8 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

Positives:

Win.

Clearances were better.

Thommo allowed Lever to play his role and McKay was very good, even vs May he would have done well. 

May, McVee, Bowey, Trac, JVR, Rivs all excellent.

Langdon and hunter lots of overlap gut running. 

Smaller forward line lead to better forward pressure and at times we lowered the eyes, butchered a lot of it, but we tried. I’m against bringing in another tall.

 

Negatives

Gawn flopping in marking contests again. It’s embarrassing, stop it. 

Boweys injury prob means he misses next week. (I assume he was concussed)

“Skills” they were putrid and if similar next week we are looking at a 10goal loss.

 

observations

Smith I though was ok to poor, and while I’m not a fan of him at all and don’t understand the love he gets, I think he needs to stay in the side and adjust to the AFL game. I think we are much better with JVR, Fritta and ruckman as our talls. 
Thommor the same, not great but for balance we need the third tall defender and until Petty is back it should be thommo or Schache.

Soarrow showed some real bursts of speed which surprised me, didn’t realise he was that quick.

We haven’t lost by 10 goals in more than 2 years. You know very little about our game if you think that’s going to change in 1 week 

58 minutes ago, bandicoot said:

No one at the club has ever mentioned a loading regime so not sure why people think it actually occurs 

Except our very own Selwyn G confirmed it on the demonland podcast.

36 minutes ago, bandicoot said:

We haven’t lost by 10 goals in more than 2 years. You know very little about our game if you think that’s going to change in 1 week 

Since 2020 ended I think Freo has inflicted our biggest defeat, last season by 38 points. I think that’s right. 
Our average losing margin from 2021- current is around 15 pts. 

Beat the dumbest footy team I've seen in years by 3 goals. Will take it I suppose.

Reaffirmed why I haven't bothered to watch a blues game all year. 

Edited June 2, 20231 yr by John Demonic

Well... hmm.  Well..

Had a sleep and still.pondering exactly what it was i saw.

Positives... well..we won, though we really tried hard at times to let them off the hook with a win.

I had trepidations going in thatvthis might not be a happy night...  and whilst we did take the 4 points...allin all that was a dogs breakfast.     If i had to find one word......putrid. 

It hurt to watch it was that bad at times.

Strangely and teasingly both teams showed some ability at times. Carlton much more fluid and enterprising when they had the ball. Lucky they didn't have it enough.  . McKay... wtf.....what kind of bozo goes around the corner 45  out on a non acute  angle ( other than Joe Daniher lol )  Bizarre.....lucky he did...as a goal then.....and we might not be the happy chappies today.

Tommo did his job...  not brilliantly but pair thar with Lever and Mays game.... now think.about that.  

JVR ... a real keeper.   

Our new fwd Bailey  Yipper..   lamentable 

Someone woke Max up ... thanks.

It was a hard game to palate..   In the main.it was rubbish football.

Maybe our brand is NQR because thats how it looked.   Efforts were made...   but in general it didnt mesh properly.  

I feel like ive gone into the bakery, ordered a chunky pepper steak and mushroom pie and been served up a tepid 4n20 substitute.  

In both instances... i ll take it as im hungry.

Better be better next game..  That lot know all about Pies...and winning .

It wasnt a loss....... just

Defensively as a squad fantastic last night. Great forward half pressure and the May / Lever combo back to its best. Great to win the contested ball numbers as well. However, I genuinely do not know how we are the highest scoring team in the league. Our ball movement, overuse of handball and at times inexplicable width that we play with especially with deep entries forward. We have some serious talent in that forward line but I struggle to see how we are playing to the strengths of that talent. The leading patterns are terrible and again Bailey leading to the wrong side of the ground for a left footer. Stafford or someone at the club needs to sort it out because this narrative of we don’t know what our best forward line looks like and it is still a work in progress whilst trotting out the highest scoring team in the league stat is not good enough. There has been ample time to sort it out, it should be better because there are no apparent roles down there ( Kossi still trying to take mark of the year) and our leading patterns are poor with no work for each other. This forward line should be better functioning than it is and it is not. 

