The "Up and Down Potato".

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I AM DISENFRANCHISED

I'm not going to watch the sndon game again - I've just had lunch.

I'd suggest the big difference is the way they took the ball forward.

The sndon game was continuously wide and indirect, and as Ryan says, the Cats and Crows was run, run, run, carry, carry, carry, goal, goal, goal .

If the players weren't switched on for the sndon game, then there's a whole nuther argument.

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I really think that was the main concern with supporters.

Most supporters accept there will be a random couple of games throughout the season where a flat performance will occur. That happens.

But the timing of this match with us knowing the tough draw ahead and the fact we had lost the 5 previous meetings to that ordinary team suggested to most Carlton people this was a huge occasion.

For the club as a collective to put in such a flat and underprepared performance was mindboggling for supporters and a major cause for concern.

To Ratts and the MC's credit they've responded in the best possible way by adapting their approach and making a statement at the selection table.

I agree with those points but we didnt apply any pressure. The walked passed us. We were crazy around goals doing things that indicated we were not switched on. This allowed them to use the ball as they please and allowed their pressure to push us wide. We were asleep in that game.

Credit to Ratts for working out the problem and since then we have come out breathing fire and the Crows and the Cats didnt even get close.

This week will be tough one. The Maggies play like the saints, hawks and crows (last year) and we all know we can struggle against those sorts of teams. I dont expect to see the same sort of running we have been allowed to do over the last fortnight.

I expect it to be a dogfight like the saints v blues last year. There will be plenty of times when we are stuck behind their zone and the chip chip will come out. The ball mihgt even go above the head 10 mins in as it did during the Crows game pre season which helped us turn that game.

The team that causes the most turnovers will win.

Is this an attempt to gently prepare TCers for a possible revert back to that ineffective style of chip chip sideways backwards play?

Haven't we learnt anything the last 2 weeks?

We cannot let ourselves be dictated to and forced on the back foot.

We must take them on with confidence again with Scotland Armfield Gibbs Bower et al leading the way from defence on the front foot and dictating the terms and pressuring them into mistakes.

Games are won by being assertive.

Don't confuse the issue Jimmae Isn't deep midfield just the new half back flanker?

Mainly Chapman, especially first half and a bit of Rooke with a touch of Hogan in the last. Might have had Bartel for time enough to get a shot at goal against him during a switch.

Not part of the centre bounce rotation though.

Given that we had Armfield, Walker, Russell, White, Jamison & Lucas all playing deeper roles than him, it's difficult to call him a defender.

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

He was playing on Chapman and was clearly part of the defence huddle at the breaks.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Sorry mate can't agree with you on this one With all the rotations that back six you mentioned weren't on there all the time together. Gibbs even spent brief periods on Byrnes and Stevie J when Russell and Army were off.

Ratts today saying that downplaying the rivalry with Essendon* contributed to our shit performance. You know, the downplaying we did because last time we lost we made too big a deal of it.

FFS, these pricks really are in our heads, aren't they?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Unfortunately yes they are We tense up and...we get the round three nightmare. I doubt we will ever downplay it again though. They tried something different and it sure didn't work.

Matthew Lloyd commented that they know our midfield arent accountable so they try to exploit us going back the other way.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I agree but the magpies play a different style to the cats. We are going to get stuck with 18 black and whites in front of us a lot more tha we did cats last week and different tactics will come into play. You will see plenty of short passes and chipping and the blues playing with patience IMO.
I agree about the front foot thing. If we can get away from them early then we can dictate the terms and perhaps their zone will start to crumble.

I see it being a dogfight like that saints game last year. I reckon it will be great game.

If we dont win a final this year so long that we have a good run with injures we have failed.

I think it would be prudent of the whole club to get downright angry when we play these guys next time. Watching first gamers in Melksham and Colyer (especially in the last quarter) get possession after possession unimpeded was demorolising. Colyer in the last quarter gave me the absolute $hits, he should have been buried multiple times and been too sore to make the impact he did in that last quarter.

Its a big rivalry, trying to make a big deal of it or downplaying it is nothing if you don't have the passion to want to get down and dirty. The only thing they should think about next time we play them is how we are going to hurt them everytime we get the chance to, total aggression in every single tackle, every single shepherd, around the clearances or in open space.

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"I will rejoice in their anguish, delight in their failure and revel in our success"

We are Carlton, @#$%&! the rest !!!!!!

So what you're saying teaguey is next time we need Donstuie to go in and do the pre-match motivation speech to the players.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Is that you Synbad?

Matthew 'spot the obvious' Lloyd.

What does that make the Ess midfield then?

I would have though this is what every team tries to accomplish against every other team every week!

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Koperek.

Our gameplan for sndon was the same as the 9nthmond game. We went out of our way to take the ball back via FB to switch wide to the right wing. We only beat richmond because they were crap. If we try that again against a good side, we'll get smashed.

The reason we kicked it OOF so often was because we were hell-bent on playing along the boundary.

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Watching AFL Teams last night David Parkin mentioned that there were serious rumblings from parts of the inner sanctum as well as from the outside following the Essendon* game.
Ratts is smart enough to be adaptable and willing to drop name players which is a credit to him and a major difference from the Pagan reign where Denis was ridiculously stubborn.