Carlton FC: A new Era - an FFFX gaming diary

[Ibitmybut]

The Carlton Blues' 2008 season is a promising one, with Carlton legend Brett Ratten taking over the reigns as head coach - taking off where Dennis Pagan had left off.

Though Dennis Pagan is often ridiculed by many supporters, the ex-Carlton coach deserves some credit, for if it wasn't for Pagan's persistence in keeping Brendan Fevola on the Carlton roster, the Blues would be lacking severely in a key forward. Fevola has now become a veteran of the club and though he possesses a hot-tempered head and aggressive mindset, he will surely be a positive influence in a lot of the young Carlton players' games.

Carlton have been somewhat 'building' in their roster depth for the past few years, and 2008 has been said by many to be Carlton's time to shine. The youngsters in Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs, Michael Jamison and Shaun Grigg are very promising prospects, and the newly recruited Matthew Kreuzer, Dennis Armfield and Steven Browne have proved to be great pick-ups in the pre-season. The biggest pick-up of the pre-season however, belongs to Chris Judd. The former Brownlow Medallist and Premiership Captain has been already put in the leadership group of the Carlton football club and will definitely look to lead his new team to a finals berth.

Will the maturing youngsters, new pick-ups and of course new coach play a major part in Carlton's 2008 season with their quest for dominance? Or will their poor execution and lack of skill see the Blues bring home another Wooden Spoon?
Only time will tell..

2008 Senior List:

Ackland, Cain
Anderson, Joe
Armfield, Dennis
Austin, Mark
Bannister, Jordan
Benjamin, Clinton
Bentick, Adam
Betts, Eddie
Blackwell, Luke
Bower, Paul
Browne, Steven
Carrazzo, Andrew
Cloke, Cameron
Edwards, Jake
Fevola, Brendan
Fisher, Brad
Gibbs, Bryce
Grigg, Shaun
Hadley, Richard
Hampson, Shaun
Hartlett, Adam
Houlihan, Ryan
Jackson, Ryan
Judd, Chris
Kreuzer, Matthew
Murphy, Marc
O'hAilpin, Aisake
O'hAilpin, Setanta
Pfeiffer, Darren
Russell, Jordan
Saddington, Jason
Scotland, Heath
Simpson, Kade
Stevens, Nick
Thornton, Bret
Waite, Jarrad
Walker, Andrew
Wiggins, Simon

2008 Rookie List:

Ellard, David
Hill, Lachie
Jacobs, Sam
Jamison, Michael
Joseph, Aaron
Shields, Michael

Captain:

Chris Judd

Vice-Captain:

Nick Stevens

Coach:

Brett Ratten​

NOTE: I LIKED ROOFROM50'S GAMEDAY FORMAT SO MUCH THAT I TOOK NOTE AND BASED MY OWN TEMPLATE FOR UPDATES ON HIS. THANKS ROO, BUT IF YOU DO NOT WISH ME TO USE A SIMILAR FORMAT TO YOURS GIVE ME A YELL AND I'LL CHANGE IT.

 

[Roofrom50]

Go ahead mate, this story is looking good, good luck with it :happy

 

[Ibitmybut]

Thanks mate. I really like your footy stories so I'm glad you've taken a look at mine

Ibitmybut added 0 Minutes and 52 Seconds later...

Carlton vs Richmond Preview

Last time they met: Carlton 15.25 (115) d. Richmond 15.8 (98)

FORM
Carlton: N/A
Richmond: N/A

SUMMARY
Carlton's new looking side will look to dominate proceedings tonight, and Chris Judd will look to have as big of an impact as possible in his first proper match for the Blues. Though his captaining skills are superb - as shown by his Premiership captaining experience with West Coast - he will not be familiar with Carlton's players and playing style, which may prove very costly and may have a very big influence in the end result of tonight's match.
Richmond on the other hand will rely heavily on Full-Forward Matthew Richardson. Their forward line has quite a bit of depth with Kayne Pettifer and Joel Bowden prepared to pick up the crumbs, and Brett Deledio in the centre will look to deliver the ball to his forward line with a combination of his slick footwork and amazing skill.
Both teams will want to come out of this match-up with a win under their belt, and will have to apply the pressure both in the forward line and back line if they are to have any chance of winning.

