Carlton Football Club: The Round Nine Review

Sometimes I wonder why I am even bothering with these. When I put more of an effort in my review pieces than what the Carlton players bring to the footy field, we know there is something completely wrong at the club. I take nothing away from the giants who were pure class against my team. To be this terrible however, while well and truly knowing the pressure that already surrounds the people of Ikon Park, tells me there's a foul smell going around. Sure the blues have a shortage of strong defenders right now. And sure they've got an fairly young and inexperienced bunch stepping onto the field, but that doesn't excuse for a lack of trying. What I saw on my screen was a team demonstrating no care. A team with no plan B. A team forever rushing with the ball and not even attempting to make up for their own mistakes. The captain was testy. The leaders went missing. The skillful were unskillful and smartest were outsmarted. It was a good thing I had something else to do in the meantime instead of kicking my feet back watching this game because more of my time would have been wasted.

MARGIN

(Predicted : Real)

-36 points : -93 points

Difference: - 57

Improvement or not, these results shouldn't be happening still. The same hoodoo teams year after year are not only beating Carlton, but are doing so quite comfortably. GWS certainly being one of them, now having won five of the past six matches by an average of 84 points. And to think people told me the giants weren't a worry. I'm starting to find it funny that blues fans think we're a chance in any game, considering that it's either lose a close one or get absolutely destroyed everywhere around the ground. I'm even beginning to think that win against the dogs was a fluke. Others will criticise me for my negativity here. But little do they know that if Carlton were in any other team's position, I wouldn't be feeling this bad. The fact remains that the blues are coming off the worst season in the club's history and are still struggling to win while other times not showing up to perform at all. It's very much a living joke. Even some of the players look distraught and on the verge of capitulation. Oh, and one more thing. If I hear once more from anybody involved that the team thought they could just 'show up' and think it would happen, then consider me out for the moment. I can handle losing, but I will not stand for a team with only 4 wins in the last 42 matches expressing any sort of complacency.

First Quarter

The first five or so minutes of the game were defined by pressure. Carlton did a few good things to manage the first goal from Harry McKay. But it was all one way traffic against them after that. Following their first major, the giants had clicked. They dominated the clearances and never allowed any room for the opposition to win the clean possession. The blues were left paralyzed, not knowing what to do. The midfield was coughing up the ball nearly every single time and the excessive weight placed on the backline saw a few defenders giving away costly free kicks. The Carlton coaches had no choice but to regularly move players around the ground in hopes of stemming the flow. The giants box on the other hand would relax, allowing for the extra man in defence at every stoppage. It was 12 scoring shots to 2, and a quarter time margin of 40 points. It was GWS already putting the game beyond doubt, and the blues experiencing yet another shocker which would be further soured by the loss of Marc Murphy to a potential rib fracture.

Second Quarter
Horror continued for Carlton, as the boys arguably became witches hats. The giants eased their way through the corridor throughout the term without breaking a sweat. Harry McKay once again, registering the only goal for the blues through a ruck infringement up forward (and Carlton's only three scores to this point). Patrick Cripps who had his hands tied by Matt de Boer and was struggling to make an impact, openly let out his frustration which only brought more fuel to the fire. And with none of his teammates stepping in, it was nothing but a black hole. An undeniably forgettable first-half performance by the blues, as they continued to get pantsed in just about every stat. Six goals to one and a margin blowing out to 74 points. And with another half to go, things weren't looking to get any better. Not even losing Zac Williams to a hamstring was looking to stop GWS from a possible record-breaking win (luckily this wasn't the case).

