Hot Topic Chicken Little thread - 2025 edition

[Gethelred]

Come one, come all, ye chicks and chickens alike!

It's time for a rant thread!

Let us find the darkness within, together!

 

[CarmenSandiego]

Muscular fatigue IS considered a risk factor in ACL injuries.

Yeah I did my ACL because I went to turn and my glute gave out, put all my weight on my knee and 'pop'. I remember at half time thinking my glute felt funny, then 5 mins later I was down.

Definitely think certain training can minimize ACL risk. Most of the time is bad luck though.

 

[agro]

Bizarre really

Multiple HP teams, resurfacing the ground, different coaches, different gameplans

It was shear bad luck, I spent the weekend in a foetal position after throwing my toys out of the cot, but I’ve sat in a circle singing Kumbaya so perfectly calm, rational, relevant and logical now.

 

[CarmenSandiego]

But yeah, nah this is a pretty ****ing shit situation.

Passed on Houston, for a variety of reasons, one of them being that we were covered back there, mainly by Newman who is our best HBF and & user of the ball.

Gave up currency such as Kennedy, Owies to land Smith to boost our midfield for 2025 (no, not for later years, 2025).

Newman goes down, nobody close to replacing him.

Smith goes down, no Kennedy to replace him.

Two really big outs and its just ****ing flattening.

So sick of campaigners like Geelong landing B. Smith who has the best pre-season ever and will probably be AA. Don't get me started on Collingwood getting Houston for absolutely nothing, who has probably had a blinder of a pre-season too.

I'm rarely a victim in life, but reckon there's indeed a sneaky curse lurking around.

 

[BigBreakfast]

You can do shit about managing risk though.

Eventually they have to play, and take risks

It’s life in contact sport unfortunately

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

I didn't watch the second half. Was it an impact injury or a hyper extension?

I can see fatigue as an issue if you are not aware of how you are landing. I haven't heard of anybody talking about the ligament being fatigued, and I don't really see how it would apply in a preseason hit out. The guy had to integrate into our midfield. How else.do we do that?

The only way I know to prevent ACLs is not to play.

ACLS are more commong early in the season. When loads are high from pre seasons before they lower them for regular season first year player full pelt under fatigue in 35 C probably fatigues and reduces the strength of an 18 year old faster in their first rigorous pre season ever than it would others. Whether it's contact or not. Fatigue and fading mechanics being able to brace or pivot or absorb force are all directly related to fatigue levels.... Which Can - not are - be much higher earlier in a season. End of pre season early rounds before they switch programs to maintenance.

 

[Blue Pulse]

I get the frustration bit, but was he going to move the needle materially, prob not. Give me a first year midfielder that has stamped his authority of a finals bound team first up all year. Doesn't happen. Jagga no different.

Just to be a smart ar5e, Will Ashcroft, in 23 could have been a point of difference for the lions?

Jagga is a point of difference in his style for our midfield in the way that he moves differently. Elijah and Motlop are required as a point of difference in our midfield. Jack Carrol being a lefty was a point of difference in our midfield as he often found himself in space because he turned in a different direction to the rest of our mids.

 

[bourbons]

Nothing more certain than this happening to Jagga.

We are just cursed.

Wait till mid year when Cerra does a hammy. Walsh's back goes.

Cripps will be doing it all alone, wondering where Matt Kennedy is.

**** me I'm just so furious at the footy gods.

Just give us one year with a clean run

Yep.

When Saad went down just before 1/2 time in the praccy match Saturday I thought here we go, turns out I just went a quarter early

Wonder who'll be out for the season after the GWS game on Friday, it'll be someone lol

 

[bourbons]

It’s February and I’m putting a line through us in the premiership race.

Gut wrenching.

Yeah hard to disagree. Even just Newman going down kinda screws us, 2nd in the B&F last year. We're gonna be absolute turnover merchants off half back.

