Curnow tried hard but was soundly beaten, I think he could’ve been used further up the ground more, like we did with Harry.
He plays more like Jeremy Cameron in that role and his delivery is always a lot better than what we have coming from the middle.
McKay did some really good stuff up the ground and managed to kick a couple which was good to see.
I think our forward line were soundly beaten though, but a lot of that stemmed from poor delivery into F50.

........we had an opportunity in front of us to achieve more and didn’t take it. We could have won the Brisbane game and you can mount a strong argument that we could beat Collingwood in the GF.......

.......A couple of points on that, the first quarter was total bliss and while it was unlikely to last it shows us what we are capable of at the pointy end of the year when we play at our absolute best against elite competition....


.......It’s now up to the recruiters and coaches to tweak the list and game style to ensure we get the opportunity again next year. As a collective the players have shown they have the will.

GO BLUES!!!

Andrews 202 vs McKay 205 is a great match up but should have been closer to goal to give the crumbers something.

Charlie against Gardiner, both similar sizes, I get that, but Charlie was leading up and merely waiting for the big bomb, and like the rest of the Finals games, to coin a phrase, put his arms up to mark but 'flopped' around, and didn't really compete in the air, and allowed the defenders to dominate him.

Once TDK was injured and not dangerous that's probably why Lester left TDK and double teamed Charlie.

How many intercept marks the Lions had in defence is something I dont want to dwell on, but it was too many, too often, and reason we only kicked 4 goals for the last 3 quarters.

Vossy said yesterday he preferred for Harry to play closer to Charlie because they work better closer together, but it didn't happen and should have switched them if it was to remain as such for the rest of the game, as it did. That's on Vossy.

Andrews 202 vs McKay 205 is a great match up but should have been closer to goal to give the crumbers something.

Charlie against Gardiner, both similar sizes, I get that, but Charlie was leading up and merely waiting for the big bomb, and like the rest of the Finals games, to coin a phrase, put his arms up to mark but 'flopped' around, and didn't really compete in the air, and allowed the defenders to dominate him.

Once TDK was injured and not dangerous that's probably why Lester left TDK and double teamed Charlie.

How many intercept marks the Lions had in defence is something I dont want to dwell on, but it was too many, too often, and reason we only kicked 4 goals for the last 3 quarters.

Vossy said yesterday he preferred for Harry to play closer to Charlie because they work better closer together, but it didn't happen and should have switched them if it was to remain as such for the rest of the game, as it did. That's on Vossy.

that's most of the problem i have with harry in the team ... we don't move the ball fast, we slow play along the lines and then bomb it deep into the forward line. where crumbers don't crumb and their defence is set up to rebound the other way.

those 7 or 8 games where we ran and carried and played fast and our pressure was over 200 every game. that needs to somehow be our template.


but i don't know how it becomes reality with our list and voss's want of two rucks and 2 full forwards and a tall backline etc


with no picks, no cap space i'm not sure there's much we can or will do before next season.

Just want to say that the Welcome to Country before the game was wonderful.

I've said it before, if they want to keep Harry in the forward line they need to:

1. paint a line from the middle of the goals straight out to the arc

2. tell Harry to stay on the right hand side of it (facing goals)

Forwards need to practice all running into space in different directions like the Lions did so easily after 1/4 time - endless unopposed marks and easy shots for goals by Daniher, Hipwood etc who normally Never get that much space.

All our forwards tend to line up facing where the ball is coming from down the wing.

That's where we missed Owies, he at least has the footy brain to sneak away to the middle or the other side to present an alternative target more than anyone else does.

Could he have helped make up a lousy 16 pt difference? I would say shit-yeah.

Bad selection, bad coaching. We had this.

Could he have helped make up a lousy 16 pt difference? I would say shit-yeah.

Bad selection, bad coaching. We had this.

All I'm saying is that this club deserves a better forward structure than Harry & Charlie bumbling into each other on most entries.

And that at least Owies has a pattern of looking for space to run into.

Are we not totally shitted off to see other club's forwards relentlessly running forward into space to take uncontested chest marks from low drilled passes?

I know I am.

It's not effing rocket-surgery and other than 5 games in July we've demonstrated an utterly inept incapacity to do this football 'basic' for YEARS.

We weren't doing it during and prior to the slump, we got it right during 5 big wins against 2nd rate opposition and only won the games since due to a massively oversized contested ball win which was/is not sustainable and was only a testament to the sheer will & determination of the playing group.

But will & determination should not be the only ingredient and not relied upon to win games at the expense of basic fundamentals that we sorely lack.

... manning up in defence
... presenting mobile targets coming out of defence
... running into @#$%&! space in the forward line

Shits me no end when others cannot see this.

The ease with which McInerney, Daniher & Hipwood and their mates did all of the above after 1/4 time is such a patently obvious contrast it's embarrassing.

I have pointed out for over 30 years that a big chunk of Hawthorn's '80s success was whenever Jason Dunstall saw a mate in the centre with the ball he just started running full pelt to be the target for an easy chest mark.
You NEVER saw the prick's armpits! He never had to reach over his head Once!

Geelong is similar for the last 15 years, when a mid has the ball he looks up and sees at least FOUR blokes already running in different directions and only has to size up which one has the extra metre on his opponent to kick to.
Watch their games - that has been their 'secret' for all this time: Gut-Running from forwards.

Our lot couldn't 'gut run' if they had diarrhea and needed to find a dunny to avoid embarrassing themselves.

We killed Kernahan with overhead bombs, we're killing Charlie and H. the same way.

The Carlton Football Club has failed to look around them and understand this Football Fundamental since 1995.

And I for one am utterly Sick of it.

GWS had to travel interstate every week during the finals. Not sure they had an easier run than us. Admittedly, Brisbane in Brisbane has become the toughest fixture in AFL - but at least we got to play on our home ground in the first two weeks of the finals. If we had to have played at the Adelaide Oval in the semi, I’m not so sure we would have made it to the prelim.

8 day break - tick
Almost 50% crowd support - tick
Kick the first 5 goals of the game - tick

Unfortunately we were just not good enough and still need to improve significantly to challenge next year.