Bring on the cricket

by LITTLE BOY BLUE

AFTER another year from hell, it's not too clear where Carlton go from here: maybe nowhere? There's not a lot of ability left on the paddock. Indeed, I can identify only the following as being up to AFL standard:

Andrew McKay (would be crazy to pull on the boots again)

Kouta

Camporeale

Whitnall (if fit)

Lappin

McKernan (but maybe not with this coach)

Fevola (produced the goods this year and deserves credit).

Critics will see this list as harshly short, but worthies like Beaumont and Hulme are lacking aspects of the full AFL skills package. Sentiment should not disguise the reality that each would have struggled for a game in the quality Carlton sides of the fast receding premiership eras.

I haven't included any of the younger players, including the much-vaunted Waite, because success over a period of time is needed to demonstrate true ability. If I had a dollar for every player who looked a star in his first year and then slipped off the radar screen, I'd have quite a few dollars. Last year, we were told that Livingstone and Campbell were future "stars", but they spent most of this year running around in a red jumper with a white ant on it.

(On the same theme, great finishes by teams just missing the finals don't guarantee success the following year. Hawks and Saints take note: some players are good at playing for contract-renewal and for the reappointment of the coach they know and are comfortable with.)

Some of the younger Blues players may have talent and would do OK if surrounded by a quality, experienced core. But, Pagan is right about the need to hit the gym: lack of body strength is compounding lack of skill. A newspaper report of Thornton being thrown aside "like a rag doll" against Hawthorn said it all.

While the recruiting focus is on the midfield, the need for a quality, strong defender (or two or three) is equally pressing. There is the basis of a reasonable forward line, on a good day, but elsewhere, recruiters will need all the luck they can get.

Realistically, next year could be worse than this - maybe no wins, although if Peel Thunder managed one in the WAFL this season, things should be OK. However, a team which is at risk of being beaten by 10 to 20 goals each week is not compatible with a viable competition, despite what Wayne ("How do I pronounce the names of these Brownlow vote recipients") Jackson says about justice. Princes Park (by whatever name post-Optus, but hopefully not Crazy John's) should be more than adequate to accommodate most Carlton home "crowds" in this cellar era. And (unlike the dump at Docklands), it's got a bloody good playing surface. If only the team were as good as the surface!

Footnote: A correspondent, having recently blamed Carlton for all the evils to do with the commercialisation of football (why not the Kennedy assassination and global warming as well?) also bagged the club for still playing games at Princes Park. Hold on: isn't playing games at a traditional suburban ground is something a tribalist should support, especially when, during a rough trot, the ground can accommodate quite a few home games? Silly me, looking for consistency from the one-eyed. Reminds me of the Port Adelaide fan who rubbished the Carlton theme song because it was "old-fashioned" - odd comment given that Port wallows in "tradition".

And, finally, a thank you to Tony Costa, mayor of Subiaco, and Peter Metropolis, president of the Subiaco Football Club, for their splendid hospitality when I visited Perth for the occasion of Subi's last game at Subiaco Oval. And, thanks to Subi for winning. Now, keep it up and capitalise on finishing on top of the ladder - win that flag!

Kouta. A Blue who is up to standard.

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