Fish is a tall forward. He will be competing for a spot in our forwardline from other talls, led by 1.Fevola (so you can book Fev in at FF) otherwise Fish is up against:

2.Cloke (looks likely to get first crack at CHF)
3.Kreuzer (book a spot in the team for him at FP/ CHF)
4. What if Waite is thrown into the forwardline? (good chance)
5. What if Wailker is thrown into the forwardline? (good chance)
6.Hartlett (if he can step up over the preseason. Has been groomed for a KP fwd post for years now)

7.Edwards (if he can step up in 2009)
8.Setanta (if Ratts is right about him being a forward...pffft)
9.Hampson (not earmarked but may rotate at FP/ Kreuzer)
10.Warnock (not earmarked but may rotate at FP/ Kreuzer)
11. Some suggest Austin may be given a shot at CHF (where he played as a kid)

As you can see after Fevola, there's another 6 or so talls Fish is up against for a spot in the forwardline.

There is no way known that we would go for more than 4 talls in the forwardline (FEV, KREUZER, CLOKE for a start) and mobile talls like Walker and Waite are likely to take the 4th position if not 4th and 5th (moreso as mobiles rather than talls).

That would leave goal sneaks, crumbing and linking spots to Betts, Houlihan, midfield rotations and Yarran?????

Tough gig at Carlton in 2009.

Fish is our second best scorer in the forwardline at present, so he's in the box seat from that perspective.

Good luck Fish.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Back: Thornton, Jamison, Carrazzo
H/Back: Walker, Waite, Bower
Center: Scotland, Judd, Simpson
H/Forw: Houlihan, Kruezer, Murphy
Forw: Betts, Fevola, Cloke

Ruck: Warnock, Stevens, Gibbs

Int: Grigg, Hadley, O'Hailpin, Russell

Emerg: Hampson, Wiggins, Browne, Armfield, Anderson

As I said I would probably forget someone - but to be honest Fish seems to get in Fevs way a hell of a lot.

I have Cloke at CHF as a stop gap for a few years until Special K fills out. My concern with Cloke is his direct opponent running off him and hurting us up the ground - however I believe with the players accross the centre and next to him they have an ability to help out.

Scotland - knows how to read the play and play a sweeping role in defence.

Army for his pace to shut down little pricks like Rioli or at least force them futher up the ground.

T Bird - finally gets the third or even the fourth best forward.

Jamo becuase he can.

Warnock as first ruck simply becuase we didnt recruit him to get splinters in his arse from the pine.

Hammer as second ruck with spells swapping with Kreuzer in the foward line. His size pace and leap up forward in short stints will create headaches for the oppostion.

Carrots becuase we need an in and under and he can player down back in a shutdown role if needed.

I have Wiggo in the side purely because we need at least one player who will put his life on the line for his team mates. Also in there especially to poleaxe Judds taggers - something he is becoming adept at.

Fev is a hard leading FF hence I like the thought of Special K dropping into the space he creates.

Betts is a given in the pocket.

Houla has the finishing skills we need up forward.

Waite can go CHF - CHB but on the wing he is less likely to get caught out by his sometimes woefull delivery.

Gibbs in the guts but could just as easily be Smurph or Stevo.

Simmo on the Wing for his electric pace to break the lines and go for home - hopefully we see alot of this in 2009 becuase it will mean other teams have to reconsider double and tripple teaming Fev.

Walker on the HB line can play anywhere but here I believe it gives us a really attacking option coming out of defence.

Bower - Just because I reckon he's going be a star and the bigger the job the harder he'll go

Grigg just cause i like him.

Overall though the players I have listed are versatile and can play any number of positions around the ground.

Ie same players different stucture

FB Carrots Jamison TBird

HB Bower Waite Grigg

C Simspon Murphy Scotland

HF Walker Kreuzer Gibbs

FF Betts Fevola Houla

R Warnock Judd Stevo

I Wiggo Grigg Army Hampson

Interview with Ratten with Jon Anderson asking the questions.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/ ... 42,00.html




So have the Setanta knockers read this? Check the link yourself.

Do you see what his coach says Setanta brings to the table?

Setanta is the only one of his type on our list; we are so lucky. So get your keyboards out and have a re think about the teams without Setanta in the first 22, let alone the first 25.



CHF looks to be in for a rotation strategy.

Ratts knows it, I know it, and many others notee it, but some.....mmmmm...Waite kicks goals!!!

Moves like Walker at CHF is going to really create some headaches for the opposition.

Like Brizzy Blue had suggested, Walker is so versatile, he could easily be moved to CHB and use his pace as an advantage when the ball hits the ground.

There's no doubt, that we have the talls in the backline to compete against the biggest and the best.

Thornton (The General), Bower (The attacker), Jamison (The nullifier), Setanta (The Giant killer)...and then there's Waite.

They wont all play in the backline, but as anyone can see we have the cattle for a horses for courses approach, as well as some versatility. The point that stands out most about the backline talls is their mobility, and the good thing them being young, is that they'll be around for a long time together.