9 hours ago, binman said:

Yeah, coz they were so ruthless last week against the second worst team in the afl when they got smashed in the last quarter, giving up 6 goals.

And despite winning three more games prior to this match, they still had a lower percentage than us.

So ruthless.

Is this a bloody pies footy forum or a Demon's one?

FMD.

It’s ridiculous the way everyone (not just on DL but also the general footy world) is talking about collingwood atm. You would be forgiven for thinking they are a juggernaut coming off the last 3 flags….

7 hours ago, layzie said:

They're like a world class ship with a really bad rudder

All aboard the Teague ship?

Edited June 2, 20231 yr by The heart beats true

I thought Salem moved better than he has since that one day in September.

Looks like he’s got real confidence in his legs again, and found the tempo of the game. It’s so good to see. He is an absolute gun, and makes us much harder to play against.

34 minutes ago, PrestigeDee said:

It’s ridiculous the way everyone (not just on DL but also the general footy world) is talking about collingwood atm. You would be forgiven for thinking they are a juggernaut coming off the last 3 flags….

There is a balance though. Overlooking that they took their foot off the pedal last week, to suit a narrative, ain't it.

The eye test right now suggests they are playing better, will be favourites and will beat us on the balance of probability next week. Goody in his presser even said they were the team to beat.

Smash us? That's the other extreme end of the spectrum. 

Edited June 2, 20231 yr by John Demonic

10 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Is this the end of the Smith/Petty experiment

BBB MUST COME IN NEXT WEEK OR I WILL STAGE A ONE MAN RIOT AT CITY HALL

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I'll give Tommo credit. Came straight in playing several weeks in the VFL and did a good job imo.

Look he was probably beaten on the night but McKay is a gun forward who is incredibly hard to stop when it's laced out in front of him and has that long reach.

He was also stiffed for getting pinged for holding McKay. Nothing in it.

No coincidence that having the 3rd tall defender we see Jake Lever and Steven May replicate their 2021 form. 

Now leave it this way Simon.

Kicked 2 of his 3 out of his fundamental but could not hit the side of a barn from 20 out dead in front. THOMMO was Ok

10 hours ago, FarNorthernD said:

Before everyone goes Tomlinson there is nothing he can do when the ball comes in lace out. I thought he was ok ish

Tommo was well beaten by McKay, but he played a critical part in the return to form of our defensive unit.  I expect him to play against C’wood.

15 minutes ago, picket fence said:

BBB MUST COME IN NEXT WEEK OR I WILL STAGE A ONE MAN RIOT AT CITY HALL

Not sure Sally Capp has much sway at the club Picket, but knock yourself out.

10 hours ago, Hellaintabadplacetobe said:

Can't remember a more boring, mistake ridden game in a long time. Crowd was flat as a tack for 50k. 

3 more Brownlow votes for Trac. Other than that great signs from Judd and JVR, Salem slowly returning to form.

Take the win and forget this game ever happened.

8 wins in a row. I used to dream of 8 wins in a row against Carlton.

My key takeaways:

The only time we looked vulnerable was at centre clearance. 

Petracca just sublime.

Our pace and ability to explode away from stoppages was much better than Carlton. 

It looked like we pushed another number to the stoppage this week (usually Salem) at times. 

Obviously a scrappy game, but a great step forward in a lot of ways. We switched the play quite often and created some good opportunities. Defence looked really good, sad about bowey, our smaller types are really finding their groove. Fantastic to see Lever and May having a big influence.

Hunter is a gun. He may not be a pacy silkmeister, but he processes situations quicker than any other player and consistently turns what should be 50/50s to our advantage. Up there with highest footy iq in the afl. 

Trac has gone to another level of consistency. Best in the comp this year? Certainly very close. I'd usually have Clarry above him but wow, Trac is having a GREAT season. Hopefully spurs Claz to go super saiyen. All I want is a tied brownlow from them in a premiership year, just a simple wish. 