Third Quarter
It was Carlton's best quarter, and they still lost it. It had a couple of great bits including Mitch McGovern with one of the greatest snatches to assist in a Harry McKay goal. But other than that. It was GWS making it three out of three with four of the first five goals to extend the margin from 74 to 90, heading into the final change. McKay was joined on the scoreboard by Zac Fisher and McGovern. Jeremy Finlayson was tearing the blues to shreds with two of his five goals here while Lachie Whitfield and Tim Taranto continued to dominate around the ground. Shane Mumford edged out Kreuzer in the ruck contest as the whole GWS team played with a little ease. The game was pretty much dead and. Some of the crowd had already left and the commentators were relaxed. It made tuning into the last quarter seem like a waste of time. Regardless of what was to happen, Carlton was already cemented as the top story in the paper for all the wrong reasons.

Fourth Quarter

It was a quiet final term with two goals each to both sides. However, it was no surprise to anybody that GWS still led the scoring opportunities, adding 3 more points to their club record-breaking three-quarter time margin to make it a 93-point win. Brett Deledio got the first of the four within the first minute. Carlton as usual, switched on too late with their pressure, leading the tackle count for the quarter. Both Ed Curnow and Jack Silvagni added to the goal tally for the blues, though it had little to no effect. Giants players were still racking up numbers to please Fantasy and Supercoach people everywhere. Whitfield wiped the floor with the blues collecting 40 disposals at 78% efficiency, 18 marks, 4 tackles, 3 inside 50's, 14 score involvements, 3 goals and one behind. The worst ball user for GWS, still finished with greater efficiency than seven of Carlton's worst. Nothing much else can be said. It was another forgettable day to add to the list of forgettable days for the Carlton Football Club. My interest was lost.

PLUSES / MINUSES

1. Harry McKay, Nic Newman and Jack Silvagni. Enough Said.
2. That McGovern intercept.

1. Lost all four quarters. The game was well and truly over at the 20-minute mark of the first term. Humiliating to say the least.
2. Matt de Boer proving Patrick Cripps isn't invincible.
3. Smashed in uncontested possessions, the clearances and the inside 50 count. Yet somehow still lose significantly in tackles. What the actual f***?!
4. Sorry Harrison Macreadie, but that was just a downright shocking game from you.
5. Dropping sitters, endless turnovers and bugger all pressure. Some of the late great Carlton champions would be turning in their grave. Others that are still alive wouldn't want anything to do with this lot.
6. Injury-prone David Cuningham being a late out.
6. Losing Murphy during the game didn't help.
7. The fact the team knew walking into the match (or any match for that matter given where they sit) that a performance like this wasn't by any means acceptable, yet still dish it up.
8. No proper leadership out there. Need more than just Cripps. Have to find another one or two extremely vocal people at the season's end.

SCORES

1. NIC NEWMAN 20

2. Harry McKay 10
3. Sam Walsh 9

4. Ed Curnow 8

5. Matthew Kreuzer 7
6. Mitch McGovern 6

7. Zac Fisher 5

8. Jack Silvagni 4

9. Dale Thomas 3

10. Charlie Curnow 2

11. Lochie O'Brien 1

12. Liam Stocker 0

13. Sam Petrevski-Seton -1

14 = Caleb Marchbank -2.5
14 = Will Setterfield -2.5
16. Patrick Cripps -4
17. Paddy Dow -5
18. Michael Gibbons -6
19. Jacob Weitering -7
20. Levi Casboult -8
21. Marc Murphy -9

22. Harrison Macreadie -10

TOTAL

1. Patrick Cripps 119.5
2. Sam Walsh 60
3. Nic Newman 55
4. Dale Thomas 50
5. Marc Murphy 46

6. Ed Curnow 38.5
7. Sam Petrevski-Seton 36
8. Zac Fisher 29

9. Andrew Phillips 20.5
10. Matthew Kreuzer 15
11. David Cuningham 14
12. Kade Simpson 9.5
13. Jack Silvagni 3
14. Harry McKay 1
15. Matthew Lobbe -2
16. Lachie Plowman -7
17. Charlie Curnow -8
18. Harrison Macreadie -10
19 = Paddy Dow -11.5
19 = Will Setterfield -11.5
21. Tom Williamson -13.5
22 = Caleb Marchbank -14

