Blues 2016 H&A Discussion

[Mat0369]

I'm pretty sure Wood also didn't play in the VFL. He was carrying an injury through the preseason so I'm not entirely sure how fit he is either. If Gorringe can't get up expect it to be Rowe with Jones spelling him. Otherwise the yank Korcheck would be in for an early debut. White will come in to cover in defense if we do go the Rowe route. Walker could also probably play on Waite

[RiOtChEsS]

w0w yeah chuck Korchek in, Holmes and Cox did well in their debuts, i dont like the idea of Rowe or Jones getting hurt playing out of position although Trengove is doing well for Port, it's how Stef Martin fell into a ruck gig so eh...

Il look forward to seeing how whoever plays the role goes ;)

[Mat0369]

Last I checked neither of the big guys have been elevated off the rookie list so I am expecting Gorringe to be ready. It's a huge opportunity for him to show what he is capable of against the best.

[RiOtChEsS]

Go-Orange :D

[RiOtChEsS]

So bloody gutsy i love this team

[Ricochet]

Bryce Gibbs was huge today

[RaisyDaisy]

Bryce Gibbs was huge today

His last 5-6 games have been close to career best I reckon

[elephants]

He's a flowerin star!

[Mat0369]

I'll post this here as well. Where are the idiots in the media that said to trade Gibbs?

[Mat0369]

I just read this article on the AFL website and I thought it was interesting.

CARLTON's list management team faces a busy second half of the year, with at least 20 players remaining unsigned beyond 2016.

Levi Casboult, Zac Tuohy, Andrejs Everitt and Sam Rowe are among the Blues' out-of-contract players, along with free agents Kade Simpson and Dennis Armfield.

All were part of the Blues' stirring victory over Geelong last Sunday, along with former Crow Matthew Wright, who is also set to come out of contract at the end of this season.

It is understood the Blues are yet to begin talks with nearly all of their unsigned players, content to wait until after their round 13 bye to do so.

The delay is partly explained by the need to give new coach Brendon Bolton enough time to make considered assessments of each player.

The Blues are also keen to keep their options open as they continue the list rebuild they embarked on after last season.

List manager Stephen Silvagni did not hold back when given his first chance to remould the Blues' list at the end of 2015.

In his first season back at Carlton after four years at Greater Western Sydney, Silvagni oversaw 15 departures from Ikon Park, including the trades of Lachie Henderson (Geelong) and contracted trio Chris Yarran (Richmond), Troy Menzel (Adelaide) and Tom Bell (Brisbane Lions).

The Blues also toyed with allowing Matthew Kreuzer to leave as a free agent before it became clear they would not be compensated with a first-round draft pick.

It's unlikely Carlton will undergo such an extreme makeover at the end of this season.

Nonetheless, as rejuvenated as the club has appeared under Bolton â€" and as much as its 5-5 start to 2016 has left most football pundits' faces smothered in egg â€" the Blues have fielded a relatively old and experienced team.

The side that defeated Geelong contained just three of the Blues' selections from the past eight national drafts (Rowe, Patrick Cripps and Jacob Weitering).

Carlton looks to have filled some holes in this age demographic with astute trading â€" see Sam Docherty, Sam Kerridge, Andrew Phillips and Lachie Plowman â€" but it still needs to create room on its list to bring more elite young talent in alongside 2015 draftees Jacob Weitering, Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, David Cuningham and Jack Silvagni.

Some of the tough calls Silvagni and his list management team face will involve the four players the Blues took in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft â€" Blaine Boekhorst, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, Clem Smith and Jayden Foster.

Boekhorst appears best positioned to win another contract, having played 14 senior games. But the West Australian hasn't played since round three after a series of injuries.

Smith has played seven senior games but none this year under Bolton, while Viojo-Rainbow and Foster are yet to debut.

It promises to be a nervous wait over the next few months for the 2014 draft quartet, along with many of the Blues' other unsigned players.

Blues out of contract in 2016
Dennis Armfield, free agent, aged 29
Blaine Boekhorst, 22
Dylan Buckley, 23
Levi Casboult, 26
Matthew Dick, 21
Andrejs Everitt, 27
Jayden Foster, turns 21 on Wednesday
Andrew Gallucci, rookie, 22
Billy Gowers, rookie, 19
Nick Graham, 21
Sam Rowe, 28
Ciaran Sheehan, rookie, 25
Kade Simpson, free agent, 32
Clem Smith, 20
Zac Tuohy, 26
Jason Tutt, 25
Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, 20
Mark Whiley, 23
Cameron Wood, rookie, 29
Matthew Wright, 26

What I am surprised at is Graham is actually younger then Boekhorst. Looking at the guys listed there it seems to be an interesting period. Of the guys listed this is how I see them.

Dennis Armfield - Based on current form he gets a contract. I think Bolton loves the stuff he does off the field as well so he can be a role model to the younger guys (who would have thought we could say that about the pest) and help bring through the younger group.

Blaine Boekhorst - Has shown enough through the NAB and the early couple of games to get a new deal. I think Bolton had him earmarked for the wing and he looked promising. He is another they will want to lock in.

Matthew Dick - Has had some solid form in the VFL the last couple of years but hasn't done enough to crack the 22. I am surprised he is so young, I thought he was a bit older as well. I think he might be one that won't be on the senior list or on the bubble but one we will look to rookie list pending form.