Do we really need to use pick 6 on Hurley as a CHB?

I don't think so.



Hampson is a rare talent.

Don't dismiss his ability to heap above Sandilands let alone the 200cm opposition ruckmen...he has tremendous athleticism...implying he is a mismatch for the opposition....another bloody midfielder to contend with.

He just has to follow his AFL 101 tuition from his coaches and he'll feature in the ruck in 2009 and for years to come.

Cloke is being groomed for a forward role, imo, and Warnock has been recruited to take the heat off Kreuzer and Hammer.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I've been reading people say we can't play 4 rucks... i say hell we can just not use them all as ruckmans

Our 4 bigs are all very mobile. I'm not sure if hammo just yet how well he can do around the ground, but for next year he won't be needed for that

Kreuzer and Cloke don't have to ruck at all (maybe just alittle)... but if we can have two really good tap ruckmans in the middle and then two big boys in our forward line PERMANENTLY, i see no problem with that.

regarding fish... i believed he was played too much up the ground this year... he isn't a CHF... he is a deep pocket player that can take a mark but cant kick over 40metres. However with the lack of CHF this year, we had to play him more forward.

I believe if Cloke can hold the CHF position, and with Kreuz has his back-up, this would allow fish to play to his position where he kicked nearly 50 goals for us just last year... (people seem to forget that sometimes)... This would leave for eddie and walks/houla to play the pocket/crumming role of our 4 big forwards... and allows for waite to stay at CHB.

Fish can play footy and he took more marks than any other player in our side. His disposal around the ground is actually pretty good (kinda like JR in the way he disposes of the pill around the ground, but shits himself infront of goals.

I am looking at 4 players in particularly to have a massive year: Jordan Russell, Andrew Walker, Paul Bower and Brad Fisher.

I think Russell can take the next step...as we saw this year, the longer the season got, the better he seemed to play, and we might've finally found him his position as a tagger. Looking at some pics of training, he looks pretty bulked up and hopefully he gets bigger so he can become our "tough man in the middle"

Walks was on fire when he came back to the side. With a full PS and with any luck no injuries, he can be AA in a not too distant future

Regarding Bower... he took a step forward in 08 and i expect another step forward in 09. His job alone on buddy done enough to tell me this kid is gonna make it. I like everything about the way he plays. He is tall, strong, fast and skillful. If he can play a CHB position by the end of the year... that would give us flexibility to use Waite wherever we want

I think those type of players are the types that would either mean strong top 8 (possibly top 4) or a role of the die for a top 8 spot.

I also think Hadles if injury free can become the player that frees judd from the bottom of the pack


My ideal team is:

B. Jamo - T-Bird - Carrots
HB. Bower - Waite - Scots
C. Stevo - Gibbs - Simo
HF. Tex - Cloke - Kreuz
F. Fish - Fev - Eddie
R. 206 - Judd - Smurph

Int: Russell, Hadles, Grigga, Hammo
Emerg: Carlos, Browne, Houla, Armo, Banno...

can't wait

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

Not sure about our best 22 but prefer Walker running free, able to get forward and kicking goals.
Dont want him down back.....at his worst on the last line and at CHB there are just too many bigger players and I think his attacking abilities are wasted.
We have to get away from this trouble shooter image that Walker has and start to use him to win games not save them.

_________________
"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Walker can match it with virtually anyone, but why can't we let the oposition worry about matching up with Walker.

Cut him free I agree. He'll kick plenty of goals and set up a shit load too.

We have to hold the ball for a greater % than the opposition and that's won in the ruck/midfield.

We have to kick a bigger score than the opposition week in week out.

Walker and Waite could really do some damage in that department. Lets not commit both of them to the backline; that's playing into the hands of the opposition.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Have people here forgotten what made Carlton a great team? Our defenders were where our attacks came from. They were vitually imposible to get through. We repelled everything. Walker or Waite give us what Dean and Mckay and Co. gave us previously. Peter Dean was a forward before his knee played up. The better our defense the better we are. For those who dont understand the value of Walker in defense really have almost no idea. This kid can go forward to create enourmus headaches from time to time but he can create mayhem running off a half back line throught the middle. If people think Luke Hodge hurt us with Cloke imagine whast 1AW can do with his ability. This kid is one hell of a wild card in our pack and what a pack it is.

I'm not disagreeing with what you say.

I hope that with the improvement in our ruck stocks and midfield, we will have more opportunity to score than at anytime in the last 7 years. Given that sceanrio, I would like to give the ball to opportunists like Walker and Waite, who can kick goals and cause major headaches for their opponents.