ODDS
Blues 2.00
Tigers 1.70

PREDICTION
Tigers by 10

TEAMS

Carlton
B: Setanta O'hAilpin, Bret Thornton, Andrew Walker
HB: Simon Wiggins, Cameron Cloke, Andrew Carrazzo
C: Bryce Gibbs, Nick Stevens, Kade Simpson
HF: Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite, Eddie Betts
F: Adam Bentick, Brendan Fevola, Ryan Houlihan
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Judd, Heath Scotland
Inter: Richard Hadley, Jordan Russel, Brad Fisher, Shaun Grigg

Richmond
B: Greg Tivendale, Graham Polak, Jake King
HB: Jordan McMahon, Will Thursfield, Chris Newman
C: Nathan Foley, Brett Deledio, Shane Tuck
HF: Joel Bowden, Cleve Hughes, Chris Hyde
F: Richard Tambling, Matthew Richardson, Kayne Pettifer
R: Troy Simmonds, Kane Johnson, Nathan Brown
Inter: Mark Coughlan, Andrew Raines, Trent Cotchin, Dean Polo

 

[Roofrom50]

Good luck to Kruezer, Judd, Hadley playing their 1st games for the Blues, and good to see Cotchin in the side for the Tigers.. Kruezer and Cotchin... now theres some talent on show at the G.

 

[Ibitmybut]

Carlton vs Richmond

QUARTER 1
Carlton 3.5 (23)
Richmond 0.0 (0)

Carlton started off the game extremely well, with Cameron Cloke booting home Carlton's first and the first of the game at the 4 minute mark. Shortly after the goal however, Cameron Cloke suffered a hard cork to the thigh from a running Richmond player and was forced to be benched for the remainder of the game. Ryan Houlihan was the next to bring home a goal for the blues after a magnificent passage of play from the Half Forward. The Blues snagged another less than 2 minutes later, coming from the boot of Heath Scotland who sneaked forward from the backline. Carlton's goals were un-answered however, with Richmond not even managing a point in the first term of the game. The only Richmond player who showed much resistance from the dominating Carlton performance was Cleve Hughes, who managed 8 kicks and 1 handball, adding up to 9 disposals in the first term. Nick Stevens was the stand-out for Carlton, with 6 kicks and 3 handballs. Richmond will be going into the second quarter with next to no confidence, and one would be thinking that had Carlton converted the 5 missed chances, the game would be all but over for the Tigers after the first quarter.

QUARTER 2
Carlton 6.12 (48)
Richmond 4.2 (26)

A better performance from Richmond, winning the quarter by a point, but it was only due to the lack of accuracy that the Carlton side showed. Carlton booted 3 goals 7 for the quarter, and I'm sure Brett Ratten up in the coach's box would not be too impressed with Carlton's goal shooting in the first half of the match. Richmond's resistance began when Kayne Pettifer booted a goal under pressure to give the Tigers their first taste of goal for the season. Kane Johnson then backed up his team-mates goal with another a little more than 30 seconds after the previous one. At this point Carlton fans would've been worrying, but Carlton spear-head Brendan Fevola replied with a goal of his own to give the Blues back some momentum. No more than 30 seconds later, Ryan Houlihan kicked a beauty from the boundary to bag two for the night. Other goals of the quarter came from Richmond's Will Thursfield and Kayne Pettifer, and Shaun Grigg even managed his own after pushing up from the backline. Fevola who had no disposals in the first quarter finished off the quarter with 6 kicks, one of which resulting in a goal. Ryan Houlihan had a solid quarter with 4 kicks and 4 handballs, but the quarter definitely belonged to Marc Murphy, who amassed 6 kicks and 3 handballs for the quarter. Richmond's Jake King was the other stand-out of the quarter, managing 5 kicks and 6 handballs, to bring his disposals to 11 for the quarter. Despite his magnificent performances, his team are still going into the main break trailing by 22 points. They should consider themselves lucky that they are not trailing by any more as Carlton have wasted their other 12 opportunities at goal.

