Should Koutoufides play this weekend if he can only play 1 - 2 quarters of the game?

I ask this because in this game which seems to be pretty important to the club, you wouldnt doubt having Kouta if he was able to run out most if not all the game, but reports are that he may only be able to see out up to half, if that.

As such, do you go with an inspirational leader who can only possibly hobble onto the park for a quarter or two, or give the spot to someone who can do the job and stay out there for the whole game ?

I'm a bit more toward the latter - fitness first, but i can understand the importance of having the captain out there.

If he was totally fit, you'd have him, but when someone isn't and may only be 50%, would you risk it for the player and for the team?

The Carlton that places a mythical type dependance on one man is dead and buried IMO.

I love Kouta, don't get me wrong, but why risk it? Give his knee a chance to recover.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

i think he will play, he means so much to our team and his presence will lift the side by 15%, if he pulls out before the match it will be a bit of a blow especially to the younger kids therefore i doubt the club would do such a thing and talk up his chances or they would have said from the start of the week he isnt going to play.

If he's fit he should play. Or are we expecting Stevo to play this important game for no good reason.

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I don't think he's required - we're playing as a tight unit without him. He's not really match-fit, and might not even make it through the game? Sure there are an extra 2 interchange players, but i don't think he needs to prove anything in this one - leave him out and put him through some tough pre-season intra-club matchups.

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Bring back Buzza

Yeh, even if he played, he would be on and off the bench, its best to give someone else a full game, maybe Eddie Betts can play in his first GF, in his 3rd game.

He'll play if the knee is right, and he won't get all that much game time. But they'll want him in anyway, because he needs ground time in the lead up to the season proper (and this is his last chance to get it).

Pagan's hinted a couple of times over preseason that it took Kouta a while to really get up and going last year, and he wants to minimise that as much as he can this year.

I'd like to see him play, maybe not the whole game but he gives us something different being a bit bigger and stronger than some of our other onballers. He will also give West Coast something else to think about matchup wise..he might drag a player like Stenglein away from Nick Stevens and allow Stevens to play on a lesser opponent.
I'd like to see Kouta spend some time up forward as well, could be very valuable as another marking target....

Providing there's no chance of further ijnury, which it seems there isn't, he should play. The expanded interchange means we can afford to carry him.

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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

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere but i couldn't see it.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,12506829-23211,00.html

Kouta will be right on night
By Peter Krupka
March 11, 2005

CARLTON captain Anthony Koutoufides yesterday made an early exit from the Blues' last training session before tomorrow night's Wizard Cup grand final, but coach Denis Pagan was confident he would play against the West Coast Eagles

and that would give us four

fev, lance, archie & kouta

with betts & lappin running around

god - its good to follow carlton at the moment

and that is a bloody awesome forward line

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Got to love the stare Down by Setanta on Llyod

Question over Kouta
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&s ... eid=189599

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I have no inside info on this, but I do not think Kouta will play and if he does it wil be off the bench.




Also if the knee continues to trouble the big man I susupect it could be his last year in the Navy Blue.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

I don't think it's worth risking, even if it is 50/50 or whatever.

We've gone this far without Kouta, we can survive another week. Obviously, if he's fit enough you play him but if there's any doubt then why take the chance?

It appears that the issues with his knee are going to rear their head most weeks this season, and that the club is going to have to adopt a week-by-week approach with Kouta.

I also think that we're going to have to start gearing ourselves towards the tough realisation that it's unlikely that Kouta will play much longer. Kouta whilst a champion isn't the future and it's important that we continue winning games when he isn't in the side.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

CAPTAIN KOUTA TO PLAY!!!!

Just heard it on the radio, the club doctors have cleared the Kouta-fish to play. Go Captain!!!!

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C'mon Blueboys!

WOOHOOO!! Cheers marciblue!

Its an important game... we need our Capitan playing!

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When Dick became President, it was as if everyone at Carlton came out of the hailstorm and into the sunshine - Stephen Kernahan

YARRAN!!





.

YEEEESSSS. Just his presence in the forward line will be enough.