DHF Field Trip - Carlton v West Coast, Round 10 @ The Dome

It had the makings of a massacre. The Blues, coming off a shocking performance in Adelaide, were likely to come out all fired up at a ground they love to play at, Etihad Stadium - or as most prefer, the Dome. The Eagles were coming off a shocking game against the Pies and now they travel to Melbourne where their record is miserable to say the least.

And then there’s me, an Eagle supporter, sitting behind the teams’ benches, swallowed up by Blues fans everywhere I looked. Not the total bat-shit crazy ones - they were further round the wing, but mad enough to make sure my night would be a painful one, barring a minor miracle.

The teams came out and crashed through the banners - the Blues banner sported the now infamous ‘Chk Chk Boom’ phrase, and Nick Stevens was taking no chances with it, preferring to run around the side instead.

About 5 minutes in and I was near ‘Chk Chk Boom’ing myself, as the Blues had piled on three quick ones, the fans were going nuts, I was huddled in amongst them, and SB had already sent me a text to see if I had left yet. My only highlight was we seemed to be winning what little a fight there was though, thanks to a pretty soft bump from Kerr that had Murphy spluttering in the centre circle before the opening bounce. I see he got a week for it … the same penalty as Mick Gardiner got for a blatant elbow … but that’s for another time.

The Eagles actually fought back a bit in the first quarter, only to be blown out in the second and be down 41 points at the half. Thanks to an incredible third quarter from Mark ‘Frenchy’ Le Cras, the Eagles maintained a bit of a sniff up until the last quarter, but Carlton always had their measure - much like the high pitched screech of a Blue woman behind me had mine … my ears are still ringing. Never have I known someone to so accurately proclaim all goals as having missed and all misses as being goals, with the audacity to declare the goal umpires as corrupt and making it all up. Maybe she had a point with the goal that hit the post in that last term, but I think she was preoccupied at that stage by flooding the floor behind me with a spilt Scotch and Coke.

A level 2nd half saw the Blues run out 41 point winners, and me run out of the Dome before I could hear the big ‘Da Da Da Da Da’s. Yet I couldn’t avoid those bloody Footy buskers on the walk out, and I still had Screech ringing in my ears. What a night.

The talking points out of the game for me were:

• The Eagles kicking. Can be summed up in two words. Absolutely shithouse. The only bloke who can seemingly kick for the side is Le Cras, who is a beautiful kick for goal. Chris Masten showed glimpses of good disposal, yet the rest of the side’s use of the ball by foot is woeful. Is the most glaringly obvious downfall of this young side, but definitely not the only one.
• An interesting observation involving a young Blue down on confidence. Jeffrey Garlett was back in the side after a few weeks out. My feeling on him in the early rounds was that he lacked the confidence to back himself to kick the goals he’s in the team to kick, and it ultimately cost him his place in the team. Back into the side tonight, and his first attempt on goal was sprayed to the near side.

  Fast forward to the third quarter, when Garlett slots through his first for the night. Where I expected Fevola, Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Houlihan, Fisher - all of the senior blokes - to get around this young fella, mess up his hair and build his confidence over his goal … they were sorely missing. I did see a young Aaron Joseph, a young Mitch Robinson, and another youngster who I can’t remember now, get around him and fire him up. They realised the importance of that moment. Disappointingly for Carlton fans, it seemed not many others did.

• Tommy Swift’s debut. Kid has huge wraps in WA - was rated alongside Daniel Rich in U16 but has had a shocking run of knee injuries. Has good size for an 18yo midfielder, and did some good work by hand in close. However, his kicking was atrocious (although he wasn’t alone there) and as is to be expected, he was caught out by the speed of the game at times. The good news for Eagles fans, is there is definitely something there to work with, and he’ll derive great benefit from the hit out.
• Ben McKinley. It’s been a long time for me to make my decision on this bloke, but this game pretty much confirmed things for me. Even considering he copped a big hit early, his game was very ordinary. If he’s going to be in the team, he shouldn’t be allowed to leave the forward 50. His work up the ground is poor, his application isn’t what it needs to be, and his pressure is virtually non-existent. McKinley is a full forward trapped in an undersized body. The Eagles need to bite the bullet on this one - either you play him where he performs best - close to goal, where marking and kicking is all he needs to focus on - or you don’t play him at all. With Le Cras coming along in leaps and bounds, it is making things tough for McKinley, because if there’s not room for both up forward, he’ll be the one that goes. But pushing him up the ground is not the answer. Play him deep, or not at all.
• Quickly on Le Cras - if you don’t know the name, you should. Kid oozes class, is especially good in the air for his size, and is as good a kick as anyone in the competition. He’s been held back by injury - pelvis and groin problems means his tank isn’t big enough to push into the midfield for any great length of time - but when his body catches up, he is going to be a real star.
• The Blues have found two ready-made youngsters, no doubt about it. Everyone knows Mitchy Robinson, the saucehead with ADD and no regard for personal safety. But there’s one that I’m sure people have wondered how he’s kept his spot from week to week, and that’s Aaron Joseph. If you watched his job on Kerr, you’d know why. He doesn’t get a lot of the ball, he doesn’t do anything special with it, but his defensive qualities are already close to as good as they come. He is rugged, tough, and tackles stronger than you could ever imagine by looking at him. And you’ll never see him take a backward step. He’s a great reminder that in today’s game full of lean, silky athletes, there will always be room for someone to put them in their place.
• Finally, if only I could get a dollar for every time I heard someone yell out to Adam Selwood:
  

  ‘If only you were half as good as your brother Selwood!’

  His brother Scotty is safe for the time being, it seems. I think it helps that the majority of fans think he is Michael Braun. He does show a bit of ability, and more importantly, guts though, so that will change sooner rather than later.

As for the Blues midfield - you don’t need me to tell you how good they are. Fevola is obviously back to form - if only he got all the free kicks the fans thought he should have, he’d kick 300 a year…

Others have said it before me, and they were spot on - the Blues were good, but not great. As for the Eagles, well, is there such thing as a kicking school?

Did you watch this game? Let us know if you saw the same things as TH, or if your opinion differs? Also - don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!