I don't believe Setanta is the future but I have liked what I have seen from Henderson so far he just needs time and patience.

The other one we need is Austin. Very disappointed he has been injured because I really believe that Hendo and Austin could be the basis of a very strong fed line. Having Waite and the resting ruckman as other tall options surrounded by Betts, Garlett and Yarran should make us fairly dangerous.

The issue is the way we bring it in. On Sat is was something like 54 inside 50's to our 40 and the way we brought it in Wayne Carey would of struggled.

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

If we are happy (in the short term )with Carlos Hendo Betts and Yarran as forwards and if we are looking to mix things up a little, i would like to see Walker moved to the goal sqaure. He has an x factor and we need to test this x factor out in differing positions. He would warrant respect and is fit and strong enough to add forward line pressure. I'd have him Carlos in one pocket and Betts in the other with Hendo Yarran and Houla across the HF line... Waite if not filling in as aCHB should be played as a tall winger and Simmo the small winger. Judd leads the midfield group, Thornton plays the sweeper in defence and MJ holds us together at Full Back. The rest just fall into place.

Why not ?

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

So maybe aim for more like...oh I dont know...that spot where Hendo marked in the 4th qtr 30m out straight in front so that we kick enbough points to win??

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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

um ok

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Yep, were forcing our forward to lead into the 5th row with our around the boundary line ball movement, wonder why so many out on the full the other night.

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31-3-2015 - R.I.P AFL, corrupted lying pricks
12-5-2015 - Go WADA
18-8-2015 - Suffer Hird* u lying flower
12-1-2016 - CAS goes bang, happy new year.. Drugcheats forever..

We got beaten in the middle on Sat night which made our forward line look poor.

42 inside 50s to 54...I don't think we've had so few entries for a long time.

Clearly most weeks we will get the ball in there enough times, especially with Mclean and the improvement in the ruck. However at key times we have failed to convert - first quarter against Brisbane...even the first 15 minutes against the scum we had our opportunities but failed to convert.

It's not so much a poor forward line structure but an inability to convert. It's amazing to consider how such an important area can appear to be so neglected.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Walker's kicking means we could end up with another Fisher type who gets the ball but doesn't hurt the opposition on the scoreboard nearly enough. Last Saturday showed that we need to take our chances in the forward 50.

I think this is the major reason why Gibbs appeals as a forward option.

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In WADA we trust

I was at the game on Saturday. Sat behind the goals so I had a good look at the forwards for both teams.

One big difference between us and them is that our midfielders do not kick the ball to our forwards to their advantage, it fact it was pretty awful.

When a forwards makes a lead, you would think the ball should be kicked towards the direction of the run by the forwards, where the ball lands on the chest of our forwards without reducing their speed on the run. But very often the our forwards had so slowed down or even make a complete stop of their lead in order to mark the ball, this creates a total advantage for the opposition defender for them to spoil the ball easily. I saw this happen a lot of times on Saturday night. Our midfielders simply cannot make a proper pass to our forwards.

I don't mind Walker forward. he played a game there at Etihad a while ago where he kicked a few and looked super dangerous - when you think about it - physically he's a hard match up to defend because he's so springy for his size and pretty good over head.

I really think with Walker that if he's going to play a role at Carlton long term then he needs to be played to his strengths, rather than being used in the negative roles he has been assigned predominantly to this point. Fair play to Ratts, he's trying to get a defensive side into Walks and that's laudable - but at a certain point we should be looking to ask questions of the opposition. I personally think opposition teams would be delighted to see Gibbs and Walker in defensive roles. I think we're making it very easy for teams to play us.

Let's not get too excited, however, about wholesale changes. We were never going to have the best forward line in the world. It's more about how the ball is delivered for us than the personnel we have down there.

I think there's something to like about a forward line of Hendo, Setanta, Walker, Yarran and Betts. Some aerial ability and quick enough to keep the defensive pressure on if their heads are on right.

We have a forward set up?

