First thing i took out of today's game was the fact the that Walks shoulder is ok infact he is now a genuine bull... I got to the game in the 4th after work and saw a bit to suggest we'll be ok this season if a few things click but like most still uncertain however i witnessed a 50/50 contest no more than 30 meters away from me and Walker committed and the thud the impact made was scary it sent shivers down my neck.... Walker gets up and is fine the crows player (i'm not sure who it was) was still on the ground in agony... That one play led to Hendo spoiling a kick in with two players around him and that led to a Betts goal after some hard work from Irish n Waite after the Hendo spoil.

Now it was only a glimpse but i think we'll be a momentum side this year and very inconsistent at times but there is a new excitement... Hendo's voice could be heard from the 2nd level as he shouted instructions to the rest of our forwards that in itself is exciting... We must be patient this was a forward line dominated by 1 man and anybody who got in his way got crushed (i.e Irish)

Slight changes in the culture are already visible but it will take time. We are a young team which will be inspired by acts of courage and we'll use that momentum to run over teams just like the Walker bump did today..

I think we have enough guys in this side that can inspire there teammates to lift but one guy i expect to be a source of inspiration is Brock and he hasn't shown what he is capable of yet but wait til he explodes in round 1...

I'm not expecting anything this year which is the most exciting thing... I think the foundation is there for us to build on...

Go Blues in 2010.... Shock the world boys!

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WE ARE CARLTON @#$%&! THE REST

Good stuff.

I think this season will be a transitional year. The club as a whole needs to be patient in 2010 as we take a few steps forward, then back, then forward as the year progresses. I have every confidence there will be some great moments this year, whilst at the same time some frustrating ones... It's the same for every team.

But, as Benji said, there were positives to be taken out of the match today.

The way the Crows, as well as other teams who use it, set up and execute the rolling zone so effectively is knowing no matter who is in the team it'll be done a certain way, to the letter each and every time. For evidence of this see St. Kilda's win down in Tassie last year against the Hawks. The strength of it is to have every player on the list capable of coming in and performing their defensive duties without fault. Yeah, of course we know the Crows were missing a few guys, some very good players, but one would think players like Mcleod, Edwards and Burton probably have 1, maybe 2, seasons left in them anyway. The guys in the team today are the ones who'll have to carry them forward. And, whose to say their performances would have been better than those put in by a bunch of hungry young players making their final play for a gig in round 1? The guys in the team for Adelaide's established old guard had plenty to gain if they put in a good shift.

The way we were able to work back into the game, negating their zone in the 2nd half (with a few hiccups along the way, admittedly), was encouraging.

Waite and Walker's efforts at times during the match were very encouraging. Murphy looked to get the ring rust out of his system and contributed a few good things, the same with o'hAilpin.

Guys like Yarran and Gibbs showed their poise on a couple occasions and the run of Joseph and Bower off half back showed you can break these zones if you have a little confidence.

It wasn't an even performance, by any means. But there were little bits and pieces littered throughout that should quite rightly encourage Carlton fans for not only the season ahead, but years ahead too.

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"In fairness it did seem in the early days of the draft teams would just pick a name totally at random out of a hat. I'm pretty sure we picked James Cook at #2 one year. The mediocre forward, not the explorer" - Me, 12/9/2011

Carlton 2012: Lets remind them why they once feared the Dark.

I doubt we will make the 8 but I want to end the season with progression on these fronts

(a)- evidence of a class ruck combination
(b)- a settled backline which can execute a kick in
(c)- Growth in Yarran & Hendersenthat demonstrates he can play 150 games forwards
(d)- Blooding new players for beyond 2011 that have good kicking skills

I think we will start slow and finish hard.

Agree about the skill issues, but I still think we have a better team than last year.

Somewhere between 6th and 12th.

I just hope the boys can get more finals experience.

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They coud'nt.....could they?

Its not going to be a bad year - it's going to be a very frustrating one and probably sneak into the eight.

We are good enough and enough top line players to take us into the eight but depth is a concern as is skills and this isnt enough to win a flag.

I think the year will have a bit for everyone. The doomsayers will get excited as with our draw we will start slowly, but those who are a bit more positive will get on a roll as we do in the second half of the season.

Those who are somewhere between the two will feel despair and be exhilarated on occasion, although our defensive focus will probably mean less of the latter I think the year will focus a great deal on our defensive structures and we need to IMO. Complicating that will be the need to workout who will standup up forward for us as we look to the future. I think it will be interesting, although at times painful to watch how we go about it.

I think we will be one of a number of teams vying for a lower eight spot, but will unfortunately be further away from a top four side this season.

Good post sean

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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

As long as we are unpredictable

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

I hope rather than think we will make the 8.

Having watched Henderson with the Lions and the few games with us ... I don't think he has a lot to offer ... but am hoping for the best.

Brock M has shown in the past he can play good football ... I hope he finds his groove fast.

