Autopsy Blue beat Cats by 18 points.

[CatToTheFuture]

Ah damn, I was hoping you'd go on with it.

Preface this by saying he's been worth it, absolutely. But...

His down the line and corridor kicking is bit erratic, to put it diplomatically

I give him the benefit of the doubt because he's getting back into the groove and is a quick power-player like Dangerfield a bit.....but he could improve that aspect of his game.

Yeah, and Carlton hemmed us in pretty well too. I don't think he had many good options.

 

[cats_09]

Regarding Miers, his concussion and potential return - this was Jon Ralph on Monday night

 

[Pollywaffle]

Only 380 metres gained too. Just couldn't get into the game.

I felt a bit sorry for Smith at times. Atkins busts his gut but is limited in what he can do. Smith knew we had issues winning the footy in the middle.

Shame Guthrie is effectively finished. I can see why the club tried their best to get him right. He'd be so beneficial to our woes at the moment. Big-bodied inside mid to get it out to Smith and Holmes.

Guthrie had started to go back to hanging around the huddle for cheapies at the end anyway. Not sure he would be our big time ‘extractor’ if he got back on the park.

 

[cats_09]

I'm pretty sure the K Rock Boys said his been training with the main group the past few weeks? Surely he must be not far away..

There was footage of him in a ruck battle with either SDK or Stanley, 3 or 4 weeks ago

So he's clearly progressing, just that the club isn't going to put a timeframe on his return at this stage

 

[thegerman]

I didn’t mind the close on Haynes match up, as long as we weren’t stupid and kicking it 1v1 to close… which bizarrely we did.

Close could have worked Haynes up and down the field, but he didn’t seem to cause damage this way

So you agree it was woefully inadequate. Close was poor, in this matchup.

 

[cats_09]

Scott said it was his kneecap. No structural issues just really sore.

It was the first quarter when he went the spoil in the pocket and then tried to pull himself up - maybe just jarred something as he looked rather ginger but did run it off to some extent

 

[Mr Meow]

Disagree. Some of the issues were how we underperformed, which I have little doubt were related to how poorly our mid/fwds performed.

Haynes made Close looked like an U/12 player.

Why are the coaches allowing KPDs to play on Close? That's two weeks in a row. Scott needs to do something about it. I understand Henry is out of form, but we just shouldn't end up with a Haynes on Close match up all game long.

 

[FootyLad0]

Heard Carlton are being investigated for impersonating an AFL team in a final.

View attachment 2297641

 

[iameviljez]

Why are the coaches allowing KPDs to play on Close? That's two weeks in a row.

He's more of a third tall than a KPD. Surely, that said, if Close gets that matchup, he should be motoring up the field.

 

[Mr Meow]

He's more of a third tall than a KPD. Surely, that said, if Close gets that matchup, he should be motoring up the field.

Height/weight still made Close look like a small child. Carlton had two tall forwards. Move COS or Blicavs onto Haynes if you have to. It was poor coaching.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Imagine our midfield without him...

Yeah we'd be in all sorts

 

[OzeSparky]

Good game, there tall forwards fired, and they won around the ball for 3/4.
Once Henry and Kolo (shows today how much we need them) are back our defence will change, not much to worry about from todays performance.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Got slaughtered clearances

Our average ruck and midfield can only be hidden for so long

 

[FootyLad0]

Very disappointing game and next week will be worse against a quality team, I’m petrified of what Daicos will do to our midfield next week. Jye Clark to be sent back to the VFL for the year, much prefer Clohesy than him.
I thought Humphries, COS,Smith, Atkins and Mannagh (apart from a couple things) played well. Holmes really needs help to shake a tag, he can’t handle it, mind you a lot of our players looked second rate today.

I know it may be crazy to say butmaybe match committee should be trying Holmes more back on half back spot again to try and bring out his run and carry game.
I love him and Smithy in the midfield but we are just getting beaten and beaten in there and he’s getting tagged out of it.

PFD needs to spend 50/50 mid and forward.
Way too much time up forward today and it was too late to try and drag it back when he finally went in.

Should be starting mid and the moving forward second half when he starts getting gassed.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Why are the coaches allowing KPDs to play on Close? That's two weeks in a row. Scott needs to do something about it. I understand Henry is out of form, but we just shouldn't end up with a Haynes on Close match up all game long.