I assume you are suggesting that Bower, Jamison, Setanta, Thornton, Grigg, Scotland, Armfield, Anderson (backs) etc, wont improve in 2009 and haven't got attacking flair as rebounders to give us what our great defences did in the past. i FEEL WE WILL SEE MUCH IMPROVEMENT IN THOSE NAMED ABOVE and I have seen enough proof that they have this ability in the past 2 years.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Bondi I expect these players to improve emourmously. I have been a fan of Bower long before a lot post on this site. I believe his upside is huge and I expect him to be AA before we know it. My heart is no longer in my mouth when he handballs as it was his first year and I expect him to cause opposition coaches so many headaches it will be hilarious for Ratts and co.

Jamison I fully expect to become our rock of Gilbralter on the last line and Joey won my undying support with that mark infront of my daughter and myself against Brisbane.

I just happen to be a huge fan of defenders and believe its great to watch football being played by a side with attacking defenders. I see no reason why a back pocket cant sneak forward and bag a goal a game if his teammates are working in unison. Nothing hurts a forward more than his direct opponent keeping him scoreless and bagging a goal themselves.

So given I reckon a BP can get one I reckon Walks can bag two a game and set up countless more. If not in defence why not Walks on one wing and Waite on the other.

Also even though I havnt named him I reckon Setanta can have a huge impact in 2009 as well. The bloke can play the diamond ie Wing CHF CHB as a running type player and also drop to full back should we need it.

This side is really starting to show versatility all around the ground and with some luck Cloke can hold CHF until Kruz fills out giving us another key forward to compliment Fev.

Bring on 2009

my thoughts,

armfield jamison thornton
hurley bower johnson
scotland gibbs simpson
walker waite stevens
betts fevola kreuzer

warnock judd murphy

hadley grigg cloke russell

emg, browne hampson hartlett austin

I think its you who has no idea...Dean and Mckay were close checking body on body players, take a hit for the team men... not overly athletic types who carried the ball and setup attacks. Michael Jamison is similar, sticks close, wears his opponents like a glove and then hands off the ball to his running defenders like Scotland, Carazzo etc
Ang Christou was the free running defender type.....

AW doesnt have Hodges composure or kicking skills but is the better athlete...I'd like to see Walker running in the midfield and resting forward.
We dont kick enough goals and lack variety up forward...Walker can give us variety and keep pressure on defenders cos he chasesand tackles well.
Campbell Brown was used by Hawthorn through the finals in that role and I thought it worked well in the GF...

re:Gibbs... is more your Hodge style...composed, sure with his decision making and a neat kick...

_________________
"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Updated teamboard here

Changes
------------
- Re-added player(s) Aaron Joseph, David Ellard

Future Updates
------------
- 2009 draftees
- Squad numbers
- Rookie, captain and vice-captain designations

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Potential plus and improving depth!

FB: Johnson Bower Jamison
HB: Gibbs Austin Grigg
C: Waite Murphy Walker
HF: Waite Kruezer Yarran
FF: Houlihan Fevola Betts
R: Warnock Judd Carrazzo

I: Hadley Browne Simpson Anderson

Emerg: Robinson Bannister Armfield

FF: Yarran Fevola Betts

HFF: Hadley Kreuzer Houla

MID: Simpson Judd Stephens

CHB: Bower Waite Grigg

FB : Anderson Jamison Austin

Followers: Warnock Murphy Gibbs

Interchange: Cloke, Thornton, Walker, Scotland

Emergency: Fish, Russell, Carrazzo, Armfield


We are developing a magnificent list. Top 8 should be a minimum.

Wiggler, Setanta, Hartlett, Hampson, Edwardes and of course, these new kids and a PSD pick.

This side is getting hard to pick!

Updated teamboard here

Changes
------------
- Rookie designation given to player(s) Aaron Joseph, David Ellard
- Captain designation given to player(s) Chris Judd
- Vice-captain designation given to player(s) Nick Stevens
- Added player(s) Chris Yarran, Mitch Robinson, Rhys O'Keeffe, Caleb Tiller

Future Updates
------------
- 2009 Rookie & PSD draftees
- Squad numbers

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Updated teamboard here

Changes
------------
- Fixed issue with magnet for Aaron Joseph

Future Updates
------------
- 2009 Rookie & PSD draftees
- Squad numbers

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

My take:

FB: Bower Jamison Carrazzo
HB: Walker Waite Thornton
C: Scotland Murphy Simpson
HF: Gibbs Kruezer Houlihan
FF: Yarran Fevola Betts
R: Warnock Judd Stevens

Int: Cloke Hadley Fisher Grigg

EMG: Browne Armfield Anderson

Armfield gets squeezed out in favour of an attacking option in Yarran, which pushes Fisher to the bench. Bannister is lost to the wilderness in favour of Anderson who looks to have stepped his conditioning up a notch.

Not totally confident on keeping Fisher on the bench; a small option would be better, preferably defensive. Fisher needs to lift this season.

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Waite a minute. Waite doesn't have a twin on the team list....I wish that was the case too.

My bet is that Hampson will take the next step following the preseason. He'll rotate with an underdone Warnock imo.

Robinson? I know nothing about him. Promising.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

It is hard to pick at this stage.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue