Loved the work of Parish in close today. That boy has quick hands. Unbelievable in very heavy traffic. Some of his handballs and forward taps from the pack were lightening and rarely missed a target. It will be interesting to see how he copes with more pressure from a better team, but boy, he was good today.
Don't forget that only 4 top up players played today and whilst they made useful contributions they were not the standouts - the afl website report clearly thinks they were the difference if you want to read their rubbish !
That was one of the more pleasing aspects for me… that this wasn’t a team of top ups… but rather our ‘originally listed’ players that made the most difference.
I don’t want to suggest that Crowley, Grimley, Simpkin and Michael had no impact, far from it… but it was the likes of Goddard, Zerrett, Gleeson, Edwards, Zaka and Brown that really stood out. That bodes well for the future imho.
I barely noticed Simpkin or Bird. Didn’t think they touched the ball at all.
Bird is the type of player you will never notice at a game - then stats afterwards show 5 kicks, 9 handballs, 9 tackles. Simpkin had a good first quarter then faded. But they are hardly guns, I think the best we can hope for from those 2 is they break even with their opponents.
Don't forget that only 4 top up players played today and whilst they made useful contributions they were not the standouts - the afl website report clearly thinks they were the difference if you want to read their rubbish !That was one of the more pleasing aspects for me… that this wasn’t a team of top ups… but rather our ‘originally listed’ players that made the most difference.
I don’t want to suggest that Crowley, Grimley, Simpkin and Michael had no impact, far from it… but it was the likes of Goddard, Zerrett, Gleeson, Edwards, Zaka and Brown that really stood out. That bodes well for the future imho.
The communication and research specialists probably think Bird and Brown are top-ups as well.
Anyone who thinks AFL matches should be played at Princes Park has lost the plot. It’s a nice thought, but it was ■■■■■■ difficult there today. If there was an emergency in that stand where the benches were everyone would be stuffed.
Our forward line still sucks.
Is it just me that sees a lot of Wanganeen type of movement and attack on the ball in the way Gleeson plays?My boy.
Great to see the no 8 on his back, class.
Attended what turned out be an enjoyable afternoon with Carlton supporting brother-in-law and his 3 kids and my sole, Essendon supporting daughter (other two have been corrupted by their mother). VanDerHaar joined us in the Legends stand, behind the goals.
Best part of the day wasn’t the win - as satisfying as it was - it seeing Fletch come through the turnstiles before the game and having VanDerHaar texting me after the game telling me he saw Stanton leave the ground. For some reason, that filled me with joy.
On the game.
Let’s not get carried away, that is the worst Carlton team to take the field in any game in many decades; made worse by the few experienced players they did play (Rowe, Simpson, Jamieson having very ordinary games. If the Blues miss any of their starting midfield during the season proper (Kreuzer, Gibbs, Murphy, Gibbs) and they play a Top 4 team in the mood, then expect to see AFL records broken.
But, you can only beat what’s before you on the day and we did that despite dropping countless easy marks (Daniher dropped at least 6), missing easy goals (Grimley missed sitters all day) and taking most of the first quarter to click into gear.
But our Q1 was excellent defensively as the Blues were kicking to the Legends stand with the aid of a 2-3 goal breeze. In fact, the Blues would fail to score a goal when kicking to the other end of the ground.
Best parts of the day:
- Daniher kicking beautifully at goal, did not look like missing; very assured in his kicking method
- Grimley high marking
- Edwards in everything; didn’t always use it well or make the right decision but he really hunted the ball and wanted it.
- Parish is a gem; just knows how to find the ball and uses it well. Isn’t the quickest, or has the biggest tank or the strongest…just has an absolutely elite football brain and excellent skills. We have been crying out for a midfielder like this for years. He combined superbly with Zac Merrett multiple times and that’s a partnership I hope to see in red & black for the next decade. It may possibly deliver us a premiership
- Mitch Brown & Hartley dominated CHB & FB. Liam Jones & Casboult were thrashed.
- Sam Michael playing like a man possessed and barging through Carlton players, British Bulldog style. Note that, all over the ground, we looked much bigger and stronger than our opponents in nearly every 1:1 match up.
- The leadership of both Goddard & Zaka throughout. Both playing different roles that took them out of their comfort zone. Goddard as a forward-of-centre wingman kicking 3 goals and Zaka as a traditional, inside ruck-rover, fighting hard for the contested ball and winning it at will. He may well have had more contested possessions than any player on the ground today.
- Our intensity was good, our tackling excellent. We came to play.Made up for our skill level either going into F50 or when kicking for goal (Grimley the chief offender)
- Best of all? Our game style. We seemed to execute a number of good set plays from different types of stoppages through the game. We spread superbly (my brother-in-law particularly impressed with this aspect) and always had someone out wide by themselves to release to. When the Blues tried to switch we worked hard to cover the fat side of the ground and did it very well. The Blues seemed bereft of any system in their play at all. We tried to bring the ball back in the corridor whenever we could, despite their often being an easier option out wide (cost us a goal in Q3 when Zaka made a rare blemish going back inboard with a short pass that got chopped off when he had Simpkin on his own out wide). All that hard work on game plan at training has paid off.
