Pfeiffer was clearly THE standout and crows supporters will be spewing at his delisting. Hampson is going to be something very special -will lead our rucks this year Armfield is a beauty - in and under, tackles and feeding to players in the clear. And Ellard - fearless and excellent disposal - will play lots of games this year, not to mention the future. Recruiting staff have done an excellent job

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I need some new conspiracy theories; all my others have come true.

I am just goiing on past events, how have we gone when we have won it.
Challenge games are a more controlled environment and i KNOW the players would rather not go the full distance

_________________
'Cause I'm J.U.D.D
I'm dynamite
J.U.D.D
And I'll win that fight
J.U.D.D
I'm a power load
J.U.D.D, Watch me explode

Thought Rattens use of Cain Ackland in particular was good. I think they have really found his natural position.

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The great are great to us only because we are on our knees. Let us arise.
--Robert Collier

A good win but considering Port were missing their top 5 players, its hard to tell how good we were.

_________________
Walk on, Walk on,
With hope, in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone,
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!

08/02/1981 - GATE 7...Our brothers will never be forgotten!!!

Commentators on MMM said that Andrew Symonds was on the bench, as a guest of Carlton.

I couldn't see him from where I was sitting; anyone catch him on TV?

_________________
I AM DISENFRANCHISED

Insert Judd for finals action.

ROY ROCKS!

True, but we had most of our top 5 players barely getting a touch, and still won. There's a million ways you can look at it.

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Missing BEST player in AFL, Tex, Santy, Hadley, Harts. Fish & Fev 50% fit. Murphy hardly touched it and Stevo hadn't played for yonks. We had the odd young player out there too. I'm satisfied.

Don't forget we beat them last yr and pushed them hard at AAMI later in the yr.

I'm going to sleep well.

Our top player > everyone elses' top five players combined.

Apparently a guest of our fitness advisor who used to work with the cricket team.

Hampson was excellent and Pfeiffer has some polish along with some grunt....
Carrazzo and Simpson did well and Simpson continues to lead the team.
Cloke did ok around the ground but found the taller Deluca hard to jump over.
Kruezer showed some poise and I thought Scotland was steady.

Murphy was ordinary and along with soem shoddy disposal also lost interest during a contest and didnt go hard enough......when Copeland cleaned him up its took away some of his confidence IMO and ha hasnt been the same assured player.

Gibbs was safe with the footy but doesnt impact much at this stage...

Pace is still an issue...the Port speedsters left out blokes flatfooted at times and i'll be happy to see Judd in the team to even that area up a bit....

Handy win and well coached by Brett Ratten....moving Thornton down forward worked well and Jarrod Waite really lifted us down back...

_________________
"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Agree with all of this.

Apart from winning, Pfeiffer was the most pleasing thing. He attacks the ball hard, tackles well and his disposal is good.

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

On the radio (SEN), a lot of the crowd noises/cheers coincided with our good play. A bit like the Carlton vs. Hawthorn preseason game down in Tassie last year, where the crowd appeared to be Carlton dominant.

Always good to see Carlton support throughout the country. Nice for our interstate fans to get to see a win. And nice for the rest of us, as it means another week on the tv.

just started watching the game for the second time, and very very happy with the result and application/determination of the troops tonight.

a few observations -

still a lot of work to do, especially on the foot skills.

delivery into the foward line was iffy, and we were always out numbered.

fish and fev will be better for the run, fev was average by his standards, but thats not a critcism as he still kicked a few and set up a couple, and always drew the defenders which freed other blokes up.

stevo will also be better for the run and will take some time to get back to his best i feel.

the new lads - sensational! Ellard is very handy for his slender frame. Pfeiffer was sensational and was my BOG. what a find, natural footballer and plays like and old head.

armfield is a real goer, hard at it no nonsense footballer. plenty of dash.

grigg was more assured. and did well.

hampson is a star and is my tip for the Rising Star award this year, and i'm going to back him at the TAB this week. could be anything this guy.

jamison is already our best Key position backman IMO.

T-brid enjoyed having the pressure taken off him and was handy when up front.

bowers most accountable and best defence game (while still providing some run) i have seen from him. his development will be a joy to watch. will make up for norman's failure.

ryan jackon belogs and was very solid and didn't do anything wrong.

great to see we didn't rely on the older middle of the road players liko bannister and wiggins and it was the new lads who stepped up in their absence. promising.

murphy, worst game i have seen from him. looks low onf confidence and must burn those flash orange boots. Marc, let your footy do the talking.
will improve.

i reckon we had almost as many out as them, but i dont know how ready to go their players are. fish and fev were obviosuly underdone as was stevo.

russell will be okay as a link guy and has beefed up, his a link in the chain and not much more at the moment, but will benefit from more experince around him.

edwards showed flashes and two strong marks (both best marks of the day and both contested) will be a very handy 4/5th forward when were are on song. must work on consistency, may come with confidence and experience

carrots was consistent but disposal was only average, but not too bad.hard worker.

Kruzer was okay and kicked a nice goal, still coming to terms with pace of the game, and looks slow getting to a couple of contests. maybe his fittness aint quiet there.

simmo is all heart and a gem of a player and leader.

great result after being challenged early and held them off late in the game.

deluca will be a capable ruck for port in time, nice size.

still lots of work to do, but the signs of development will help.

most promising aspect is in a way that the guys we normally relied on for a win were all below their best, murphy, fev, fish, stevo all out about 5/10 or below.

almost forgot gibbs is going to be great and did some really nice things, goal was sensational. will be a stong and consistent player without being prolific i feel.

pretty happy with the result 7/10 overall, room for improvement but finals not totally unrealistic given improvement from and addtition of our prime movers.

early days yet though.

After watching the game again the Umpiring was shit in all aspects. Free Kicks, Throw Ins, Bounces. Did anyone see Simpson get grabbed around the neck and swung to the ground and get called for holding the ball? I Think it was Ryan Lonnie.

_________________
Lawrence Lawrence, The man who knows all the rackets and all the racketeers!

I seriously must watch the game some of you see.

T Bird should struggle for a game after that performance tonight.
He's not a forward and he's no bloody good as a backman when Jamo and Waite get going.


Besides that it's a win and I agree with ratts.." You can only beat those you play"
But OUR DISPOSAL IS STILL RUBBISH!!!!

we are however better than 2 sides I've seen this weekend.

_________________
Stay tuned We're in for a BUMPY ride

That was a great win. The boys showed a lot of guts to get in front after a woeful start, and again to hold off Port's late challenge.

However, it's early days yet and while a lot of our kids showed a bit of talent and overall the team showed a lot of spirit, the game was very ugly and clearly both teams were rusty. Or to use racing parlance, both teams will be better for the run.

As with many others, I don't see the result in these Mickey Mouse Cup games as being so important. Playing together as a team and showing a bit of pride is what matter for us right now.

So far so good.

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The umpiring was shit. But we clearly had the rub of the green, all we had to do was go near the ball and the umps gave us a free. If you're filthy at the umps, imagine how dirty Port fans must be.

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Yeah we did get the better end of the decisions today

_________________
Lawrence Lawrence, The man who knows all the rackets and all the racketeers!

I noticed that Murphy changed his orange shockers back to white for the second half. I dont think we'll see those orange ones again.