1 hour ago, No. 31 said:

2nd spot is still up for grabs if the Pies beat the Lions next week. Hopefully that is a bruising encounter for both.

Brisbane will roll the Pies

1 minute ago, BDA said:

Maradona definitely touched it.

 

I was looking more at someone who was there???

5 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

I take each week as I see it Macca. For whatever the reason, Carlton had the game on their terms in the first. I, like most think our backline did an outstanding job in that quarter, not many teams could’ve held up like that. Just giving them credit, that’s all.
At one stage they flashed the inside 50 count up on the scoreboard in the second, Blues had almost 30 more, in the end it was 53-48 their way. 
I said earlier in the thread we had the momentum heading into the last change and the first 5 mins of the last is what lost us the game unfortunately.
 

What could have happened in the first quarter is that we seize the initiative and dominate out of the middle or off half-back

Put them under pressure instead of being under pressure ourselves.  Again, we defended admirably but why are we defending?

If we ever needed any more incentive that was it.

13 hours ago, Redleg said:

We lost because of one thing, garbage ball handling and disposal.

If we don’t bring in more ball skill we will suffer.

I reckon we were fumbling a lot of ball for most of the game and it cost us (brought on by the relentless pressure being put on us- must give credit where due)….it is something that we can address and fix.

Come finals the team that is most ‘on’ will win the big one.

 

12 hours ago, praha said:

I'll let them wear it. Haven't played finals in a decade. We were the same once. And I gave it to them last year. They deserved it. 

It was a good win by Carlton. We nearly got them with our 4th quarter surge (other than the first 8 minutes). Great pressure game.

I just question why people who "give it" to the loser, aren't finding enough joy in winning, and need some boost through provoking those with hurt.

 Is that a generational thing, or that they thrive on division?

I have never given it to anyone unless provoked, and really don't expect to be handed it.

8 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Brisbane will roll the Pies

100% they will allow players with niggles to rest up. 

3 minutes ago, Macca said:

What could have happened in the first quarter is that we seize the initiative and dominate out of the middle or off half-back

Put them under pressure instead of being under pressure ourselves.  Again, we defended admirably but why are we defending?

From where we were sitting all I can say is we couldn’t get the ball in our hands in the first and when we did Carlton setup well at halfback Macca.
We were rushed and gave the ball back cheaply. Is it a mental thing starting like that? 

I went with a Carlton supporting mate. He didn’t rub it in. And I had no issues with the Carlton fans around me. Might be a different story at work tomorrow. My office is infested with blue baggers. 

13 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

SWYL is very Angry 

That was a goal

i HATE everything about Carlton. There is no difference between them and Collingwood 

Never Forget that

Welcome back 

Seriously what is the point of having goal reviews when they continually come back not conclusive 

13 hours ago, layzie said:

Hate losing to Carlton. That was one winning streak I was very happy to continue.

What made it worse was that the Carlton supporters around me were all really good people, seriously. Had no trouble whatsoever shaking their hands after the game.  Problem was I knew I should be feeling worse than what I was at that time.

All okay now, the pain has now set in. 

10 minutes ago, BDA said:

And I had no issues with the Carlton fans around me.

I was the same, Carlton fans around me were enjoying the game. 

It was my walk home when they rubbed in their win. 

Why does a group take it out on a lone walker?

There was abuse towards our Demon Army after the siren.

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by kev martin

I was generally happy with our game but we lucked out. Carlton have been red hot for a while and brought out their A+ game and we matched them. Conditions did not suit us at all. Being switched off at start of games has to be addressed. Just makes it harder for us with our unsettled forward line to regain control. Hope we make a big statement early against the Hawks. Win next week and we can manage the last round depending on other results. If second spot looks unobtainable then fourth and a likely home final is ideal. 

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by John Crow Batty

39 minutes ago, Dwight Schrute said:

At the end of the day 9/10 times when Salem roles inside 50 with Space he nails the goal and we're singing a very different tune. we withstood an amazing amount, fought back, took control and just didn't quite nail our chances. great win by Carlton, but hardly a disaster for us

Agree Dwight but still a bit worried with Salem's kicking penetration at the moment. Doesn't seem to get any power in his kicks. Could be wrong. Carlton were very good and look out for them in finals if they bring that pressure and include McKay, Cerra, Walsh. McGovern and Silvagni. We had quite a few down so plenty of upside for us.

Pondering, are we good enough this year?

Some perspective on Losses:

9 points

27 points

4 points

7 points

15 points

2 points

4 points

 

Top 4 is the first goal to be reached, and this has effectively being achieved (3.5% chance of dropping out). Well done to the team and the FD.

We've had significant injuries in significant parts of the ground.

Now on to Season number 2 - we're well versed in it, and play our game in such a way...

Are we good enough? Yes, yes we are. ❤️💙

The question remains, do we have the right personnel at the right time in the right slots? Hmmmm

 

 

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by Engorged Onion

11 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

From where we were sitting all I can say is we couldn’t get the ball in our hands in the first and when we did Carlton setup well at halfback Macca.
We were rushed and gave the ball back cheaply. Is it a mental thing starting like that? 

