite last year, and only snap when, you know, he's On A @#$%&! ANGLE??? Mentality midget.

well that was [REDACTED]

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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!

This is what nightmares are made of ......

Click at own risk

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"IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU'RE PREPARED TO FAIL" - Mark Spitz

You're missing the point SS.

We can't move on from the entries. That part of the ball movement process is very important and the main reason why we have lost so many games in the past, despite having more ball more entries.
The stats moving the ball forward means so much and silly to ignore. This is history repeating itself and should be called up because we want to know what they have been practising all summer to improve in that area of major concern. Ball movement should be questioned instead of attacks on personnel, and shortfalls on the list.

The main point from those stats is that the Defenders kept Tigers down to 13 goals 4. That's not bad. Yet focus on defenders failures takes our focus from the big issue. Everyone makes mistakes. Its the repetitive mistake that is the sign of insanity I'm highlighting here; to pinpoint a major issue.

The midfield group created plenty of opportunities and were not beaten, yet from the commentary you'd think the midfield failed to win ball and create opportunity.
The 2 points above are important to acknowledge if we are to try and pin point the main issue for our loss. I can't think of any other tangible reason for our loss.

The big issue was and continues to be forward entry.

Why were the KPFs not leading? That was by design.
Why did we select 5 small forwards and no Young to support the talls? That was by design.
Why did the high ball continue to feature and target Harry's hand up? That was by design.
Why did Kemp go the punch at the high ball? That was by design.

What a waste of opportunity. Can you see that? I think everyone can agree it was a wate of ample opportunity created from hard work upfield.
60% you refer to is a figure you're using to make a point, and I get the point, but it looked like and smelt like it was happening all game, by design; we were kicking high ball to a pack. It wasn't an accident.

Point is we wasted good opportunities because players didn't have any alternative. Why? Its important to ask why and why not?

Sure there was the other issue of selfishness, highlighted by Cottrell in the last going for the boomerang when he had plenty of time to hit up Motlop with a short pass, or Evans with a longer pass; both would have been set shots in front of goal. Nevertheless, its the choices made by player or coach with forward entry, before the shots at goal, that needs the focus, because everyone would agree, we wasted more than 50% of our 65 entries. That's not going to win us games. In fact, that's what loses us games, traditionally.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Pros:

Weiters was excellent. TDK and SOJ good.
I like how the coaches have been inserting Motlop and Williams into centre bounces. I also liked the move of SOJ forward.
Encouraging performance from some of the younger guys. Kemp looked dangerous early. Lord was pretty good. Oli looked comfortable in his new role. Campo looks a player even though he turned it over continually. Hopefully he'll get used to the tempo and make better decisions.
Cottrell is probably our most dangerous smaller forward. He actually finds the ball at ground level and gets shots at goal. But he's got to get a better return. 2nd week in a row where he's sprayed it around.
Walsh and Cerra got through a game.

Cons:

Somehow lost the unloseable game. Bumbling, fumbling timid performance. Looked like they couldn't believe the opposition was back in the game. Most teams will beat Richmond by 10 goals. This is the 3rd year in a row we've looked spooked that they were up for the fight in round 1.
How many goals did we concede from ridiculous fumbles and turnovers.
Inaccuracy (and an opposition that couldn't miss).
Gotten beaten around the ball after quarter time.
Exposed for pace.
Forward entries. 2 goals in 2 and a half quarters is not going to win many games.
Opposition were protected inside defensive 50 with a lot of soft frees. Also the 'holding the ball' decision has disappeared again. Unless you're name is Sam Walsh.
Liked that Motlop was in the play a lot more than usual. But he missed 2 sitters by his standard. And that effort right after halftime sent a terrible message to his teammates.
Harry was fairly insipid inside forward 50.
Nothing out of Fogarty and Evans.

Fair enough sidey. I get your frustration.

The KPDs won their defensive posts, including Haines. Sure Haines made a mistake or two, but he didn't cost us the game.

Do you really think Doc is slower than Boyd in a foot race? Doc's 14 disposals in a quarter showed something more than Doc is done. His time will come, and maybe this year, but he didn't cost us the game, neither did our midfield group either. Have to respect the game from Ross and Taranto; they aren't mugs and won their "fair" share of the ball.

I don't think we will get beaten by 100 points by Hawks. I don't believe the midfield group cost us the game either. Cripps and Hewett were tough and accountable, and Cerra and Walshy were not disgraced as some allude to. Tell me, who would you select to make us quicker across the park or if the issue is midfield speed, the midfield, against the Hawks?

One game down and 23 to go before Finals.

Lets aim for top 4, in the hope we make top 8.

Season is well and truly alive.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Nankervis gives away a free to TDK in the middle and the first reaction is to sprint to the back 50 with a few of his team mates... he knows what's coming... a Carlton f50 entry that bounces off the LED bulbs on one of the light towers.

We're so predictable that even the worst team in the comp know how to defend... 65 inside f50 entries are useless if a good portion of them benefit the opposition.

4 @#$%&! years we've had to rectify this glaring and predictable issue...

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“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” ― Richard Feynman

That TDK kick went higher than it went long.

