JJJ

He definitely asked us to facilitate a move. We’d just struck out on one of our targeted players from Carlton and were not ready for a trade request from a player that we thought was not a flight risk. He made a mess of the situation by allowing the Crows to setup that awkward golf course interview. We held firm. As we should’ve. We can’t win a flag this year with him not on the list. No matter which end he plays at. Jackson and Kozi were in different situations. Jackson was gone 12 months out. His story about making his mind up at the end of 2022 is complete garbage. Kozi on the other hand was never keen to leave Melbourne and maintained communications and negotiations the whole time. I never thought he was leaving.

I would love to see Petracca get his skates on and destroy Carlton. I have been a tad underwhelmed by his season. There’s more in there. Big C Curnow has this game circled on his calendar. A bit of gentle ribbing from teammates about his “daddy”, Steven May. Maybe we could have our banner on Thursday reflect that?🤔 I thought Woey looked as good as he has all season on the weekend and would hate to stifle the continuity. Billings is ok and I am not a fan of players coming straight back in after an extended break so I don’t think Bowza should play. My feeling is that we might see Laurie out and Hunter come in.

I like Clazza’s reaction at the end. I would love to know how long it took for Fritta to gather and lay the ball across his boot. Very slick work.

Not my opinion. One that has been smashed into me repeatedly since last year by people who work in the industry. I guess we could change his mind but my understanding is that he will ask to be traded again this offseason. ☹️

That’s an interesting highlight reel for Petty. Floating across the pack for a couple early like a key defender and then some marks while Maxy held ground for him. Even Disco gave him a chop out. I’m happy for him but still think he’s better as a defender. In any case, we’d better win a flag this year as he is gone in 2025. No doubt about it. If he could sign on the dotted line today for Adelaide he would.

He was very good. He also played a lot higher up the ground which I think is where he should play (or down back of course). Playing him deep as a forward is still not the solution. Some of his decision making and skill execution was still pretty poor but I am happy that he has some form.

It is accurate. We have less depth than last year and against the Cats and Blues over the next fortnight and other contenders later in the year we can’t carry players. Couldn’t care less about teams like the Tigers. The window for us is closing so we need to make every post a winner.

Thanks Captain Obvious Jenkins. Play him down back or play him at Casey. We are not good enough to carry a player who is a net negative.

I think if you rate the kid and he played last week on merit, then you should play him against the Tigers. As you say he wasn’t disgraced and was surrounded by senior players who weren’t up to par. If they play Laurie as a sub I will be equally disappointed.

Re Noah. I think he is a bit of a late developer. He wasn’t focused solely on footy for a while there. The knock on him I heard was about athleticism and hardness. But that was 2 years ago. He may have matured since then. Like all father-son prospects. I want him to come to us and be successful. But also not cost us much in terms of draft considerations.

Started forward. Daniher moved him to half back. Then opposition coaches decided that he was too dangerous and he was moved up the ground again and rotated from deep forward to mid. I think half forward would’ve been an ok description.

Couldn’t have asked for less support from the senior players. I thought he was ok but needs time. Hopefully he gets another crack at it against the Tigers.

His marking and body work this year have been disappointing but as @rpfc pointed out, changing the way we bring the ball forward could alleviate a lot of the problems. Its a good signing for us.

I’m feeling a Jack Viney special against the Tigs. Our contested ball numbers and clearances aren’t up to our normal level and he will do something to compensate. I’d love Trac to tear a game apart too. He still has another gear to go. On the negative side, I’ve come to the sad conclusion that van Rooyan is not a great mark. I gave him pass marks previously but the double grabbing and inability to win the big contested marks has worn me down. Please prove me wrong JVR….

Back to the OP, I liked how happy Viney was for Kolt. Viney’s legacy with the younger generation will hold us in good stead for a generation.

I like the coaches award. Most accurate award in my books. AFLPA MVP is garbage. Brownlow is worse. It’s interesting that of the top 25 we are only represented by 2 players. Over the past few seasons we have been well over-represented. This year I think it’s reflective of a more evenly distributed team effort.

If West Coast were smart they’d be targeting McVee to go home. He’s young, classy, shows great leadership, is well suited to Optus Stadium and plays a super important position very well. We are very lucky to have him

I always feel quite calm when Judd is in the contest with his opponent or looking for options with ball in hand. Great temperament for a very difficult position. Howes is getting there too!

Yes.

If we rated him higher than Weideman we would’ve drafted him. I knew of 2 clubs that didn’t think he was a flight risk to Carlton and would’ve taken him had he fallen to them. Credit to Carlton, they drafted 2 players and spent the time and effort required to develop them into Coleman Medallist’s. They had the requisite skills and make up but Carlton did something right. We went with a guy who was very highly regarded as a 16year old and injured a lot in top age but ticked every box from a personality perspective except for perhaps competitiveness.

One thing I am curious about Windsor is his height. He is listed at 185cm but looks smaller on the field. It could be a lack of muscle perhaps. Not sure… What I am certain about is that his speed, poise, aerobic capacity and work ethic are elite already. Add some size, a bit more of the contested stuff and experience and he will be top shelf. I’d love to see him attend some centre bounces next season as it would add another string to his bow. Something Lingers doesn’t have. (As good as he has been for us since coming from Freo) Windsor should be a 200 gamer if we develop him correctly.

Curnow is a weird miss I think. He comes from an awesome family and had a few minor things occur but it was over hyped on the negative. Ask any Carlton supporter and Charlie is the last to leave the track signing autographs for kids, volunteers for hospital visits and generally an all round ripping bloke. May is his kryptonite at the moment though… 😉

Reid is a gun and will be a top liner sooner rather than later. Back to topic, Windsor has pretty much everything you could ask for in a modern winger/mid. I told my 4 year old to get his number on her jumper when she asked me the other day. In my house, that’s the official stamp of approval.

Wild stuff but I heard yesterday that Trac was sore. Is Kolt there for him? Laurie or Woewodin would step in for Chandler. Side note; I loved Chandlers game. It’s exactly the type of game I think he can play consistently if healthy. He’s a tough little bugger.

McKay was widely seen as a player that lacked the required hardness and hunger to make the most of his talent. On talent alone he was top 5 easily. I watched him live 3-4 times in his TAC Cup days and he would often drop out of pack for the Joe the Goose or sweep past his teammates for the handball receive. He didn’t act or play like a KPF. Other times he’d pluck the ball out of the air like he was a man amongst boys and dob goals from outside 50 without raising a sweat. I’d turn to a colleague and we’d discuss how frustrating a prospect he was. I saw less of Sam but felt he was a 2nd round prospect and his lack of games has never really surprised me.