I'm living overseas, and thanks to that oasis of culture called Name a Game I've got a nice selection of Carlton wins in the cupboard. They arrived two weeks ago and frankly I've done F-all since but watch 'em.

The '07 comeback against the Dons.
The two Collingwood wins this year.
The Richmond win this year.
The Port, Dogs, and Lions wins this year.

It's been bloody beautiful, but I have to say, I've been stunned by the fact that Bentick, who I generally think of as in and out type, features and features significantly in the vast, vast majority of these beautiful victories. Dispossessing Simon Black, throwing Travis Cloke to the ground, he practically starred in half these games. I'm just writing this because next to none of us, including me, have him in our best 22. And now Yarran's arrived, and Robbo, it's names like his that will get squeezed.

But it's just a bit bloody interesting, isn't it.

I seem to remember a bloke called Ratten retiring, and insisting his No. 7 go to a bloke called Bentick. I wonder if we'll see a bit more of him than we think. And I wonder if in time we'll be rapt about it.

Probably not. But I wonder.

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Dut, de dut, de daaa!

Interesting point mate.

There's no doubt AB has his moments, but I think he really needs to start playing more consistent football. He is prone to the odd horror game where his influence on the game is minimal.

If you have a look at his stats http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/play ... ntick.html you will see how his stat count really does vary. It is possible the main reason for this is he is a horses for courses type. He is not quick by any means, and so maybe the MC prefer to leave him on the bench more in games they expect to be quick paced. Just a theory.

For mine I think he goes missing sometimes, a bit up and down, and hence in and out

He has been there long enough now to start being a really consistent contributor.

I also think the other thing that some fans see as a negative, is he does not have much hurt factor with his kicking.

But hey, you might be right and AB might surprise us all and be a really consistent in-and-under player for us in 2009, and heaven knows we need to free up the Skipper a bit more so he can hurt teams more using his run outside the packs.

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Those stats tell a story, VB, no doubt, and no doubt he's a dead-track bully, but still, I reckon his kicking's improved and this bloke could tackle for the devil.

Oh look, I don't think he's a premiership player for the Blues, but I'll be sadder when he misses out than Houlihan or Thornton.

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Dut, de dut, de daaa!

i had AB leading my MVP voting for the majority of the year

then i did my best 22 for next season and left bentick out

I think he is just one of those players - consistency seems to be a problem

and he may only play certain games where it seems we might need his type

i dont think he will be a regular player next year

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

does he use sperm as hair gel?

Always liked Bentick. I think he is an honest player who tries his heart out. Never a whinger who just gets on with it. Great attitude, but like ppl said, needs to get more consistent.

He’s still on our list so he must be in the plans

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C'mon Blueboys!

I dont think consistency has anything to do with it - I just think there's a number of opponents and midfield set-ups that his type of player can work, and then others that can't. A tight in the clinches clearance player who has no chance of taking out another player (except Brock McLean strangely enough), I think bentick will just struggle against faster midfields and will do well when sitting in the square.

I think he'll get games if hadley is injured but I equally think this is Bentick's last year at Carlton.

A slow, strong-bodied clearance specialist / tackling machine.

That's ok, there's room for this type in each team. The only problem is, once he gets first hands on the ball, he's in trouble. He lacks vision - the ability to quickly spot an opportunity to dispose to advantage. He appears to lack quick and confident decision making once he's spotted his target (perhaps because he took too long to identify the target opportunity, and is now under heat). He lacks quick hands - how often do his handballs get smothered, or he can't even get a handball away after grabbing the ball beautifully with anticipation and strength and a bit of time on his side?

I don't blame him for these flaws - you'd have to be a zen master to remain calm and act quickly in the maelstrom of the contest. Williams, West, Black, Mitchell have been stars because they can do all these things. They can make the right choices, but they can also execute efficiently, which is what kills Bentick. Even if Bentick had immaculate disposal skills, which he doesn't, he'd be in trouble because a much higher percentage of his "first possessions" don't get to another player.

Adam's improved his running ability, and his kicking is less poor. But Carlton is going places, and we need Bentick to improve his ability to clear the ball effectively or we need to find someone who can (er, whose name isn't Judd). I guess this might be why Greg Bentley is on our list. We need to develop an inside midfielder. If it's the current model Bentick, we're in trouble.

Just to set the record straight, I believe Ratts insisted his number went to Justin Davies and it was Pagan who subsequently ruined Davies career and handed the jumper to Bentick whom he loved.

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You want the flame? Give us the marbles!!