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"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

Forward entries are poor because we are too slow with the ball coming out of defence.

Teams have an eternity to fill gaps and close down space, which results in reduced options and long bombs into the forward line.

Need more line breakers in the team with penetrating kicks. Unfortunately, players such as Doherty and Saad who can take the game on are past their best.

I am still angry today.
I was one of the few who had a bad feeling about the game and even posted it early in the week.
It was plain embarrassing to see professional players making so many basic skill errors.
What shits me even more is we don't have a first round pick this year, and it could be a pretty high one if this keeps up.
Lets see what they dish up next week.

If TDK walks (and it's looking more likely) we would have to get a very high pick?

Yes Kezz , you were cautious which seemed puzzling to say the least . We thought you were cuckoo . You got the last laugh .

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All my dangerous friends

65 entries IS great. It's more than enough opportunities to win the game.
As a supporter group we seem to be expecting what some of our forwards do. Easy set ups with lots of space and lace out passes. That's not the way it works when the ball is living in your forward half. The opposition aren't going to stay out of our front half and give us what we want. If you dominate time in forward half, you have to expect the opposition to be there taking the space.

What we need is players who relish a 50/50 contest. I recall a game last year where Charlie was one out in the front half. No Harry, No Jack, no TDK, no tall help whatsoever. His job for the game was to mark the ball or make sure he wasn't outmarked.
He was huge. He played with a desire and defensive contest ethic I didn't think Charlie was capable of.
Last night Harry had the same opportunity. He could have made the forward line his own and he was insipid. You can't blame space or congestion. His opponent was more than capable of winning the marking contest. Too often he was outworked by second rate defenders. It was inexcusable. We needed a 100% contest that resulted in a ground ball at worst.
Forget running out to the boundary looking for the easy kicks (And being out marked!) Command the corridor. Crash packs and be a physical presence. Our crumbing goals came from contests in the corridor. Give the smalls a reference point and then judge their abilities.

IMHO, if our forwards can't handle having the ball put on top of their heads in a one on one contest and not bring the ball to ground, they're not working hard enough. If you expect to make a career out of lace out passes with no opposition, you're a 500K footballer at best.
That footy doesn't exist in finals.

Let's see what the players and MC are made of. Voss has an opportunity to set some standards for the rest of the year. McGovern cant play in defence. Behaviours are contagious and his consistent shirking of the contest gives a license to everyone else if he's retained there. Personally I'd play him as the 3rd tall forward and put him on notice that it's his last roll of the dice. Kemp is a hard worker but we already have enough forwards who can't kick it through the big sticks.
I'd give the Weitering, JSOS, Haynes set up one more try. Haynes was very poor but chemistry as a defensive group takes time. He just seemed more unsure than anything. Bring in Matt Carroll to take McGoverns spot.
We coughed up 4 goals from defensive 50 turnovers. That's a terrible outcome. Change is needed.

Unlike some others, I loved Fogarty's game. His team efforts and sacrifices are first class.

For me, in Charlie, Carroll, White.
Out Evans, Lord, Docherty. Kemp sub.
McGovern half forward and giving an occasional round the ground chop out in the ruck instead of Cripps doing it. If his body cant handle it or he doesn't put in the required effort, so be it. Get rid of him.
Let's see what he's made of.

I'd give Doc a job at half back in the 2's and see if he's still up to it. He has endured a lot and with a young family, I don't think it's as important to him any more. In the pre-season match and again Thursday, he's going for the ball one handed, fumbling and half committing to the contest. He needs to go back and find a definitive role. At the moment he's a player without a role which is the worst place for a player to be.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Yep what he said. ^

Regards Cazzesman

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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.”

Well, at least we are all starting to come around that McGovern isn’t a backman.

I'm not sure what I can do to make myself start feeling better/normal after this debacle. Have we ever had a worse regaular season loss in my supporting career?

Here's my list in no particular order. Same feeling after each of these:

R10 1989 - Brisbane, 3pt loss, coach sacked.
R11 1991 - Footscray, we kick 1 goal.
R22 2003 - Kangaroos, 124pt loss where we don't try.
R22 2012 - Gold Coast, 12pt loss to miss finals, leads to coach sacking.
R1 2025 - Richmond, 13pt loss.

Right now it feels like Thursday night may be the worst of the above....

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Racing & sports tips, form, odds and systems building - http://www.puntingform.com.au

...... and I don't think Williams is a forward and he may not be the only one

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"IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU'RE PREPARED TO FAIL" - Mark Spitz

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/03/13/unpacking-carltons-issues-after-disastrous-loss-to-richmond

Motlop, Durdin, Fogarty, Evans, Cottrell, leave developing new boy aside, White (20yo), where are the small forward goals going to come from?
Other than Durdin, and White, where's the elite speed from a small going to come from?

As a group the small forwards failed miserably and they are not at fault because they didn't pick themselves in the side.

Mean while we have no 2nd ruck if its not SOS, or no CHB if its not SOS. Something so obvious is still missing since Jones left in 2020. We have to work a way around the problem with the list we have. Have we got the coaches who can do that? So far, its an obvious NO, whilst Young sits in the reserves. Fix the imbalance FFS.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue