With Dick breaking his arm we lose a clear in and out contested ball winner in the trenches. He freed up Judd/Gibbs and Murph and got the ball out to our outside runners. He really was starting to become our O'Bree.

So who comes in to fill to the void?

Here are some names that could be considered.

Anderson - Ratten was pretty quick to say Armfeld would come straight back in, obviously not happy with Robbo kicking 5 on Joey. But he could be an option in the middle and not dissimilar to Hadley in a lot of areas.

Bentick - The forgotten man and we all know his deficiencies but probably the best contested ball winner in our reserves at the moment.

Bannister - Journeyman good is ok bad can be terrible would be a roll of the dice with him.

Bentley - I really fear the the MC may go with Bentley to replace Hadley because he does have a big body that suit the battering ram midfielder we miss.

Browne - Wouldn't mind if Steve was given this opportunity. Sink or swim.

Betts - An idea from left field but what if we played Yarran and Garlett in the forward line and played Eddie in the middle? He is quick and has a the ability to come away with contested footy. Size would be the issue here. But i really like the idea of playing both Yarran, Garlett and Betts in the same side.

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WE ARE CARLTON @#$%&! THE REST

Welease Wiggins.

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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.”

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

I thought we really struggled against the Dees in this area when Dick went down....no one wanted to go in and get the hard ball...finals are all about contested possession and we have 2 number one picks in Murphy and Gibbs who didn't want to be touched on Saturday...particularly Murphy...what will happen is Judd will have to go in and get the ball out - something that will suit the opposition and not us. We don't have another extractor. We desperately need one and because we don't have one - I expect to be done by about 7 goals against Adelaide this week. Browne, Armfield, Anderson, Bentick, Banno - they can't do this job. Sad - but unfortunately very true.

Ellard ?

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Green Shooter

Gibbs has shown a capacity in this regard and is starting to have the body for the role. You'd prefer him outside setting up play, but we're a bit light on (pardon the pun) for blokes who can throw themselves around and dispose well.

Not enough talk about Walker, I would have thought he'd be even more suited to this role given his newly restrictive shoulder. That one isn't going to get popped out too easily now; it actually requires a significant fracture for that to happen.

Houlihan has done a bit of this in some recent matches, all though he loves to try and side step everyone before clearing.

Also, I don''t think Bannister is available?

Outside of the current 22 I would look at Grigg, but he is defensively loose in that role, plus his kicking seems to suffer. The rest are a bunch of plodders, unfortunately.

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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.

Strength over the ball - marginal
Foot speed - no
Skills - not particularly
Height and weight - no and no

Another bloke who can do it at VFL level, but is shut out by superior athletes at AFL level.

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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.

Houla - Could he ?

Other than that Carrots may be good fit.

Getting two quality inside mid has be on our shopping list this off season.

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Scott, things aren't as happy as they used to be down here at the unemployment office. Joblessness is no longer just for Philosophy majors - useful people are starting to feel the pinch.

I thought we really struggled against the Dees in this area when Dick went down....no one wanted to go in and get the hard ball...(quote)
hmmm..yes..and this has been a problem right throughout history.

I still say Wiggs for the grunt stuff..he's good at it.

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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.”

....i'd go for Walks.. ..you need a player willing to use their body, and that has that true mongrel/attack on the ball.. ..he's also quick, fit, and accountable..

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

Have to go with a combination/rotation of Grigg,Walks and Carazzo now.

I think Walks and Carrazzo would have to be involved. I'd also be interested to see how Betts went as mentioned above. Probably have to be in spurts, but is very fast and can get the ball out to a teammate well. It's been mentioned that we want him to move more into the midfield.

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I would like to thank Collingwood for helping me keep faith in my old man. He always told me that 'People are thick'.

Adelaide have some of the stronger midfielders going around, we will get slaughtered at the contests, Hadley is a massive loss but even with him in, Adelaide are a very good well drilled team. I dont think we can win

If the stupid TAB have us as favourites again, ill be straight on Adelaide!

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Matty Kruzer you star!

Based on the amount of his AFL exposure thus far? You got to be kidding.

Sweet!

We're certainties now!

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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.

Didn't see this when I posted in another post, but I had exactly the same idea. I think Carrots needs to go in to the middle more, like he did when Hadley went down, but feel this is an option that we should use more, with Garlett up forward and Yarran if he can show the required work ethic.

Again, as I mentioned in a previous post, Carrots/Eddie doesn't give us the size we crave, so having Walker around the stoppage area could be another option.

You only have to compare him to some of the blokes he runs around with to get a feel of how he would fare at this point.

Having said that, I was far from impressed with him during his pre-season appearance. Good kid; great work ethic but he is somewhere inbetween Bentick & Bentley (although a different player to those two).

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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.

Carrazzo is the obvious choice, in the few games he played in that position when he got back into the side he dominated. Wasn't so good on Saturday but I'm tipping he'll play well this week.

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You want the flame? Give us the marbles!!

Without hard Dick in the middle we are in big trouble. Huge loss, harder to cover than Jamo IMO. If we have to bring someone in for that role I think Bentick is the obvious choice. AB is has been inconsistent but at his best, has similar ability to Hadley in close.

I like Chief's idea of bringing in Yarran to release Eddy onto the ball. Could be our secret weapon. Risk is that we stuff up things that are currently working well.

Gutted by this injury.

This thread has become an episode of Blankety Blanks.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.