Murphy has had an interrupted two years. Shoulder, face, knee and groins. Has had very limited pre season last two seasons. This is why his form is rubbish. He is trying to be a leader and playing on anyway but his body is not letting him. He is best sitting it out and getting set for next year. In 2011 form he can build himself into a good leader but while he is down and out and doubting himself he is no good to at all as a leader.

We know he can play. Lets get him right.

Murphy has had an interrupted two years. Shoulder, face, knee and groins. Has had very limited pre season last two seasons. This is why his form is rubbish. He is trying to be a leader and playing on anyway but his body is not letting him. He is best sitting it out and getting set for next year. In 2011 form he can build himself into a good leader but while he is down and out and doubting himself he is no good to at all as a leader.

We know he can play. Lets get him right.

Firstly we played freemantle. Now a top 4 side and imo will be in the gf.
We matched it with them for 3/4's. The reason we used a lot of handball early on was to try to wear them out whilst maintaining possession. Possibly a recognition by mm that we were not as fit. Something born out in the last quarter.
Mm correctly identified that their gut running was our weakness. Hence he didnt want to play warnock who would decrease our mobility. Imo a strategy would have been to play warnock but use kreuzer as a forward, his marking has recently become much more aggressive, and may have been a real asset. Obviously rowe would not have played
Carrots subbing off hurt us big time. One player down very early on in a match where you are challenged by a fitter side...you do the math. Not to mention that carrots is one of our harder ball winners. A big loss.
I am not a fan of the 3 amigos playing together.it just doesnt work. They lack intensity at the ball when challenged physically, which is every match against the top sides. Trade 2 of the 3.
I thought Watson forward was a coaching move designed to disrupt freeos setup and drilled game plan, by making them second guess their zones. Ditto for Touhy, who kicked some magnificent goals. Bravo mick.

Without doubt we lost it , yet again , through the midfield. I was at a loss from day one as to why murphy was elected captain. Its surely not for his media ability, and his form this year has been patchy at best. Without judd dominating and taking the best tag, he is getting found out big time. Judd has come back to the pack, still very good, but he is stoppable now. Carrazzo injury hurt us.
Clearly our priority should be 2 big bodied midfielders. One free agent will shake loose and come to mick. Use the free amigos to attract a gun midfielder via trade. Then target the best midfielder we can in the draft.

If waite was available i would have played him on the wing. His mobility and marking would have been very handy. I think its time to stop thinking of him as a kpp and use him in a less physically taxing role. Having said that i think he could be like richo, whos body was ok to go longer because of the amount of time out of the game he has had. Another 3-4 years for mine, just not kpp.

Watson stepping up is a big bonus. Yes there are gaps in his game but he is a keeper. However like rowe and casboult before him the opposition will work him out and he will need to work on this. But as a third man up either in defence or attack he should shine.
Mciinnes coming back will help. I am not of the view that laidler is finished. Quality player that needs to get his body right for next year.

For those bagging mm for the result, get a grip. He is smart and working towards a better structure. He is trying players in different positions to see what his options are for next year and the actual trading needs for 2013/14. We are beating the sides that we should beat ( last 3 weeks) and still losing to the top sides.....because that is where we are at , the lower half of the eight. Stop moaning when we get beaten by better sides. Out of our losses for the year i believe only the stkilda and second rd collingwood losses have been unacceptable.
The other 6 losses
Rd1 richmond by 5 points. In hindsight a good result
Rd 2 collingwood by 17 points. Imo acceptable, given the intensity build up etc and the relatively new game plan etc.
Rd 3 cats by 16 points. Expected loss
Rd11 Essendon*** by 5 in hindsight a good result
Rd 12 hawks by 15 expected loss
Rd 14 sydney by 22. Expected loss

Perspective please. These are not the results of a team that is that far away.... Calls for a complete rebuild is ridiculous. You have heard mm say it many times , and it frustrates all of us to hear it, but he us right. Forget about the ladder and concentrate on where we are improving. But even mick has his limits, i think he truly thought we were a chance yesterday and was disappointed by the result. From that perspective i rate it as our third worse loss for the year. Behind collingwood and saints. But even then, we were right in it until the last quarter. We needed to build on our mid third quarter lead, instead a combination of bad luck , free kicks and we squandered that lead. That then gave them the momentum and confidence, to reestablish their game plan and it was game over, we had spent our bullets physically and mentally and they took over. But make no mistake freo are a top side, so its no disgrace to lose that way. What it does show is how Important it is for us to find players that will show leadership in those critical game turning moments, players that will drag the yarrans, betts, garletts, lucas's, armfields, back into the game. Murphy, where were you son?

So when trade week comes, i expect malthouse will be looking at players both carltons and other clubs, very differently than will the typical supporter. There will be raised eyebrows, headlines and a lot of teeth gnashing about " the malthouse list cleanout". Imo he will get the results next year that we all crave for. We are not that far away!

Posters can continue to bag the shit out of the players but we've been a top contested footy team for years. Yes we have plenty of deficiencies but the ability of our players to win the hard ball has been better than most.
Its the uncontested possessions where we're being smashed overall. 17th in the AFL. The contested ball reflects your ability to access the ball but the uncontested possessions reflect your ability to maintain possession. Our archaic style of kicking to contests is unsuitable and will never bring us success.

Have a look at the top 7 teams in the AFL for uncontested possessions. Freo, Geelong, Port, Richmond, Hawthorn, Essendon***, Colingwood.
What do they all have in common? Top 8 sides.
The blind ignorance of the majority here slamming our players is pathetic. You can win every hard ball available but if you're coughing it up by kicking to contests, it will eventually wear you down.
You cant expect to retain possession of the ball when half your side is tagging or defending when YOU have possession of the ball.

Could it also be the case that our players are not working hard enough to get into space . The run and spread is lacking . I know we kick long to contests which is just plain dumb as the ball is so hard to win why give it back
But do the players work hard enough a fair few turnovers were created last night through kicking to players that were flat footed

Could it also be the case that our players are not working hard enough to get into space . The run and spread is lacking . I know we kick long to contests which is just plain dumb as the ball is so hard to win why give it back
But do the players work hard enough a fair few turnovers were created last night through kicking to players that were flat footed

Could it also be the case that our players are not working hard enough to get into space . The run and spread is lacking . I know we kick long to contests which is just plain dumb as the ball is so hard to win why give it back
But do the players work hard enough a fair few turnovers were created last night through kicking to players that were flat footed