Dawks and Cats will start 1 and 2. and most likely finish 1 and 2.

3rd-8th very open.

Dogs
Saints
Pies
Crows
Swans
Roos

All very ordinary teams and we are capable of beating them.

So why shouldn't we quickly move to 3rd and Challenge in 2010.

Key is a favourable draw, games at the G and early wins. We can't afford to start zip 3 ever again.

We need to aim for 14-16 wins. (side note Judd will win Brownlow if we win enough)

Required wins in Blockbusters
Pies (Will not improve in 09) x 2 wins (2008 2 wins) -
Bombers (Will go backwards in 09) x 2 wins (2008 0 Wins)
Saints x 2 (Will not improve in 09) x 2 wins (2008 0 Wins)
Tigers x 2 (May improve in 09) x2 wins(2008 1 win)
Total 8 Wins (This years 3 wins from 8 was rubbish)

Then we need to go 50:50 in for the rest of the season.

Now that is 15 wins and 3rd spot, sounds simple.

Our team needs to think big, like the Dawks dared to do.

My Best Side for 2009 (assume Warnock arrives)

FB Grigg Jamison Armfield
HB Bower Waite Simpson
C Walker Stevens Russell
HF Gibbs Kruezer Houlihan
F Hartlett Fevola Betts

Rucks
Warnock
Judd
Murphy

Int
Hampson
Hadley
Carazzo
Cloke

Scotland will need to miss as his butchers the ball too often, lacks genuince pace and isn't hard enough.

Thornton has had his chance, unable to shut down taller & stronger types. Blind turns into trouble far too often.

Fisher had a poor season in 08 and Hartlett must be given a genuine chane to show he talent leading and marking

My team explained.

Grigg is a nice height and has developed well in 2008, delivers ball cleanly and can expose taller forwards with his pace, happy to push forward and get at goal.

Jamison has the level of concentration and skills required to shutdown most forwards. May struggle against Buddy and Brown.

Armfield to be given first crack on small forwards, needs to run forward and expose forwards that will not chase.

Bower cut down by ugly Cats in 08, will bouce back in 09 and show that he is the new WOOF man. Happy to push forward and kick goals

Waite able to play forward and back and shut down Richo, Lucas, Reiwold (the rabbitman) Needs a red hot season in 09.

Simpson to replace Scotland across half back, will use pace to push forward and kick goals, accurate kicking will be a must.

Walker will be pissed that Cooney won Brownlow plenty to prove, will push forwards for plenty of goals, will aim to take mark of the year.

Stevens on last chance needs to play more dominating qtrs, Lots to prove, will shine in finals like previous centreman, Buckly, Johnston & Williams

Russell - The one people love to hate, what he lacks in skill he makes up for in unsocialable football, funny that he was selected in all games in 2008. Ratten is liking 1% work that most fans missed.

Gibbs - The Rolls Royce of the team, will kick more goals and will be damaging wherever he goes in 2009.

Kuezer - Will assume toughest posi and will put head over the ball, wont kick tons of goals but will contest everything. Will Ruck forward line like Kernahan used to.

Houlihan - Will want to prove that he can play a full season. Has skills required to finish from impossible angles. Just what you need on fast tracks late in September.

Hartlett - Now why would Ratten keep him? Well Fisher is not improving, so he needs to take opportunity to show his leading and marking skills. Can move up and play across half forward when required.

Fev - Will need to kick 75 plus goals and tackle hard and lead young forward line.

Betts - Has skills and pace but needs to play 4 quarters, can lead up the ground and suprise opposition.

Warnock - Hmm, 21 games in 4 seasons, hope he is worth it!

Judd - Needs to stay fit, nothing more to say. Will cut up everyone and needs to kick more goals.

Murphy - Will need to gut run more often and paly 4 qtrs and kick more goals.

Hampson to 2nd ruck as Kruez will be more damaging as a forwards as he proved against Port.

Hadley genuine utility (play back, forward, middle or run with roles) Needs to stay fit.

Carazzo to rotate middle or back for taller shutdown jobs

Cloke to fill in at Half Forward when Kruez needs a rest.

Major theme KICK more goals, take risks!!

Go Blues.

Go Blues.......!


kindest regards tommi

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that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

sack ratten and recruit this guy imvho.

We only beat 2 of those 6 and don't forget we lost to the Bombers twice who are on the rise.

The Saints, Dogs, Roos and Swans will be hard to beat in 2009.

Top four is wishful thinking especially when we yet to make the eight

We are not Yet Ready for a Top 4 Challenge. Logic says that 09 will be a year where we should put up a real fight to get into the 8, and if we Do, we will most likely Finish 6-8th.


