1 hour ago, JTR said:

https://www.carltonsc.com/index.php?topic=5505.0

"I think we can beat Melbourne, more on the law of averages, they are due for a loss and just fell in for a win vs the Swans IMO.
Brown and McDonald wont present the same problems as Bruce and Naughton plus Oliver is only half the player the Bont is and Cripps owes us a big one. Blues by 16 points, not because we are great but more because Melbourne are getting ahead of themselves, due for a loss and we can defend them better IMO"

What an enjoyable read. Brown and TMac could seriously rip their defence apart. They defended so well in the Final Quarter 

 

Edited May 13, 20213 yr by Sir Why You Little

3 minutes ago, Patches O’houlihan said:

I also think we've got a heap of room to improve as well which is a big positive, we're not doing well in the midfield, so if we get that right we'll improve quite a big

Totally agree with this. We haven't had one great game this season.

We've gotten by with hard two-way running and a fantastic structure but we haven't had a game where everything has clicked offensively for four quarters. 

It will be fun to watch when/if it happens.

43 minutes ago, 640MD said:

Couple of times they pointed out we had a poor game against the swans and were very lucky to win, 

I think that’s underestimating Sydney by a huge amount.   They played well,

It was a mighty tough slog

14 minutes ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

I don't know about this one. When all of their mids are in, they are very difficult to stop. 

They have issues behind the ball but that midfield is clearly the best/deepest in the comp and I'm nowhere near as confident as you that we're a better team. 

More balanced maybe, but midfield strength is fair indicator of overall success.

I genuinely hope you're analysis is more accurate than mine.

It wasn’t analysis, it was supporter bluster. I don’t mind buying in to the banter every now and again.

We should still have their measure, but of course we’re beatable and they’re good enough if they bring it. No point letting them read that though ?

I don't believe in the mindset "due for a loss". Do they really believe players go into a game thinking they won't try so hard today, because we are due for a loss anyway? Surely the opposite is true when the team is winning games. They will not want to lose and will fight to keep the winning streak going.

 

4 minutes ago, binman said:

Ta. I rarely listen to sen live. Just King, leppa ans sometimes Jennings on catch up

But was driving. I caught the second half of that, so must have in tbe first half. Will listen to the rest.

Jeez they have a lot of ads live. cant stand it

It is unbelievable. Gerard Whately jumped from the ABC to SEN. He would literally be on air for 1/20th of the time for the same sized segment.

14 minutes ago, binman said:

They're good enough.

And I think they will if we dont bring our benchmark level of  pressure 

We are absolutely the better team . In saying that ...if any team is a couple of % off for whatever reason you could lose. We have seen this with most of the top 4 sides this season. Every game we play we are now hunted ... Sydney with a great coach in Longmire tagged Fritsch & Lever ...played their dour flooding ..stop the scoring game & we still managed to find a way to win  Great learnings for our players & can only help them as the season  goes on. Agree that there is a huge upside for our team which is so exciting!! 

 

 

I see this as a bit of a danger game, don’t get me wrong I’m still confident but they do have some very good players in their line up that on their day can tear you apart. 

I feel like we have become the “nothing to lose” team to play against, so teams are coming out hard from the start and trying to keep the contest tight. What I noticed though is that when teams open it up to try to kick a winning score against us that’s where our leg speed and transitions come out and we can score quickly. 

I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that the Blues have allowed 4-5 goal runs against their opponents in every game this year. If we are given an opportunity at a run like that we can break the game open VERY QUICKLY. 

I can’t imagine any blues fan being confident, but it seems the competition is still waiting for the “Melbourne of Old” to come out. 

I kind of agree that we're due for a loss.  We've been creeping towards a loss that last two games and Carlton are our bogey side. Plus they've been under pressure this week.

4 minutes ago, one_demon said:

I kind of agree that we're due for a loss.  We've been creeping towards a loss that last two games and Carlton are our bogey side. Plus they've been under pressure this week.

They've been under the pump for the last month. Nothing to fear.

Just now, Win4theAges said:

They've been under the pump for the last month. Nothing to fear.

We're going to lose

2 minutes ago, one_demon said:

We're going to lose

The last 2 games against Carlton in 2019 and 2020 we won under a goal. I think this game will be close as well. 

I feel a 2004 style win coming

F$&@ Carltank 

 

The difference between Melbourne and Carlton is about the same as the distance from here to Cairns.

(Cranking out a mighty metaphor there, and not entirely flippantly)

48 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

We are absolutely the better team . In saying that ...if any team is a couple of % off for whatever reason you could lose. We have seen this with most of the top 4 sides this season. Every game we play we are now hunted ... Sydney with a great coach in Longmire tagged Fritsch & Lever ...played their dour flooding ..stop the scoring game & we still managed to find a way to win  Great learnings for our players & can only help them as the season  goes on. Agree that there is a huge upside for our team which is so exciting!! 

 

 

That was as tight a match defensively and in a pressure sense in general as i've witnessed this season by a very well drilled, well coached, confident team with 5 solid wins under their belt with a pretty decent mid field.

The Blues are in some ways the antithesis of this, aside from their capability of hitting their tall targets inside 50 (Namely McKay) if given enough time and space to execute.  Much of that delivery from the in form Walsh.  Both of those will be well covered (my best amature guess) with May to McKay and Harmes to Walsh.

They won't be given the time or space to execute on Sunday for the bulk of this match.  We don't do shoot outs a la the Dogs.

Their defence is simply not as well organised or disciplined as the Swans.

Subject to the weather not being atrocious, expecting a solid Demon win by a fair margin with a reasonably close.game up to half time.

If it's a big ordinary night then they might get within 5 goals or so.

