Macca

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?

Yes, 4th spot is staring us straight in the face (and a home final vs the Pies without Mr Wonderful) So steel ourselves for a win against the Hawks and that should be enough. Port win today and the equation is on it's way to being completed Ultimately, we'd get to rest a few starters against the Swans and then get another week off with the pre-finals bye weekend Freshened up for an assault in September So the loss last night gives us some clarity. 2nd spot is just about out of our reach especially if Port wins today But of course, it's one week at a time

Would you be saying the same thing if it was a cut-throat final, t_u? We are a better team than Carlton but they were better on the night. So that is on us, we failed to execute We were the team that needed to seize the initiative We're a flag contender so the bar is set high. We are no longer a bottom team Unreasonably high? No, it comes with the territory. In a big game with a home QF on the line, you have to bring your best The better team won and kudos to the Blues I'm betting that Goodwin would not be happy with our output last night and he'd be quite concerned with our lack of marking strength up forward Most of the finals are played at night and if those nights aren't dry, we'll need to structure up a forward line that can compete properly

But aren't we a contender for the flag, DZ? It should have been Carlton withstanding our team playing like we know we can Or at least matching their offense and inside 50 entries We're not a bottom 4 team anymore. So we are the team that should be blowing teams out of the water early It was a low scoring game but the difference between the teams was our offence not being up to scratch and our team not being able to cope with their pressure We allowed them to skip away and then spent the next amount of time clawing our way back ... which is admirable but don't let them skip away The first 3 goals of the last quarter is a classic example of what happened and why we lost We fought it out well but the expectations are a lot bigger than that. Fighting it out well is a given for our team these days

We were short on our best whereas the Blues played extremely well Our best is 4 or 5 goals better than Carlton but we didn't play to that level ... and that's why we lost. Certainly the main reason But if anyone here reckons our output was any better than 6.5 out of 10, I'd like to see them explain that reasoning For instance, we had any number of players down on their best. Too many in fact A good example is our forward line and how it functioned (or how it didn't function) ... plain as the eye could see Now, we weren't 4.5 out of 10 like we were against the Bombers earlier in the season and we didn't play poorly like we did against Freo but nevertheless, we were not close to our best last night So we have to look ahead after a loss like that ... and we need to improve if we're going to contend. Or at least, bring our best like we did against the Pies There's still plenty of hope because despite playing below our best against a team who played very well, we very nearly won

The effort, endeavour & energy was fine. We were hard at it. And that wasn't the issue But the execution and application was below standard and that's why we were a full 2 points out of 10 short We played the boundary line way too much, lacked cohesion and the connection forward wasn't good enough ... for a top 4 team Also, our disposal skills compared to the Blues fell short Yet we very nearly won the game so there's a lot we can take out of the game However, if we had have won, do we learn the same lessons? The loss can focus the team and the team now knows that we are more likely to finish 4th than any other spot on the ladder In fact, as long as we beat Hawthorn, we should be able to work our way to a 4th spot finish There's also a chance we can still finish 2nd but that pathway is a bit tricky

Well, we've played a lot worse this season and lost (Bombers, Lions early in the season, Freo etc) but tonight we looked up for the contest but the opposition stifled our game plan Important aspects like cohesiveness, a connection going forward and directness were real issues tonight and the reasons why we lost I get it, when you get close to a win we often can point at one thing or another but I will ask you this question ... Compared to our best, how would you rate our performance tonight?

We can itemise it all down player by player but the bottom line is that because of Carlton's pressure, we didn't deal with it well From a team point of view, we lacked cohesiveness, connection, disposal skills and directness In other words, their teamwork off the ball stifled our game. We were often hemmed in, in their forward line with no easy exits They made us look average but to our credit, we kept at it but at no stage did we look like winners nor did we play like winners It's not the end of the world though as we'll live to fight another day

I'm surprised we got so close. They were the better team mainly because we didn't bring our A game Plus, they played very well and from a total football angle, probably their best big game performance in a long time Any bids higher than 6.5 out of 10 for our performance? If not, 6.5 ain't gonna get it done I like to project forward with these sorts of games So if that's as good as we've got, can we win the GF? Can't see it But we know we can play a lot better, we just didn't bring it tonight So there's no despondency nor are there any excuses We got outplayed (tonight) By the way, nothing to do with loading or tapering. Unless........

