Did we, or did we not, play a fantastic
game of footy in the Wizzer Cup Final?

Didn't we play as a skilled, cohesive, aggresive and committed team?

Do you not agree that if we replicated that on game day in the real season that we would be capable of beating any team in the comp?

I'm as disgusted with yesterday's effort as much as anyone, but I will not say that this team is substandard.

The team is suffering from a huge lack of confidence, in themselves and each other.

C'mon Blues, get over it, and play the way I believe you are capable of.

Great Post windy.

I'm not sure Wizard Cup form means a lot, but the Wizard Cup final does. West Coast are flying and we're up for the Wizard Cup as well.

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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

They were only practice matches.

Yeah, right.

$200 grand worth

That's a ridiculous statement.

Melbourne, the Bulldogs and the Eagles sure weren't just having a practice hitout against us.

The Eagles team we played in the WC final was 90% full-strength. Woosha said he was having a red-hot go at the WC.

Why we haven't ONCE repeated that same desire skill and teamwork we showed in the WC matches has me absolutely stuffed.

If we can play in real matches with the same ardour as the WC for a whole match, not just 1 or 2 qtrs, we should be able to match any team in the comp.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Why did no team get extra numbers down in defence during the Wiz cup?
Why have every side we've played since rd 1 get extra numbers back?
Get over the practice matches, they were a confidence builder but they certainly mean absolutely nothing now.

Agreed windy. What annoys me is that this was the only game where we've played 4 quarters of bad football & got flogged accordingly. Had we have beaten Port, & one of Kangas, pies or freo then most people would be bleating about how great the team is & the wiz cup win is reflective of where we are at as a team.

Exactly

There was hardly any tagging whatsoever in the WC

You just have to look at our forward line in the WC compared to now. Coaches gave us space then, but not now

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Since then every other coach has studied us and worked out how to beat us.

We were at full strength then but have had major structural problems with loss of key position players since the WC final.

Our confidence levels have dropped substantially (especially yesterday when we found ourselves virtually out of contention before we'd even got going) and we're not taking risks like we were then.

We were a lot fresher then. We've had a gruelling schedule last 4 weeks.

You should consider we are a very very average team thats why dramatic changes are required and you are kidding yourself if you think the Wiz Cup is anything more than a trial game for a lot of clubs

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A macfart a day helps you work rest and play

For some clubs yes (Essendon*) but I don't think the Demons, Bulldogs or Eagles weren't fair dinkum.

The Carlton team that won the Wiz Cup was completely different to the one that turned up to play the Tigers yesterday.


These are the teams that played in the Wiz Cup:

CARLTON
B: Houlihan, Livingston, Teague
HB: Sporn, Thornton, Bannister
C: Camporeale, Stevens, McGrath
HF: Chambers, Whitnall, Lappin
F: Deluca, Fevola, Walker
Foll: French, Koutoufides, Scotland
Int: Morrell, Prendergast, Norman, Davies, Simpson, Carrazzo

WEST COAST
B: Wirrpunda Glass Banfield
HB: Chick Staker Hunter
C: Braun Fletcher A.Embley
HF: Sampi Hansen Cousins
F: Gardiner Lynch R.Jones
R: Seaby Judd Stenglein
INT: Kerr Waters Graham Butler B.Jones Wooden



These are the teams for Rd7:

CARLTON
Backs: Carrazzo Thornton Teague
Half-backs: Wiggins Koutoufides Houlihan
Centres: Scotland Stevens Walker
Half-forwards: Longmuir Waite Lappin
Forwards: Deluca Whitnall Betts
Followers: French Johnson Rover: Camporeale
Interchange: Bannister Chambers Simpson Sporn
CHANGES: Carrazzo, Chambers out, Prendergast, O’hAilpin in.

WEST COAST
Backs: Banfield Wirrpunda Glass
Half Backs: Chick Hunter Stenglein
Centre: Kerr Cousins Braun
Half Forwards: Adkins Hansen Sampi
Forwards: Embley Lynch Matera
Followers: Judd Cox Fletcher
Interchange: Selwood B. Jones Nicoski Staker



For us, these 8 players were missing from yesterday's squad.
Livingston
McGrath
Chambers
Fevola
Morrell
Norman
Davies
Carrazzo

And these 6 did not play in the Wiz Cup.
Wiggins
Longmuir
Waite
Betts
Johnson
Simpson

For West Coast, these 7 players were missing in the squad that beat the Hawks today.
Gardiner
R. Jones
Seaby
Waters
Graham
Butler
Wooden

While these 5 did not play in the Wiz Cup.
Adkins
Matera
Cox
Selwood
Nicoski


It's pretty much even for both teams, yet the Eagles have had a much better year than we have. Arguably West Coast do have a better team, yet we were able to run over the top of them in the Wiz Cup GF. The differences then to now are the team's approach, mental attitude, confidence and leadership.

