Bower & Jamo should be non negotiable agreed both badly out of form and lacking confidence but we have seen enough of them to know that they both have the ability to hold their positions but they need a strong bodied defender to give them a chop out even if it is the next couple of years while they build up and develop the extra confidence this is where a Tarrant type may come in handy, but it must be at the right cost for us and with a good medical report. Betts should be looked at as trade bait, have a closer look at his efforts this year and when he has had big hauls of goals, they have been late in games when we are either well in control or out of the game already and the real pressure is off. He is not working nearly hard enough when he doesn't have the ball and is very suspect on a set shot. The one upside to Betts is he seems to keep the other two amigo's working together but the coaching staff need to sit him down over the summer and spell out that he needs to be more consistant and hard working if he is going to keep his place in the team. As for the midfield sureley the following Judd, Murph, Gibbs, Grigg, Hadley, Mclean (if we can get him fit & healthy) Simmo, Yarran, Betts (if we keep him) Garlett, is enough of a rotation and with the limited interchanges resting some of them fwd/back.

I've waxed and waned on this topic (trading Betts) and whilst I think if we have an exceptional offer we should take it, I also think this is a dangerous ploy that may bite us if we do trade him.

I think it's easy to mark him on goals kicked in games. That's the simplest measure of success in our game.

How about scoring/goal assists. I went to Footywire and looked this up and Eddie is our leader for goal assists this season with 1.3 per game. Second is Houla with 0.92 per game, then Murph with 0.91. It's a fairly significant stat that our leading goal scorer was also our leading goal assister, with a nearly 50% higher rate of assists than our next best.

Other teams noted this, where perhaps we didn't, and obviously played him tighter in the 2nd half of the season. Though he didn't kick a goal on the weekend, his pressure in the 3rd quarter was definitely a factor in our revival.

I see Eddie only as a forward, who will never have the tank to play more midfield. Garlett and Yazz (in particular) probably will have this expectation placed on them next year and beyond.

On this basis I think we are more potent with Eddie in the team, and unless we get overs for him, he should stay as an integral part of our team.

Different to what people think?


The return of Mick Martyn?

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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

Very good post

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Furthermore... I don't think we should go shopping players around unless they request to be traded. Especially, players with deep affections or relationships within the club. It can come back to bite you, whether or not the trades go ahead, either directly or indirectly, through the effect it has on others. How do you show loyalty to a club when they just shipped off your best mate for nothing much and with not much warning?

Exhibit 1: Bradshaw/Rischitelli 4 Fev - even thought the deal didn't go ahead, neither of these Lions are there 12months on. AND, the treatment stalwarts like Black & Power are getting as a result of the deal will probably affect them even more next season (unless something is worked out...)

Exhibit 2: Campbell Brown - the Hawks look like losing one of their most important players in terms of setting the tone and uncompromising attitude. Probably the pin-up bloke for their 'uncompromising' footy. If the Hawks hadn't shopped him around last Oct, I reckon he'd just about be the last player on their list considering offers from other team.

IMO, we should definitely not offer up Eddie or Bower.
We should only consider offering Walker if HE asks for it and only then, if we can't convince him to stay and only then, if we get overs for him.

(It is different with players like Thornton, for whom it is clear there is no future at Carlton but may be good opportunity elsewhere - but that would be a mutual thing, not a surprise. Also, JK for Judd was a bit different b/c of the unique case to bring Judd... & even that left a bad taste in many people's mouths.)

You've put the cart before the horse on that one. Have you ever stopped to consider why such a quintessentially Hawthorn player got shopped last trade period? It's fairly well known in Hawk circles that Brown indiscretely flagged his intention to go to the Gold Coast well over 12 months ago. You can't blame the Hawks for trying to get fair value elsewhere before the AFL's formula decided he's only worth a 4th round pick.

That's interesting...hadn't heard that!

The reason you may not have heard anything is that its simply not true. Campbell was very disappointed and upset when his name came up as potential trade material. I cannot confirm nor deny that he may have made overtunes re the GC after this arose but I can say that the trade news was news to him at the time.

Then you don't know whether it's true or not, because the two aren't mutually exclusive. All you know is that he was upset at the prospect of being traded to Port. And why wouldn't he be when GC's chequebook was so much bigger.

mmm, known knowns, known unknowns and lost in translation

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This might sound extreme in the context of alleged sexual assault, drunken violence and a drug trafficking charge...

..so.. ..leading goals at CFC.. ..leading goal assist in AFL.. ..leading marks inside 50 CFC.. ..out of our forwards, leading tackles.. ..quite simply, our most productive forward in all the area's in which you'd mark a forward.. ..his last 6 weeks weren't up to his standards.. ..but that's cos with every year he has improved, and due to this what we expect of him has likewise increased.. ..if his form slump was spread through the season as 'down games', instead of in a block at the end of the season it wouldn't be anywhere near as noticeable.. ..was in AAsquad form up until the mid season break.. ..he had blistering form..

..he does a lot of work, on and off the ball.. ..it's part of the reason why he simply can't fully run out a season.. ..he usually tapers off towards the tail end of the season, did last year and year before that too from memory.. ..fitness staff need to build him up more next year.. ..or, it's coaching.. ..rotate him more perhaps, got 3 small fwds now so we can freshen one up on the pine, and rotate a mid [e.g Muprhos] thru his fwd spot instead..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Sounds like he needs to be managed through the season better. Perhaps he should only be playing 3 games in 4.

Whilst i agree with this post, the one thing i will question is why Betts can't have a run in the midfield for 10 minutes a quarter, especially when he's finding it hard to get into the game.

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

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