I had a quiet chat to the old fella during this festive break and he has come up with some amazing predictions for 07 and beyond. Now I don’t necessarily agree with his synopsis, but it makes interesting reading to start the New Year.

He took the time to grade our list from 1 – 43 and asked me to type it up. Bloody hell, was just winding down with a nice bottle of Red and a cigar and this old fart……..anyway here they are in reverse order. I’m sure you’ll tell me what you think…Happy New Year to all my forum mates and like you, hope our Mighty Blue Baggers have a good one in 07.

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

33- 43:

33. Saddington: Recruited as a defender from the Swans, but injury particularly to his knee has seen him on the sidelines more than on the park. Recent operation supposedly has solved the problem, but I’m not convinced that he will regain required fitness levels to push for a senior spot. Track watchers say he is travelling well, but the preseason trials will reveal all about Saddo.

34. Bannister: One of the few retreads still on our list, but if he doesn’t cement a spot early in 007, I expect to see him drop off the radar of selectors. Plays well in the 2’s, but decision making at senior level is ordinary. Super fit and strong, but probably won’t be enough to prevent the axe at seasons end.

35. A O'hAilpin: Mark 2 of the Irish experiment. Plenty of track watchers and Bullants devotees say that Zacky will be the pick of the 2 boys. Pretty big wrap that, considering how Carlos made his mark in 06. He is exceptionally tall, very athletic and has a bit of “solâ€

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

23 - 32:

23. Edwards: Jake the Snake was extremely unlucky to not get a run late in the season in the firsts, but has really come on during this preseason. He is starting to really bulk up now and mature without losing his closing speed which has been a trademark of his game to date. Picked at 36 in the 2005 draft and bred to be a quality player, he could be another mid to late pick to make his mark for the CFC. Thought of as a defender initially, Jake might just make a tall forward in coming years.

24. Jackson: One of only 3 Rookies retained from the 06 list and given a second year to show his wares. It must have been lineball between him and Flinty for upgrade. The good news is that with his temporary elevation late in the season, he made a great debut against the Swans and is sure to be pressing for upgrade and selection throughout 07. He just looks a player in that he has size and skills with the right attitude to boot. I expect he will become another who did his apprenticeship as a Rookie and goes on to be an important player for the Blues.

25. Wiggins: Simon is another who needs a big season to be retained on the list. He has taken 5 seasons to mature after being taken at Pick 15 back in 2000 Draft. Whilst he is the only player left from that draft on our list, it wasn’t thought that he would be the one that lasted. He always shows plenty of guts and is obviously a favourite with Pago Pago for his endeavour. I can’t quite work out what position he is gunna play in next year though.

26. Hampson: Shaun was the least known of the Queensland contingent, but tested well at the DC in the beep and 3km tests. He has amazing speed and mobility for someone of his height but might lose that as he adds the necessary bulk. We need to be patient because he is a good mark with reasonable skills. He has shown already at training that he can out maneuver if not outmuscle his opponents. A couple of times he took off like he came of a trampoline. He has a huge vertical leap. Hampo has a very big upside and I expect he will debut early in the new season.

27. Houlihan: There is no doubt that Ryan’s silky skills make everybody sit up and take notice when he has the pill. The experiment of him in the back half last year might have taught him some accountability, but most still believe he lacks that instinct to get the ball first rather than hang off and wait. If he looked at a tape of Murphy/Blacky/AB/Kade etc, he would soon realise that this aspect of his game is letting him down. I know that people cite his hip and shoulder on Rosa when we played West Coast, but young Matt is a jockey. Then again, most sides need runners and receivers who can deliver. For that reason, I reckon he might return to the front half in 07.

28. Flint: “Our Man Flintâ€

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

Now it starts to get interesting!

22-11:


22. Cloke: CC is one of 3 brothers with AFL games to their credit. Travis remains at the Pies, Jason has been signed by Essendon* affiliate Bendigo for 07 and we secured Cameron in the PSD with our second pick. Seems to be over shoulder troubles and appears to be fitting in at PP. Where he will play is a mystery, but can pinch hit in the ruck, down back or up forward. Kicks the sherrin a mile and can actually play contrary to what some would have you believe. Expect he will be given first shot as a backup to Ackland whilst Hampo and Jacobs mature.