What a fantastic post. 2nd one by you Today aramari. Your Walker one was on the money as well. Finally someone who understands.

Cheers Surrey, it's always nice to get good feedback! I stand on the shoulders of giants This place is too quiet at the moment, time to give a little back... either that or whinge about the disorienting change to the website

I think ive always had a soft spot for AB.
loved his tackling especially when in the last few years our tackling hasn't been great and many times this year and last how he got the ball out to a faster player.

you are right about those wins................the Richmond and Collingwood wins in particular from this year were in part due to AB having a significant impact during the third quarter in both those games. The accolades in both games went to those blokes who finished off his good work. Like in most cases, the flashy finisher gets the praise but we hardly ever look closely enough to see the bloke who dishes it out under immense pressure. And that's the key I think with AB. When he makes an error it's usually because he does so in close with little time to assess a situation. Others who sit out wide and make errors with lots of time to assess a situation, are given more lattitude by the critics and the coaches mind you. Go figure.

In many respects, AB is his own worst enemy. Whenever he does the gutsy thing that results in a positive outcome for us, he just trots back to his spot whilst others are slapping each other and jumping for joy. The camera and the naked eye will automatically focus on the blokes jumping for joy and that is what sticks in our mind, not the bloke who has already left the scene and is setting up for the next play.

A point to note here is that AB has been suffering from a knee complaint for some time. Finally had it operated on 3 weeks ago yet it's not reported on here at all. No one knows about it. Why? Because, that's just the way it is with AB. Just gets on with it and flies under the radar. I reckon that AB is the type of bloke that needs time for the average supporter to appreciate his worth. Just like a Scott West. It took him 6 or 7 years to fully establish himself and for the football world to stand up and take notice. Yet, to the very end, there were some critics that refused to place him in the very best to have ever pulled on a doggies jumper.

I also believe with AB, that he gets better with more game time but of late his game time has been limited to just above 50% a game. So, we'll look at his stats, as we have done so in this post, without acknoledging that he receives 30% to 40% less game time than others. So, place his stats in that context and it's a different story.

Yes there is much to admire about Bentick - he's made some telling contributions at times. Unfortunately, given his weaknesses is athleticism and footskills, he really needs to be EXCEPTIONAL in his clearance work, and I just don't think he's good enough in this function to make up for his deficits elsewhere.

To me Bentick is like a neutraliser of the play both ways. When a nearby opponent gets the ball Bento can tackle him and cause a ball up. When Bento gets it he's often tackled, causing a ball up. This might be handy when playing to a losing ruck, but you end up with another ruck contest we're likely to lose. So maybe he limits the damage for over-matched rucks. If our rucks improve considerably you want players that run on to clear winning taps (Judd and Murph) or to turn a 50/50 into a win. Bentick turns 70/30s into 50/50s and 30/70s into 50/50s. We need to win more of those 70/30s than Bentick can provide.

He's a hard worker, so I expect him to improve this side of his game. If he hangs his hat on tackling he won't make it. Brett Ratten improved his in-close ball control and disposal from good/ordinary to elite over the years, so it can be done.

Last season we were too dependent upon Judd to win the ball in the centre and clear it out. The other players on our list who seem able to win clearances just don't have Judd's acceleration and lack genuine pace. Both Bentick and Carrazzo win a lot of ball in contested situations but neither is as damaging as they could be and get found out against quick midfielders. However Judd needs support and so they still have a role in the team.

One of Bentick's most pleasing aspects is his ability to never leave anything on the field. He always busts a gut having a crack. His raw talent and pace, or lack thereof, may explain why he fades in and out, but he has a red hot go every time and never, ever shirks the issue.

There's a lot to like about AB, that's for sure.

I understand he's a bit of an honest toiler, rather than a superstar, but I admire and love the way he gives his all.

He's one of those Marcus Ashcroft types who, when they win a flag, you sit back and admire all the crap he's been through and quietly nod your head in his direction.

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This is interesting. What was it, a scrape? What is the prognosis, and layoff time?

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"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

One other interesting point, is (I think) in 2007 he was right at the top of the list of players who had burst impact off the bench, ie: didn't play huge %s of gajmes, but when he was on the ground he had very high disposal count per minutes played.

So maybe this is his lot.

We hear some people say he is a horses for courses player, not to be played against quick teams teams and on vast spaces etc, and this sort of correlates with the fact he is more of a burst player. His lack of speed by foot and also in terms of decision making (he takes time dishing it off sometimes and tends to get tackled as a result) means he can't be a 90% ground time player, but he can be effective in the right games and when used off the bench.

Is that why they call him Benchy?

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it