With Weiters, Young & McLovin in defence and Harry and TDK up forward I'd prefer to see Cincotta in instead of Kemp, he offers more around the ground and stands up when required IMO, plus he adds more speed to an already slow team.

i'm convinced tdk will be a late out and cinc in.

Geez, I hope not.
He's the player I want in the most.

nah, he's not meant to be a statue in the goalsquare. he's a pure ruck.

Its not about thinking us supporters are right or wrong, because we wont know that till the final siren.

The main discussion taking place is about a game in which we are underdogs, for a lot of good reasons, and whether our underdog status changes if the kids are selected ahead of the experienced selected.

The answer is it doesn't change anything from where we sit, but for some, they state as fact the MC has rolled the dice by selecting Doc, Cerra and TDK. That suggests the poster knows more than the Medicos, the Physios, the doctors, the coach and the MC. Quite fanciful really. I back the coaching group for the obvious advantage they have over posters.

Whether we play kids or experience as is the case, the following doesnt change:

Opponent remains Brizzy Lions
Gabba remains the ground
18 v 18 on the ground
Our record this year remains Blues 1 vs Lions 0 at the Gabba
Carlton will have its army of fans bringing the noise and make boys feel at home.

We have added Walsh Durdin Motlop Elijah Pitto Cowan Weiters to the team which won.

We have lost Cotrell Boyd Carroll Curnow Cunningham Owies and Fogarty, but Doc takes Carrolls spot.

Net result it seems we are taking a better team to the Gabba this Saturday night, but I understand why some people are nervous.
However, stating as fact the MC have got it wrong is fanciful, negative, and a comment coming from someone who doesn't know anything about the fitness of 3 players who have had a disrupted season.

Weitering is back. He is the most important player in our backline.
Walsh is back and he was the best Finals player last season.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to see if Vossy can come up with a plan to beat the Lions at the Gabba again. I know generally speaking our midfield is not as quick as theirs, but on the flipside, their midfield is not as good as ours in the contest.

Its a 50-50 game imo.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Its a 50-50 game

I know for a fact if I hear that song "Country Road" then 50% of the time I will be vomitting, and the other 50% of the time I will be embarrassed for the Lions team.

100% Cringeworthy.

Its unAustralian. Its a fkg John Denver song. Nothing indigenous about it.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I was told last week by a track watcher I trust Doc is training the house down.

I was told this week by same bloke TDK is ready to roll.

What is it that convinces you TDK will be a late withdrawal? Do you know something different, or are you just nervous?

This is a great opportunity and another great challenge for our football club.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

In order to have a chance of winning we need to take some risks. These could be summarised as follows:
- fitness and form of Docherty, TDK and Cerra
- fitness of Durdin, Williams and McGovern
- form of Motlop

I think the performances of the above 7 players will go a long way to determining the outcome of the match.

An ITK poster on BF believes Fantasia will be sub which makes sense.

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There is no footy god

was told after the hawks game that tdk was week 2 of the finals at best, but more realistically week 3, if we're still in it. even if he was ready to roll, the club wasn't going to risk him coming back too early (week 1). when i hear the word 'risk', it tells me there is a chance of re-injuring his foot. and on a ruck you want to be here for the next decade - who could already be the best player in the team, i thought maybe the club is erring on the side of caution with him. and i wasn't upset.

but that can all change, apparently.


and with doc ... we'll see if there's any disparity between training the house down, and playing the house down. rust is almost a given. in a game where one turnover can lead to the goal that wins it, there's risk and reward, and then there's flat out risk.

whilst i agree with most of what you have said, this last piece especially

i think we showed a real resolve the last few weeks .. the weeks break gets a few back, get through this game, get a few more back, the tide has turned etc ... but more so, there is zero expectations on us and it will be that way for the entire final series ....

there is no guarantee we win (and i would really like to see Moir/Lord kept in the side) but gee, lets cease the opportunity that presents itself ...

i couldnt think of anything better, to rub is into the wounds of every non carlton supporter to actually win the GF ... after "scraping into the finals" ... and this year, with the way it has panned out, anything is possible. anything.

where is that brickwall? or to cater to recent events ... where is that collingwood supporter stealing a car and flipping it ...