22 = Jarrod Garlett -14
24 = Alex Fasolo -15

24 = Liam Stocker -15

26 = Levi Casboult -22

26 = Jacob Weitering -22

28. Michael Gibbons -24
29. Cameron Polson -26
30. Mitch McGovern -27
31. Lochie O'Brien -32.5

32. Liam Jones -42

THOSE WHO IMPRESSED ME

Harry McKay

Harry McKay could easily be another star we do not deserve. The guy kicked more than half of our final score, with three goals and one behind. Unlike a few of his fellow forwards, McKay took risks and provided his usual run. He even gave Shane Mumford a headache once or twice in the ruck battle. McKay definitely has the capabilities to be the best forward in the game, but unfortunately he is being brought down by the rest of his team (especially the undersized midfield). Chuck him in any other side then he is bound to do so much more. That isn't saying he's perfect, as he has his good and bad days like any player in the competition. But the fact is he still leads the league in contested marks and can find the big sticks from nearly every angle. We have certainly found someone great here. Now it's a matter of fixing everything else up as soon as possible, because we can't afford to have this sort of potential wasted.

Nic Newman

I stand by what I said. Nic Newman is without a doubt, the best recruit Carlton obtained during the off-season. He knows where the ball is and his work rate is exceptional for a guy of his experience. In this match, he only went on to prove why the team had sorely missed him. Quite comfortably the best on ground for Carlton with a whopping 12 rebound 50's (8 clear of the next best) to go with 6 marks and 29 disposals (11 clear of the next best for the blues). In a way I felt a little sorry for him, having to step right back into the line-up and clean up the mess the rest of his teammates were making. Of course he could only do so much and occasional failure was inevitable. Still this is the last person we should be having a go at for the loss, regardless of whether or not it's a team game. Newman took on more responsibility than anyone else and done more than what was asked of him. So happy this man is with us right now.

Jack Silvagni

To those who think this guy is getting game just because he is a Silvagni, I highly encourage you to watch these recent games again. And if you still think the same way, then it just comes to show how thick-headed you are. Jack has totally wowed me with his sudden turnaround. I'm seeing him do what I've never seen him do previously. The eldest son of Stephen is getting his hands dirty. He is running his guts out and attempting to pressure every opponent into coughing up the ball. I'm even witnessing him throwing himself at the contest with hopes of bringing the ball down. His numbers aren't exciting on paper, but it doesn't take away from his display of heart and the potential to highly impact matches. There probably is a few more tweaks required in his overall game. However, J. Silvagni has certainly cemented a spot in the side for the moment. Much to the point where any omission would be purely unreasonable. Keep it up Jack, your are doing well!

Honourable Mentions

Ed Curnow, Matthew Kreuzer, Mitch McGovern

THOSE WHO DISAPPOINTED ME

Levi Casboult

Don't assume I enjoy having Levi under this category because I don't. But I go by what I see, and what I saw was this man failing to make himself matter here. Not once did Casboult play to his strengths. He did not lay a single tackle, nor did he apply the necessary pressure down back. Not only that, he took three uncontested marks and had just eight disposals with only half of them being effective. I don't even recall his name being mentioned in the commentary. While I always believe in rewarding good performances, I knew not to get my hopes up after his efforts down back last week. This man is the epitome of a never-ending roller coaster. He has his ups and he has his downs. There are his good games and his bad games. And it doesn't matter where one positions him. Not to mention the team really should be moving away from depending on Levi to deliver. Never will I insult this player like the much harsher lot as I can see where his heart lies. But I can't ever deny the high level of angst his games bring out of me. 

