Good post I'm use to that from you

Look, really it is anyone's guess.

If you have a look at the talls we have and we rate one against theother, it's amazing what you'll find.
A hell of a lot of class and versatlity.

I asked Ratts about Hendo after training in Jan, and he said that he is going to be very important for us in 2011; in the spine.
He's fast, 196cms, a good kick and a good mark. He strightens us up.

Can play FP, FF, CHF, HF, CHB, FB, BP. Now compare that with the other talls we hav in the 22, and include Waite.
Bottom line is that they're all pretty good, and it all depends who mhas the oppotunity to be selected in the 22, if they can hold onto their position, and injury.

I don't want to go though that exercise because it is about opinion, form, injury, opportunity etc etc.
Whose better TBird, Bower, Hendo, Waite, Austin, Russell? Who knows? It depends on who they are matched up to, Rioli will give 'em all a bath when the ball hits the ground.

It depends on so many variables, notwithstanding who we are up against.

Put it this way. You have big boys like Cloke and Dawes to man up in a GF, and Leigh Brown as the 3rd tall who will swap with Jolly.
Who do you man up on them? We know, based on current form Jamo is 1.
Which is the other tall? Russell (190), Duigan (186), TBird (192), Bower (193), Waite (194), Hendo (196), Setanta (199) Laidler (190)????
Remember there's also Leigh Brown there too.

It is a great space to be in for the Blues.
May the best man win a spot in the GF 22.

I'm just sticking up for Hendo because he has too many detractors who don't value him (and don't know how good he is) and usually its the same poeple who blame him for the loss against the Swans in last years final, when Waite missed 3 sitters. He's a first round selection, No 6, 196cms and damn good footballer, and I'd put money on him having a shot at goal before Waite....and he's ne of our boys.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

grade 2 pcl for hammer. bad luck for the kid as he was playing good footy.

any chance kruezer/setanta rather than kruezer/warnock?

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Go Blues

A Carlton 6-8 is a 10-12.

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#DonTheStash

double post

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I know a grade 2 is between a grade 1 and grade 3, but what does it really mean?

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Hampson's not Paul Bower though

and worse than 2-4

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"I had to eat"

We had a similar mix to that at the start of the season when thornton was playing forward. Walker ended up sub.

This is how i see the extra tall coming in going. It is only my opinion and i dont expect people to agree and i am not trying to start an argument more just a discussion.

- With Henda and Waite forward Walker will be asked to no longer be the second tall (which he does better than Dawes and can also chop out on ball and snap a few like a small)
His out put will suffer and he will be confused after being asked to rejig his game again.
- The ball will get wisked away from our back fifty quicker than we can set up the press.
- The ball will get down the other end with fluency and we will see the old thornton. He will get exposed along with other defenders without the protection of the midfield.
- We will be short one player that can rotate on the ball so we wont be able to sustain the pressure and we will find the momentum shifts will be back.
- We will be short on player that can rotate on the ball so our mids will tire and our clearances will drop away which will have the game played at the opposition end. Us caught in thier press.
- The goals we score when we turn opposition defenders midway and get them running towards goal will dry up with our running forwards tiring from covering for the extra big blokes defensive chases.

The positive is we will take a few more marks inside our fifty. More marking targets to seperate the opposition. Do we score enough the way we are going apply pressure and pinching the ball back and hitting them on the counter that more marking targets are not required? You be the judge.

Id love it to work but i think it goes against the other stuff we have going that is working a treat.

Good work Bondi. Could we send henda back for a couple of weeks in the twos and then integrate him into the defense with collingwood in mind? Cant just switch blokes and expect them to know the play book back to front.
I personally dont worry about their size. Teams going tall against us more often than not works against them. In fact has it worked for anyone in the last 2 years. Almost worked for adelaide but that was more to do with us kicking a million points and their uber flood.

Our mobility ,structures and extra rotations will have the ball up our end with Magpie tall blokes cold up the other. They didnt handle the press well against geelong.

Perhaps its better for us to sit back and just let the magic unfold. Im stuffed.

At least he can get Megan to massage his leg
Did anyone see the pooie look she gave the camera man trying to film her in the rooms after the game

It depends if you want to see the damage Dawes and Cloke do in a team of the calibre of Pies or not.
Don't understimate the advantage Cloke gets on his opponets...Dawes is even wider...then there's Brown.

Don't you think for a moment the Pies will be outclassed like Cats were in 1995. They are good. Seriously good.
You must acknowledge and respect their strengths. Cloke and Dawes are not weakies.
Have a look at their percentage. Have a look at their midfield. Jolly goes allright.
Then there's their backline, and I like what Walker and Hendo did to the tight working Swans backline.

I'm thinking GF vs Pies (if they're the best), not H & A.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I can't agree with this. We need both Hendo and Waite in, and we will be so much more dangerous.
At the start of the year when our forwardline wasn't working as well, it was partly due to Tex having an off half (and then being sub the nest week), partly due to Thornton's lack of pace and pressure in the forwardline, and partly due to our rucks not being able to clunk it. So often this year, we have missed that one extra tall to kick it to when Waite and Tex lead up the ground. Kreuzer, to a certain extent redresses this problem, but he is better in the guts.

Waite, Tex and Hendo are all very mobile forwards, and get right up the ground (we could play either Waite or Tex on a wing if need be). Having the 2 tall forwards just gives us another option.

