Carlton supporters love the word "tank" don't they.

He's 19 yo FFS!!! He's still physically developing and learning the game and you're all pidgeon holing him for the rest of his career

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There's so much I could say...

We tank for draft picks
Betts doesn't have a tank big enough for midfield
Stevo drinks like a tank
Whitnall;s tank is tooooo BIG
Kouta puts his money in a big tank / Bank


you're right. That should have been our logo this year rather than SomethingBlue.

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Formerly: Ackland the Wonderkid / Army the Wonderkid / quivering mess / molsey / Tony Lynn Fan Club

I'm not talking about AB budzy, I was responding to your post about Eddie Betts.

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Witty signature required.

BGD, I brought up ABs name (as an example of someone who's done an apprenticeship and learnt his craft with the ants) after you said this,


Why can't Eddie get the same opportunity to learn a craft in the ants with Mitchell the same way AB has?

...oh, and back atcha!!!

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There's so much I could say...

not relevant. horses for courses.

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Love Cricket? Love me

Crap.

Give him a chance!!

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There's so much I could say...

way to misread a post there, budzy.

the point was you can't just use an isolated case of a player as evidence for replicating the same path with a different player.

No need to put Eddie in the 2nds for the hell of it, just because Bentick was

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Love Cricket? Love me

The point is that Bentick is a general example of how a young underdeveloped (physically & football wise) AFL football newbie can spend time developing his specialized skills amongst peers of a similar standard and eventually gain the CONFIDENCE, the skill and the physical presence required to compete at the next level.
Betts is an 19yo underdeveloped AFL football newbie with good speed, good evasive skills, good delivery skills and can “find the ballâ€

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There's so much I could say...

why not just play him a qtr at a time on the ball in the firsts??? Why are you insisting on him getting dropped as the only course for achieving the outcome you're predicting?

Try to answer without using the word "Bentick"

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Love Cricket? Love me

Because he’ll get crunched, chewed up and spat out by the topline midfielders because he’s not ready.
I don’t see being groomed/developed in the ants for 3,6,12 months (like many others ) to play in major position for another 10 years as being “droppedâ€

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There's so much I could say...

thats the line that's fundamentally flawed in your argument. Are you using those terms to relate to a physical, psychological or metophorical problem that Betts would face?

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Love Cricket? Love me

I think the issue is that giving him short bursts on the ball in 1sts won't increase his 'tank'. The thinking behind the arguement as i see it, is as one of one step back two steps forward. Play him in the Ants so as he can spend GREATER time on the ball than he would be allowed in the firsts. Thus giving him a better grounding as a midfielder.

By playing him in the firsts his role will predominatly be as a small forward, with the possibility of a short run on the ball ... but not to the extent that he could get in the bullants.

That's how i see the arguement. I'm happy for Eddie to play as a small forward in the firsts. If it is decided that he needs to be developed into a midfielder, then i would be happy with a small steps approach instead of 'fasttracking' him in the two's.

I am not sure there are any parallels between Betts and Bentick other than

* surname starting with B
* both at Carlton
* both famous for tackling

For skills and attributes, let alone awareness and mental capacity to lift which I can't answer, they are extremely different. I dont reckon they are aligned in any other way, one more your zippy player and the ohter your in & under midfielder. they need different body shapes to play different roles.

There's no need givenn our list for Betts to play more than a quarter on the ball, the idea would be for him to swap in and out for other players to provide a rest, or a brief burst. Theres no reason for that to be any other than at Carlton.

Question is what would Betts learn in the Bullants?

He is going to get games at Carlton as probably our only specialist pocket so why wouldnt he learn what he needs to inn his brief bursts on the ball? If Betts is needed to play more than a quarter on the ball then Kouta, Stevens, Scotland, bentick, Simpson and Murphy are getting killed and we're all in trouble.

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Formerly: Ackland the Wonderkid / Army the Wonderkid / quivering mess / molsey / Tony Lynn Fan Club

Tyrants, strong midfielders like Ricciuto, J.Brown, J.Johnson to name a few would murder Eddie next year.

Athorn, you’re right. AB & Eddie are two different players atm. 21yo(?) AB was given time to develop properly. 19yo Eddie has been running around off the bench through a disfunctional forward line in a shocking team with next to zero leadership. That’s hardly a proper development is it??? You and others have pidgeon holed Eddie as a small crumbing forward. I think that’s underselling him but that’s ok it’s your opinions.
I think he might be capable of greater things

Just my 4 cents worth (inflation).

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There's so much I could say...

Budzy I agree if Betts was to become a midfielder he would have to go back to the Ants, no doubt about that.
The problem I see is he'll always get murdered by bigger bodied midfielders. He is a talented player but he doesn't win enough of the footy to be a midfielder. I know that is your point of playing him in the ants but I reckon he would get thrashed there too.

Just my 5 cents (smallest currency we have now)

Where do I pigeonhole him? Where do I say that?

At 173cm he's never going to play on the guys your're talking about and no one would man Betts up on Ricciuto anyway.

Although teague did give up 15 cms on Stafford....

Betts could be a good pinch hitting midfielder, probably on a wing, or in some brief stints like Wanganeen. If your asking him to play like Ricciuto you will lose each time, see what I mean?

Fact is betts will be a first choice forward pocket and is too valuable for the team in that role as a first selection. With his tacklking and great kicking he will be a good pinchhitter in the midfield. If he proves himself there then he will demand more time on the ball, like Ratten did once and like Bentick is in the process of doing.

I just can't see any value in Betts playing for the Bullants against hacks like Cranage and Doering. He should be in the Carlton jumper because he belongs at the top level.

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Formerly: Ackland the Wonderkid / Army the Wonderkid / quivering mess / molsey / Tony Lynn Fan Club

TheGame, shortarse midgets like Libba & Brent Harvey did okay because they had "midfield smarts" ....something Eddie hasn't got yet but with decent time to learn he might end up better than those two...who knows??
Eddie's got enough natural talent now to do well at VFL level.

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There's so much I could say...

I still see Eddie as a Stephen Milne opportunist goal kicker; but with a bit more pace than Milne.

Fraser Murphy played that part well for us....so did Heaver for a while.

We've always lacked a player like Eddie since then....that's his go.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

That's what I reckon.

Specialist forward pockets are underrated I reckon. The minute they do alright we want to chuck 'em in the midfield. If he can kick 50 goals in a season (which I reckon he has the potential to do) then why move him away?

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

Great minds Deano....and Eddie will be bloody hard to match up on for the opposition.

It's about time for them to start worrying about us for a change.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.