Harrison Macreadie

Could somebody tell me whether Macreadie was playing? I could've sworn I saw his name on the team sheet. That is how disgraceful this guy's performance was. Even Murphy did more than him having gone out of the game late in the first quarter. I don't necessarily have any issues with the kid, but his selection prior to the match was puzzling. Sure no player was coming in off a good performance since the VFL side had the bye last week. But you'd think that a much fitter player such as Hugh Goddard would have made more sense. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. Just two kicks, one tackle and one inside 50 over four quarters for Macreadie. He too got absolutely destroyed by his opponents (then again it was just about the same for the entire backline). When one trains well during the week and then gets the call up, they are deemed to be ready. So there are NO excuses for this showing. If you ask me, it's enough for one to immediately be dropped.

Sam Petrevski-Seton

Yikes! That was probably the worst game I've seen from Samo so far. And it was only three or four weeks ago where he had his best game. I distinctly remember the first half when he just kept coughing the ball up via hand, though I will let that slide a little given the pressure from the giants was insane. But only three clearances, two tackles and 14 disposals at 29 percent. Damn that's bad, and I mean REALLY bad! He was both worst in the team and worst on ground for ball use. Petrevski-Seton was forever trailing behind the opposition. It was like the giants constantly caught him off guard now and then throughout the game. In a season when the expectations are higher for Samo, these sort of efforts will lead to tougher criticism. I don't want that for the guy because I along with most blues supporters, know his best work does wonders for the team. However, the irregular form and continuous patchy performances from him are sooner or later not going to be enough for us to accept.

Dishonourable mentions

Patrick Cripps, Michael Gibbons, Will Setterfield

OTHER NOTES

- For f***s sake commentators, IT'S SETTERFIELD!!! Say it with me. SET----TER----FIELD!
- The strangest thing to me is that GWS kicked 20 goals, and not one of them is from the league's leading goal kicker Jeremy Cameron.
- I don't blame Dale Thomas for the frustration towards the umpire. Probably deserves the sanction (although it doesn't make sense how hits cop less), but at least he is displaying some passion.
- Now the cheer squad is under fire. In regards to the use of a drum, I agree. But the complaining about umpire abuse? When one takes on the job of being an umpire, they're to expect some crtitcism. Crowds will at times get animated, so trying to control this in any way just seems pointless.

NEXT WEEK

The St. Kilda Football Club: a place with a not-so-friendly history and a team that was said to look less attractive than ours. All it took was a couple of new assistants (Brett Ratten and Billy Slater) and suddenly they come out firing. Even with the lack of star factor and number of injuries, they are making do with what they have. On the other side, there's the blues. With so much talent in hand, they still can't dish up satisfactory performances on a weekly basis. Both these teams face each other on Sunday, with the saints having had the better of Carlton for the past three years. And when it comes to hoodoos, the blues just don't know how to break them right now. So I'm expecting another comfortable win here for St. Kilda. It will be a scrappy match, but they will have very little problems in running Carlton off their feet. Believe me, my heart is with the blues and is forever hoping for another win. But right now talk is cheap and the when it comes to the hard work, it just isn't good enough.

PREDICTED LINE-UP

IN - Hugh Goddard, Matthew Kennedy, David Cuningham, Lachie Plowman, Kade Simpson
OUT - Marc Murphy (Injured), Harrison Macreadie (Omitted), Lochie O'Brien (Omitted), Liam Stocker (Omitted), Levi Casboult (Omitted)

FB - Jacob Weitering - Hugh Goddard - Nic Newman
HB - Kade Simpson - Lachie Plowman - Caleb Marchbank
C - Dale Thomas - Zac Fisher - Jack Silvagni
HF - Sam Walsh - Charlie Curnow - Ed Curnow
FF - Mitch McGovern - Harry McKay - David Cuningham
R - Matthew Kreuzer - Patrick Cripps - Paddy Dow
I - Matthew Kennedy - Michael Gibbons - Will Setterfield - Sam Petrevski-Seton

E - Alex Fasolo - Lochie O'Brien - Liam Stocker - Patrick Kerr

St. Kilda Saints by 52 points

Travis "TJ" James