Having said that, it all depends if Fev & Judd can Stay injury Free. If any of these players or any key players miss a stack of games due to Injury, We will continue to Float between 9-12th.


2010 is the Year that should See us go up the Ladder, and then seriously Challenge for the Flag from 2012 onwards...

Stop your Thornton hating if he isn't traded he walk in the 22 side,lol Armfield and Hartlett before him both will be lucky not to be cut next year,one this year possibly Hartlett.

We've had a really good draw this season, (a draw that collingwood gets every year). So we have won a few more games than expected. We only had to play Hawks and Geelong once. I doubt we're gonna get another good draw like that.

Ah, Melvey, you give normal people such entertainment......

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

any side that has hartlett and russell in its best 22 clearly lacks the depth to challenge for a top 3 spot.

whys that??

According to many on here we are shoe ins for top 4. The Bombers bet us twice last year

The Swans are a solid unit they made the finals. We didn't

The Kangaroos showed us we not top eight material with a flogging

I'd be disappointed if we miss out on finals but some of you are absolutely delirious when talking about top four

I disagree with these statements.

They are not "very ordinary teams", they finished above us and I would think that around 4 of those 6 will again next year.

Scotland is probably the best user of the ball at Carlton coming off half-back IMO. Not every player in the team needs to be super fast, either. As for his hardness, I've never found a problem with it, but I honestly just haven't watched closely enough.

Thornton is unable to shut down taller, stronger types because that's not the type of player he is...it's like saying "Fisher has had his chance, unable to dominate as a CHF." Would you get Sam Fisher to play on J.Brown? Plus, he usually shows a lot of poise and get us OUT of trouble more often than not.

Everybody always says this................ but each season, the Pies prove everybody wrong.

Hate to say it, but i do admire them.

When Buckly retired it was all "Well, that's it for the pies now".
After last years prelim loss the word was "Oh-they;ve missed their window now".

Yet year after year, season after season, they continue to impress.

Even when their two arguably most important players in Shaw and Didak were rubbed out, they continued to win under the odds.

I think Carlton can take some inspiration from collingwoods seasons recently....................................Some - but not too much! LOL!




I aggree thou that Carlton is in a very unique and 'NEW' position - one that we certainly haven't experienced in a very long time.

We have a great leader, who comes with the added bonus of being one of the best players in the game, packaged together with one of the best Full Forwards going around................... but we have half a dozen potential superstars that are all maturing together, very similar to what Geelong had a few years ago.

What we DON'T want (and what DOESN'T win you Premierships) are the Hangers-On that are plauging our game with poor kicks, dropped marks, silly decision making etc etc etc.
I'm not gonna name names cause they're all pretty obvious anyway, but i'd be looking to clear these players out within the next season or two.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

not a bad post.

ive always maintained that our season hinges largely on that mini league type approach. in the past it was a given, it was expected we beat richmond, Essendon* and collingwood twice. right there thats 6 wins that were pretty much a given (i know "given" is a dangerous word, but thats what they were seen as). we need that mentality back, we need those results and expectations back.

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"In fairness it did seem in the early days of the draft teams would just pick a name totally at random out of a hat. I'm pretty sure we picked James Cook at #2 one year. The mediocre forward, not the explorer" - Me, 12/9/2011

Carlton 2012: Lets remind them why they once feared the Dark.

hawthorn were like us in 06. in 07 they made finals and 08 won

we can win in 2010

Bollocks. The only teams we had trouble with this year were the Roos, Geelong and Hawthorn, the rest we could've and should've beaten.

Top 4 will be achievable if the boys put in a big pre-season and reduce the quarter fade outs we had this year. We have huge scope on our list for rapid improvement, and the biggest area I feel we will improve is our hardness at the contest, Hadley and Browne will be big players for us next year in this area. Browne will become our run with player, he has been groomed in this position when playing Bullants while getting a good taste for the bigtime also.

14 wins should be our target, anything less than 12 would be a failure.

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Mjonc signing off at 8888

we will win 25 straight in 09

exactly. they are average teams, but so are we

i think 6-10th is where we'll finish after this season.

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"You don’t get much more Navy Blue than Stephen Kernahan" - Marc Murphy

can't remember when we last beat North... they might be 3rd...

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No matter how long it takes Carlton to rebuild, they will still win a premiership before Essendon* and Collingwood.

What is with your Essendon* loving? And the Swans are a replica of us in 2001/02

In 2009 we should beat

Essendon*
Collignwood
Melbourne
Port
Fremantle
West Coast

We can beat (with a 4 quarter effort)

Any one else

But particularly

St Kilda
Western Bulldogs
Sydney
Adelaide


A 12 - 14 win year me thinks.

Me hopes

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They coud'nt.....could they?