21. Koutoufides: The oldest player on the list and our only remaining 95 premiership player. Knee reconstructions ruined a couple of years of his career. Should have won the Brownlow about 6 years ago as his form was outstanding, but not to be. In his prime he could win a game just by leading by example. The thing I remember fondly was his ability to draw a couple of opponents to tackle him and then get his arms free and dish off cleanly. I just wish he was used to teach some of our other guys that skill. If managed well, he might go the full distance in 07 as he did in DWTS.

20. Gibbs: At 189cms and 84kgs, there has been plenty said and written about our Pick # 1 in the 06 National Draft. Fortunately the majority of it is true. Since he has joined in training he has shown to be cool, composed, classy, precise, athletic and exhibits excellent leadership qualities. We all expect him to play round 1. The judgements on his speed appear to be Murphy like as he has shown what he might lack in pace, he certainly makes up for in nous. Unlike a lot of recruits and current players, he has 2 sides to his body. Bryce will probably start off on a flank and progress to the midfield once he adapts to the tempo of AFL. I reckon he might excel in a Lappo type sweepers role, but with better skills and will get to more contests. Prior to the Draft, an astute judge liked him to a young Bradley. With Braddles on board in an AC role, we will soon see if he has the fitness ethic to warrant that comparison. By mid season should rise up this list to top 10 I hope. BG might become a star of the competition by end of 07.

19. Russell: Almost lost to the homesickness bug at seasons end. When he discovered that Port didn’t really rate him by only offering a shitty pick number in exchange and it was obvious that he wouldn’t last till their PSD pick; he signed a 2 year deal to extend his career in Navy. If this kid can get some confidence early, he could go on and become a regular in the seniors as his skills are sublime and he has speed to burn. Another one that needs managing a bit and positioning is vital to his development. Supposedly his GF has moved to Melbourne, so that should settle him down somewhat. Rumours that he was out of favour with the coaches also in 06 seem to have been addressed by Ratts, GC and Bradley very quickly. I’m sticking my neck out here, but I reckon he has huge upside. Like the boy!

18. Betts: Flash Eddie is quickly becoming a cult hero at PP. One only needs to watch in awe as he mows down any opponent within his range who dithers. His closing speed is fantastic. If he is on the field at Fevs feet, then you can be sure he will swoop on any loose ball like a seagull on a hot chip. Kicked some impossible goals in 06 and has been working tirelessly at his fitness. Whilst still a short arse, he has strangely long arms so he plays above his height. 07 will see the emergence of a finely chiselled Eddie, who will once again get the crowds chanting his name.

17. Lappin: Skinny is a player who defies the critics with his ability to bounce around like a rubber ball and direct traffic with his experience wherever he is on the field. Still considered good enough to make the tour of Ireland where he performed credibly. Some say he plays his best in defence, kind of like a quarter back in Gridiron, whilst others remember his goal sneaking abilities of past seasons. A player who just can’t put on muscle tone, he compensates by natural spring and positioning. On the downhill run and if he misses senior selection, it will be that the kids have improved enough to bypass him. 07 might be his final season.

16. Ackland: It was nice to get one back on the Aints. I reckon that “Sugarâ€

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

Even more debatable:


10. Scotland: Bagpipes has just gotta be the best pickup for a mid draft pick in history. I giggle whenever I watch him play…Pick 35, played in 2 GF’s! What were the Pies thinking? Really stepped up in 06 and will do wonders for the young kids with his natural leadership in 07 and beyond. A fit and firing Stevens will help his game this coming year as well. The 2 of them are like the Krakouer brothers in their awareness of each other. Someone said they are like the bobsey twins, but that’s another story. Plays the sweeper role off half back very well and moves into the guts when the heats on. Heath leads by example.

9. Bower: Picked with our 3rd selection (20 overall) in 05 Draft. Took a while to find his feet, but when he finally made the senior side, he just looked like he belonged. WH thought that he was the best defender in that draft and was delighted to see him slip to 20. Paul was chosen as CHB in the AA as well. How did the other recruiters miss him? This kid can mark, spoil, harass, chase and drive it deep into attack. Has really shot up and putting on some valuable bulk. Expect him to be the Ang Christou of 07 and beyond. The lad could turn out to be a super defender.

