Some good posts landed at the end of the 2025 version of this discussion: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38184&start=700

Now that the trade period is done, here's a quick recap…

OUT: Curnow, TDK, SOJ, Durds
IN: Ainsworth, Chesser, Florent, Hayward, Reidy
(and we currently hold 2 x first round picks for the next three drafts, which should help with F/S selections if nothing else)

No real stars in, but some good ordinary footballers who can stay fit for a full season and contribute for 22+ games.

It's the daft belief being a supporter brings, there's always a way to find hope, and if the talk of Charlie (and others) being lazy and problematic is true well that issue has been resolved now.

With the changes to our list, in particular some of the outs, let's hope that we are well on the way to becoming a champion team, rather than a team of champions. Hopefully the guidance from above of Wright and Davies will also help with this.

Our club does not handle expectation well and the good news is there will be SFA expectation on us going into R1 next year. If you were a Hollywood script writer you'd be watching Carlton very closely next year. We will be one of the prime underdogs of 2026.

And one final one, it will now be 31 years since we won a flag and as Navy One said at the end of the 2025 thread, "During the 20 years - 1968 to 1987 we played in 10 Grand Finals for 7 wins." And that era kicked off thanks to Ron Barassi's influence, who wore number 31.

Just give us the @#$%&! cup!

_________________
Click here to follow TalkingCarlton on twitter
TalkingCarlton Posting Rules

It’s what we lost that will hurt us.

I reckon we lost an unfulfilled talent Surrey

_________________
#DonTheStash

He’ll come good now he’s at Port.

_________________
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

2026 is a year to grow and evaluate and for davies and GW to start shaping us.

the league as a whole feels like an uphill battle with the lions and (about to be) suns juggernauts and all their concessions ruling the top end of the ladder & finals.

The positive me says we took a huge gain on player culture, taking into account who we lost and who we gained. We also have enough picks to cover the young guns we need to recruit over the next few drafts. This will take our team to the next level and Vossy will gain a contract extension.

The negative me says we lost some real game changing champions and only gained in return some middle of the road journeyman who will probably all be injured most of the year, plus some useless end of first round picks that will be massively diluted by AFL draft rule changes and Tasmanian gifted picks. Our team will continue to decline, Voss will lose his job by the end of 2026, and we will be locked out of drafting the Walkers.

I think its all about getting the dressing rooms right . Creating a harmonious work culture , a place that people enjoy and want to come to . I think they call it morale .

_________________
All my dangerous friends

A great place to start Mick

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

_________________
#DonTheStash

My thoughts
Reidy I have high hopes he will be good
Like Meek at Hawthorn
His backend at the WAFL was exceptional and big guys take time
Chesser could be good pick up as long as he gets super fit
Ainsworth and Florent are list cloggers
Hayward ok but just ok
At least with Smith debuting we will have more zip
I really like Wilson , HOK,Young, Cowan, Carroll and White
At least we have more pace and depth
Also think McKay could rise to the occasion now he is the main man

I would give Newman the captaincy and make Walsh his apprentice
There definitely needs to be change there
Cripps is too nice as is Weitering

How many games were changed this year by those we lost?

Changed for the better that is.

_________________
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

I hope we beat Collingwood at least once next year and our younger players (in particular Jagga) show plenty of promise.
On the other hand I don't want us to move up the ladder too much as it might jeopardise our chances of obtaining Cody Walker.
Catch 22 situation thanks to AFL makey uppey rules.
Currently clubs can go into deficit of approx 1700 draft points (I think?) so I hope this rule remains in place to ensure we can get Cody regardless of where we finish on the ladder.

_________________
'The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it'
H.L. Mencken

We need to at least beat Sydney. Send Charlie a skateboard or some rollerblades.

Sent from my SM-S931B using Tapatalk

_________________
Jagga

Worried about what Gold Coast will do to us. They are an absolute Frankenstein. Can see them being unstoppable for 5+ years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

_________________

Come on Surrey, that glass could just, possibly, be half-full.

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

We lost talent AND disinterested players

I’m not wrong. We traded in well with run and carry / goalkicking but have lost a lot more in KP. I’m not wrong, it’s just no one wants to admit it. Oh well, I call it as I see it. Always!!

Well, I'm pumped.
Sorry to be the shining light in this room of gloom.
We needed speed.
We needed foot skills.
We needed depth.
We needed players who can kick goals.

JSOS can be covered, TDK has been covered and Curnow although a loss will change the way goals are kicked.
As for Durdin, I liked him, however he was always injured and Ainsworth has him well and truely covered.

Plus we have players coming back, players working on injuries and players with another pre-season under their belts.

We will be in the top 8 next year.

Let's GO BLUES!!

I honestly think we could spring a surprise and push for finals if we have luck with injuries and culture in the joint improves. I'm actually confident we will have a more positive season than this year, which was the year from hell.

What we have done over the last week won't pay dividends immediately, and GW and the club know this and it was their intention.

It's going to be uncomfortable for us in the short term but this NEEDED to be done.

We've salvaged as much as possible from a complete flower of a situation.

Once again we get attached to our own players and overrate them, and underrate players from other teams. Funnily enough when things don't go our way, we then overrate the targets we missed, just to find another excuse to wallow in our misery. The head loss over missing out on Buku Khamis has me scratching my head. He's a fringe player at the Bulldogs, he's not the next Glen Jakovich ffs.

As a fanbase we still have a lot of maturing to do, there's still the "old Carlton" mentality of wanting big names and big deals instead of building a balanced list and playing group. This could end up being a reverse of the Judd/Kennedy deal and we end up better off in the long term.