Agree here. Bombing long to a crowd with no crumbers is what's killing us. The general run of the ball through the midfield, and from clearnances, is good, IMHO. The failing is the way we enter into the forward 50, and the lack of crumbers.

I think what we're doing now is half right, and that's half more than what we've been doing over the last few years. What I would like to see is similar quick, direct movement through the midfield (this is the new part to our game plan that I really like), and then a more open forward line, with 3 marking options, all in different areas. For example, one stationed in the goal square, one leading from the goal square, and another across half forward. It is up to the play maker to go to the most likely target, be it a one on one, or a player on the lead.

Then, there needs to be 2 or 3 smalls at ground level, one parked in the goal square, the others across half forward, for the crumbs, and to apply forward line pressure in the instance that the defenders crumb the ball.

If the ball movement through the midfield has been quick, then there will be no need to kick to a crowd. On the occasions when our movement through the midfield has been slow, and the opposition has number back, then that is the time to slow the tempo, be patient, chip around a little, till we find someone in space.

Of course, this is theory, the practice will be less exact, but the general concept applies.

I don't think we can keep going with Fevola, Whitnall, Kennedy/Waite and Fisher all in the forward line. I really think we can only afford 3 of those at any one time, complimented by 3 smalls. This way, we have genuine parking targets as one-on-ones and on the lead, spread over the forward 50, plus smalls to crumb and apply forward line pressure. We will thus keep scoring goals (potentially even more than we are now), whilst limiting the run out of our forward line by defenders, which so often leads to opposition goals. This is a great way to help out our mids and defence, and to decrease oppostion scoring against us.

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Mens sana in corpore sano.

Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!

I would have fev and JK in the square, with fev leading out. I would put fish as a mobile HF who can either lead up the ground as a link man, or lead back into the forward line as a 3rd marking option. His mobility and good hands make him valuable in this role. If you're gonna persist with the long bombs into the forward line, then you need smalls running forward as the ball is kicked to act as crumbers/defensive forwards applying pressure to keep the ball inside.

You might think so but consider the fact that we have three young ruckmen (Aisake, Hammer & Jacobs) with 2 of them still learning how to play the game. If you are dumb enough to play them all in the same team (along with JK or McLaren) then guess how much ruck work they will each do.

It is a narrow-minded decision to have them all in the Ants seniors when they would all get more exposure if one were to play for the reserves.

Similarly, there is no point playing Austin or Raso or whoever in the seniors if they can't play in their preferred positions or if they end up sitting on the pine for half a game.

If they can't force their way into the Ants senior team then they should play in the reserves for their own benefit.

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Hey Rocky; there are too many rabbits ... in China.

Rotating Aisake Hampson & Jacobs in the ruck/up forward/bench for roughly 10 minutes each a qtr ok?
DMac mightn't be there next year & JK should be developing at AFL level.

Not implying Austin or Raso aren't up to VFL senior standard (coz I reckon they are) but Id've thought that 99% of 18yo AFL draftees would be good enough to be developing at VFL senior level. Perhaps those that aren't good enough for that shouldn't have been drafted.

Hopefully these dilemas won't be a problem anymore next year with the re-introduction of 'VFL Carlton'.

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There's so much I could say...

You are kidding with question aren't you. Despite a dip at finals time the Bullants were 2nd in 2005 and on top with a 17-1 record last year. While PF wasn't quite the result we were after last year, BM did a great job. That is undeniable. The players actually play for him in the 'Ants , respect him and they respeond accordingly. As for Pagan, well, the results speak for themselves. If you don't think Mitchell has done a great job, god knows what one must think of Pagan.

Maybe the question should be

Why do people want BM to get the arse?

...and don't give me this 'whiteant' crap when none of you know the real circumstances last October

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There's so much I could say...