Their confidence was sky-high going into the Wiz Cup GF. We'd won the first 3 games, and Stevens had chosen the GF over his brother's wedding. After the Wiz Cup, perhaps the boys were too confident and hence the loss in Rd 1 etc. Then the last 2 weeks, confidence was low after losing Fev, and the previous weeks of losing Livo and T-Bird, as well as the losses, had also had an impact. Then losing Carazzo hurt too.

Even though we beat the Hawks it wasn't good football, like they played in the Wiz Cup. The boys only really played one good quarter, which apparently was inspired by a huge rev up from Campo. Obviously yesterday nobody took up that responsibility and it showed how much we were lacking in confidence and leadership.

Yesterday was a bad game and one to forget. We know that the boys are much better than that, so yes Windy I agree with you.

Ya reckon!

If I didn't I wouldn't have said it And yes, they are better than us, and yes, we beat them. No, it wasn't a practice match because both sides had almost their best team on the park. We are capable of beating any side, as long the team is dedicated, switched on and confident in themselves and each other. So what are you trying to say?

Well, he's trying to say he knows better than we do, and if he says that the WC matches were nothing more than practice hit-outs, then we should just genuflect and agree.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Why? I will tell you why.

We have yet to play a team that back themselves. Melbourne & Weagles certainly back themselves and dont feel the need to play a 7 man defence. This has worked so far for shit teams. North are shit and do it. Hawthorn are shit and do it. Collingwood had a day out as did Tigers. Port backed themselves and we drew against them at Port - Freo is always hard expescially after playing port the week before.

We have yet to fill the same team that we have since the wizzer cup.

We have yet to have the same quality of disposal we had during the wizzer cup.

Every game this year - we have had 14 men in our forward line - what chance do they have? But this problem has been magnified by the fact that our disposal has been shithouse.

IMO - i tend to think that is bad coaching. May sound strange, but for the life of me i cant understand why the message doesnt go out that everyone, excluding our full forward push up to the CHF line and put the FF on the goal line, giving the FF room to move.

Get fev in a 1on1 and he will win mroe than he loses. If they dont allow us to do that, then they carry the ball into or near the f50 and go for goal.

This is what we did in the wizzer cup and this is what works for us.

The constant reference to our list being shit is just crap, granted, we certainly are not playing well, but a team that beats Melbourne and the Weagles is hardly a team we need to "slash and burn" and completly rebuild.

I will put this out for the sceptics.

we have played North, Essendon*, Hawthorn, Port, Freo, Collinwood and the Tigers

and you know what, i will give you all the hot tip.

With the exception of Port (which i think are extremelly crippled from injuries) we will beat every single one of these teams again when we replay them.

Why - becuase we are better than them, so straing of the bat we have 7 wins there, plus the 2 and 1/2 we already have puts as at 9 1/2.

We beat Geelong (a team that backs themselves) and Melbourne at OO and we have 11 1/2 wins.

What say you negative nellies?

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

How much do you want for that jousting stick?

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

I say get your head of the Tavern and have a serious look. Better than who?

We are soft defensively and until that is fixed we will continue to lose.

Sadly we lack any kind of 'grunt' leadership - its all fair weather la de dah crap but when the tide turns we have leaders who go belly up or who play for soft, soft kicks so wide they share seats with the cheer squad.

We lack skills, Shit how many times do we have to turn a ball over before we realize we have blokes out there who are shit kicks?

We are short.

We have too many slow players STILL!!!!! The speed of the wizzfizz is gone and we have returned to the plodders or joggers. For @#$%&!'s sake Betts and walker have to run back and forth back and forth to cover not their men but the @#$%&! midield's!!!!!

We have more holes than a sieve!

I have watched two weeks of the worst football ever seen in a bluebaggers jumper - luckily for us the Hawks are just shit. Toss in the Essendon* game for three quarters of joke football and we have a side that is no wher enear better than anyone. We are a laughing stock. Witht he filth and the bummers, we are shit!

Yeah we'll wim some games. yeah we'll be competitive. But how close are we to winning the next flag - i think hardly any closer than three years ago.

I hate this @#$%&! system!

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

As far as I am concerned, the Richmond match was a season defining test.

The players failed to follow Pagans instructions and Carlton failed that test.

We have had 2.5 wins and we are a third the way through our season, the two actual wins not being very convincing ones where you could say we played a full 4 quarters.

To say that we are better than the teams we have played really is Pollyanna stuff.

Theres been plenty of time to show that we are better and we havent done this at all - so its simple - we arent better than the the teams we lost to, we are the same or worse, but not better.

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My Blue Heaven

Wizzer cup format is different including the rules...its TV footy..some clubs are interested some are not....we got interested for the money.

Danny is on the money with his thoughts.....