Nino is clearly 10 steps ahead
Just saw this( The Age) very sad news, I know fark carlton and all that but footy doesnāt really matter when you read this stuff, condolences to Zac and family.
Carlton defender Zac Williams has paid a loving tribute to his sister Sammy, who died on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
Sammy had previously beaten cancer but found out just before Christmas 2021 that it had returned.
āTruly heartbroken but my beautiful sister Sam passed away yesterday,ā Zac Williams said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
āShe taught me so many things and showed me the true meaning of strength and love.ā
Williams and his family went public with her terminal diagnosis at the end of April as they launched a Go Fund Me campaign for her husband and their three children.
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The thing l hate most about Cancer is how it has the ability to return.
ā ā ā ā of a disease.
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Itās all about the jumper and a bit of a ā ā ā ā take in here, but no matter the guernsey that is absolutely shithouse and I feel for the bloke and his sisters family that are left behind.
Some things are so much bigger than footy.
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Sorry to hear about this and his loss. Commiserations to Zac and his family. I do wonder if this illness has in any way distracted him and impacted his form.
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Cancer is bigger than footy. Very sad news for Zac and family.
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Fark Cancer
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Communications specialists use misnomer incorrectly all the time. It drives me crazy and amuses me in equal measure
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And that cancer news is ā ā ā ā . Wasnāt up to date in the thread
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Zerk is likely our best Stopper, given he gets the job every week and was competing well against Wright in trainingā¦
I still think in a wrestle - Mcbride is our man, not that we want to give him a chance. he is purely a stopper though and you would lose the attacking nature of Zerk/baldwin type players. probably replace LAV with him as he is more of a stopper and ball use is suspect.
Cox is not ready for a key role. I think we just have to back in zerk and the cohesion he has with rids and lav for now and get the pressure on the ball right. I know heās had a few kicked on him in recent weeks, i wouldnāt be opposed to starting him as the third tall with lav taking McKay and rids taking Curnow.
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If McBride hasnāt been played with the injuries we have already had this year, i think its safe to say that hes not in the clubs plans for the future. You would not want a debutant to have his first game on McKay or Curnow. Regardless of how bad their form is.
Iād love to give him a game given heās spent 4 years here.
but yeh admit itās unlikely, but if were not confident in our best key defender.
McBride is the one with the size.
I also think Kellyās absence and zurhaarās 4 goals was arguably a bigger factor than the 7 inside 50 marks zerk lav and rids gave up to Larkey and Coleman for a return of 4.4.
Certainly, zerk made 3 or 4 real howlers last week. hopefully heās better on Sunday because I donāt see Scott dropping him with his conservative approach to selection in any event.
Anyway, I think itās significant that our first choice full strength defence hasnāt played together since the third quarter of Anzac Day. Thatās 5 games during which thereās been a noticeable spike in points conceded. Hopefully itās back together this week.
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FARK CARLTON
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Mick McGuane: Carlton v Essendon preview, 1-44 player ratings
Pure Footy - episode 12 2023
[image]
- By MICK MCGUANE
- NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA SPORTS NEWSROOM
- 12:00PM JUNE 8, 2023
A blockbuster clash awaits between a pair of arch rivals on Sunday night when Carlton meets Essendon at the MCG.
The Blues desperately need to return to the winnersā list as their finals aspirations quickly slip away, while the Bombers will be looking to further consolidate their spot in the top-eight.
Here is what AFL analyst Mick McGuane is thinking ahead of the big game.
Essendon has transformed into a team-first side under new coach Brad Scott. Picture: Michael Klein.
WHO IS CLOSER TO A PREMIERSHIP?
Talent alone doesnāt win premierships.
Teamwork, selflessness and sacrifice does.
I always ask the question of any playing group Iāve been involved with or watch ā Is there a clear and unconditional, team-first attitude within the group?
You look at Carltonās list and think they should be right in the premiership window.
Sam Docherty is 29, Patrick Cripps and Adam Saad are 28, Charlie Curnow is 26, Jacob Weitering and Harry McKay are 25, Adam Cerra is 23 and Sam Walsh is 22.