Feeling very positive this morning about our chances, we just need to keep building on our connection. Wish Petty hadn't got injured just as he was starting to hit his straps, had he of kept going from strength to strength we may have had another 2 wins in our pocket.

Extended break now, boys will probably get some time off and recalibrate before the big one. First time in a while we won't go in as favourites? If defence keeps continues to build we're a big chance! Go Dees

10 hours ago, Demon Jack said:

Surely a Rising Star nom for JVR tonight?

Judd might push him.

1 minute ago, Fat Tony said:

My key takeaways:

The only time we looked vulnerable was at centre clearance. 

Petracca just sublime.

Our pace and ability to explode away from stoppages was much better than Carlton. 

It looked like we pushed another number to the stoppage this week (usually Salem) at times. 

All of that is essentially true... but we'll need more savvy than get ball, kick ball.

Our game seemed bereft of any intellectual capacity as to how to effectively transit the fwd50.     Just bang it in...   in fact just kicking somewhere was often the choice of play. That or ignoring the field....as big as it is and running along the boundaries. 

We're experts in playing low % footy.

 

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I'll give Tommo credit. Came straight in playing several weeks in the VFL and did a good job imo.

Look he was probably beaten on the night but McKay is a gun forward who is incredibly hard to stop when it's laced out in front of him and has that long reach.

He was also stiffed for getting pinged for holding McKay. Nothing in it.

No coincidence that having the 3rd tall defender we see Jake Lever and Steven May replicate their 2021 form. 

Now leave it this way Simon.

He's not the best one on one player at the best of times, and McKay must be close to the best and from memory, all his marks were one out and the ball kicked to his advantag. 

So, I agree, he worked hard and really stuck to his task.

I really admire how he has gone about things since he did his knee. Must be hard going from best 22 lock to a fringe player. Never dropped his head. 

Best line of the year in the age website today:

“The contest was crying out for a bit of Curnow, but he was somewhere under a May blanket. At least he would have been warm there.”

1 minute ago, binman said:

He's not the best one on one player at the best of times, and McKay must be close to the best and from memory, all his marks were one out and the ball kicked to his advantag. 

So, I agree, he worked hard and really stuck to his task.

I really admire how he has gone about things since he did his knee. Must be hard going from best 22 lock to a fringe player. Never dropped his head. 

As i see it ...and it's in a Team context, I think he did the role asked...  to keep Harry honest ( as it were ) ...apply pressure,  thus releasing Lever and May to do what THEY do well.....and they did.

Tommo...didn't excel...   he complimented the backline. 

Had he snuffed out Harry many would be ringing his praises...  He did ok.

Better OK..   than not.

 

7 hours ago, A F said:

I'm sorry, but you have absolutely no feel for the modern game.

We won every stat. We won that comprehensively, just didn't nail our set shots, and yet were still never headed.

Yeah we played terribly.  Don't worry we still have a chance next year

Edited June 2, 20231 yr by Orion

I felt we played comfortably within ourselves all night and the margin probably should have been wider in the end. Really nice to see Salo play so well and Knuckle & Bowser were great too. Particularly considering the talk recently around our younger players starting to flag a little. We seemed to work a little harder to create overlap opportunities as well this week. 

Now watching the replay back and just finished the 1st Qtr. In the real world you couldn't see either Cripps or Vines getting cited for their "dangerous" tackles but in the parallel universe that the MRP work in who the heck knows. 

I actually liked the pre-game bit that Fox showed about Harry McKay talking on his podcast and the footage in the rooms with his parents. It's common to project our hate of a particular club on the individuals that run around in their guernseys but I'll find it hard to feel that way about him after watching that. 

 

10 hours ago, Orion said:

We played terribly.  We won because Carlton were more terrible than us

We didn’t play terribly, we actually disposed terribly including kicking for goal.

We actually now hold the league record of 40 for F50 interceptions.

We had 20 more inside F50’s.

We kept Blues to lowest score under Voss.

If we kicked straight we win by over 10 goals.

That is not terrible, but disposal was.