QUARTER 3
Carlton 9.14 (68)
Richmond 6.4 (40)

After Half Time, the Tigers ran out on the field looking pumped and as determined as ever, but their spirits unfortunately could not defeat Carlton on its own, which saw the Blues stretch their lead to 28 at the fourth and final term. Carlton was much more accurate this term, booting 3 goals 2 from 5 shots. This was a big improvement from the previous quarter's points tally and saw them win the quarter over Richmond's 2 goals 2. Both teams traded goal for goal in this 3rd term, with Houlihan kicking his 3rd for the night only for Carlton to be replied with a goal from Chris Hyde. Soon after Hyde's goal, Shaun Grigg from Carlton pushed from the backline and delivered a goal of his own. Kayne Pettifer bagged another for the Tigers 2 minutes later, and all was looking even until Brendan Fevola booted his 2nd for the night and Carlton's 3rd for the quarter. 10 minutes were still to be played, but there were no scores from then on and the Tigers will go into the 4th quarter trailing by 28 points. Though Richmond will be trailing in the fourth, there are positive signs as Brett Deledio disposed of the Sherrin an impressive 12 times in that quarter. Andrew Carrazzo was the second best for the quarter, with 7 disposals of his own.

QUARTER 4
Carlton 13.15 (93)
Richmond 9.6 (60)

A good, accurate performance from the Blues brought home the win. The Blue Baggers booted home 4 goals for the quarter, 2 goals coming from the boot of Brendan Fevola and his boot alone. All did not look well for the Blues as Richard Tambling kicked a maximum after only 2 minutes of play. The hot-headed Brendan Fevola then got his hands on the ball yet again, and converted it to 6 points. The Blues were starting to get comfortable until Matthew Richardson snagged his first for the night. With 10 minutes to go, anything was possible and Richmond's intensity was right up there, and a win was surely on the cards..but unfortunately to Tiger fans it was not to be as Carlton replied with 3 goals of their own in the short space of 3 minutes, one of which gave Fevola his fourth for the game, and Eddie Betts and Andrew Walkers' first. With 4 minutes to go, Nathan Foley capped off his night with somewhat of a consolation goal late in the fourth and final quarter. The siren sounded and Blues fans all over Australia were ecstatic, and excited at these promising signs from Carlton in the 2008 season. Marc Murphy finished off the game with 28 disposals, consisting of an amazing 19 kicks, 9 handballs and 8 marks. Carlton's star mid-fielder Nick Stevens trailed Murphy by only 1 disposal, finishing off with 27 for the night. Andrew Raines of Richmond had a great night despite his team's poor performance, finishing off the night with 29 disposals to his name, with 15 kicks and 14 handballs. Fevola was the leading goal-scorer of the night with 4 to his name, but with those a disappointing 5 behinds.

Marc Murphy dominated proceedings today with 28 disposals​

Final Score
Carlton 13.15 (93)
defeated
Richmond 9.6 (60)

Today's performance from Carlton showed that they are as dangerous as any other team in the competition, but they will need to improve on their accuracy when kicking for goal if they wish to be true contenders for the premiership. Carlton fans would be delighted to see youngsters like Marc Murphy step up and Nick Stevens in the mid-field giving Carlton a stable centre. Chris Judd had a quiet match with only the 15 disposals but as the rounds go on I'm sure he'll become more comfortable with his new team and perform like the Chris Judd of old.

GOALS
Carlton: Fevola (4), Houlihan (3), Grigg (2), Betts, Scotland, Cloke, Walker
Richmond: Pettifer (3), Richardson, Tambling, Hyde, Foley, Johnson, Thursfield

BEST
Carlton: Marc Murphy, Nick Stevens, Ryan Houlihan
Richmond: Raines, Brown, Deledio

INJURIES
Cameron Cloke (CARL) - Left corked thigh - 5 days

REPORTS
Nil

STATS

 

[Roofrom50]

Good start for the Blue Baggers. Fev kicking 4 and Marc Murphy (Star) playing well. It was a good first up game for the season for the Blues. Just kick starts their rebuilding season

