I posted in the lead up that this was our big test and would show whether we have improved and are a legitimate Top 4 contender.

Pro/Collins: Have no true idea if we passed or failed...

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We are on our way back...

Pros
- Murphy who fought hard after being shaded last week

Cons
- Half the forward line wouldnt / couldnt / didnt get in to this game. Shocking kicking to the forwards was one element but their leading - otherwise known as arm waving - left a lot to be desired. In a good performance Waite's game would have been a negative but because he was that much better than everyone else up there, he looked OK.
- When half of your forward line wont / cant / dont get in the game, your bench is all abit useless. In retrospect, and I said this after the Pies game too, we're short one runner and long one medium half forward flanker ie. Armfield in for Collins or Walker, please.

Pros

MC being proven correct (and me wrong) on Duigan (especially) and White.

Murph, Yarran, Curnow continues to flourish.

Inexperienced defence did well in the circumstances.

Cons

%^$%^&*%&*%* turnovers

Carrots. Did couple of good things but it got to the stage where I literally held my breath when he had the ball. Ellard?

Eddie and Hammer still struggling.

Hendo had a shocker but we need him up and running, so hope we persist for at least another week.

I think Collins will be OK in the long term but others deserve an opportunity now.

Let's hope the MC make the right calls again this week.

Bower, Armfield, Ellard, Lucas ...

Put your hands up again today boys.

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I just want my old club back ... (edit) maybe I have!

Thought the game was meh. Got bored in the 3rd although was gripped like a school kid in the last.

My CON:

"Henderson, you show nothing. You are nothing. Worst trade ever."
"Carrazzo, why are you even in the team? You're a disgrace."
Rinse & repeat.

This is the 'barracking' of the ugly Carlton supporting dufus behind me (who bullied his kid non-stop in between being an ugly human being). In fact, most of the Carlton supporters around me were bagging our players more than the Bombers supporters were.

Aren't we supposed to be bagging the opposition, not us? Am I the only supporter who asks Bomber supporters why the Gold Coast are wearing Essendon*'s strip? Is it just me who screams: "Essendon*, please ... we need a competitive hitout"?

Am I too new-age to go the footy?

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"In better news for Blues fans, Jarrad Waite was not named on the club's injury list."

Pros

Curnow - this guy is a gem; gets plenty of the ball and just makes good decisions (smart footballer: gold)
Duigan - made fools of a number of TCers who wrote him off after 1 average game. Steady, cool and NOT slow.
Garlett - unbelievable start to the season, a superstar in the making
Russell - showed signs that he starting to find his form again (not there yet)

Discard the game from Collins, he will never be that bad again - just one of those days when nothing went right (and he was sold into trouble a few times). Needs time in the twos.

Hendo will be better for the run. We need more from him and Betts. (Kerr would be better value than Eddie at the moment)

Privately I have not been a fan of White at all, but he was good yesterday (except for some dumb spoils into the corridor) Hope he continues to prove me wrong.

Cons

Fletcher!

Even though he had a couple of mates yesterday it's time to rename this thread Pros and Cons

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

Con:
Collins played the worst game i have ever seen someone play.
Whenever he touched it it cost us big time.
9 possies, 44% efficiency, 6 clangers and 3 frees against from 72% game time.
Surely he will be dropped for a month, will take a few decent games to regain faith.

Carlton were worse off playing with Collins than Essendon* was a man down.

Hope the kid goes back and gets confidence and redeems himself.

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The climbing has alread began

Or, we can appreciate a good and fitting pun. Only an idiot would write him off on the back of one game.

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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.

Depends............

what crystals are you using for your 6th "Third Eye" Chakra.........?


kindest regards tommi

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that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

How about two?

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BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

I really don't get why so many people here smash Carrots, not the best but a long way off the worst!!!

I wouldnt write Collins off yet

I know Jimmae I know ....... but the kid must be feeling like s#it today ..... I don't want to give him a complex. We all saw the game.

Moving on ........ Those guys in the Ants today know full well that there's 3 to 4 possible spots available in the A-Team. Hopefully they saw yesterday's game and know what NOT to do !!!