I hope the Blues can lift a notch or two in the skills department.

I hope we execute a workable game plan against Richmond.

I can't wait for Game 1 ... excited and hopeful.


Go Bluebaggers!

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

A shame you are predictable and still bleeding out...

What we should expect is a top 6 finish at best
given all the top picks we have had in the draft and that we have steadly improved in the last 2 years.

I havent gone to any of the practice games but going on the match reports we may struggle this year.

And that isnt acceptable given the swag of top picks we have obtained.


The key to being a succesful team is quick ball movement down the corridor.

Its ok to do the chippy chip stuff when the opposition has the momentum but not as much as we did against the Crows.

How do you develop a winning team with that sort of shit.

Last year we won some games due simply to fevs brilliance(Betts to a lesser extent)

Now with him gone the onus is on Ratten to come up with a structure that works .

Reading these match reports would suggest he hasnt.

Quick ball movement involves
correct disposal
players creating off the ball to provide options
Leg speed

From the match reports we dont have that and thats a worry.

I am suprised Gartlett hasnt been given much of a run.
He would be one of the first picked in my team because he has geniune leg speed.
When he played last year we looked a better team.

Ratten also IMO hasnt tried enough different things
Thornton in the forward line for one

We lack a guy in attack who can take a pack mark.
Carlos is good on the lead and is creative but not a pack marker
Henderson is young
I thought Casboult was worth another game atleast but as is the custom practice at Carlton you dont take risks with young players.

We have kept guys on our list we should have delisted a few years ago
Wiggins
Houlihan
Fisher

We play some blokes in the wrong positon
Carrazzo did well as a tagger last year but he should be in the middle on the ball.
The year he won the B and F he was awesome and creative in close. So why does Ratten play him away from this spot .

We dont have a play maker out of defense

It may be the case playing Gibbs as a loose man in defence to set things up from there. None of our defenders our great at being creative by foot from half back. every successful team needs a player like this.

Kickouts are shocking. Ratten needs to come up with something here

Our team last year was too defensively minded at times. You want the team to take the opposition on. That didnt happen often enough IMO. There were exceptions. The Aints game where we lost by 9 points filled me with hope that we may have turned the corner yet it didnt. If players had the same attitude as Bower we would be a better team. That night the Volt was having a blinder. Bower turned things around so much he nearly ended up BOG.

what I expect in 2010 is better structures
more positive footy from our team
atop 6 finish
Anything less is unacceptable and heads should roll at the end of the year if we go backwards in 2010.

What was he saying? If it was anything other than "get out of my way" and/or "kick it to me" he probably just confused everybody.

POSITIVES:

One thing that has been evident in all our pre season games is that we've been able to storm home in the last quarters and but for bad kicking for goal, could've won a couple more of those games..

Another possitive is that our list is pretty young, so the impact of GWS and GC17 taking over the drafts in the net few years shouldnt be as bad on our club as it will to say Geelong, Brisbane, St Kilda and the Doggies who's lists will lose a lot of good experienced players in the net 2-3 years.

Midfield - We now have the midfield depth and class to beat most teams in the comp, and break even at worst on our bad days.

Young developing defence - Defence seems to be coming along well, so those who rued us missing out on McGuire last year dont have much to go on about. We are missing a genuine gorilla, but McGuire wasnt the answer to that problem.

NEGATIVES:
We can expect...
- a negative, 'Sydney in the mid 00s' type gameplan
- a lot of inconsistancy by the team
- massive pressure on Ratten if we have a bad start to the season
- a lot of turnovers in our backlines, particularly from kick ins
- unwarranted pressure on Hendo to be the 'next Fev' by uninformed supporters

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

Forwards out...forwards out

Can't agree with the assessment earlier of Henderson in my view looks promising and in fact different player but see more in him than Josh Kennedy(who I thought was promising) at the same stage
Hendo is a year or so off it and maybe so is yazza but show enough to play round 1 -need to take a long term view Setanta is essential to protect hendo from the buffeting and will be much more productive not having Fev yelling to get out the way
Hopefully Waitey can take pressure off them both -as we know he is capable of kicking multiple goals

What I would have liked to see in Pre-season is for thorton to be tried up forward -in a couple of games last year really turned games -this is a pinch hitting measure I know but if we struggle to kick goals he with his judgment and marking could be swapped with Waitey

A, B & C have already occurred in the pre-season...

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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.

a bit like the little red caboose ... I think I can, I think I can and then caboom.

half the season to get our mojo right and the balance of the season to put it out and about.

2010 our pre-season to a flag in 2011

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NG
S M C , S F L

I don't know why people would have an expectation that kick-ins will get fixed.
They have been flowered for years and there have been no signs that anyone at the club knows how to fix them.

The best they could come up with is letting JR take them- slowly.

I remember reading a few years ago many TCers thinking 2010 would be our premiership year.

Such is life...

TOP 6

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I see you watching me watching you.