I am sure it will be tested before the end of the H&A but i still believe it will compromise the gameplan we have going right now.
I just rewatched the Swans game and in particular the blueprint 3rd quarter. The one Ratts pointed out as beauty.
The height and weight of any of our players barely played a part. There were a number of occasions where using a tall (Henda) to bring the ball to ground and from there we manufactured goals mainly on the repeat 50. I dont think we needed another tall for that.

The amount of goals we got all game from pinching the ball off the opposition as they tried to get the ball out of their backline and down the ground would have to be over 50%. Possibly more.
Scoring on the repeat 50 is what we and sides like collingwood are all about. Its a reliable way to score. The opposition defense gets all out of whack while they try to get it up the ground, we pinch it and kick to players running into space. Height barely comes into it.

Height is good for bringing the ball to ground deep inside fifty on occasions when their defence is set. We have Waite, resting ruck and Walker for this. Adding another would make us top heavy and would be pointless and possibly harmful to press.
Adding another running player that can chase, harrass, ran back hard and run forward hard into space ahead of a tall marking player to me is the obvious choice. This running player i speak of also can chop out in midfield.

What a shame for Hammer. He's been in career best form in the last 3 weeks. Warnock is the obvious replacement, although his VFL game wasn't great on the weekend.

I don't think Waite will play, so Hendo is safe for another week. I reckon Waite will be back for the Richmond game at the 'G.

Given WCE's tall forward line, we might have to bring in Austin, Bower or Laidler. Not an easy choice. Do we rush Laidler back? He was going very well before his injury, but perhaps we can afford to bring him back through the Bullants and give Austin his (last?) chance? Do we know if Laidler is even available this week?

Curnow, Ellard (inj?), Hoops or JR might have to make way for him. Perhaps two of them will have to make way if the MC want to also get Armfield back into the side.

It's so good to have some options at last!

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

You're spot on club. I've basically agreed with all you thoughts on the balance of talls/smalls over the last 3 weeks.

Jamo and Thornton or Bower as talls down back, with ideally Laidler as that 3rd tall
Hendo or Waite forward with the resting ruck as talls forward, Walker as 3rd tall

Thats all you can really afford to play with the sub rule.

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Thanks mate. For a minute there i thought it was only Ratts, Richardson, Brown and myself who had the same thoughts on team balance.

I think it comes down to what role Walker is playing at the moment. I see him playing the Dawes role with a twist and that twist is giving us a hell of an advantage. He can compete in the air (Dawes). Will do everything he can to not be out marked (Dawes). Can take marks (Dawes). Is accurate kick (dawes). Can snap goals (twist). Can chase and harass at an onballer level (twist) Can push up the wings to create an option (twist). Can push up and turn and sprint hard to space (twist). Can go onball and provide a chop out (twist).

Some may see him as a medium forward who is not that much different to Garlett so think we need another marking option. Perhaps thats why they think we need to squeeze Henda and waite in.

Maybe that is the issue. Anyway i reckon i have said enough on the topic. I feel like a nutcase

Id like to see Rhys o'keefe come in for ellard.
Just for something different...

If not, any of Lucas, Armfield and McLean would be in the mix...

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No offense, but when Ratts and Richardson talk about team balance they are not discussing personalities, such as whether TBird, Bower Laidler and Duigan are better KP defenders than Waite and Hendo, or that there's no room for Hendo in the team if Waite plays.

Walker did play in a 3 man tall forwardline with little impact in the fist 3 rounds of this season: Hammer/Warnock, Waite and Walker.
In round 4 after average form, Walker was used as the SUB and TBird came into the forwadline for round 4. Then we had Warnock/Hampson, TBird, Waite as our forwardline. Collins had a disastrous game and that allowed Walker to play a cameo role in the last as the freshman and 4th tall (if you call him a tall) which basically was the day Tex emerged. That day there were 4 talls in the last Qtr.

There's more to Tex's success in this Carlton line up than just pure form. imo

The Ruck in the forwardline attracts the tallest opposition defender.
Waite in the forwardline attracts the 2nd best defender
Walker then gets the 3rd best tall defender, or if he plays as the 4th tall because a TBird or Hendo is the 4th tall, we really stretch the opposition and Tex gets the best small defender (a mismatch).

There's more to it than meets the eye.

May the best man win the spot in the senior 22 on GF day.

My bet is that Hendo and Waite will play in the same team as Walker, Jamo, Laidler and Duigan.
My bet is that one of Hendo or Waite (if everyone is healthy) will replace TBird in the backline.
I was so pleased to hear Gerad Healy mention this without providing us with the name of the replacement (TBird).

Today, in the coaches email to members, Ratts is talking about the flexibility he's focussed on building in this team since day 1.
He points out the Russell be allowed to play the flexible role, whereas supporters think he's down on form and the next in line to be dropped.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Gday all, First time Poster here.

Cannot believe that for the second time in 2 weeks, the only game not to be televised in SA is the Blues. FFS!

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"He was found guilty in June 2008 of assault with intent to cause bodily harm, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years jail."
And people are making his return to footy somewhat of a fairytale?

Hi Adelaide Blue.
get thee to a pub with foxtel...or cave in and get it at home.
better yet....get yourself on a bus, a plane or a train, and see ya at the game.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”