Wrap up Blues

by LITTLE BOY BLUE

ALL season, when Carlton have been favourites in big games, they have lost; when underdogs, they have won. So the signs were bad when Carlton were so heavily favoured by the tipsters to beat Richmond. It had to mean trouble.

That such an observation can be made suggests a fair number of head cases in the Blues ranks. It is the coach's job to sort these problems out, but as I suggested some columns ago, this doesn't seem to be a Brittain strength.

The loss of Kouta will be felt heavily in 2002 and it draws attention to the failure of enough players in the B group to get closer to the elite group which has comprised Bradley, Silvagni, Kouta, Allan, McKay, Camporeale, Whitnall and Ratten. From the group, only Allan, Camporeale and Whitnall offer long term value, the others being 30 plus in age. Lappin probably deserves to be in the A group now: 49 goals attests to a good work rate and good conversion.

There are two others who improved considerably: Beaumont and Hulme. I have been critical of both in the past, but they had good seasons. The latter's advancement has been excellent, especially in his disposal. Beaumont makes fewer mistakes than he used to, but is still capable of the odd crazy decision. In any event, he is neither strong enough nor tall enough to hold down centre half back- recruiters take note.

Of the rest, there are lots of question marks and not many answers, but their lack of consistency explains the shock losses: it wasn't the old blokes letting down the team when beaten by the likes of Melbourne and Hawthorn. Typical of this lot is Crazy Joe Fevola, seemingly capable of anything or nothing. Given a choice of him or Barry Hall (a current rumour), the latter appeals, in part because the team lacks a mongrel, someone who'll dish out some biffo when Camporeale is routinely thumped by unskilled hacks.

Houlihan needs to bulk up a bit and concentrate for the whole time. Can Plunkett go on with it? Porter is a great competitor, but may end up as trade bait again. Blokes who play well in losing finals impress me, so Fletcher has gone up in my esteem: he has talent, we want to see him use it regularly. Massie was finally showing some consistent quality before breaking his leg and his return will add some value next year. Hickmott gave excellent service. Prendergast showed a bit the last few weeks, and while the case can be made for some in the seconds, it's not self-evident that they'll help take the team back up the ladder.

Christou should follow Rice into retirement. He has never been the same since his back injury. If Bradley and/or Silvagni also bow out, there'll certainly be some money for some creative trading and recruiting. Get to it!

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