Ok so here goes....
**POSITIVES**
- We have to start with the obvious... Sam Docherty. 26 disposals at 96% efficiency, 5 inside 50s, 6 intercept possessions and plenty of pressure all night (how many times did you see him kneeling down absolutely knackered from repeated chase/tackle efforts last night? Doc was absolutely huge... But, it's one moment in particular that deserves top of the list billing for the first Positives list of the year. Doc's goal had me, and i'm sure many others, in tears. Not only was the reaction from the playing group inspiring to see them get around him, but the crowd went absolutely bunta and it was a genuinely moving moment. The outpouring of love was something truly special. I adore Sam Docherty. He deserves every success in life.
- Patrick Cripps is back to doing 2019 Patrick Cripps things. Comfortably the best player on the ground last night. The running power was back, he was still impossible to tackle, and holy shit who knew he could kick a set shot for goal all of a sudden? After 4 goals straight in the pre-season game old mate rocked up last night and slotted 3 straight. Crippa also finished with 8 clearances, 11 inside 50s and thanks to the likes of Hewett and Kennedy was able to enjoy more freedom playing more of an outside mid role. Also a quick shout-out to the Tigers players who kept ripping his guernsey. We loved the perve. Thanks. Patrick truly did turn it on for St. Patricks Day!
- Matt Kennedy has suddenly turned into Chris Judd and i'm all here for it. Let's be honest here, 18months ago he was on the scrap heap as a footballer and was lucky to be kept on our list as a rookie. Now, he looks set to be one of our most important players who runs hard in both directions playing midfield and is reliable in front of goal and loves to tackle. He looks ready to explode under Voss. Kennedy's early season form reminds me of how Tom Rockliff used to play when coached by Voss at Brisbane... Tough as a $2 steak and can be relied on no matter what is asked of him.
- Geez we've found ourselves a player in Corey Durdin. Kicked a few snags but that pressure was like watching Jeffy Garlett play. He's not quick, he's sudden!. We're seeing the start of what i believe will be a VERY solid career at the Baggers.
- How good was J̶e̶r̶e̶m̶y̶ Mitch McGovern last night? Some of his field kicking was nothing short of elite.
-Adam Cerra's match (especially his last quarter) paid for itself already. 30 touches @ 80% efficiency, 7 inside 50s, 6 clearances, 6 tackles and he kicked the sealer. Once Walsh returns you can expect to see Chez play with even more freedom and i think our midfield unit suddenly looks top 8 worthy. Cerra's dont argue on Dusty Martin was almost as arousing as Crippa's torn guernsey.
- Adam Saad's last quarter was another massive reason we got the chocolates last night. There was one moment in particular when we were still a goal down when he took an intercept mark at half forward and hit Cripps on the chest inside 50 which i thought was a massive momentum shift at an important time in the match and then we got a run on and never looked back. He's ended up keeping Liam Baker to just 14 touches and not much impact after Baker finished runner up in their b&f last year.
- Marc Pittonet seemingly divides opinion with Carlton fans, last night i thought he was unbelievably good. Got real close to a vote in my eyes. 6 hitouts to advantage and was largely responsible for us winning the clearances 40 to 22 and stoppage clearances 26 to 10. Pitto's ground work was also bloody good, at times he became another midfielder crashing into packs making room for Cerra, Cripps etc to run and carry with the ball leading to plenty of score involvements. He and TDK complement each other very well i think. One more athletic and wirey and the other a solid rugged tap ruckman.
- Despite Tom Lynch looking dangerous early, Oscar McDonald and Jacob Weitering smacked his bum and old mate the sherminator lookalike diver sooky la la Jack Riewoldt barely touched the pill either. I still think there'll be games where we will really miss Liam Jones this year, but last night showed no signs of trouble down back, especially with the 2 key position players. Next week vs the athletic and dangerous Aaron Naughton poses another big challenge.
- How good did the Punt Rd end sound? 72k people in attendance and for once, we looked like we outnumbered the opposition supporters down our end. The boys on drums were elite all night and by the last quarter once we started singing farewell to the yellow and black morons around us, the atmosphere was nothing short of electric. Mad props to all Carlton fans and especially Cheersquad people who were as loud as Matthew Morley's yellow tracky pants.
- David Teague is now an assistant coach at Richmond. That's it. That's the positive.
- Has Zac Williams played a better DEFENSIVE game than last night? When Dusty went forward i thought Williams gave him a bath so big that the tattooed lizard man will be farting bubblebath for weeks to come. Plus we saw Zac's new baby in the rooms after the game and holy shit so cute the baby deserves a mention in the positives too.
- Donuts after the game never tasted so good. I ended up buying over 20 and just decided to give them out to random Carlton fans and make new friends.
- Tommy De Koning's mark was unbelievable. He'll take one of those every week now it seems!
- Once Shai Bolton's goal was scored with 15min to go in the last qtr to put them 21pts up, almost all of us would have rightly expected that to have been game over. We've had 7 years of coaches who would have drawn curtains and rolled over in such a predicament. Not a Michael Voss coached side though! Seriously though, under Teague, we'd have lost that game by 7 goals last night and would have copped a press conference telling us how for 3quarters we looked promising blah blah blah. We now have a Coaching staff and playing group who dont talk the talk but instead walk the walk.
Votes and Running Tally:
5. Cripps
4. Kennedy
3. Docherty
2. Cerra
1. Saad
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