 

[Ibitmybut]

Round 1 Results

Carlton 13.15 (93) def. Richmond 9.6 (60)
Power 11.12 (78) def. by Geelong 21.8 (134)
Collingwood 15.24 (114) def. Fremantle 7.7 (49)
St Kilda 10.10 (70) def. Sydney 8.13 (61)
West Coast 16.17 (113) def. Brisbane 14.7 (91)
Bulldogs 18.27 (135) def. Adelaide 12.4 (76)
Hawthorn 10.9 (69) def. by Melbourne 15.11 (101)
Kangaroos 15.13 (103) def. Essendon 8.8 (56)

Stat Leaders

Goals: Steve Johnson (GEE) - 6
Kicks: Brent Harvey (NTH) - 29
Handballs: Grant Birchall (HAW) - 18
Disposals: Brent Harvey (NTH) - 39
Inside 50s: Brent Harvey (NTH) - 10
Rebound 50s: Dustin Fletcher (ESS) - 11
Clearances: Brett Kirk (SYD), Chris Judd (CARL), Cameron Bruce (MELB), Aaron Sandilands (FREO), Leigh Harding (NTH), Brent Harvey (NTH), Ryan Griffen (WB), Chance Bateman (HAW), Joel Corey (GEE) - 7​

 

[Roofrom50]

God the Crows got smashed

 

[Ibitmybut]

Last time they met: St Kilda 16.15 (111) d. Carlton 15.11 (101)

FORM
Carlton: W
St Kilda: W

SUMMARY
Carlton see no need in changing a winning side and have stuck by that theory, going into tonight's match without a change to the starting 22. Number 1 draft picks Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer had quiet nights last week, so they will be trying their hardest to prove their Draft Pick rank by performing today against an in-form Saints side. New skipper Chris Judd only had 15 disposals last round - a feat that is nowhere near his standards, so he will also be looking to prove to his new team that the trade was well worth it. Marc Murphy on the other hand, finished off last week's matchup against Richmond with 28 disposals to his name - an almost career high performance from the young superstar.
The Saints are coming off an inspirational win against the Sydney Swans, with Nick DalSanto leading from example with 32 disposals to his name, consisting of 21 kicks, 11 handballs and 5 marks. Reiwoldt was the other star of the night, bagging 3 goals and having his fair share of the ball with 17 disposals of his own. Young Matthew Kreuzer will have a tough time against Justin Koschitzke in the ruck, after the St Kilda Ruck/Forward tapped the ball out of the middle 16 times against the Swans. Sam Fisher was another superstar for the Saints last week with 31 disposals - 1 less than BOG Nick DalSanto. Fisher was amazing in the defensive 50 with 10 rebound 50s, 20 kicks, 10 marks and 11 handballs.
The game is scheduled to be a blockbuster, with both teams battling it out for a good start to the season. St Kilda have the slightly better team but anything is possible this early in the season, as the Blues will look to continue their red-hot form.

ODDS
Blues 2.00
Saints 1.70

PREDICTION
Saints by 7

TEAMS

St Kilda
B: Max Hudghton, Sam Fisher, Sam Gilbert
HB: Steven Baker, Matthew Maguire, Xavier Clarke
C: Brendon Goddard, Luke Ball, Robert Harvey
HF: Adam Schneider, Justin Koschitzke, Charlie Gardiner
F: Aaron Fiora, Nick Reiwoldt, Stephen Milne
R: Jason Blake, Lenny Hayes, Nick DalSanto
Inter: Clinton Jones, Shane Birss, David Armitage, Sean Dempster

IN: David Armitage, Sean Dempster
OUT: Leigh Montagna (suspension), Jarryd Allen (omitted)


Carlton
B: Setanta O'hAilpin, Bret Thornton, Andrew Walker
HB: Simon Wiggins, Cameron Cloke, Andrew Carrazzo
C: Marc Murphy, Nick Stevens, Adam Bentick
HF: Bryce Gibbs, Jarrad Waite, Bradley Fisher
F: Eddie Betts, Brendan Fevola, Ryan Houlihan
R: Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Judd, Heath Scotland
Inter: Richard Hadley, Jordan Russel, Kade Simpson, Shaun Grigg