Yet, in every game Iāve watched Carlton play this year, Iām yet to be convinced that they bring an unconditional team-first attitude.
The Blues are a group that are too inconsistent in showing that and are not completely committed to leaving their egos on the hook.
Individuals donāt always conform to playing their roles, particularly in defensive transition.
Until Iām convinced an attitude shift has been made on a consistent basis from Carlton, I canāt possibly have them ahead of Essendon on the premiership clock.
The Bombers on the other hand have shown a transformation in that area, both in how they are being coached and how they are playing this year.
They are finally putting a high price on their intent to chase and pressure.
They are not just going through the motions with their defensive pursuit skills.
Many of Essendonās important players have missed significant football this season.
Key forward Peter Wright ā who was the sideās leading goalkicker last year ā is yet to play a game.
But the players are invested, playing their roles and are getting the job done as a team.
Sam Docherty needs to attack off halfback for Carlton this week. Picture: Michael Klein
ACCEPT THE INVITATION, BLUES
If ever there was a time for Carlton to release the shackles and attack a game with fast ball movement off halfback, this is the week.
Blues coach Michael Voss has constantly talked about contested ball and defence this year and those two areas are generally holding up well.
Carlton defensively are conceding an average of 77 points per game, which is ranked fifth in the competition. Thatās a tick
The Blues also sit sixth for opposition scores from turnovers, giving up just 44.9 points a game from that scoring source. Another tick.
The problem is the message to defend seems to have been taken too far.
Carlton donāt want to attack the game and are instead looking to defend with the footy.
Players are in survival mode, playing restricted and are lacking confidence to pull the trigger through fear of making a mistake, particularly back of centre.
The Blues ball movement is mediocre and lacks bravery, as indicated by scoring on average only 10.4 points per game from their defensive 50 end of the ground.
This week, the door is open to do something different.
Essendon ranks last in the competition for generating forward-half intercepts, which shows they are not structurally sound at stopping opposition ball movement from back to front.
If ever there was an invitation to play fast and get the game on your terms by generating scoring chains from your backline, itās against a team that ranks 18th in that area.
Carltonās ball movement must be full of dare and risk, with the likes of Adam Saad, Sam Docherty and Jacob Weitering kickstarting their sideās attack with speed, changing angles and generating overlap handballs when they win the ball back at halfback.
What the Blues need ā and what their forwards desperately want to see ā is an end to being risk adverse out of the back half.
If a mistake happens and a turnover goal happens playing that way, learn from it and try not to repeat it.
But give yourself a chance to score going the other way, because averaging 57 points a game is not going to win you many matches of footy.
Carlton must shut down Zach Merrett this week. Picture: Michael Klein
SPIN THE MAGNETS, VOSSY
It has been a lot of same-same about Carlton in recent weeks.
The Blues need to spin the magnets and be innovative in order to challenge Essendonās coachesā box.
Carlton is a system-based team but when the results are not going the way you want them to go itās either the system is flawed or individuals arenāt capable of playing their roles within that system to a high and consistent level.
So why not change things up?
Mitch McGovern was recruited on big money as a forward, but has been playing as an interceptor down back.
Could he be thrown forward to further stretch an undersized Bombers defence and throw up an element of surprise?
A three-goal haul may be the result.
If the Blues are to stand a chance, they canāt let Zach Merrett do as he likes.
Over the past three weeks, Merrett has averaged 35 disposals and is playing with a go-forward mentality that has seen him average 9.3 score involvements over that time.
Give him time and space and he will cut the Bluesā team defence apart.
With George Hewett missing with concussion for Carlton, why not send Sam Walsh to tag the Essendon skipper?
Walsh can use him as a competitive starting point and when he has a chance to work off Merrett, make the most of it.
There has always been a question on Merrettās intent to defend, so why not test it with Carltonās best runner and disposal accumulator.