Over on the Reddit AFL forum, Carlton fans are fuming at the news today that Patrick Cripps has been playing up to his neck in painkillers due to a fractured back which he’s been nursing throughout the entire season. Not sure how a story like this going public actually affects the club’s decisions, but is it possible they will succumb to the scorn of their fans, many of whom are wondering why the club is risking serious long term injury to its biggest star, in a year where such a risk just isn’t worth it. 

Haven't been more confident going into a match this year, and I'm the guy who started the "Do you trust Melbourne?" thread.

I will eat my hat if we lose this match.

1 hour ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

Totally agree with this. We haven't had one great game this season.

We've gotten by with hard two-way running and a fantastic structure but we haven't had a game where everything has clicked offensively for four quarters. 

It will be fun to watch when/if it happens.

I agree with the sentiment and as much as I'd like to see us absolutely pump someone, I really apreciate that one of the key things the team have worked out this year is that consistentcy is better than brilliance and that getting the 4 points is better than winning by 100.

Even if/when we eventually drop a game here or there, I'm not that bothered, so long as we don't loose multiple on the trot.

Edited May 13, 20213 yr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

1 hour ago, one_demon said:

I kind of agree that we're due for a loss.  We've been creeping towards a loss that last two games and Carlton are our bogey side. Plus they've been under pressure this week.

Why do you think Carlton are our bogey side? We've beaten them the last 5 times we've played them.

2 hours ago, Better days ahead said:

Big shout out to Mantis. It appears he/she has actually watched us play unlike most of the numpties posting in that thread -

“They zone as well as any side does, covering the opposition moves forward or on a rebound. They leave minimal opportunities to have players float forward free in space. They tackle with intensity. They apply pressure with numbers. They make every opportunity for their opponents become a contested possession. Due to the fact that they have a huge work rate. Not lazy. Not left second guessing. The only weak link in their armour is the clearance figures. Which at the moment doesn’t hurt them. They find a way to put on the press and create a turnover and get the ball on their terms eventually. If we played like they do. If we were 8 wins from 8 games. We would be bragging about being flag favourites. Fact is that we are so far behind them, that we are not even in the same league as they are. It will take a miracle for us to even show a competitive contest against the Dees. Which won’t last long enough if it does happen. The end result will be ugly on the scoreboard.

We lack awareness under pressure. We lose our direct opponent too often when the heat is on. We zone space very poorly. We don’t stay accountable for what out opponent is doing or where he is running. We don’t run hard both ways. We don’t stand on the mark in a free kick. We float away and let them play on which allows them to gain ground and put pressure on our players up the ground. We finger point and blame others for our own mistakes. We do spoil and the one percentage plays, but not often enough. Not for 4 quarters.

The Dees coach summed up their last game. They lack some polish with clearance work. However, if they have the grit and determination to win every contest, they will eventually create a turnover and play the next passage on their terms.  They are confident they can and will win every game, and thus play accordingly. In my eyes they only have one lazy player. One that I have seen so far. What a problem they have at the moment. Can we swap players lists, coaches, board etc? lol. Good luck to us. We could win this one by 100 points. Haha haha.”

Just about any other season, this could be something written on Demonland about us.

21 minutes ago, Mel Bourne said:

Over on the Reddit AFL forum, Carlton fans are fuming at the news today that Patrick Cripps has been playing up to his neck in painkillers due to a fractured back which he’s been nursing throughout the entire season. Not sure how a story like this going public actually affects the club’s decisions, but is it possible they will succumb to the scorn of their fans, many of whom are wondering why the club is risking serious long term injury to its biggest star, in a year where such a risk just isn’t worth it. 

Yes i heard that today on the radio today, Cripps badly injured back. You would think this might be his last game then if they are gonna put the que in the rack after it possibly. Not sure how you play AFL footy with a broken back?

I think Silvargni had concussion didnt he from last week, so wont play.

1 minute ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Yes i heard that today on the radio today, Cripps badly injured back. You would think this might be his last game then if they are gonna put the que in the rack after it possibly. Not sure how you play AFL footy with a broken back?

I think Silvargni had concussion didnt he from last week, so wont play.

I read an article where they recon his back is broken, but it's not that bad a thing and he can't do much more damage to it?!  I can't figure that one out personally, but then I'm no doctor.  Also sounds similar to when we played Jonesy for most of a season with a stuffed neck.  Not sure that did him or us that much good over the journey.

So has that old chestnut of "Melbourne still haven't beaten anyone good yet" come up much in Lygon St?  (I recon Royal parade isn't quite accurate.  Just about every second Carlton supporter is of Italian or Greek decient).

46 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

So has that old chestnut of "Melbourne still haven't beaten anyone good yet" come up much in Lygon St?  (I recon Royal parade isn't quite accurate.  Just about every second Carlton supporter is of Italian or Greek decient).

Well we’ve only beaten teams below us ?. 

6 hours ago, spalding said:

Agreed.

I heard Craig Jennings on SEN talking about how you stop Melbourne - start with Gawn, tag Pickett, man up defensively on lever and try and limit Petracca from the stoppage. Swans got 4 out of 4 of those and still lost! 

Certainly Longmire did his homework and his players execution as always was spot on.

But we had chances to distance ourselves and didn't take them.

Partly  our  fault as we had Lever minding Sinclair and not floating as normal.

If Tomlinson had played I reckon he would have been on the resting tucks snd not Lever.

We must go back to Lever being an intercept Option or play Petty in that role msybe.

Kossie  just Missed the ball and slipped around a lot and did not impact the game.

Rampe played Fritta well but Tmac and BBB did their job as the talls 
 

Our forward line should all contribute this week and defence keep The Blues to 10/12 goals.