Looks like the rain will clear from mid-morning until Saturday night… so, given the capacity of the MCG to drain, may not be a wet-weather game…?
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If it rains it will wash away our finals chances… We need to win and big.
That’s a bit harsh, that’s just his face.
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And this approach has landed us 10th on the ladder after an easy fixture with one of the oldest sides being fielded each week and losing winnable games.
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Yeah but they are learning to coach themselves so everything will turn out great…
End sarcasm
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Sheeds has taken a lovely dig at Carlton. Don’t think their supporters are very happy…personally, I love it! 
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That’s exactly as I remember it, sitting there in the pouring rain with a rigour mortis grin.
And that’s the most frustrating thing. I could handle Howlett playing if it wasn’t a season long epidemic, but playing these older types hasn’t gotten us anything that playing the kids could have. I understand the need to protect kids but fck it feels like we straight out refuse to let these failed hacks gone. If anything good comes from the season it’s that I hope we finally learn after the year is done that Howlett etc have done their dash. But knowing Essington we’ll probably sign him for another two years.
I feel now is the time to be pumping games into Begley/Mutch/Langford, all kids with potential, and instead it’s a wasted year in their development.
Until we stop losing to ■■■■■ teams, pessimists can lay claim to Realism.
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I was there too, sitting with the Mrs in the rain, she looked miserable and I was too soon after I knew Essington was trotting out a classic performance.
The issue is that everyone pregame saw Essington coming, everyone knew pre game it was going to pour down, everyone knew that we shouldn’t go handball happy or knew everything Carlton was going to do. And yet we played stupid football despite the fact we knew all this, we just let them have their way with is despite everyone knowing it was going to rain.
I saw grown men like Luenberger drop chest marks, completely miss unpressured kicks, idiots try and bomb all game to their loose man, and at no stage did our team change things. We might be a good team when we’re up but we’re a stupud football team and we leak goals easily.
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I think “all that extra development” last year has been offset by this year and we’re not actually a year ahead on the younger ones that we could’ve been.
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Yep. Imagine if we’d been pumping kids into any of: Mutch, Begley, Langford, Redman, Long etc. If even just a few of them were regulars we’d be in a great position. Instead we’ve rotated Howlett, Hocking, Stanton etc in their spots in the hope one of them one day might be good footballers, at nearly/over 30.
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While I was (it turns out for good reason) a nervous wreck before the Rd 3 Carlton game, I am feeling relatively relaxed about this one. And that’s not because I think we are any certainties to win - we are not - particularly if it’s wet.
But if we lose to a poor and undermanned Carlton team, with their cue firmly in the rack, while we still have everything to play for, then we do not deserve even to be in the discussion for finals, and we may as well be put out of our misery now.
That all said, I reserve all rights to chuck a tantrum in the match day thread if we lose.
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The club would be suspended if they did that.
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Long sleeves time.
I think he looks groggy normally. Hard to fail the concussion test when there’s no discernible difference between your concussed and normal states.
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We selected Laverde a couple of weeks back from injury and with outstanding vfl form, look how that went! Was clearly not ready yet lets do the same with ambrose, the guys barely played all year! Very hard to see him having the required match fitness and touch so soon
We rested 2 half backs, Ambrose covers 1 so we think Howlett is our next best option at HBF? Selection team Must be on the gear
The only one that makes sense is Green
Then you have Myers and Colyer retaining their place in the side somehow
I don’t get the direction we’re trying to go in at all
2 of the 3 changes make us slower and less creative! Which as far as i could tell was our game plan
I hear what you say, but clearly the club has started with the following mission statement
" During 2017 pick a team to make the finals in Season 2017"
rather than
“During 2017 pick the team to make finals in 2019”
The “play the kids” advocates are very reactive. As soon as we lose a game, change advocates want a root and branch adjustment to the side. Well I dont see that happening until we are out of contention, or March 2018.
This has been the same with a succession of coaches. Its not like Woosha is much different in that respect to Hird or Thompson, with 2016 being an obvious anomaly,
Go Bombers and ■■■■ Carlton
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I think that’s a mischaracterisation. HAP started a list management play the kids thread in March, just after round 1 (which was a stirring win you may recall) in which, uh, “robust” discussion has been occurring all year come rain or shine.
It certainly bubbles out of the list management threads into the selection and review threads after losses, but I think most of the vocal change advocates have been consistent in their opinions. As have most of the best available advocates in their defense of staying the course. The number of people whose opinions change week to week is actually quite small.
■■■■ carlton
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