IN: N/A
OUT: N/A​

 

[Roofrom50]

Good preview mate, i think the Saints will just pick you off though, Riewoldt, Kosi and Schneider to kick 9 goals between em, to grab a win

 

[Ibitmybut]

QUARTER 1
St Kilda 3.2 (20)
Carlton 2.7 (19)

A very tight, exciting and edge-of-your-seat quarter. The scoring started when St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke pushed forward after doing his job in the ruck. "Kozzy" took a screamer of a mark over O'hAilpin who lost his cool and gave away 50, which allowed Koschitzke slot home the first for the night. The blues had no reply, and Stephen Milne gifted the Saints with another after one of his trademark snaps. Six minutes were played without a goal being scored, until the Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin helped himself to a goal after pushing forward from the defensive 50. Jarrad Waite then made up for the Blues' 7 missed chances with his own goal coming from a Saint Kilda turnover in their defensive 50. It was not until the 2nd last minute of the quarter until another goal was scored, this time coming from the boot of Stephen Milne, who finished the quarter with 2 goals and 8 disposals. Sam Gilbert was a star for the Saints, racking up 11 disposals for the quarter. For the Blues, Adam Bentick and Heath Scotland shared 8 disposals each and Andrew Walker once again showed his talent with 9 touches. At this point it's anybody's game and it will be interesting to see how each team deals with the pressure.

QUARTER 2
St Kilda 6.6 (42)
Carlton 4.11 (35)

Carlton's inaccuracy once again showed as the team kicked 4 behinds for only 2 goals. The Saints kicked their own 4 behinds but it was more respectable, combining with 3 goals to the Saints. Brendan 'Fev' Fevola started off the quarter for the Blues with a massive goal from outside 50, and the momentum suddenly shifted to the Blues as it looked like they were in control in the early goings of the second quarter. Just as momentum started shifting their way, Riewoldt spoiled the party for the Blues with a quick goal to bring the Saints back in front. The Captain's goal was followed by another Saints goal from David Armitage, 13 minutes later. All momentum seemed lost for the Blues until Brendan Fevola showed his worth once again with a spectacular mark and goal inside Carlton's attacking 50. The Blues then looked to play out the quarter but to no avail as Aaron Fiora from the Saints stole a goal from the boundary line with 44 seconds left in the quarter. Sam Gilber had another magnificent quarter with 9 disposals, but he was the only main stand-out for the Saints. The Blues stayed within a winnable margin all thanks to Brad Fisher's 10 disposal quarter. Skipper Chris Judd also starred with the ball adding his own 10 disposals to the tally. Saints go into the main break with a lead of 7 points, which is nowhere near a lead to be comfortable with, with still a half of footy to be played.

QUARTER 3
St Kilda 12.8 (80)
Carlton 6.13 (49)

An extremely disappointing quarter for Carlton saw them trailing by 31 points with only a quarter of footy left to go. Carlton's third quarter woes started off when Nick Riewoldt booted a goal from a Saints' clearance after only 47 seconds of play. Nick DalSanto was the next to punish Carlton for their poor decision making, with his own goal after intercepting a Carlton kick-in. Brad Fisher from Carlton got some revenge, kicking his own goal after marking the ball inside 50 with a magnificent vertical leap, but the celebrations were short lived after the Saints replied with 3 goals of their own. Riewoldt kicked his second for the quarter, whilst Brendon Goddard and Lenny Hayes booted their first for the match to put Carlton behind by a massive margin. Fevola continued his fine form with a goal of his own from outside 50, but once again the Saints replied with a Stephen Milne goal to end the scoring for the 3rd quarter. Along with his 2 goals for the quarter, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt racked up 11 disposals for the quarter, followed closely by Schneider's 10. Despite his team's poor performance for the quarter, Blues Skipper Chris Judd stole the show with an amazing, awe-inspiring, incredible 18 disposals for the quarter alone! That is truly an amazing feat and it shows signs of Chris Judd at his best. Unfortunately for his efforts however, Carlton were not able to convert Judd's fine form into goals, and are going into the final term seriously disadvantaged with not a lot of hope to bring home the 4 points.