No he shouldn't. His job is to win games for the Bullants. Thw means the best game plan possible, in his opinion, that will achieve that result. The Bullants aren't just a Carlton reserve side, they're a club in their own right in the VFL and there's responsibility to the Bullants administration as well. I'm sure the Bullants adminsitration don't want to be mere pawns in the Carlton game.

We've been playing three ruckman as the norm in the Bullants for a couple of seasons.

Last year it was between Deluca, Bryan, DMac & Hooper.

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

Hooper rarely got out of the ressies last year, Archie was used almost exclusively as a forward and Bear spent most of his time on and off the bench.

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Hey Rocky; there are too many rabbits ... in China.

This is true, however here's how I see the trio at the moment:

Aisake - Demanding the starting ruck role, needs it at this level to continue his development & you'd have to think he'd be seeing a lot of the seniors next year at this rate.

Hampson - No qualms with him playing forward so long as he is given license to push up the ground, and that would seem to be the case (you see more games than me though RR). He works on his marking and general play while GD refines his pretty solid tap work along with his contesting. Next year he takes the feature role in the Bullants.

Jacobs - Needs miles in the legs to see if he's more than a plodder, which is my biggest concern with him. Certainly a better specimen than Batson turned out to be. Surprised he's not in the reserves.

Aisake and Hampson are incredibly solid prospects and if they kick on like we hope they are going to be both a nightmare and a blessing for the MC given they'll free up a few spots for runners, but shorten the list of selected talls despite our wealth in that department.

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

One of the main reasons BM was appointed to be coach of the bullants was because the CFC wanted more control over how their players were being developed (they felt the previous coach who was a Preston appointed man was not doing this).

Preston did not like it initially because it was a power grab from the CFC.

BM is not there for the sole benefit of Preston, his main goal should be the development of the CFC listed players.

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Jim you may want to have a look at the calibre of players that he had on his list - not quite up to AFL standards but certainly well above VFL standards.

Don't be fooled into thinking that BM took a raw bunch of untried youths and moulded them into a Finals team.

His coaching and style of play last year would have been under instruction from the the head coach.

This year, they are sitting 5th on the ladder, with 2 losses, have lost a large number of Carlton players who were delisted and now BM is playing his own special brand of football, which based on their current %, would see them as 8th on the ladder [out of 13 teams].

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

DUC, I see the dark side you have turned to.

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The problem with continuously bombing the ball long to the hot spot, even with Fev not the main target as last week, is that opposition teams still have 3 or 4 players peeling back and picking the ball off at will.

We need to get smarter and if there is 1 against 3 in that hot spot to use alternative options a bit further up the ground. It's not rocket science, it's a matter of being smart and having "multiple" avenues and "multiple hot spots". Multiple hot spots did you say ...

That Obi Wan guy was giving me the irates.

Way too much fixation on BM for my liking and I may be hampered by my not liking of him because of Sticks and how that whole 'job interview' was handled last year.

AND THERE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU HAVE MY 1,000 POST!

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

Surrey,

That seems to me to be one of our biggest problems that we have. A few players who at this stage of their career don't assess their options before disposing of the ball. Now that may be an issue that they will get over with further games or it may be a long term issue.

I just know that when Gibbs or Murphy has the ball running forward they will size up the options and use the ball well to advantage and IMO 2 more players of that ilk in our team would make a huge difference.

Is'nt it amazing that the 2 senior players who have been in our system the least are the better decision makers.

Maybe they havent been "reprogrammed" sufficiently yet.
Give it time.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

What about the others in our team who don't have the natural ability of Gibbs/Murphy. After being under a long kicking gameplan for so long, will they be able to weigh up which option is the best?

Aisake is making great progress but Hammer is going backwards IMO.

The way he looked in preseason, I though Hammer would be in the seniors by now - he was jumping over everyone and marking everything in reach. Now he's getting consistently beaten in the ruck and is dropping sitters. His confidence seems to be shot and he isn't getting it back playing on the forward line where he looks badly out of position.

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Hey Rocky; there are too many rabbits ... in China.

What a load of crap.

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