 

[bourbons]

Definitely time for a bump. Let's consider:

- Our forward line is an utter shambles. Curnow is out... indefinitely (last time that meant 2.5 years). Owies (3rd on the goal-kicking last year) is playing for West Coast. Hollands (5th last year) is out... indefinitely. Kennedy (6th last year) is playing for the Bulldogs. Jack Martin is playing for Geelong. Jack Silvagni has apparently been swallowed by a black hole and hasn't reappeared since injuring his ACL - 20 months and counting. Our forward line is a Harry McKay (love the bloke, but he gets in his own head), and ummm... a converted (injury-prone) back pocket, Jesse '6 goals last year' Motlop, and take your pick of our collection of 'forwards who don't kick goals, get possessions, or tackle, but do run around a lot' (Durdin, Fantasia, Fogarty and that guy from Port we signed). How do we even get to 10 goals in a consistent way with this crew (3 to Harry, 1-2 to Motlop and Williams, and... sheesh).

- The backline is also a shambles. Weitering is playing a lone hand; somehow alongside a 30 year old and slightly checked out looking Adam Saad, a 33 year old Nick Haynes. Newman (fantastic last year) is out for the season. Jordan Boyd has disappeared into the same black hole as Jack Silvagni. Mitch McGovern isn't injured yet, but will be. Cowan is good, I guess... and then it is Lewis Young and prayers.

- The midfield is looking very shaky. Cripps is amazing, but has done too much for too long. Hewett is reliable and solid. Walsh is injured. Cerra isn't injured yet, but will be. Docherty is held together by sticky tape and the collective goodwill of the Carlton public. Kennedy plays for the Bulldogs. Stocker and Dow play for St Kilda. Sorry, but finals teams don't place their midfield hopes and dreams on Cooper Lord, but there really isn't much else there right now.

I think we are all really underestimating how much depth we have given away (our 2023 prelim final list had Stocker, Dow, Kennedy, Carroll, Martin, Fisher who are now on other lists, plus Plowman, Marchbank, Cuningham and O'Brien as veterans capable of plugging a spot). As a follow-up, I think we are underestimating how many guys on our list look (to put it politely) 2-3 years away.

On paper, I think we are honestly a 12-14th team given current injuries - probably ahead of West Coast, St Kilda, Richmond, but I'm not wagering on anyone else. At the same time as this, we've traded our first and second round draft picks (to Hawthorn, who on betting odds might just leapfrog us into the top 4 AND collect a top 5 draft pick on our behalf) and likely won't have a draft pick until pick 40-ish and will face a devilish choice with TDK (make him the most overpaid player in the league, or lost a 26 year-old good player in a position in which we have almost no depth).

Whats going on with Elijah Hollands and Boyd? Can't see either on the injury list.

 

[bourbons]

Our luck with the footy gods simply has to change.

Oh it will - once Cripps, Curnow, Weiters and Saad finish, watch how fit we'll be lol

 

[bourbons]

Bizarre really

Multiple HP teams, resurfacing the ground, different coaches, different gameplans

Been saying for years, get a witch doctor down to Princes Park and sacrifice a few chickens on the turf, maybe a calf.

Couldn't hurt at this point

 

[bourbons]

So sick of campaigners like Geelong landing B. Smith who has the best pre-season ever and will probably be AA

Watch how Jack Martin goes down there this year, I'd put money on him playing 17+ games and kicking about 40 goals lol

 

[passmark]

Some reality checks there. I am not convinced we have the quality coaching required to go to the next level.

That’s my primary issue.
I think Voss is a dunce.

 

[Blueing]

2025 has been a shit go so far! The Turf was redone, high performance coach changed and a worse outcome!!! We need that priest from the exorcist to rid us of this injury curse!!! Does anyone know the curator so we can put some holy water through the sprinkler systems that water the ground?

 

[Gethelred]

Bump.

 

[David Sylvian]

Nothing new to add. I now have an idea how CL felt.

 

[jj1978]

Another year and the Chicken will win as per usual.

