For mine, this win was bigger and better than the 2005 "Product-Name" Cup.

Back then, it was my first experience of watching the Blues with the NSW Supporters at the Royal Hotel Randwick. The club still had much to prove, coming off a lack-lustre season, but it was a win. And we all know what happened in the year that followed ... (the best part is that it set up a precedent for the Weagles, who were runners-up for The Flag in September as well!)

This one , the one we'll all be celebrating for the next two weeks - is after two heart-breaking years of absolute lows, with derision from other supporters - ergo: - but add Weagles, Crows, Cats, and various Rugby League supporters to that list for me. And rightly so - we have been komplet scheisse - but not only is this the herald of better things to come, with The Magnificent Seven (which ironically was on 7 this arvo), and Lance and Stevo, and .. let's face it, the whole first 28 .. pulling out a big one.

I have reservations. This is a poison challice from which we've become drunk. If we lose Round 1, we can't come back - and we won't be able to silence the critics who suggest that this win doesn't matter. And not only must we win Round 1, but we must continue to win through Round 11, 21, etc. We won't make the eight, but we'll give it a damned good go!

The major positive - WE'RE BACK!!!!!! But it's a very cautious positive.

_________________
[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

I really thought that we were 'back in town' after winning in 2005... I m more cautious this time round although the possitives are a lot more obvious this year... you can just seem the potential and class oozing from this young group... we're developing a list that can play together for the next 5-10 years and success (in the proper season) will follow

_________________
James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

Biggest positive for me at the moment is no injuries ....Not to say thats the only positive though. There are PLENTY.

I think a bonus recruit is looking pretty handy in Cam Cloke....has done more so far and looks far more promising than Bryan ever did at Carlton.

Add him to Scotland; and Collingwood have been good for us!

_________________
No ones listening till you make a mistake.

Cloke + Scotland > Carlton
Bryan + Pick 35 (Brent Hall) > Collingwood

While I still maintain the opinion that Cloke is yet to really prove himself, we've won that trade on Scotland's efforts alone.

_________________
Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

We can show the other clubs that we have got the biggest and most powerful Dick in the league.

Drug problems in the AFL, and it's got nothing to do with us.

Caro has bigger fish to fry.

Patrick smith is too busy eulogising Saint Ron to worry about us.

No more interference from the AFL.

We have Bryce Gibbs, and therefore Marc Murphy can just get on with being another player rather than the No1 draft pick.

Fevola's lousy off-season hasn't affected him in a negative way.

Fisher, Russell, Waite, O'hAilpin, Carrazzo etc look ready to lift their games another notch.

Former champions of the club now want to be associated with the place.

My positives are:

- Waite & O'Hailpin in defence
- Russell stepping up (I knew he would)
- Fisher's improved kicking for goal (still needs further improvement however)

_________________
There is no footy god

We now have a REAL TEAM.

Enthusiastic, determined, proud, and passionate.

Their goal is to make the finals, and they will.

_________________
No Guts, No Glory

Carlton is much closer to being a team that is able to win say 7 to 11 matches now. (But never rule out the possibility that we might get lucky and do better than this.)

This contrasts to the patched up axcuses for a team containing half a part of veterans, 2.5 parts re treads and 1 part raw kids that we had in previous years.

Having said this, we to improve in the ruck and the midfield more if we are to progress beyond from where we are now.

I saw Fevola making arm movements to other team mates during the
game - these were communicating the need to deliver the ball straight down the centre of the ground rather than the flanks.

Playing teams outside the 8 - we will often be direct - but when we play teams in the eight, who are capable of placing a lot more pressure on us than the others - this weakness will be quite pronounced.

So if the midfield improves further to allow greater player rotations and improved ball extraction capabilities and we develop a genuine and reliable ruckman - then we will be back to being a team capable of winning a flag - Fevola was illustrating what we need to address...

_________________
My Blue Heaven

I agree Blueman. We are looking good in the KPP department with the likes of Fev, Kennedy, Waite, O'Hailpin, Thornton, Bower etc.

Hopefully Hampson & Aisake will solve our ruck problem in a couple of years time whilst Grigg sounds like a likely prospect to help bolster our midfield.

_________________
There is no footy god

That was a great surprise for me: obviously Libba is earning his keep over at [Product Name] Park! So much so that I compiled this list -

Player 9pt 6pt 1pt Total
25. B Fevola 1 . 18 . 7 124
14. B Fisher 1 . 3 . 3 30
19. E Betts 1 . 3 . 3 30
44. A Carrazzo 1 . 2 . 4 25
3. M Murphy 1 . 2 . 0 21
24. N Stevens 0 . 2 . 3 15
5. J Kennedy 0 . 2 . 1 13
8. L Whitnall 0 . 2 . 1 13
11. C Ackland 0 . 2 . 1 13
43. A Koutoufides 0 . 1 . 3 9
29. H Scotland 0 . 1 . 2 8
12. M Lappin 0 . 1 . 1 7
33. R Houlihan 0 . 1 . 1 7
2. J Russell 0 . 1 . 0 6
6. K Simpson 0 . 0 . 4 4
4. B Gibbs 0 . 0 . 2 2
28. C Cloke 0 . 0 . 2 2
32. B Thornton 0 . 0 . 2 2
9. J Saddington 0 . 0 . 1 1

_________________
[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

Don't lets forget that Ratts is in charge of the Forward Division.....that's his primary job at the Club.

_________________
No ones listening till you make a mistake.

Can I ask what it's a table of? Because if it's individual scoring tallies for the NAB Cup it's incomplete.