I do not see what the harm is in trying Levi Casboult, he is strong, leads hard (which Carlos doesnt) and can kick.

You can still play Carlos and Hendo but try Levi out the goal square

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Blue boy thru and thru

Santy can lead very strongly. He's fast on the lead. But that's a fairly low percentage option in our side. Make such a lead, and you're likely to be ignored - much better to chip to the side and await an opportunity to find someone standing still inside 50 with no one around them. When that doesn't happen, we then panic and bomb it long and badly.

I reckon that Santy is also instructed when he's the FF to be static around the goalsquare in order to anchor the FB and isolate him from the other defenders. That was particularly the case against Essendon*. On the other hand, when he rotates onto the HF line, he leads and runs. His 2nd goal was an example of that.

That's a bit of a pity as one of Santy's weapons is his mobility. This is what made him dangerous in his 2 most potent games last year as a mobile CHF in the Essendon* and Freo games. But it looks as though he's playing to instructions and sacrificing his own game to a degree.

Save for our kicking for goal after half time in round 1, our fwd line has been ok.

25 scoring shots from 42 entries is not terrible.

Just need to convert better. I think they have the balance right, just not sure about the Irishman.

Waite is going to have afew bad ones along the way, IIRC he had a knee reco last year.

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Go Blues

All preseason we heard about how unpredictable we were going to be. We heard of exciting times ahead with Kreuzer, Waite, Henderson, O'Hailpin, Betts, Yarran etc being our forward set up.
Well, Kreuzer clearly isnt a key forward, he is a mobile ruckman, Waite is better up back and Henderson and O'Hailpin are just okay. It is clear we are struggling up forward, both in conversions and marking inside 50. Our poor conversions are due largely to our persistance in bringing in the ball via the boundry and the marking is due to holding the ball too long and the forwards being covered.
Try kicking through the middle and not holding it up.
Fisher as it has turned out is a loss as he is a good mark and can convert is he stays close to goal. Henderson is only 20 and played 18 games yet this poor kid now has to have one of the best defenders on him each week and this isnt fair on him.
The decision to delist Cloke is even more puzzling now as he is at least a good target with a strong body. There may have been off field issues that we are unaware of with Cloke.
I dont know what the answer is but our forward set up isnt working.

I think we do this.

We played way too defensive against ESS, kicking along the wings near the boundary line, as there was no tall target in the middle.

I think we play Waite as a CHF/Wingman - Kinda same way as Richo. Gives a target in the middle of the ground and can straighten the team up if they have target in the middle of the ground.

Henderson plays CHF - Hes young and has ability, lets give him the chance to develop into a top CHF.
Rotate FF with Setanta/Kruze/Hammer/Mitch until you have the right setup.
Rotate Small forwards with Betts, Yarran, Garlett.

Just my thoughts. I think the backline is settled with Jamo, Bower, Thornton as our talls when all playing. Thornton plays well as the Harley type defender when not on a key tall.

Of course not - he's THE PRESENT.

I envy those of you who are going to spend the next 4 years out of contact with the Earth on your interplanetary trips to the outer reaches of our Solar System or beyond. Terrestrially-bound sods such as myself will be turning up to games in the next 4 years and can't afford to wait until the future unfolds after your return to Planet Earth. But by then we'll be able to figure out how much of our present is our future.

Recruit Brendon Fevola!

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

Its not 100% clear that Kruezer isnt a forward. Give him a go when he finds his marking again. When he gets it back to where it was last year he will start grabbing a few inside 50.
He has taken a number of big marks up forward in the last couple of years that showed a bit of promise.
I am not suggesting we play him there permanently. But he could play there for 15 - 20 mins of his 75 mins. Take some big mark and kick a couple. It takes time to learn how to do this though. Just look at JK,Gumby,Sellar,Thorpe and Henda so we will need to have patience. He could model that side of his game on Ottens who also didnt work it out for a few years.

no, no at carlton we can do it straight away or not at all

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Is next Saturday the present or the future??

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015