May be ... we don't blow teams out of the water often enough, that's for sure (when we are capable of doing so)

We certainly finish well and we are fit, so that's not an issue

But allowing the first 3 goals of the last quarter last night was not something we see very often

What would be worse is if that was our best last night ... but we know we can be so much better

We beat the Hawks next week and then we'll know what is next required.  So it's in our hands (if 2nd spot is out of reach)

 

They are cowards Kev, i can't imagine what i would be feeling if that happened in a final.

Not a great game by us by any means but we had them on the ropes and back foot for 95 per cent of that last qtr.

Had our chances didn't capitalise on them don't let it get you down mate.

We'll sort them out in September.

 

Ultimately it's nice for Blues given Kozzie and co cost them a finals spot last year, not to mention a few years ago when Jordy killed off their chances by taking out Cripps.

So it was a bit of karma, but clearly that goal umpire should not ever be allowed to adjudicate a Blues game again - his dad probably wore No.25 on his back as a kid.

In our reviews, hopefully we take note of their Port-style feral attack on the ball that Voss has instilled - from word go they were hold, pushing, scragging - and even though we were way classier, we didn't win enough clean ball because of it and a night game after quite a bit of rain is greasy and tricky.

The reason why is that most likely our first three weeks of finals will be night games and unless we get lucky with a mild dry night, it's going to be similar scragging conditions.

Overall our lack of size - we are smallest in league aside from maybe Richmond - hurt us. Listen to commentary and you will hear it Chandler unable to stick tackle - he's a classy player and deserves his spot in dry nights because he's a finisher but he's just not suited to that sort of encounter.

Similarly Bowey's size in air down back can be exposed, and it's made more obvious because we already have Salem and McVee back there to cover smaller forwards. 

So basically we have to be better balanced with stronger, taller bodies - their used to be a concerns that sides were top heavy - we are a side that is 'small heavy' and there are consequences and we saw it against the Blues and if we are unlucky and have to play Port in Adelaide on a greasy night in the first week of finals, it will be a similar scenario.

Please note, Chandler's skill level means he is perfect as a sub for the finals because he only needs two or three touches to have an impact. And with Smith now in and showing his value in that he can play on ruckman (TDK) as well as smalls, it may mean that Bowey has to be used elsewhere or not at all.

1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

It happened right in front of us. So close that I could’ve reached out and touched it myself. It was NOT touched.

While we were packing up a security guy who’d been sitting on the boundary at a perfect angle making his an ideal vantage point, told us he really feels for us and that the decision was a travesty. And this guy’s a diehard Carlton fan. 

Counts for a lot I must say.

12 minutes ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

They are cowards Kev

Could be, but it didn't escalate to any kind of aggression. I took it in reasonable way, and tried to retort with some wit.

I just don't understand why winning isn't enough, and the division needs to be even more highlighted.

Aren't they happy enough with a win?

A derogatory comment was also made by a 9yr boy, out of the blue. Learning well from the grown ups, and no instruction as to how to be a "good winner".

Only felt unedged as I made my way into the dark areas of the night.

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by kev martin

I’ve woken up today feeling more confident than after any previous loss.

We played a team who could barely be any better and we had a less than spectacular night.

Our best is better, just can’t afford to give an opposition a start, especially at this time of year

1 minute ago, BW511 said:

I’ve woken up today feeling more confident than after any previous loss.

We played a team who could barely be any better and we had a less than spectacular night.

Our best is better, just can’t afford to give an opposition a start, especially at this time of year

I understand what people mean by this (their pressure almost literally can’t be higher than that).

But they have Walsh, Cerra, McGovern, Kennedy, McKay and McGovern out, some/all of whom will be back by finals. 

They probably can get better.

1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

It happened right in front of us. So close that I could’ve reached out and touched it myself. It was NOT touched.

While we were packing up a security guy who’d been sitting on the boundary at a perfect angle making his an ideal vantage point, told us he really feels for us and that the decision was a travesty. And this guy’s a diehard Carlton fan. 

I’ve watched it about 40 times. I can’t see it as touched. Marchbank was not protesting.  He didn’t touch it.  Simply the goal umpire GOT IT WRONG. Umps don’t have a say in the match. What rubbish.  We should have won.   It might cost us 2nd or 4th. 

12 hours ago, Min Xie said:

What a cracking game! The Tackles count was Carl 87 vs Melb 88. I have to say Carlton is a very, very good team now. In my view, they're better than Collinwood, Brisbane and Port Adelaide. I don't know about this year yet but they will be a strong force next year. They're well trained and very hungry. Tonight, they handled the slippery ball better than us, in the final 10 minutes, their composure was better than us. The Errors count was Carl 59 vs Melb 74, Efficiency was Carl 72 vs Melb 66. They got easy goals, like the two from centre bounce in the earlier 4th quarter, we didn't. In Rd 13 vs Collinwood, we kicked 8 goals totally, Fritsch kicked 3 of them. We kicked 8 goals tonight, what the beautiful shots were from ANB, Smith and Kozzie. I don't feel bad actually, looking forward to meet them again in final series.

Dees, you're good, you're capable to do better next time around, I believe in you.

Yes l believe in you to just miss top 4 and go out first week.  Hawthorn and sfydney Will beat us.  Carlton win next 2. Carltank to 4th.    The port Or GWS or Geelong loss will cost us in the end just one win from any of them and we wpuld be safe. Still angry te last night losing to a good ordinary side like Carlton