Whilst we only beat a non-standard AFL team today we will take a huge amount of confidence out of the game given by the way we played & the ease with which we won. The players will lock in further into the coaching style as a result and will believe even more.
We had no serious injuries (Ashby ankle late) but have only 6 days until our next game - I believe the only team this has happened to in a practice match series. We then have 8 days (I think) until our last game against WCE at Subi. I’d expect the midfield contingent - Goddard, Zaka, etc. to get rested next week with Cooney & Laverde to come in. You’d probably rest Sam Michael, who did the bulk of the ruck work, and bring in Jamar. Perhaps Gach for McKernan. i’d expect Baguley to come in, along with Kelly & Stokes. I’d then expect us to take our most likely Round 1 team to Subiaco.
Finally, I hope that Fletch and Stanton, as well as the other 11 suspended players, got joy out of today like all us fans & members. I hope they feel there are signs there is going to be a really strong club to walk back into in September when they’re allowed to return to training.
Would love to know what Conor said to the bloke in the pocket there while they were scuffling. It was a pretty high tackle, but that Carlton bloke had no idea he was swinging punches at an ex Gaelic Irishman.
And can someone GIF the bit of play in the first where three Carlton blokes were on their own and one meandered after the ball just to lose it over the boundary? Was reminiscent of Pig and Murphy in 2014.
So who do we rotate through into the team next week?
Injured and/or not fully re-habbed and therefore not able to play off the top of my head would be: Leuenberger, Eades, Wallis, Gach, Morgan, Ambrose. Anyone else?
So Baguley, Laverde, Cooney, Francis, Redman, Stokes, Kelly, Polkinghorne, Jamar and who else? can filter through the team next match to get some game time.
Anyone who thinks AFL matches should be played at Princes Park has lost the plot. It's a nice thought, but it was ■■■■■■ difficult there today. If there was an emergency in that stand where the benches were everyone would be stuffed.
Harden up!
I’I’d try and get Looney to play the third and fourth game if he’s ready. Ditto Kelly and Stokes.
Bags, Laverde, Cooney and Polks should come in for the next game.
Sat in the Legends stand, out of the sun. That stand goes back and back and back but doesn’t go up, so you find yourself miles away from the action but not much above ground level. You were meant to pay for seats but we snuck in.
Ground announcer extremely annoying. Banging on about how they were going to “smash Essendon”. WTF? It felt like a real Scum home game to. We were well outnumbered.
First quarter scrappy. Liked Razz and Gleeson though - I don’t think there’s been enough love for them in the reviews so far. Sam Michael bashed his way into the game, JoeDan nearly took a coupla screamers, Crowley looked really accomplished. But not much of a quarter footy-wise.
Second quarter we found or mojo. Zaka took over, Edwardes, Langford, BJ all starred, Parish started to own the ball in stoppages. I watched The Langford and Parish snap the ball back and forward between them in a tight situation and thought we might be on to something amazing here.
And on we went from there. Umps helped our cause but basically we couldn’t do much wrong. Walla showed plenty of class, Smack was awesome, Sam Michael’s a keeper, Brown looked really good. I wasn’t overly impressed with Simpkin or Bird, but they were passable. What I loved was that it was essentially the kids that dominated the game.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this game. The club desperately needed good news and a 10 goal win over the scum was just the ticket. This has given us hope. I’m not unrealistic about things, but it looks like we can be competitive, and under the circumstances that’s really something.
Players to come in: Bags, Cooney, Jamar, Grima, Leuie, Eades, Francis, Morgan, Redman, Kelly, Stokes - who else needs a run? Lots to look forward to.
So who do we rotate through into the team next week?Injured and/or not fully re-habbed and therefore not able to play off the top of my head would be: Leuenberger, Eades, Wallis, Gach, Morgan, Ambrose. Anyone else?
So Baguley, Laverde, Cooney, Francis, Redman, Stokes, Kelly, Polkinghorne, Jamar and who else? can filter through the team next match to get some game time.
Eades pulled a hammy might be another week or two out.
Were there hot chips sold at this particular venue?
Would love to know what Conor said to the bloke in the pocket there while they were scuffling. It was a pretty high tackle, but that Carlton bloke had no idea he was swinging punches at an ex Gaelic Irishman.And can someone GIF the bit of play in the first where three Carlton blokes were on their own and one meandered after the ball just to lose it over the boundary? Was reminiscent of Pig and Murphy in 2014.
So would the bloke.
Thought jackson merrett was pretty good
Thought jackson merrett was pretty goodHmmmm.. I kind of felt like it was a typical Jerrett game.. did lots of things well but then had some really big howlers.. missed kick on goal.. over ran the ball, missed short handball come to mind.
Certainly not a bad game by any stretch but I find it frustrating to watch because I think there is a very good footballer in there but for some reason just can’t get it all together.
Peaking to early? Need something in the tank for September!
The surrounding streets were still gridlocked (as in NOTHING moving) 45 minutes after the final siren.But it's such a great ground! ;)