demoniac

If foot was sore pushing off would be more difficult. Hard to run fast with a sore foot.

If his foot is right can't see why he won't get back to his pre injury speed? If he gets his foot right there is no reason why he won't fulfill his potental.Good footy smarts, strong overhead, nice kick, coachable and determined. Everything is crossed here.

Not getting too carried away. We only beat Geelong. They really need to look at their recent recruiting. Watched the last quarter from behind the couch. Brayshaw looms as our best mid since Flower.

If my memory is correct Wayne Johnson would have been a Dee if Jezza had not been appointed Carlton coach. Pretty sure Johnson was playing at Prahran but was tied to Carlton. Jezza put a freeze on clearances and the rest is history.

Did he go to the team offering the biggest contract or the team who could offer the best trade to the Eagles? Most suspect the Blues deal was sealed before his 4 club roadshow. Certainly with the added Visy dollars none of the other clubs were in the ballpark dollars wise. So he retires a wealthier man than if he'd gone to the Hawks or the Pies but that has come at the cost of winning more flags. In his prime he was brilliant to watch. Could win the ball inside and turbo out of a pack and keep on running. Even last year he could still turn a quarter for the Blues despite his body failing him.

I'd love this game to be played as a curtain raiser on QB.

Classic..cept it never happened.

M Jones is in the team because of his running capacity much like Bail. I like Riley as a contested ball winner but we can't play him as an outside running player. He just does not have the endurance.

Go back and take a look at the list he inherited. Was the OP expecting miracles?

He is playing in the midfield because we don't have enough players who can run from goalsquare to goalsquare.

If we can generate AFL level inside 50s to a forward line with Hogan, Garlett, Kennedy - Harris etc then Howe will be a key player. Not many back flankers will enjoy defending him. Hope Good Col stays and that he enjoys some team success with us.

According to the Hun Daisy has an option in his favour for a 5th year. Carlton fans must've choked on their Weaties this morning. Its a long way back for the Blues. Its "Old Carlton" I fear for. Carlton is the only team he knows!

Henderson is a good Centre Half Back and an average Centre Half Forward.

I agree that he wanted to be sacked and payed out in full. That was fairly obvious to all but the Carlton Board up until Tuesday at around 8am. He behaved much like he did in his final year at Collingwood. The 'I' in Michael is well placed. The club has not extended my contract so the assistant coaches are worried about their futures and my wife is upset. The players are upset because the club has announced the need for a rebuild etc His coaching record at Carlton is one of abject failure. Has any other newly appointed Coach delayed starting the job to go on a book tour? Daisy Thomas coming off a serious ankle injury on a 4 year deal at around $700,000 a year? Liam "The Explosive Animal' Jones on a 3 year deal on around $250,000 a year. Simply put his ego and hurt saw him susceptible to the Blues batting their eyelids and saying he was the coach they needed to take their list to a flag. The reality was their list needed a complete rebuild when he took over and as one of the most experienced coaches in the history of the game that should have been clear to him. It was not and the Blues are now in a world of hurt. Sure there are many others at fault at Carlton - The President, Board, Recruiters etc - but Mick's role canniot be understated.

Carlton need to change their constitution to prevent anyone called Mathieson or Pratt and anyone related to them by blood or marriage being ineligible for election. The perception of the average Carlton fan is that the Pratts and Mathiesons effectively control the club. It is possible that any moneys they donate to the club are more than matched by the hit to revenues from supporters not engaging with the club through memberships, match attendances, merchandise and functions because they feel alienated by their club effectively being in the control of 2 billionaire families. The Australia Post and PWC CEOs must wonder why they joined such a dysfunctional board. They should sack the rest and start again with these 2. Still the appointment of Silvagni is a positive. He has seen life outside the poisonous Carlton culture and should have an imprimature to build for the long term. But we know how long a rebuild can take when you've hit rock bottom and have a mediocre list. When you look at their list there is not much beyond Cripps, Docherty, Yarran, Menzel, Bell and maybe Jacksh to build on. Silvagni is already limited in his trade options if Murphy and Gibbs can't be traded. Leaves Henderson really is their only way to unlock a first rounder which he could do as a Centre Half Back. Yarran could also be traded given he is a free agent end of 2016 but he'd have to agree and a suitor would have to really want him a year early to pony up a first rounder.