8. Bentick: Adam is a much maligned in and under type who was picked up by us as a Rookie after captaining the Cannons team to the TAC premiership. After some top efforts in the 2’s, he was elevated to the Senior list and hasn’t looked back since. He played injured for much of 05 and 06 and finally succumbed to a shoulder injury requiring surgery at seasons end. AB was struck down with a hammy before the break. Officials have a huge opinion of him and if managed right, with rotations will be our premier distributor. Ratts has said privately that AB is streets ahead of him at the same age. The knockers say he is slow, but he was our top tackler and number 2 hardball getter. Someone has to be responsible to get first hands on the sherrin. AB is the man!

7. Kennedy: Picked with our 2nd selection (4 overall) in the 05 draft. Josh was the first KPP selected in that draft. He was very tall and had a decent size to him when he first arrived, but has shot up further to be 198 cms + and after serious work in the gym is starting to look like a man mountain. He had a shoulder op before being able to do any serious work, but joined in on his first day at the club on a mountain trek. After some solid performances in the 2’s, he made his debut in Blue. His first game (15 minutes odd) yielded only 3 possies, but he backed up the following week with a number of well judged grabs and he was unlucky not to be NRS. He continued to show glimpses of his pack busting class before injuring his foot and missing most of the seasons end. This kid just could be our Johnno Brown!

6. Stevens: After a great 6 seasons at Port, Nick decided he wanted to return to Victoria. Collingwood was mooted as the preferred club, but Port wouldn’t deal with them unless they offered something special. Port wanted local boy Alan Didak, but the Pies rated him too strongly and any possible trade deal fell over by the deadline. Port claim that they won by not giving in to unfair trade offers…Doh! This forced Nick into the PSD. The Bulldogs had pick 1 and had already committed to Jade Rawlings, so Nick fell through to us. Often regarded as a receiver, but as our best midfielder in most games attracts the inevitable tagger. Due to injury hasn’t been able to shake the attention, so has been starting off half back. 06 saw the emergence of the junior brigade stepping up and Stevo was able to get free on a few occasions, but injury still curtailed his effectiveness. One thinks now that he has returned injury free as the fittest he has been in a Carlton preseason and with even more kids coming through, that 07 will be a return to the form we all know he is capable of. Expect to see him rotated off the pine and used on wings and flanks a lot more.

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

Well here is the old Blokes top 5:


5. Thornton: Was out of contract at seasons end and hunted by the Horrible Horks or Chris Pooncen particularly. This was similar to JR in that his manager was doing an Allison routine to up the ante. McConville actually had power of attorney whilst Bret was on holidays. This got very nasty and he was almost lost to the club from where he started as a rookie. Some credit a simple coffee with Fev as the main reason he changed his mind. When it was obvious that Hawthorn only offered crappy draft picks which they didn’t even have at the time in exchange, Bret quickly signed a 3 year deal to keep him at PP. Whilst undersized for KPP, he has had to hold our meagre defence together for 5 years and done an admirable job under the circumstances. Now that the cavalry has arrived with decent sized kids coming through the ranks, the pressure will no longer be on Bret as much and should see him flourish as one of our pillars in the back half.


4. Simpson: The “Doughnut Kid’ became the King of the Wing in one of the greatest transformations since the ugly duckling fable. Imagine being credited with zero possessions in your first 3 games even with limited ground time. The future certainly didn’t look good for this skinny kid who also looked timid and out of place in Navy. However credit to him and the coaches who nurtured his talents in the 2’s to the extent that he was tearing them up week after week. He was soon back in the seniors and started to make his mark with a 20 possession game. Kade soon learnt that he could take on the opposition with his natural speed and before long started to develop a defensive side too which saw him earn a trip to Ireland where IMO was Australia’s best in that curious game. Plays taller than he is and is not afraid to go and get his own pill. Has a bit of sol about him and never backs down from a contest. Simmo has arrived as a genuine top-liner of the AFL, but still needs some work on his non preferred side. Loves the club, so expect to see him rack up 200 games in the Old Dark.


3. Walker: Call him “Texâ€

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

Smell that?

Definitely something in the air Nostrildamus.

I resemble that remark!