 

[gandaal]

Cursed club is cursed.

 

[Jatz]

Could go full chicken little and say I think we've built this list poorly and our downfall is going to coincide with Tasmania coming in...

Hoping a change of coach might do the trick but I suspect we've just wasted another rebuild.

 

[Loramarthalas]

Could go full chicken little and say I think we've built this list poorly and our downfall is going to coincide with Tasmania coming in...

Hoping a change of coach might do the trick but I suspect we've just wasted another rebuild.

We didn’t get enough of our first round picks correct along the way. Imagine if we had LDU instead of Dow? Or Will Day instead of Kemp? I could go on. As always, it comes back to list management. Our strike in the first round has been far too low. It’s killed us. Now, we’re seeing the results.

 

[Irish BlueBagger]

I think most of us recognise that in regards to Vossys personal qualities, being a master tactician is not one of them.

Most of us recognised that changes needed to be made to his assistant coaches, but nothing happened on that front in the off season.

It's a bit difficult to fix a problem when you refuse to even recognise that a problem exists in the first place.

Was 2023 as good as it's going to get with Vossy as our coach? Will Patrick Cripps prime years at Carlton be ruined by a mixture of both poor coaching and appalling injury management?

 

[bourbons]

Nothing new to add. I now have an idea how CL felt.

This is it, really. Nothing new, same old same old.

A 10 year rebuild for a grand total of 2 finals wins, **** me

 

[bourbons]

Will Patrick Cripps prime years at Carlton be ruined by a mixture of both poor coaching and appalling injury management?

Is, was, has. Bloke is 30 next week.

 

[Arr0w]

Most important aspect of a footy department is list management, then HP/rehab, then development, and lastly coaching

We still have similar deficiencies, from 5 off-seasons ago

Lack of speed/agility, footskills, mongrel

While it's up to coaching to drive greater consistency, +/- range of wins won't change much if you don't have appropriate resources

Sacking a coach today, doesn't miraculously change those available resources

Last off season we finally moved on injury prone players, it took way to long to make that change, but bizarrely also moved on durable contributors

We acquired Jagga, who is the type we need, (and O’Farrell needs time), the rest don't address the deficiencies mentioned above

 

[btdg]

Most important aspect of a footy department is list management, then HP/rehab, then development, and lastly coaching

We still have similar deficiencies, from 5 off-seasons ago

Lack of speed/agility, footskills, mongrel

While it's up to coaching to drive greater consistency, +/- range of wins won't change much if you don't have appropriate resources

Sacking a coach today, doesn't miraculously change those available resources

Last off season we finally moved on injury prone players, it took way to long to make that change, but bizarrely also moved on durable contributors

We acquired Jagga, who is the type we need, (and O’Farrell needs time), the rest don't address the deficiencies mentioned above

Pfft. You say 'Zig', but the really smart teams know you need to 'Zag'

Everyone else is going for fast players with good foot skills

But we know the next evolution in footy is to have as many bog ordinary small forwards who are slow and don't kick goals or get the ball, but who can set up a zone effectively in off season training drills

Owies had starting kicking goals too regularly and so had to go. Even Kennedy was showing a bit too much unnecessary flair with all his 'marking' and 'leading'. But luckily both Evans and White were available to slot in alongside Durdin, Motlop, Fantasia, Fogarty, Cottrell and Williams

My only regret is we didn't double down and go even further down this path. We should be rolling out Cripps (playing exclusively ruck) and 22 slow small forwards every single week. Think of the pressure acts we could generate when we corrall every opposition player slightly towards the boundary line? Just imagine how well we can set up our zone when we don't have any players at all worrying about distractions like 'kicking goals' and 'getting the ball'. Those fast, skilled opposition players won't know what hit them (it won't be a tackle by a Carlton player, of course - but there is certainly a chance that one of their goal celebrations results in an accidental blow from a team mate)

That's the true path to being 'accountable' and 'consistent'.