houlihan is a good player when we are doin well and can play a variety of roles so not to worried about him, thornton will be better when bower comes back but trialling white wont hurt us.
walker is shit, serioulsy dont know what he brings to the team , i honestly thought his kicking would improve and be the player we all expect but after the weekend he is s dud. Sorry to say it and hopefully he proves me wrong bc that x factor would help our team but cant see it happening

Walker is better than Russell, yet we keep making excuses for him.

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?? Russell is much better than Walks at the moment.

the duke: walker is better then russell: can i have what ur having champ

My judgement is not clouded at all.
Bower moves quicker with the ball and disposes of it a lot quicker than Thornton so please don't forgive me for anything.
The only thing that stood out for me about Thornton's game on Saturday night was that he was not prepared to take any body contact. This was highlighted in the third quarter when he tried to dispose of the ball on the boundary line before the Essendon* player bumped him and in the process kick the ball out on the full. If he was prepared to take the hit he would have been pushed over the line and it would have been a throw in. Instead he took the easier option, kicked it out on the full and conceded the free. Mark Williams slotted the goal.

How many goals has AW coughed up? I counted 2 to Russell this week alone. Then there were 2 against Richmond - 1 where he passed it onto the chest of a tiger who was in the clear by 15 metres.

To give Russell credit - last weeks game against Brisbane was the best I've seen him play.

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Thornton and Houlihan are good at times but are/have been far too inconsistent with their performances to be given prominent team roles. I'm sure they're doing their best but they're just not consistenty good enough to be relied upon week in week out to get the job done.
Walker just needs some game time in a role that gives him confidence. Jury's out on him from mpov.

I thought their CD was pretty good
Sure they play a light melodic style of music..but hec...let's face it,you need all the light and shade in a big rock outfit.
People seem to forget how solid Thornton was on bass these last few years,when many in the larger band were o/s.
Walker..well...he suffers from a bit of demons in the head stuff after a few too many late nite gigs...and some unkind remarks and feedback from crowd.
Given a lot of positive re-enforcement..he should return to his early promise.
As for Houlihan...he is at his best when given room to improvise,and riff over the top of the general play.
He'll slip in a note,or chord you never expected...and sometimes lifts an otherwise mediocre effort on some of the tracks.
These three make the best music when the backing band is playing in unison.They have the ability to rock it out..but you can't expect heavy metal from this genre.

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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.”

The way these three are playing at the moment, I'd be inclined to ship them off to the Ants for a few weeks. Geeze... Thornton was pretty good last year but boy has he had a stinker of a season so far. Same goes for Houla and Walks.
We're still feeling the effects of the Black Friday sanctions and the Elliott administration mess through the fact that players like Houla and T Bird have played so many games for CFC and yet are considrered nothing beyond average players at best.

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

I might be the only one with this opinion, but Im going to voice it anyway

I really rate Houlihan, he is my favourite player. He is very classy and has great skill. I think his best position is either wing or forward flank. When he is delivering to the forwards.

Thornton is definitely our 3rd tall. If Bower is injured then Thornton has to play CHB and he struggles. He struggles coz its not his possition. He is a very good 3rd tall, he can create and run off his man. He did his best in Bowers possy and he played shit. So WE NEED BOWER BACK !!!!!!!

Now because Bower was out and Thornton was filling his role, we needed someone to fill Thorntons role .. and for some unknown stupid reason , they thought Walker was that someone. He needs to be played in the midfield rotations or off a forward flank. He's going to struggle in another possition.

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Cheers, Tommy

Anyone above the age of 23 that has a disposal efficiency below 75% by end of year should be replaced. No matter who it is.

I mentioned in another thread about thinking laterally.

You don't want to drop Walker, we don't have enough speed as it is. Play him forward as we don't have any marking forwards and for his size he can mark. If you have noticed, for some reason his kicking improves when he has set shots on goal.