Andrejs Everitt - He can be frustrating with some of the mistakes he makes but he has been arguably our best forward the last 2 years. He would be one we look to lock in.

Jayden Foster - He is surprisingly older then I thought he would be. He hasn't exactly established himself at the lower level and I think tends to be battling injury. He was a late pick in the 60's so it wouldn't surprise me if they don't extend him.

Andrew Gallucci - rookie listed so kind of irrelevant. He's actually out for the season with a shoulder injury but he looked good at times in the NAB. He probably would be worth keeping around.

Billy Gowers - rookie listed so probably gets another year.

Nick Graham - This one could be big. It reminds me a bit of Shaun Grigg, he is a guy that is pretty much being held out due to similar types ahead of him that are in good form. He is a similar age bracket and out of contract, a team looking for inside mids might look at offering him a contract and he might be one that gets traded. I'd like to keep him, but a player of his caliber is too good for the VFL and he can't seem to crack our 22.

Sam Rowe - He has had some really good form this year after struggling a bit the last 12 months. I'm really happy for him and I think he gets another deal while we try and find another key tall through the draft (or Tomlinson!) to be one of our future key defenders with Weitering and Plowman.

Ciaran Sheehan - As well as Byrne has been playing this year, Sheehan was just as good in his first few games. The only thing that is hurting him is he has spent over 12 months on the injury list. We need him to start playing some footy again and he should see another deal.

Kade Simpson - Will play for as long as he wants to play. He is an out and out gone and the heartbeat of the team.

Clem Smith - This is an interesting one because of the way footy is evolving. If Clem can't show he has built up a tank to play AFL footy he will be out. The interchange cap and the endurance running needed is not exactly his strong suit so he might be on the back foot. He has shown he is hard at it, but essentially if you can't run you can't play.

Zac Tuohy - Lock him and load him

Jason Tutt - He is a list clogger and I would think he is gone.

Dillon Viojo-Rainbow - He is a bit disappointing so far, as a 2nd round pick you would think he would be pushing to be an emergency at least in his 2nd year of footy. He still has half a year of footy to build on and hopefully he can either start to play some really good footy in the VFL and cement a spot on the list.

Mark Whiley - One that has shown that he can rack up the pill but has struggled at AFL level. He is probably one in danger of not receiving a new contract so it will be interesting to see how that goes come the end of the year.

Cameron Wood - Gone

Matthew Wright - Has 100% done enough to earn a new contract and while he isn't the most skillful and doesn't dominate games his tackling and effort has been huge this year. He probably won't be in our next premiership team but you reward effort and he is a prime example.

Dylan Buckley - Buckley seems to be struggling with the new role as a HFF and is adjusting. He has been playing VFL before he received a suspension in the lower league. It hasn't been a good year of footy for him so far but he has talent to make it at AFL level, however I don't know if it will be at Carlton. He might be looking at a trade at the end of the year because it seems like he is falling down the pecking order at both ends of the field. I have always loved him as a possible wing, it will be interesting to see how his next 3 months go. We will probably look at making 5-6 changes minimum so he might unfortunately be one to make way.

Levi Casboult - Was apparently trade bait at the end of last season and started poorly before flicking the switch and going bang. I'd love to keep him around as well but the ball will be in Levi's court. I don't see us forking out the cash for him that he may want just because I don't think our cap situation is all that great, I'd love to keep him, but I can see a few teams trying to send us into a bidding war.

I am also thinking that Jamo retires at the end of this year, his body appears to be cooked which is a shame which means he might be calling timer sooner then he might have liked.

[Mat0369]

Just something else I've been thinking about heading into this week, but don't be surprised if we lose this Saturday. Bolts was on Footy Classified and Juddy raised an interesting point. Be said that as a player he generally felt the limited rotations the following week and asked Bolts if he would change the way they trained to accommodate. Bolts said a few guys would probably get lighter weeks and guys like Wright and Lamb were two examples since they played more in the midfield then they were used to.

At the post gane Andy Lee interviewed a few of the players including Doc and Gibbs. He asked Doc if he felt the pressure in the last quarter with the limited rests and Doc responded something similar to this.

I pretty much ran out the game fine, the backs our rotations didn't change really, he basically said to the midfield you guys aren't getting a chop out and the indicator will be if you're puking at the end of the game.

I reckon our midfield could be pretty sluggish and to make matters slightly worse it is a short week with a 6 day turnaround.

[blue]

Good to see young SOS kick another 4 in the VFL yesterday. Looks like a really smart footballer

[Mat0369]

Andy McKay was on the pre-game and said that last week he played 85% game time and that's what they want him to build to before they pick him. He's had a couple of injuries to miss games already but his VFL form has been great.

Jaksch and SOS jr kicked 8 between them against Box Hill and neither were named in the best. Phillips was BOG. He'll come in to play his old mob in a fortnight.

I think the break will do us the world of good. They looked a bit bleh against Brisbane but we were still able to pull away. We struggled with our pressure for consistent periods against the Saints. I think we had maybe 20 minutes where we were up to scratch so a recharge should see us hopefully be competitive against the Giants.

[fanTCfool]

I don't know what his contractual situation is like, but I hope we look at Jack Redpath in the off season.
The Doggies have obviously put their money with Boyd, so he could be looking for better JS and we desperately need a key forward.

[RaisyDaisy]

Looks like Walker is about to announce his retirement

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-08-02/versatile-carlton-veteran-andrew-walker-expected-to-walk