If they're putting a kpd on close though you should just be able to put it into space for him to run onto. Is he in the wrong space for this or is he just not running as hard a he used to? Oppo putting numbers around where he wants to run to?

 

[Mr Meow]

Got slaughtered clearances

Our average ruck and midfield can only be hidden for so long

Before today we were 4th in the comp for scores from stoppage differential though.

Today I imagine they outscored us by 5+ goals from stoppages. You could say "that's the game" but if anything they destroyed us from turnover even more.

 

[Mr Meow]

If they're putting a kpd on close though you should just be able to put it into space for him to run onto. Is he in the wrong space for this or is he just not running as hard a he used to? Oppo putting numbers around where he wants to run to?

Our ball movement being the worst it had been in 7 years didn't help. But the forwards also didn't lead or contest well. We looked so leggy. Not sure if the skill errors related to that as well.

 

[Vdubs]

Our ball movement being the worst it had been in 7 years didn't help. But the forwards also didn't lead or contest well. We looked so leggy. Not sure if the skill errors related to that as well.

What's your prediction for the month of May
4-0 to 0-4? Where do you sit?

 

[kcattatac]

I made the comment during the match that if the MC reacted in the same manner as the fans that we'd have no team to field next week

While JK likely could use another week in the VFL, the issue is that we have a VFL bye next week - so he either gets a senior call up, or if they're determined to give him another run in the VFL, we'll have to wait a fortnight for that and then it would be another week on top of that before we see him in the seniors

It's because of that bye I think we'll see him in the seniors


There was a comment pre-match asking where's our depth in the VFL and the simple answer is that it's playing in the AFL - Clohesy may well return next week for some grunt, maybe we give Stevens a debut etc

But I don't see any player currently in our VFL side who'd significantly swing the pendulum in the seniors

So many in here think we just swap a fringe player with a gun from out of nowhere. Their deluded. MC pick best team from those available

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I keep reading that we got smashed in the clearances. This isn’t so. At half time we were down by 19 points and it was -7 in clearances (-8 in stoppages and +1 centre) and at the end it was -6 clearances losing by 18 points.

We. Were. Beaten. On. The. Outside.

-75 uncontested
-48 marks

I don't doubt the numbers, but I think maybe it can fail the eye test when the comparison is of Cripps shrugging tackler and getting a clean disposal away to a player on his own streaming out front of the pack versus Atkins toe poking a dribble out in front of Smith that he has to hack kick forward because he's being chased down.

Both get marked the same in the book but one is giving you no space on the outside. Is it just linguistic shorthand where getting smashed at the clearances actually talks to quality not quantity?

 

[ShaunWDT]

Or Holmes, who really only turned up for some of the last quarter. Bowes similar. Atkins was a step off it all day. The Irish lads were turnover machines. Clark isn't up to standard. Miers for Wiltshire was downgrade of the century. Cameron was decisive for a few moments and then awful for a bunch of others. The list goes on.

Wiltshire showed the gaping hole between VFL and AFL, looks an absolute mile off being ready.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Wiltshire showed the gaping hole between VFL and AFL, looks an absolute mile off being ready.

Thing is though, I don't know that Henry looked any better when he came on and Henry has kicked 4 in one of the hottest prelims of the last few years.

 

[#cats2021]

I don't doubt the numbers, but I think maybe it can fail the eye test when the comparison is of Cripps shrugging tackler and getting a clean disposal away to a player on his own streaming out front of the pack versus Atkins toe poking a dribble out in front of Smith that he has to hack kick forward because he's being chased down.

Both get marked the same in the book but one is giving you no space on the outside. Is it just linguistic shorthand where getting smashed at the clearances actually talks to quality not quantity?

Exactly. We had virtually no clean stoppages, everything was scrappy and under pressure. Carlton waltzed out of the centre with ease for much of the day. Murdered us.

 

[standupand]

What's your prediction for the month of May
4-0 to 0-4? Where do you sit?

Vdubs I still remember your prediction in the outrageous claims thread last year. "We will not win a game in the month of May". And lo and behold.. Please please, for the love of all the gods, please don't tell us your prediction this year.

 

[Mr Meow]

What's your prediction for the month of May
4-0 to 0-4? Where do you sit?

2-2 seems reasonable. 3-1 if we hit good form, 1-3 if we are a bit off it.