Bondi, we’re not questioning the MC, we’re questioning the Andrew Russel’s domain, you have to admit there’s valid concerns with the fitness of players returning from injury. And we are not just talking about 1-2 players, we’re talking about six players! Plus C Durdin.

Can it be that there's some sort of error?
Hard to stop naming Adam Cerra
Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?

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#DonTheStash

yeah, that's where i'm at. i don't have much faith in us picking players to run out a game. means little training the house down, if you don't run out the game.


also watching the cats blood some kids last night, and how well they went. and what that exposure will do for their playing futures, and the cats in general moving forward.

we could have easily snuck lord & moir into this side, and gotten that injection of youth. along with cincotta.

something like:

lord for cerra
moir (sub) for tdk
cincotta for doc

would have had me really excited. instead this current team has that same old carlton about it - that (in the last 2 decades, at least) blows up spectacularly.

Can't agree. Kemp can stretch the Brisbane backline and is versatile and mobile.
What we need is for Motlop and Durdin to get their hands dirty!!!

Ha ha

I’m backing Lions are as confused as us supporters

Picking there’ll be changes

haha. if this is the case, it's the most genius move by us i've ever witnessed.

I know the MC is being questioned, I don't think it. I understand the questioning, but I don't understand how one can conclude we have a better chance of winning with the kids who played in our last game and lost against a team who was 14th on the ladder.

Braithy is concerned about long term injury to TDK. I get that, but he's also suggesting subliminally, TDK is underdone and not fit for purpose. Someone has to make the call, and it aint Braithy. The MC have made the call. You trust themn or like Braithy you don't. I trust the MC and dont feel Russell can do anymore harm if indeed he has done. We have reached the Finals. Its a new season.

It does look like we have made mistakes with players returning from injury, but I don't know for sure, so I don't let that spook me today. That's a story from yesteryear, not necessarily this weekend's fact. So why make that the story?

The MC have made the decision to play 3 players who have had an interrupted year, Doc, TDK and Cerra. I didn't realise there's even more hysteria over the return of Williams, McGovern and McKay who have played most games this year. From what I heard, Gov is fit but will be tested on Saturday to be sure to be sure. If he's not fit, we have a fit Kemp ready to move back there. Martin and Charlie werent selected because they were not fit. Why shouldn't I trust the MC/ Russell?

I take note of the Swans and they have 3 players Tom McCartin, Tom Papley, and Justin McInerney returning from very long lay offs like our 3, and Heeney who returns from injury, and the conversation around the Swans is that they have bolstered their team. For us, its all a risk.

There's risk everywhere and with everyone. Weitering might get a corky, Durdin's shoulder may pop out, but I digress. Point is we are where we are and we have a choice: Kids vs Experience.

The discussion is as simple as that. Kids with no experience and not carrying injury vs elite experienced players who have overcome their injury. MC went with the latter. The risk playing the kids is obvious too, but I haven't read one post mention that. They may suffer from stage fright or their young bodies are not ready to face the rigours of AFL Finals.

Sure players whove missed a chunk of footy will be rusty, but these players are also professionals playing on the big stage. If they are fit, they are fit. Russell doesnt have the power he once yielded and he aint going to be allowed to go rogue. Why would he anyway?

Port had a fully fit in form team playing at home were favoured to win, and got smashed by 14 goals. Shit happens. They weren't mentally ready. Why is it Carlton are in more of a shit with selection of elite talent, than other teams? The 3 who have been out for a while and may break down. OK. I get that but so can anyone. Butters did last night. TDK may injure Andrews. Cerra may twist Neale's knee in a tackle... I look at that as all theoretical, and I get that is the perceived risk, but I don't expect 2 or 3 or 5 or 5 or 6 players to breakdown like we did vs Hawks. That was something rare. Obviously some people think we will have 4- 6 injuries like the Hawks game.

