Someone should put together a package of Monfries and Davey 'dive' free kicks and farm it out to the media this week. Get a bit of pressure on the umpires so they give them nothing. Kind of like what the media used to do against Whitnall. There is a bit of heat already after his dodgy before the bounce goal last weekend. Strike while the iron is hot.

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The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

Excellent point JK. A loss will say much, much more than a win about our developoment. Losing on Saturday is not an option. We should be breathing fire after the loss to Coll.
No excuses should be tolerated by the club or the supporters if we go down.

I made a comment a couple of weeks ago saying that Essendon* were tracking their development at a faster rate than what Carlton had. I was howled down by a few on TC saying that it was early days/honeymoon period yada yada.

That's fine. Now let's see Carlton prove to the football world that they aren't a flaky side anymore. Dispose of this bacteria on Saturday as we are expected to (regardless of betting odds etc) and add another layer to Carlton's credibility as a serious top 4 contender.

May be the most important game of the season for Ratts and the MC. I have no idea about the result and put my faith in the aforementioned MC.

WINNING THIS GAME IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE. A LOSS MAY BE THE FIRST NAIL IN RATT'S COFFIN.
Come on Blues, keep the undertakers at a safe distance and FFS, beat this SCUM.

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

I think any assertions or conclusions from this game re: our coach need to be carefully considered and not just jump on last year's second result.

To me Knights was a terrible coach. To me fans who said Essendon* had a terrible list had their heads in the sand - they have a great crop of up & coming KPPs and a very good depth in outside flankers who can kick a goal. I hate Reimers but Zaharakis and Monfries are good running flankers who can take a mark and most definitely can kick a goal. Get them in space and they will carve us up like they did in the first game.

Now their injuries are under control and they have a man who is most likely not going to end up a terrible coach. They've had as much draft access as us over the past 6-7 years, perhas even better, as they were able to offload Lovett for a large gain (recognise some of the benefit was given up in the Williams trade). They have a good team with good skills and will be coming for us.

Essendon*'s trial with Knights was a lovely little deviation from Essendon* being a well managed powerhouse. I enjoyed it.

And we are lazy statues when we win back possession or kick in from behind. No idea about decoys running one way and designated receiver running the other. It's almost 80's football which was great in the 80s but not now. Why do other sides find space and we always have someone up our arse????????????

And has anyone taught players the basic rules of physics?? If you are handballing to a player with momentum, handball a little in front of them so that they don't have to break stride. How many times do we see running players have to stop to collect the ball?

Yes we had an honorable loss aagainst Coll but geez, I've seen little improvement from last year. We only used the forward press intermittently against the Pies....non existent in the 2nd quarter, players too scared or too lazy to press up so they just hung around the centre. Coll had no problems getting it to the centre from our I50's
From there they just cherry picked their targets up forward

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

+1

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The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash

good stuff SB.

thanks for sharing your analysis.

it's the little things that add up to a lot.

Totally agree on diving on the ball...stupid.

...and keeping our feet....ffs

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Should be a very good game. Two evenly placed teams that have good lists at similar stages of development. Momentum and lack of injuries probably gives the Bombers the edge. The Blues will have to fight hard for a win but a fight made a little easier with the game being away from Etihad where Bombers play their best footy.
Over the years Carlton have proven on given days they can match it with the best but have been known to not turn up against the middle of the road teams.
I don’t believe in the “this will show where we are at” status of this game. Bombers are a good side. Where we are at will be clear to me at the end of 22 rounds. Seeing if we have improved consistency and seeing where we finish on the ladder. Top 4 or bust for the coaches.
I wont be putting it all on one game.

I hope we win but I wont be slashing my wrists just yet if we lose as there will be plenty of twists yet this season. I will keep a steady head and I would hope the majority of our fanbase would think clearly also.

And why shouldn't he? After all, we are the evil ones, remember?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Yes. The best players win the ball when it is in dispute, if Gibbs plays more like our captain he will be taking a big step forward.

I think Bower will be an in. I would like to see Armfield come in to match bombers for pace.

In: Bower, Armfield
Out: Laidler/Duigan, Collins

Maybe Hendo for Thornton, but thought Thornton was OK on Friday (save for his lack of defesive pressure)

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Go Blues

That's the problem I had.

This time last year I would have said that we were about 2 years ahead of them in development. Now, I'd say we are even at best.

_________________
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash

The OUTS should read: Carrazzo, Hampson

The problem is they won't drop these two despite being a liability. Yes, even Hammer, our new Adrian DeLuca. When he takes marks its accidental, and when he kicks goals its because he closed his eyes and prayed.

I hope he now comes out and makes an idiot of my comments on the weekend.

