I wonder what BT has to say about that....

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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

Ok just finished watching the replay of the game again and I must say....faaarrrkkkk have we improved from last season.....

And this is where I believe the improvement has come:

1. Our defensive game in general not just the back six but our defensive skills such as tackling shepparding covering the mark etc....
2. The midfield. And not just the improvement of murph robbo Ed ellard and co here I mean the actually setups at the centre bounce and at stoppages....in fact this continues to improve on a weekly basis.
3. The game plan. The change here has been significant. You can clearly see what it is that we are trying to do and the implementation of it again is improving on a weekly basis. Here Kudos must been to the coaching staff both old and new. I.e. Ratts and the new additions.
4. With a distinct game plan comes belief and with belief comes the desire require to achieve as the players are now convinced what they are doing will lead to success. The way we run to create space and the way we bust a nut at nearly every contest has become more apparent as the season has gone on.

The good news about the above is that we will not miss anybody now....even Judd eventually....injuries as long as they are not numerous will not greatly affect our results....yes Hammer going down is a shame just when he was playing well. But anyone who comes in be it Warnock or Carlos can fill the void if they play to the level now being asked. Depth almost assures that this will happen. The circle is complete.

This team will only improve from here on in....we have a massive opportunity this season....finishing top four must be the first goal....the next must be an all out crack at No 17....if the belief continues to grow this group can do it....

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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

Just one more thing I forgot to mention: those critical of Gibbs and Hendo are being way too harsh in my opinion....Gibbs was faultless and super creative and Hendo's second half was fantastic and if we can squeeze Waite into this side ( ) his out put will only improve further with less attention....

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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

Gibbs has found a role and is doing very well and Hendo IS going very well for a guy in his second (don't count round 4) game back. Ask most of the greats and a lot of them say CHF has, is and always will be the toughest position on the ground. It's certainly not getting any easier and Hendo had two blokes on him all day.

Hendo, Waite and Walker in the forward line will make double teaming a very risky business for the bad guys.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

Coaches' Votes
Carlton vs Sydney
10 Kreuzer (Carl)

8 Murphy (Carl)

4 Gibbs (Carl)

4 Yarran (Carl)

2 Goodes (Syd)

2 Scotland (Carl)

I'd be pretty confident guessing who gave Goodes 2 votes, and Gibbs only 1.

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T E A M

Great post.

Following on from that would be interested in your thoughts on the forward structure, which you didn't mention in your improvements.

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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

Great point TBB....our inside 50 efficiency has improved over the last 9 quarters of footy...I.e.since the last quarter of the Port game right through the Brisbane and Sydney games.

For a side that gets the ball inside 50 as often as we do we were not getting the return we deserved. We were kicking points mostly because our delivery into inside50 was reliant on pot luck goals. In recent weeks however players are working much harder to create the space required. It was more evident again against the swans on the weekend. And you can see the change in our scoreline. Suddenly we are kicking many more goals than points. This will be crucial come finals time when maximum reward for effort could be the difference.

At this stage of the season we are tracking nicely but I really believe there is much more improvement to come. The belief that the players have right now is growing rapidly....

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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