We went wide all night ... where was the corridor football? Non existent We obviously view the game differently. To me there are never any excuses Play better and you win 6.5 out of 10 instead of 8.5 out of 10 was how I see our performance tonight You want to call that an 8? You're dreaming Carlton outplayed us ... take your hat off to the winner and lose with grace

Carlton's all over pressure for them, was immense. Voss has obviously taken a different tack with his coaching approach Up until tonight, I've never seen them as that sort of team (high pressure on the opposition ball carriers) But AF, we can't call them the real deal? Because to do what they did tonight week to week is taxing on the body and takes a really strong mindset Total football circa the Tigers 2017-2020 is the benchmark for pressure If they were entrenched in the top 4, we could be more concerned but can they keep it up? For us, we can play a high pressure game on a reasonably consistent basis but tonight, we couldn't deal with their pressure

Regardless of their supporters, they were the better team on the night Can we play a lot better? Of course we can but tonight we didn't bring it, Kev We lacked system going forward, we played the boundary too often and we lacked decisiveness Many of our kicks forward were scrubby and a lack of marking ability up forward was a standout feature. Some would say an alarming feature Still, if Port win tomorrow we'll be back in 4th spot with a likely QF opponent in Collingwood (minus Nick) A reminder that we dismantled the Pies in the QB clash In a lot of ways, we now know where we stand Is it the loss we needed to have? The wake-up call?

We're capable of playing at 8 or 9 out of 10 standard ... tonight we were barely 6.5 out of 10 and that's why we lost (the main reason) We couldn't deal with Carlton's all over pressure and we were rushed with our disposals all night Effectively, the Blues did what we normally do (all over the field pressure) Up forward, it just didn't work for us so we've got a bit to sort out in that area But kudos to the Blues. They outplayed us but we very nearly won So there's hope and on the flipside we might slip to the valued 4th position where we'd effectively get a home final for the QF So it's not all bad and it's not as if we got thrashed. We didn't play very well but we very nearly won the game Looked at another way ... if we play like we did tonight in a final, can we expect to win? I doubt it

ANB Skills!!

And we're in the Semi's You beauty!!!

Harry Kane off to Bayern (all but done & dusted) Ange gets his first setback

The quintessential big occasion player was Brent Crosswell

You forget how young these guys are sometimes ... of our 4 (McVee unlucky not to be the 5th) only JVR seems young But the other 3 are all still very young yet are all premiership players As @BDA mentioned above, with our draft hand this season, we've got plenty of young talent either established or coming through The future is bright

Former demon Brent Crosswell's nickname was Tiger The story goes that he was not good with fellow player's names so would call said players 'TIger' when calling for the ball. "Tiger Tiger!" Or ... "It's yours, Tiger!"

Nutbean is either taking an extended break or has moved on from forums I can understand either stance Plenty have come and gone so the above 2 explanations is probably the main reason Just on Nutbean, he is a real music aficionado ... front row seats for nearly every time a contemporary music artist (or artists) that have come to this country. As well as the classic performers from the past He'll be front and centre for McCartney

I'll give you one guess as to who accused him of waffling on too much (not that it was any big deal, Nutbean took it in the right spirit)

It's a bit like when Nutbean was accused of waffling on too much so he changed his avatar to a picture of some waffles Haven't seen Nutbean here for an age. Hope he's ok

And Kozzie as well (midfield minutes) ANB also for stoppages other than centre bounces. And Rivers sometimes has a run through the middle/stoppages Doing the exercise of naming all the 22 players on the ground does your head in a bit, AF At match committee level, they'd have it all worked out (who comes off and on and when, how & why) so you can understand the rigid nature of rotations And then of course all the rotations of the mids ... counting ANB, Petracca and Kozzie as part of the midfield rotations, there's a total of at least 10 mids if we count both ruckman And they (the MC) can't make it up as they go along ... most of it has to be pre-planned (With a bit of leeway for break glass in an emergency) And of most of the talls, most are swingmen, ruck or utility types (May & Lever tend to stay put)

From the past ... Carey & Matthews These days it would have to be Hawkins ... precisely the player we need although he is coming to the end Jack Riewoldt (in his prime) is another

Here's how I see the team lining up throughout the match With this team there are no players listed on the interchange as the use of the '/' is more appropriate. As we know, all the players often spend at least 80% of the game on the ground Feel free to critique as my line-up is more of a guess FB Bowey May McVee/Smith HB Rivers Lever Salem C Hunter Brayshaw/Sparrow Langdon HF Petracca JVR Chandler/ANB FF Melksham Grundy Pickett R Gawn Oliver Viney/Jordon Of course, all players spend time on the bench so the '/' used could be used anywhere And Smith, Gawn, Grundy & JVR could all be used at CHF or FF (rotating?) Grundy & Gawn could also spend time in the backline (Grundy to ruck as well) Hibberd to be the sub again to provide fresh legs in the backline?