Gibbs to take the next step . Up to the Murphy level .

Robbo and Henderson to go on from last seasons improvement . Ditto Yarran .

Touhy could be anything .

_________________
Get the facts first.
Then you can distort them at your leisure.

Gibbs and Lucas will take our midfield to the next level....

_________________
"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

Touhy because he started to show us what he might be capable of and he plays with no fear that he will do the wrong thing if he backs himself
Yarran because he is just a boy learning to play footy and someone with his skill level, more games under his belt and a bigger tank just has to keep getting better. He will stay down back but I reckon Ratts will release him to the midfield occasionally, especially if opponents try to drag him back to the ten yard square to keep him away from the footy
Kreuzer because he had an ordinary year last year back from his injury. This year he will have a bit more fitness and confidence.
Hampson because he could be anything if he stays on the park and holds his marks.
All the players who missed significant parts of 2011 through injury. (Waite and Jamo especially)

We have the draw. We have the list. We have no excuses.

_________________
Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

I think we can look at it this way.
There are three areas we can slot the players we would consider to be the improvers next year:

1. The players we know will have better years, without the injuries of this year.
Russell, Kreuzer, Waite, Lucas, Bower and Curnow

2. The regular players we are confident of stepping up.
Gibbs, Joseph, Yarran and expecting even more from Walker (As hard as that may be)

3. The relative newbies who will make an impact.
Tuohy will undoubtedly make the most impact.
Collins is quality, but getting a game first, will be his problem
Mitchell is in a similar boat to Collins. Opportunity may be his only enemy
Kerr as my smokey. He won me over from about half way through this year. Could be special.

In summary, who will stand out overall?
I'll go for Gibbs, Lucas, Tuohy and Bower at a little more distance.

We have many players set for a better year for one reason or another, so conversely we'll have some that will look to have either stagnated or gone back-wards.
There are several names I can bring up here, but that may be best left alone.

What have you seen, Harks?

Denis Lenaghan..........?


kindest regards tommi

_________________
that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

Well, what happens when a good chunk of your group steps up, some can just be left behind, or at least initially.
You don't want to prop up all your players but when you have last years training efforts in mind and you see the level these boys are operating at right now, it's quite an eye opener.

It's unfair to expect 100% of the boys to have improved their ratings just yet, so to be fair let's give them a month or two.
I'll leave one name behind that I'm finding just a little disappointing right now and that is Watson.
He, himself though also looks quite frustrated with his efforts and expresses that in no uncertain way.
Coaches have had to have isolate him and have a quiet word (assumably encouraging) to him on more than just the one occasion

Kreuzer and Lucas the big improvers for mine.
I expect Russell to regain his 2010 form.
Hopefully Curnow can improve and consistently play like he did this year up to about Rd 7.
It will be interesting to see how much Tuohy improves.
Gibbs should get better but I'm not expecting huge improvement from him.

_________________
There is no footy god

injury free now, lucas, curnow and kreuzer.
nab cup we may see players like, rowe, mitchell, bell, mcInnes and watson really surprise us all.

This makes for an interesting scenario, given the fact we have openly declared our intent on using a rotation policy.
What happens when we want to give one of the lesser lights a try (e.g. Mitchell, McCarthy, McInnes etc.) and they perform at a level much better than expected?
Give them another week or two? What happens if their form is constant or even improves?

Would make for a terrific problem, but how would we manage it?
Do we leave Kreuzer out for Hampson, Gibbs for Collins or Laidler for McInnes?
If the physical structure is working then you also wouldn't want to be changing that around too much, just to accomodate the bigger name.

harker,
good points.
when was the last time we had so much depth?
not sure collins will keep gibbs out, or hampson for kreuzer, but if some of these blokes preform, well who knows!
just have a look at curnow as an example, played some good footy in the nab games, and away he went.
i dream of mitchell becoming a gun forward for us, with lucas playing amazing footy in the middle.
also watson holding down a key role down back with jamison.
i hope yarran continues to play half back/wing, he gives us so much pace and skill throughout the ground.
cant wait for the games to start.

I don't really know but have a look at our best 22's and you'll find that we're all over the place.
Other top four teams will have a variance of maybe 3-4 players, yet ours swing a lot harder than that.

I like what I see in many of our 20-35 rated players, yet without opportunity they may just be banished to the scrap heap in the near future. (or preferably traded out)
Can't say this too lightly, but if we've got our A-Game down pat, we may just be one of the more exciting teams seen in many a long time. (emphasis on may)

Fingers still crossed.

I have said it elsewhere and will say it here - Zac Tuohy for mine.

I believe if he keeps on the current path and rate of improvement he is showing will end up being the best Irish import to this game bar everyone except Jim Stynes.

_________________
"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

The list is actually in pretty amazing shape at the moment.

If/when Gibbs becomes an elite player... we have ourselves probably the best midfield in the comp (with Judd + Murph).

Then you think of the names sitting outside of that bracket... Simpson, Robinson, Yarran, Scotland, Ellard, Lucas, Carrazzo, Curnow, Touhy, McLean..

Any of those guys step up a level, and we have ourselves a pretty damn formidable group of midfielders...


I dont know if its my bias speaking (probably ) but when i look at our team sheet, i think that we have a near perfect recipe for a few flags...
Our backline is fast becoming one of our strenghts... and we have 3 of the best small/mid sized forwards in the game (Walker, Betts and Jeffy)..

If a Mitchell, Kreuzer, Casboult, Hampson, Rowe or Waite could take a step up and solidify a spot as a decent tall forward... well... im moist just thinking about the wins column...

_________________
R A D I C A L B R O T H E R S

Inspired by the One-Minute Sculptures of Erwin Wurm

"All in all is all we are..."

Kreuzer for mine!

Can't wait to see the big man run riot in the centre square and around the ground marking everything that's near him!

He will dominate next year

Sounds good, a roaming, marking big man would be a dream come true. Hard to find though!

_________________
We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.

I think 3 players in particular are ready to step up

Gibbs will develop physically and mentally into a true senior player and move on from the mindset of being a boy playing senior footy.

Hendo, like Gibbs, will gain confidence and a sense of belonging at senior level by playing most of the season as a KPD. When Watson and McCarthy are ready to step up, maybe later this year or more likely next year, Hendo will have the confidence strength and presence to return to a KPF role hopefully with Mitchell as our twin towers.

Tuohy needs one thing in my mind in order to be a dynamic and powerful attacking playmaker - experience. If he can play every game in the first half of the season look out for him to dominate in the latter half.

Tuohy is an unusual prospect for Carlton.
I doubt even the best visionaries down there, could have expected Tuohy's progress as an AFL player.
As strong as Judd, kicks like a mule, has speed to burn and is confident in his abilities.

I'm also confident he'll make it but when the story is almost too good to be true, you just reserve a little doubt

I think there is every likelihood Walker will improve again, maybe to the point of elite. He seems to have full confidence in his body and abilities now combined with maturity. Pre Christmas training, he was the stand out as far as fitness goes.
There were also some telling signs when Ratts threw him in to the middle last year.

Thornton to tear it up as a permanent forward

_________________
The problem will be made. for the solution to be sold, to your face before your eyes, tolerance is now the new danger