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

http://www.talkingcarlton.com/phpBB2/vi ... ostradamus

Great work Brizzyblue, a pleasure to read!

_________________
Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you.

I agree with a lot of the list, but I was say the following players are overrated:

3. Walker-- not quite their yet
7. Kennedy-- hopefully he can play at least 18 games this year
9. Bower-- similar to Kennedy, he is in our best 22 but still needs to cement his spot
11. Waite-- Didn't have a great 2006, must improve
22. Cloke
32. Jacobs

Underrated:

6. Stevens
10. Scotland
15. Whitnall
27. Houlihan
31. Carazzo-- he is in our best 22
34. Bannister-- I agree, he needs to cement his spot, but I would have him slightly higher, I think he is just outside making the firsts
36. McLaren
39. Austin

Yep agree with all of that.

I understand that people want to push up the young blokes but as a result I think we sometimes tend to overrate their current important slightly. I would even suggest that Murphy hasn't done enough as yet to be the number two ranked player on our list; maybe he will have in two years' time, but not now. Same with Walker, top 7-8 maybe but not 3rd. Kennedy hasn't really done anything yet so not sure how he can be ranked 7th. Same with Bower, yes he made a reasonable start to his AFL career but he's only played two games and if we don't have more than 8 players better than him then we are in more trouble than we think!

Scotland was IMO our best and certainly most consistent performer last season and overall has been great since he came to Carlton so based on this he'd be in my top 5. Stevens is interesting, didn't have a great season but if you were ranking our list I think he'd still deserve to at least be top 5 and top 3 when in form. Whitnall at 15 I'm sorry but can't work that out, if there are 14 blokes on our list better than Lance than maybe we're actually better off than I thought! I know Lance is not universally loved and appreciate again that we want to promote the young blokes but that is unrealistic. Houlihan deserves better than to be 27th and Carrazzo despite some obviously flaws still commands a regular game and genuinely does quite well so 31 is a bit harsh for a bloke who plays every week!

Otherwise I generally agree, as I've said I just think there is a tendency to overrate the younger players somewhat which is not necessarily a bad thing but still produces unrealistic rankings if you're ranking a list based on CURRENT times. But if you change the criteria to something like where you think players might be ranked in two years time then it's maybe a more realistic assessment.

_________________
Formerly Blues-Back2003.

As you can see BW, the old bloke was pretty close with those predictions, considering he was talking about by 2008, eh?

Luke Livingstone: Gone!
Justin Davies: Gone!
Adrian Deluca: Gone!
Chris Bryan: Gone!
Heath Scotland: Survived for now!
Trent Sporn: Gone!
Anthony Koutoufides: 1 year left!
Cory McGrath: Gone!.
Jessie D. Smith: Gone!
Sam Sheldon: Picked up, but by the Lions!

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

How did you ever predict that most of Livingston, Davies, Sporn, DeLuca, Bryan and McGrath would be gone at the end of the year? And who would have thought that Kouta was nearing retirement? Nostradamus indeed.

Anyway, back to your list. It is a joke. Is your list based on current ability, potential or trade currency? If it is current ability then Whitnall would be top 3. If it is potential then Gibbs would be top 3. If it is trade currency then it is anyones guess at this stage because a third of the players we haven't really seen. How you can seriously have Fisher and Waite ahead of Whitnall in any criteria is laughable.

Don't be harsh, that was quite an entertaining read albeit I agree perhaps 10% of it.

My top 10:

10. Murphy
09. Kouta
08. Walker
07. Simpson
06. Scotland
05. Lappin
04. Thornton
03. Stevens
02. Whitnall
01. Fevola

FFS, lighten up chookhead! Maybe you could spend the time and post something constructive yourself, then everybody can shitcan your thoughts.

_________________
2002:> "In their Masters Chambers
They Gathered for their Feast
They Stabbed us with their Steely Knives
But They Just Can't Kill The Beast!" <2016

THE BLUEBAGGER BEAST IS BAACKK!!

Thanks for the entertainment, BB. I enjoyed reading it, even when I didn't agree with it. Love the Fev one!

Great post BB.

I particularly agree with your thoughts on Russell, hopefully he can fulfill his potential next year and beyond.

_________________
In the Truth there is no news, and in the News there is no truth.