_________________
29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Pre-Season Positives:

- Fevola still damaging in the forward line, 100+ this year!
- Defence more settled and not just relying on T-Bird
- Size of the playing list, they don't all look like skinny kids anymore!
- Setanta (watch the "Tall, Dark and O'hAilpin" videos on YouTube)
- Marc Murphy & Nick Stevens (showing great form after injuries in 06)
- Confidence and Faith in each other (able to come from behind!)
- Able to be more consistent and competitive in each quarter/game
- Ackland/Cloke > French/Deluca
- Delisting of Luke Livingston - thank christ!!!!
- Other options in the forward line looking promising

And lastly...

- Positive talk around these forums, feels like the club is slowly turning the corner and will soon be a force in the AFL once AGAIN!

setanta, russel, waite, walks, murph.

hey i was just looking through my afl record season preview 2005 booklet and i noticed that it's setanta's birthday today. provided the book is accurate. im a little doubtful as it was not mentioned at any stage by the commentary team.

anyway, if it is:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETANTA!!!

only 24yrs old.

when lappin retires he'll def take the 'my favourite player' title, although JK will give him a run for his money.

you are an excitement machine setanta. loved the fist pump after smashing the ball out of brown's grip and thumping it over the boundary.

That's exactly what it is .. why, who'd I miss? Rushed behinds?

_________________
[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

The totals aren't right - that's what you missed

Heh heh - the old 'write a provocative statement and then qualify it after pressing 'enter' a shit load of times' post gets them every time

_________________
"In better news for Blues fans, Jarrad Waite was not named on the club's injury list."

Managed to go to the two Melb games and with Foxtel now installed was able to watch the other games (though IIRC Hawks was on Ch10).

My take:

-The Irishman (will have to change this when his bro plays) IMHO beat each of his opponents. How good it is to have a full back who can just punch the shit out of the ball and not give up. Brilliant. Even the commentators are masturbating over the potential of The Irishman. Being St Patties Day on Sat, being able to talk the man up to the Irish drunkards was splendid. I hopefully managed to convince a few to take on memberships.

- Murphy proved why he should be given the next captaincy. He is going to be the nucleus of the next premiership. He is our Ben Cousins and is all class.

- Nick Stevens, barring injury, will have his best season to date as opposition numbers tag Murphy and Simpson. He is fitter and fresher with the new players ready to carry the load, which brings me to my next point.

- Rotations. No longer do too few have to carry the load. The ability to rotate through the middle is what has won the NAB games. Stevens no longer looks like a dead dog in the fourth quarter after spending the whole game on the ground.

- The Backline. With The Irishman doing a fine job, Thornton can now play roaming backman and Waite coming in as third man to help out is brilliant. An interesting stat from Saturday night when watching the replay was that we had something like 13 players on the ground over 190cm and as Tim Watson said, they dont get any shorter as the game goes on. Thornton is going to have a blinder this year.

- Carrazzo. Most underrated (to their detriment) midfielder in the competition. He has is flaws but he works hard and has become a real bonus for the Blues.

- Russell. I really dig this kid and thank heavens he's not in Adelaide this year. IMHO he could be the most improved of 2007. Hopefully this cements his desire to be part of our next premiership.

- Walker. Could be his breakthrough year after opposition supporters questioned his worth (they should direct their questions over the cocky Jared Brennan's selfishness) and if so he will dominate off CHB with Waite and Thornton and provide pace and drive.

- Fevola. Back to back Colemans are on the cards. No need to say more.

- Fisher. After shaking off the injuries he could be the smokey of the forward line. 2 goals a game from him on top of anything Fev, Whitnall, Kennedy or the rest give will win games.

The other stuff:

- Kennedy. He has a great presence, but is there anything to worry about with his hands? He was filthy on himself for dropping some sitters and I hope he can learn from Fev and Whitnall about put his weight behind those towering grabs. Once he gets that right he's going to be our own J Brown.

- Gibbs. He must be loving it out there on the big stage. How many people so young get to talk about winning some silverware and being part of something big? With his height he is going to command a presence on the field next year and beyond.

- Houlihan. Still a squib imho. Doesnt shephard his team mates out of the backline to make space, doesnt go in for the hard tackle or do the one percenters. His only saving grace is his delivery. Could prove to be a thorn. Let's hope not!

- Cloke. I'm a fan as long as he's not the one to kick the match winner. All jokes aside his work ethic has been great. What I loved on Saturday was where he was getting towelled up by the Brisbane duo rucks in the first half where we were getting killed out of the middle. I hoped he had a change of tactic in the 2nd half and lo and behold both he and Acland changed to jump earlier and into the opposition ruck negating their reach. It led to the many centre breaks we took in the 3rd quarter and IMHO he was an unsung hero. Hope he continues throughout the year.

- Carlton Supporters. It was great to see about 42k of the 46k wearing Navy Blue on Saturday and I asked a few around me if they'd bought their memberships to which about half hadnt. I thought gee what a difference it would make if everyone over the age of 13 at the ground took out a season membership who hadnt already to show the support for a great group of kids. Dont wait for the success to roll around before chipping in a dollar. Give them your support now so you can say how you were a part of it when it all comes together.

Finally, to think that another Irishman, a Hartlett, a Raso, a Grigg, an Anderson, a Benjamin, a Blackwell, a Flint, an Edwards, a Hampson and a Bower are all going to come through to help propell this team even further forwards.