QUARTER 4
St Kilda 15.15 (105)
Carlton 8.13 (61)

Better defensive play from the Blues denied St Kilda to 3 goals 7 for the quarter, but as usual with Carlton, where one aspect of the game shines, another fails - in this case the forward line. Though Carlton's attacking players managed 2 goals and 0 behinds for the quarter, their marking abilities were not up to scratch and neither was their pressure in the forward 50, unlike last week's game where the Blues tackled, and applied pressure brilliantly in their attacking half. Goals of the quarter came from Marc Murphy and Brendan Fevola for the Blues, and Nick Riewoldt to bring his grand total to 4, Jason Blake, and Luke Ball with a magnificent goal under pressure with only 56 seconds left in the game. Adam Schneider had another great quarter with 9 disposals, as did Riewoldt with his own 7, but it was Judd yet again to prove his skill with 8 disposals for the quarter, which brought his overall disposals for the match to a surely career-high 43. Adam Bentick was the second-best Blue on the field with 24 disposals and 9 marks. St Kilda's best consisted of Nick Riewoldt who kicked 4 goals and disposed of the ball 27 times, with 12 marks, and Adam Schneider with 28 touches. Although several Blues shone throughout the game, the Carlton coaching staff will not be at all happy with the team's performance tonight, and will definitely look to change a few things for next week's clash against Essendon.

Chris Judd was dominant in the field with 43 touches

FINAL SCORE
St Kilda 15.15 (105)
Carlton 8.13 (61)​

Another woeful second half from the Blues saw St Kilda pull home an easy win in the end. After fighting so hard in the first term to stay in the game, the Blues started falling off and did not cope with the pressure as well as the Saints did, and thus did not deserve a win. There were positive signs however, with Chris Judd racking up an amazing 43 disposals for the game, and hopefully the Carlton boys will be able to use this to their advantage during next week's game against Essendon in the Rivalry round.

GOALS: Riewoldt (4), Milne (3), Armitage, Blake, DalSanto, Hayes, Ball, Goddard, Koschitzke, Fiora
BEST: Riewoldt, Gilbert, Schneider
INJURIES: Sam Fisher - left ankle - 14 days
REPORTS: Nil
STATS

GOALS: Fevola (4), O'hAilpin, Murphy, Fisher, Waite
BEST: Judd, Fisher, Bentick
INJURIES: Matthew Kreuzer - right hamstring - 25 days
REPORTS: Nil
STATS

TEAM STATS

​

 

[Ibitmybut]

Round 2 Results

Brisbane 14.19 (103) def. Collingwood 11.12 (78)
Melbourne 6.10 (46) def. by Western Bulldogs 13.16 (94)
Adelaide 15.23 (113) def. West Coast 13.13 (91)
St Kilda 15.15 (105) def. Carlton 8.13 (61)
Fremantle 13.9 (87) def. by Hawthorn 17.19 (121)
Sydney 21.24 (150) def. Port Adelaide 10.9 (69)
Geelong 13.22 (100) def. Essendon 10.9 (69)
Richmond 13.12 (90) def. by North Melbourne 16.12 (108)

Stat Leaders

Goals: Robert Murphy (WB), Jonathan Brown (BRIS) - 10
Kicks: Brent Harvey (NTH) - 56
Handballs: Chris Judd (CARL) - 36
Disposals: Brent Harvey (NTH) - 77
Inside 50s: Brent Harvey (NTH), Paul Chapman (GEE) - 17
Rebound 50s: Dustin Fletcher (ESS) - 29
Clearances: Cameron Bruce (MELB), Brent Harvey (NTH), Ryan Griffen (WB) - 13​

 

[Mad Snake]

well done mate this is really good

 

[punterpupnroy]

This is amazingly good.... the preso is SUPERB... nicely written gee a amazing story reps to you mate.


KUTGW!!!!!!!

 

[Roofrom50]

Exellent presentation mate, keep up the great work buddy. Bring back the great club of Carlton and bring them back into the top 8.