Our kicking is the key this week, we need to control the pace of the game with smart accurate field kicking, I get sick of seeing the good play from half back through the wing and then we take the wrong option......how many times do you see a long bomb to Eddie or kick out wide to Hampson.

We need to:
Expose Fletcher, when he is comfortable so are Essendon*.
Get physical with Ryder, don't let him enjoy the game.
Maybe Joseph in to play on Jetta/Davey this week.

Cool and calculating is the way forward for us.

G'day all,

Been away for a while and just been able to start logging on to TC again.

Really hoping that we can get over the Dons this week like everyone else here, but am cognizant that we need to have some pace to cover their ability to spread, and in turn hurt them on the rebound. Plus we need to be able to get the ball first.

As such, I'd be looking to bring in Ellard and Army. Collins and Carrots to make way. Ellard is dominating in the Ants and will be more than useful at giving us first touch. Army gives us some pace and the ability to break their press. If needed, Bower could come in for Duigan or Watson, but I'd be inclined to give Bower some more time getting himself ready. Would not be dropping Laidler.

Curnow and Ellard to rotate through Watson. Be a great learning experience for Curnow. And a whistle for Monfries (or the poor umps will get tired blowing theirs for all his frees). Plus if fit enough, would like to see Eddie spending a bit more time in the middle. Gets him into the game more and his speed (running and disposal) would be very useful in spurts.

Keep Thornton playing up forward. His marking is an asset and if he can up his defensive pressure in the forward 50, he will go a long way to owning a spot in the 22. If he can't Hendo is waiting in the wings.

Play Gibbs in the midfield and forward of centre as much as possible. Make him a headache for Hird due to his delivery inside 50. Yarran to run the ball out of half back as much as possible. (Not just becasue he's in my DT team either). Was pleased with Jamo's pushing up the ground against the pies and was a useful link player.

I think Robinson or Walker would be potentially good, impactful subs.

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I would like to thank Collingwood for helping me keep faith in my old man. He always told me that 'People are thick'.

Bit harsh. I rewatched the pies game last night and saw the ball slip through Warnochs fingers just as much. At times Warnock doesnt even get near the contest or get his body in a position that will allow him get his hands on the ball. At the moment they are as bad as each other at marking but Hampson gets to more contests so it probably stands out more.
Both very good at the hitouts and second efforts though.

Welcome back Koro.

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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.

Thanks Jimmae. That beer looks good too. (Going to have to stop at the bottle-o on the way home now).

(Edit - Fixed the grammar).

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I would like to thank Collingwood for helping me keep faith in my old man. He always told me that 'People are thick'.

These are the teams from Round 19 last year when we finally smashed them by 77 points:

Essendon*
B: Heath Hocking, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey
HB: Mark McVeigh, Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker
C: David Zaharakis, Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton
HF: Kyle Hardingham, Jay Neagle, Travis Colyer
F: Angus Monfries, David Hille, Alwyn Davey
Foll: Patrick Ryder, Bachar Houli, Ben Howlett
I/C: Kyle Reimers, Sam Lonergan, Jason Winderlich, Brent Prismall
Emg: Nathan Lovett-Murray, David Myers, Jake Carlisle
In: Winderlich
Out: Scott Gumbleton (ribs)


Carlton
B: Jordan Russell, Michael Jamison, Aaron Joseph
HB: Dennis Armfield, Paul Bower, Shaun Grigg
C: Heath Scotland, Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs
HF: Kade Simpson, Lachie Henderson, Marc Murphy
F: Shaun Hampson, Jarrad Waite, Eddie Betts
Foll: Robert Warnock, Andrew Carrazzo, David Ellard
I/C: Marcus Davies, Jeff Garlett, Richard Hadley, Mitch Robinson
Emg: Joe Anderson, Mark Austin, Setanta O'hAilpin
In: Hadley, Armfield, Davies, Robinson
Out: Brad Fisher, Andrew Walker, Chris Johnson, Chris Yarran (ankle)
New: Marcus Davies (Tasmania U18)

Their team doesn't look that much different to the one playing now, but do correct me on that, but the big names who usually carve us up were there; Monfries, Reimers and Ryder. Ours meanwhile may have a relatively different backline. Our best for the night were Warnock, AJ and Grigg.

lets get serious here waite MUST GO BACK, sick of being undersized down there. Henderson and bower should come in so henderson to CHF waite to CHB bower to a flank, russell on the other thats a decent CHB line.. laidler and duigan/thornton out, hampson has to stay in to combat hille and ryder.. stop hurley ryder and watson and you stop Essendon*

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"Then joked and said he (Jack himself) probably wouldn't even need to play until round 2 against Collingwood."

I don't think Yarran will move from HBF so Bower could end up in a back pocket alongside Jamo and ??Army

Bower Jamison Armfield
Russell Waite Yarran

with back up Watson for an extra tall

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I'm shocked to be sitting here