Sounds like spooked Carlton supporters to me. Maybe Cornes has got to them. Cornes gives Carlton zero chance at the Gabba.

We are the underdogs. We lost last game. We've improved our team's personnel since last game, and our destiny is in our hands. Fingers crossed, like every week, we don't have injuries, and live to continue our quest in Sydney the next weekend.

Bring it on !!!! I want to continue to enjoy this ride till its over for the year ... but I like to think there's always a chance the celebrations will continue all summer and beyond.

We are ready to take on Lions at the Gabba..and Crippa about to lead the team on a Captains run. I am not going into this game shaking my boots over what ifs. Ive waited all year to reach Finals, and we've achieved that. Next.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

The question is whether those 3 changes would change your mind on our chance to win.

Are you really suggesting Injecting our youth would give us the result Geelong got last night. Its all about youth? Which Kittens are you referring to (Cats kids) ?

Are you saying Lord Moir Binns are as good as Geelongs youth who played last night?

What age category would you put the following? Are they 'youth"?

Cowan 19
Hollands 19
Motlop 21
Durdin 22
Hollands 22
Walsh 23
Kemp 23

As you can tell, I am excited at this opportunity with our backs against the wall ... these are the great wins, if we win.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

18 v18 but it is our system /game plan that has worried me all season and can Voss and co try something different sat night . Eg cats quick ball movement

lol ... this is nowhere near a 50-50 game, old mate. take the blue blinkers off and take a deep breath. i think if we brought in 3 or 4 at most players and went with a couple of kids that never put a foot wrong in the final rounds, and made ourselves as mobile as humanly possible, we would have been a chance.

don't laugh at st kilda & their form. they had a top 4 profile in the final 4 weeks of the season, and killed the cats and beat the swans. and we took them to within 12 seconds of beating them - and we did it with pressure and turnover. which incidentally has been the lions kryptonite all season long

the dour possession, slow build up to contests, long bombs onto forward's heads doesn't work, and doesn't win games. cats showed what does, hard running both ways, speed and pressure on the ball and clever forward entries into space.

maybe youth was the wrong word for the cats. mannagh, lawson humpheries, max holmes, Gryan Miers, Brad Close etc

no hawkins, guthrie, de koning, tom stewart and rohan.

of them, hawkins, guthrie and sam could have all played, and if it was a prelim or gf they coulda risked tom stewart as well. but they had faith in their system and the players coming in to play their system, run hard both ways and tackle all night long.

... meanwhile at carlton, it's bring in 6 changes of varying underdone players to go with durdin and his dislocated shoulder and cross your fingers and shut your eyes and hope for the best.


pittonet and tdk are all out rucks; and other than the one game Vs the giants where tdk kicked a few (by clunking a few lucky marks that landed on his head) in all the other games he's shown he has little forward craft and isn't a forward.

H and tdk and kemp will apply very little ground ball pressure and turnover, and motlop and durdin aren't that much better in that department. lord have mercy, durdin is one bump from a dislocation and having his night ended.

according to everyone we're making up the numbers, and other than you, i haven't met anyone who thinks we're a show with this selected team. if we lose, i'd have rather gone down swinging with fit players under no injury clouds, applying pressure until the final whistle like we did against the saints.

instead, we're staring down a blowout of hawks magnitude, if one or two go down before HT.

i just wanted us to go into the game with less risk on big names with injury clouds, back our system and swarm & hunt.


a question for you - the cats backed their system and allowed underdone players another week. does voss and Co bringing in the big guns who may or may not finish the game, mean they don't have the same faith in their very own system? bcos that's how these selections read to me.