Pros:

Murphy. Great Game.
Simmo. Stood out for me. I think BOG for mine.
Setanta is a favourite of mine so it was great to see him back and doing well.
Leaving the ground and hearing a father tell his two young daughters, "remember we used to go to the the football and we would ALWAYS lose!"
Taking my 5 yo son to his second game.. (trying to ease him into it! )


Cons:

My son being more interested in the cars on the Europe Car Rental signs than the footy!

Part of that is because we chip the ball out of the backs through the flood/zone instead of running it through like most teams. Our way is better (when it comes off) because we can control the footy and the tempo.

Pros:
Kreuzer's one grab pack mark in the pocket from four deep
Murphy's game and Rocket acknowledging before the game he was the main danger ahead of Judd and Gibbs
Gibbs's composure
Jamison cool under pressure
Russell's 50 metre lace-out bullet in the last
Setanta's handball on the F50 to a player streaming towards goal.
Confidence of all in making the Dogs play OUR game.

Cons:
I only saw the second half on TV but watched a replay late last night.
Wiggo's lack of confidence in front of goal
Losing the clearances
Judd isn't being allowed to do his stuff. He should go forward more instead of playing with a hard tag in the mids.

_________________
Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

PROS

Sir Richard would have enjoyed his afternoon and hopefully sang the song with gusto.

Setanta has proven a point. He was awesome with the 1%ers, let alone the good disposal from possessions; a real utility on board (since Kouta retired).

Armfield and Joseph were like possessed men; like dogs to a bone. Relentless, 2nd and 3rd efforts brilliant.

Players like Kreuzer, Armfield, Joseph, Judd (always), Waite, Murphy, Betts and Setanta give us an extra player at the contest whenever they are in there. Their 2nd, 3rd efforts were extaordinary.

Kreuzer, Murphy, Gibbs, Simpson and Houlihan...hard running, class...say no more.

Backline with Jamo in is a very strong combo imo. A great effort by Bower tearing through the lines and I thought Thornton took the direct route moreso than usual. Great to have the luxury of putting Setanta back there when in need for height and competitive athleticism. A Waite with freedom is a very dengerous commodity indeed.

The old tough stagers Scotland and Carrazzo are great inclusions in this already young team. Scotland's disposal was stunning. Carrazzo's hard tag and goal was a winner!!!

Russell has arrived in 2009. No matter how you look at it. His defensive work we know is good. He has a very stong body and does a job for the MC, but to add his offensive side to the game is going to be a very good package to have in this team.

Betts is a star in 2009....leading goalkicker from limited opportunities...all class.

Hadley, Anderson, Robinson, Yarran and Hampson putting pressure on spots in the 22.

CONS

Walker , Warnock and Grigg missing

Johnson has yet to break into my best 22, and his one lethal weapon failed him on 4 consecutive efforts. Not convinced with him.

Wiggins' kicking in front of goal is is painful and his fade out in the 2nd half stood out (was it injury?).

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Pros
- as mentioned above
- Grigg, Hadley, Robinson, Yarran, Hampson, Anderson, Austin, Browne and Garlett all are in contention for senior selection.....and Warnock when he returns from injury. Plenty of Depth!!

_________________
There is no footy god

Good to see the young no.1 guns play well again after a few down weeks.

Good to see the team run and carry and be more direct and tackle again.

Good to see Setanta do well - he adds versatility to the team, our Paul Dear, and his passion must rub off on the teammates which can only be a good thing.

Good to see players like Houlihan and Simpson play well. If we're to succeed it can't be just the Judds, Fevolas, Gibbs', Murphys every week.

Think that is 3 on the trot now against this mob, clearly we match up better against the free running sides (Dogs, Port), challenge now is to improve our game against the close checking, suffocating teams (St.K, Syd).

Next week is essentially a huge OPPORTUNITY. Are we ready to grasp the opportunity? Do we genuinely believe in ourselves?

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

Cons:

After the Dogs kicked their first goal the Bulldogs bloke behind me yelled "Woof woof"


Pro:

He was muzzled for the rest of the game.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Though I was stoked to get the win, it annoys me to no end that we needed the critical health of Mr Pratt to be the reason to motivate the boys. I would bleed to wear the Carlton guernsey, I would be stoked, proud and honoured. Why are these boys not feeling the same. The club should be motive enough. Where we have been, what we have gone through, the humiliation, the taunts and the teasing, the blemish on our proud history, NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN MY OPINION. I could be wrong, but more than anything I was pissed off. All that hit the field every week, should demand a win, full stop, expect it and strive for it.
Not good enough.
BM

You're suggesting that we wouldn't have won without that motivation. Based on what?

Sure, they mentioned it, natural thing to do. Ratten said after the game they didn't make a big thing of it, just said to the players that it would be "nice" to get him a win.

_________________
"I had to eat"

All we need now is for Derryn Hinch to start screaming "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME..."

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

BM as you feel that playing for Pratt instead of the jumper is a con, then this is the place for it.

_________________
“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.

Based on the last 2 weeks, they boys were different this week! Get you hand off it Navy Blue Horse, it is what it is. They won for Mr Pratt, not for the club, not for the guernsey, none of that. They are all paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to play football, PERIOD, play the game, be done with it. We will never get far if we need 'reasons' to win.
BM

BM has a point. We must perform at this level every week.
Not good enough to perform like this on an adhoc basis when it suits.
The boys have tended to let themselves down when expectations raise.
Lets see if they have learnt anything over the past month.

They have not learnt shit Surrey Blue.

BM

So if Dick had been more gravely ill the previous two weeks we would have kicked straighter...?

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

I think the boys play to win every week. Sometimes when you're playing professional sport you have an extra incentive to win...you shouldn't look at Dick Pratt's illness as a 'reason' to win - rather an 'added motivation' to win, which is what it was.

PROs

JR - good 4 qrtr effort from Jordan. I was one of those who doubted he'd make it, and often wondered how he kept his spot every week. This is rapidly becoming his breakout year, and you can see his confidence growing each week.

Santy & Krooz - Gee its a bonus to have 2 guys their size running around like rovers. Just very hard to stop, and they add a lot of versatility (I expect Santy to spend a bit of time on Ruffy this week, as Jamo maybe too small ?).

Simmo - welcome back. Those two 2nd qrtr goals were great team lifters.

Wiggler - 11 marks, many of them under duress. Very consistent year, and is in our best 22.

Eddie - Elite small forward now, fancy him being equal on the table with Buddy, Fev and Ruffy. Just goes about his business.

Jamo - class defender. Knows how to protect the space and rarely makes a bad decision. Michael Sexton mk. II

Joseph - Very fast, and very hard at it for most of the day. Some of his efforts were superb.

Murph/Gibbs - no need to say much, as its all been said. Pure class and will only get better

CON

Santy missing that goal in the 2nd after the shimmy.........would've lifted the roof off the joint.

Pro: Kade Simpson's gut busting running. I think the inclusions of Scotto and Carrots has freed up Simmo and he can play a more damaging role.

spot on. While I understand the general idea Mel's getting at, what she's saying is just silly

Unbelievable!

Even after a good stirring win, there are still people running around screaming "The sky's falling, the sky's falling".

Take a chill pill, relax, sit back, and enjoy the ride. And leave the amateur psychology, the histrionics, and the "eat their own" to the Richmond and Collingwood supporters,,,,,

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!!!

After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W T F .........
Visit http://fromthemoshpit.com/

Pros:

Left foot kicking - Eddie Betts with his goal and Judd with his assists. None of that BS check side kicks.

Most seem to mention Chris Johnson in the Cons. I'll avoid doing that since it has already been done...