No.

Hodge and Lewis represent a significant portion of the 2015 Hawks niggling talent and a significant portion of their inside ball getting ability.

Without Hodge and Lewis Hawks only really have Mitchell and Burgoyne as inside contested ball winners but neither are as physical as Hodge and Lewis. They play without a key forward given Roughead is really a power utility. If you can break down their ball movement the quality of their kicks inside 50 falls. Instead of spotting up Roughead, Gunston, Breust, Rioli with precision they have to bomb it in but they don't have a forward capable of taking a contested pack mark.

Finish school and wait 2 or 3 years to be drafted playing for peanuts in the VFL or leave school and take a basketball scholarship in the USA?

Saw the second half of final Casey praccy match and I was impressed by Stretch. Natural footy smarts.

Extract from Trigg's email update to members: My highlight is.."Established a physical 'hub' within the Club that is to be a centre of list management excellence." Reminds me of 'Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too'! By way of an update for members we have: - Secured an experienced GM of List Management and Strategy – Stephen Silvagni. - Commenced the build of a list management database (the platform for which comes from the Boston Redsox) and an accompanying 'analytics program'. This program will allow us to store better information, benchmark and value players (our own and others), link it all to vision, and generally help us to make better and more informed decisions. - Established a physical 'hub' within the Club that is to be a centre of list management excellence. Within that, Stephen will lead and work with the recruiting team, our opposition scout (Barry Prendergast) and our coaches. Their focus is on building sustainability for the future and building a premiership-winning list. - Bolstered our relationship with the Northern Blues whereby they will play some curtain raisers to our AFL games. We are integrating Plans and Values, and we will have a CFC Director (Greg Lee) on the Northern Blues Board. I want to emphasise to all members just how important all of this work has become. It's critical work simply because we don't have enough depth or depth of experience. We have some bright young prospects, but we need more. We've often heard the call (from members) for 'no quick fixes', and we are very much aligned with that in our (List) Plans. We need to build for the future , and have an element of patience along the way. We have to draft superbly, access free agents/trades to supplement our growth, and develop (and coach) as effectively as we can over the coming years. I believe we communicated that over the off-season. But after just a couple of rounds, let's be very clear about it... - We have a significant list 're-build' in front of us. - That re-build is going to take time. - All of the many changes we've made over the off-season and our greater investment into list management is aimed at just that – building our list – and building success. No quick fixes, no white knights.

As a Melbourne fan in his mid 40s with more than a few Carlton supporting friends the Blues descent into mediocrity has been quite enjoyable. If I ever bump into S Kernahan I'd surely buy him a beer to thank him for his 20 years of mediocre service on the Carlton Board.. Reminded one recently that when we met in year 7 in 1983 it was 19 years since the Dees last flag and but a year since the Blues had finished snaffling 3 out of the last 4 flags..and now its 20 years since the Blues last flag. Murphy might have been an All Australian is 2011 but he is a B Grader at best n 2015. Contracted to the Blues until the end of 2018 on big dollars and turns 28 in July. Small, courageous on occasion but not particularly physical and not particularly damaging with his disposal. I'd take N Jones, Tyson, Viney, Braysahw & vandeBerg ahead of him in a heartbeat.

I was at the game and can hardly remember the ground announcer... or the second half!

His father is Congolese. Mother Brazilian.

Shame the Pies can't afford a scoreboard! Saw the second half. Spencil has become a coordinated athlete. Billy Stretch has good footy instincts,