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

*snip*

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I support the Navy Blues whatever happens!

A game that should have been won. Poor options selected, especially when going forward.

Pros: Jamo (Ryder who?), Duigan (Mon-frees - not this time), Yaz, White (tore Hurley a new one), Murph, Curnow

Cons: Collins (very poor at the crucial times), Betts (time to go back to the two's - lacking form this year), Henderson (showing no signs of the form of latter 2010), Ratts (didn't think he coached that well on the day), John Barker (forward set up was poor - why not leave the forwards up the ground and have Jeff and Eddie run into the space? the scum did this on several occassions for 2 to 3 goals and caught us on the hop)

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For some silly reason, you people want to assassinate him, and it's just rubbish. You people. All of you, ALL of you!

I agree with everything said in this post.

I'm not as disappointed with the draw as some because-
(a) Essendon* thrashed the Bulldogs & the Saints (2 teams tipped to be top 4 before the season) and were unlucky not to beat the Swans in Sydney - they were never going to be easybeats yesterday and those Carlton supporters saying we should have won by 10 goals+ are dreaming;
(b) of the 2 teams that played at the MCG yesterday, only one of them woke up this morning facing the loss of 2 senior players for the season with ACL injuries - and it wasn't us.

Plenty of room for improvement still, but we knew that before yesterday. We may not have improved as much as some of us hoped/expected, but we are going OK and I don't understand all the doom and gloom....

Having said that, it's important that we bounce back with a win this week against the Crows.

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It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

I've left it 24 hours to calm down and reflect before posting

PROS
Curnow, Curnow, Curnow. Geez this kid is good. Poise, skill, judgement, toughness. A real football brain. A great find and unexpected.
Yarran. Great game Chris and well done MC on the half back trial. Although Monfries outmarked him for a crucial late goal, his run and carry and line bursting ability completely transforms the backline. What about that running bouncing goal.
Jamison. Cool under pressure. Steadied the other boys and outclassed Hurley
Duigan. A bit rough around the edges but hard and tough and backs himself. Better overhead than I thought.
Warnock. Beat a very good tap ruckman in Bell Chambers. Good ground level work, centre circle desperation. Good judgement and nice kick. Would like to see him roost it more rather than handballing it off.
Murphy. Class. Great football brains are born not made.
Simpson. Great game, bad luck with kick out at the end. Well and truly pulled your weight Kade, and playing with run the way we need to play.
Umpires. Did well, let the game roll. Hate soft frees to dives, ducks and stages, none paid. (Bad luck Angus you prima donna)
We still got a draw despite a lot of gaps in our list, several players well down, and numerous missed opportunities.

CONS
I'm with most others, we should have won this and run over the top of them in the last. Wont get a better opportunity with two of their men down.
Icing the clock! Have we ever done this well? Fair enough, eat up the clock with 60 seconds to go but no more. We started chipping with 3 mins to go. Given defensive structures this is doomed to fail. It also creates a panic negative mindset.
Collins. Enough said. Worst game since Vin Catoggio in the GF
Hampson. No idea. Will never be a footballer. Sauce Jacobs had it all over him. For gods sake experiement with gloves or something. Tin hands at 6'8" just unacceptable. Hurry back Kreuzer so we can drop him.
Henderson. First game back, but non-competitive, and didnt look like he was going hard enough. Hooker made him look second rate. A lot of our hopes and dreams riding on him.


On to next week, go blues.

He has been using gloves on and off.

No gloves yesterday though, and I think he has had a few fingers pop out with his marking technique. It's not all his doing IMO, but he needs to recapture what he was showing in the pre-season.

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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 may be doing some of our heads in but don't give up on the kid yet.

It's just gunna take T-I-M-E and a whole lot of patience ... and maybe a run or two with the Ants.

Cos if and when it click s...

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I just want my old club back ... (edit) maybe I have!

Ohalpin's 3 possession game against the bulldogs in round 15 last year was worse.

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You heard it here first!