Kyle Langford is Essendonās leading goalkicker this season. Picture: Michael Klein
THE BOMBER BOLTER AND THE BLUES SLIDER
Who would have thought Essendonās leading goalkicker midway through this season would be Kyle Langford?
Coming into this season, Langfordās best return in a season had been 15 goals in 2019.
Heās already booted 24.11 from 12 games this year and isnāt getting enough credit for it.
Considering Peter Wright has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, itās been an incredible return from a hybrid forward who is only 192cm and has previously spent a lot of his time on a wing.
Langford has taken 33 inside-50 marks this season and 11 contested marks, to go with an average of 15.2 disposals a game.
Heās got a midfielderās mind and gets to good spots to be dangerous.
His judgment is underestimated.
This is why Iāve got Langford top-10 in my 1-44 rankings of players who are set to feature in Sundayās clash between Carlton and Essendon.
The rankings are based on how I have viewed each playerās overall performance this year.
I had a lot of players ahead of Carlton forward Harry McKay, who came in at No. 27.
Thereās no point sugar-coating his season, which has been marred by poor goalkicking.
Heās on a monster contract and is paid to kick goals, but until he overcomes the mental challenges he is facing around his goalkicking and brings more consistency of effort he wonāt turn that ranking around.
Accuracy of 35.4 per cent in front of the big sticks is nowhere near good enough.
Thereās no doubt that Charlie Curnow (38 goals) and Zach Merrett (averaging 29.4 disposals) have been standouts for their respective sides this season.
But Jake Stringer also deserves some plaudits for the Bombers.
After a limited pre-season, he has got himself match fit and is reaping the rewards.
His impact on games has been a big part of Essendonās rise up the ladder.
Sam Walshās rating at No. 13 might surprise a few, given he is averaging 29 disposals.
You canāt question the effort Walsh brings each week, but in my eyes he still needs to improve his decision making and ball use.
Carlton is desperate for a creative midfielder than hurts the opposition with precise disposal.
Until Walsh gets better in those areas, he wonāt separate games the way other great players do.
The other thing that separates teams is their bottom-six players and Essendonās bottom-six is performing a lot better than Carltonās at this point in time.
Thatās another reason as to why one side is in the top-eight and the other is not.
Carltonās bottom-six has not been as good as Essendonās this year. Picture: Michael Klein
MICK McGUANEāS 1-44 RANKINGS ON 2023 PERFORMANCES
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Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
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Zach Merrett (Essendon)
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Jake Stringer (Essendon)
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Nic Martin (Essendon)
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Adam Saad (Carlton)
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Adam Cerra (Carlton)
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Jordan Ridley (Essendon)
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Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
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Kyle Langford (Essendon)
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Mason Redman (Essendon)
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Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
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Matt Guelfi (Essendon)
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Sam Walsh (Carlton)
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Sam Draper (Essendon)
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Sam Docherty (Carlton)
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Andrew McGrath (Essendon)
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Jye Caldwell (Essendon)
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Archie Perkins (Essendon)
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Sam Durham (Essendon)
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Lewis Young (Carlton)
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Jayden Laverde (Essendon)
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Tom De Koning (Carlton)
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Will Snelling (Essendon)
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Blake Acres (Carlton)
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Matthew Kennedy (Carlton)
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Ben Hobbs (Essendon)
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Harry McKay (Carlton)
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Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (Essendon)
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Jake Kelly (Essendon)
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Jack Silvagni (Carlton)
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Brodie Kemp (Carlton)
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Mitch McGovern (Carlton)
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Nick Hind (Essendon)
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Dyson Heppell (Essendon)
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Jesse Motlop (Carlton)
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Jye Menzie (Essendon)
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Sam Weideman (Essendon)
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Matt Cottrell (Carlton)
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Alex Cincotta (Carlton)
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Andrew Phillips (Essendon)
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Matt Owies (Carlton)
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Zac Fisher (Carlton)
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Jordan Boyd (Carlton)
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Lachie OāBrien (Carlton)
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Some truly bizarre player rankings there.
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Agree. A few of those names came out of a hat.