Thornton is another who can play forward. We don't have talls who can mark either. Put Setanta in the backline and give Thornton a try at FF. He can mark and kick better than the Irishman.

Houlihan is Houlihan. No one is ever going to agree on him.

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"Get ready, Teddy - you're on": Ron Barassi half time 1970 Grand Final

You might want to do some research as to who would qualify, not only Carlton players, but the whole league.

I'll give you a few examples: (Note: Stats are from the AFL Prospectus Volume 4 2004-2008)

Jonathon Brown up to 2008 had not had a disposal efficiency higher than 74.6

Stephen Browne in 2008 had a disposal efficiency of 77%.

Chris Judd has only reached over 75% once and that was 75.6%

Marc Murphy consistently had disposal efficiency between 70.5 to 70.9%.

There are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration when dealing with stats, not all stats give the true picture.

I think you're right Teddy.

When Walks has time to steady his disposal is good. I think he'd offer more than Robbo in a forward role at the moment and maybe Robbo can get some midfield time in the ants.
If White's form is as good as reported perhaps he could be given a go in defence.

All three in our best....

Walker,currently being played out of position.
Thornton, currently playing on the No1/2 Forward. Not his position.Not big enough.
Houla, when the team struggle he struggles.

IMO we are better off playing Thornton as the sweeper in the backline and look elsewhere for a short term fix with Bower missing. Is White that guy, i have no idea. But we are really mssing Austin right now, as he would be ideal in Bowers absence.

Walker needs to be freed up or given a run with role. To play him in the back half is not helping his confidence. He needs to run to carry or to run with and be taken to the action.

Houla , well as i said when the team plays well so does Houla. Play him as a HFF and just give him licence to "cheat" he is clever enough to know to kick goals
but needs to be in that surrounding.

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I know a little secret. And i'm not sharing.

Good thread this one...

Thornton...not accountable and a finger pointer....which means better suited forward of centre or trade bait.

Houla...softest player to have chalked up so many afl games in history I reckon...

Walks must be persisted with....but I see him up forward playing a Hamill type role not in defence...

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Spot on Tractor!

Agree 100%

Thornton has been played out of position for 7 years.

How often did Dean, Christou & Manton play on the oposition key forward? Never!!

If they did they would have struggled.

We need to play Waite at half back and leave him there, we need to place Scotland & Gibbs across half back so that we get some decent exits out of our back 50. Players like Thornton are gettying crucified by the turnovers coming out of our defence.

Walker is not a defender !! Why would we drop Anderson and then play Walker on the third tall forward? Mind boggling.

Jamieson for mine does not provide any drive what so ever. He is purely a negator and although he is able to take the key forwards he needs to create and provide some rebound, something Thornton does very well when allowed to play that role. Let's not forget that Thornton had the best efficiency rate for the Blues last year and also ranked in the top 10 for marks in the AFL.

The fact he plays injured more than most other carlton players may in fact be to his detriment. I believe he had injenctions in his ankle and also sustained an injury to his thigh yet spent 3 minutes on the bench.

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Life is made up of 3 things: Pre-Season, Post Season & Footy Season.

So basically Thornton, Walker and Houlihan can only play limited roles and we should ask the opposition coach prior to a match if they don't mind (pretty please with a strawberry on top) if they can allow these three players to play in positions that are beneficial to them.


Walker has had almost 100 games in a variety of roles, but only likes the wing - so please give him an opposition player who is slow then.


Thornton can only play on the third tall - so please give him a short, slow opposition player who will allow him to prance around uncontested.



and Houlihan ...well he can play wherever he wants as long as he gets some accurate disposals.


Ratten should go to Craig tomorrow and ask for beneficial treatment for these three players. Case solved.

Interesting stats Raf. Tell me, do they take into account a kick to advantage? Murphy will kick to space for a player to run onto the footy rather than have that player blanketed by his oponent and spoil the mark. This could be taken as an in-effective kick.

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