The name is supposed to be humerous as Bentick is a good player but has no chance of winning the Brownlow

In my mind Teague is our most valuable player because of his courage, you can teach a man to kick straighter, mark better and make them stronger but their heart is a different matter. Teague will do anything he can to get this team over the line every week and constantly goes for the hard ball, we need more people like that wearing the navy blue.

And on the matter of Houlihan, if we continue to be happy with mediocrity, then that is what we will become.

If we could only teach him to run faster or to grow more

Point taken. But I still wouldn't give up on him.

An example of a Teague weakness, he went third man up against Sydney in the last and smashed the ball to the boundary when we were down 7 points and he could of marked the bloody thing.

Courage is great, but football smarts is what our club needs.

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Mjonc signing off at 8888

Notwithstanding all the talk of Houlihan's desire to improve this year, and the Club's requirements for Houlihan, the simple fact is that 6 foot 2 running midfielders - however outside they play - with good skills are a lot more useful than 6 foot 1 key defenders.

Teague is an honourable player and we all wish him well but his role is limited. In some respects Whitnall has taken Teague's spot... and then some.

We need Russell making the grade and becoming a 200 game player...was an early pick and we need to groom him into a senior player and use his ability to run with the footy...he offers plenty with the new way the game is being played...Russell in the team and playing well allows Walker to move into the midfield which will help us win games....not save them...

Blackwell is a smart inside player in the Sam Mitchell, Daniel Harris mould...you need them into days footy ferreting the ball out to your runners...similar to Bentick but has a bit more style about him....

Houlihan....wouldnt mind a dollar for every Houlihan post on this site...at the moment is doing the job..dont consider him a midfielder ..more of a pre finisher...

Setanta has worked hard to get where he is and I want him in the team for his attack on the footy and ability to have a go all the time....skills are getting better and I think he will be the next irishman with a premiership medal..

I Like Bannister... but along with Teague and Chambers I dont see them being part of the next flag team.
Teague is a mighty brave player and I admire his courage but the way the game is being played doesnt suit a mark and kick player like him across HB...its all baout running and creating...

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

For all the Houla lovers out there have you ever wondered why he has been discussed for so long? It is because there is such a doubt over his ability to really make it as a footballer. I won't start listing all of his negatives but it is time to look to the future. Bring on Russell now and even give Blackwell a crack soon.

P.S It wasn't courage that made Houla play on in Perth, he just wasn't hit hard enough

All in good time kingkerna all in good time
Sit back & enjoy the freshness of Murph, JK, Carlos, AB, Eddie, etc..........

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There's so much I could say...

Lets face it, Carlton has played poorly in the last 4 years and everyone has copped a bagging, not just Houlihan. That's a natural response from frustrated supporters, ragardless of which team you support.

Personally, I feel embarassed reading some of the comments from Carlton supporters about Carlton players. It doesn't seem to matter whether they are good or average players, they just seem to cop it unfairly by hot heads.

As for Houlihan, the main reason for such contemptuous slander towards him started was when he pulled out of a contest seemingly afraid to get injured. But that was a long time ago. We all know that wasn't good enough, and so did he. He has turned that around, and if you can't see his good qualities, and what he offers of value to the team, some mentioned above, then you're the one with an imbalanced view. Go and bag another team's players. He has shown committment and loyalty to Carlton when he could have easily agreed to play for The Demons a couple of years ago.

The way I view Houlihan is that he is young skillful and experienced. He has shown good value in the forwardline, but we needed him more in the backline in recent times, and now he is being conditioned to play midfield. All in all he has what modern footballers need is flexibility and we have invested a lot of time in him. Worse case scenario, my view is that if in the future, after several retirements and delistings, if, and maybe, when he is playing on the interchange or forward changing in the midfield, that will imply that the kids have gained the skill level to play AFL, and we have a strong reliable bench and even depth. When that happens it will be a very good Carlton team indeed. I just don't see him as the one who will be dropped or retiring from the team to make way for the kids.

In the meantime he has been and is consistently picked in the first 18 every game, and without disrespect, I believe he is miles ahead Teague, and other midfielder/forwards such as Bannister, Chambers, Longmuir, Scotland, McGrath, Davies, Wiggins, Sporn, even bigger guys ( although an unfair comparison) Prenders, Livingston and Bryan, and even ahead of the younger guys in Russell and Blackwell ...well ATM....and there's probably others.

You see my point is Bentick, Simpson, Murphy, Carrazzo, Walker and Bettsy have all stepped up, and when Hartlett, Russell, Blackwell, Flint, Bower, Kennedy, The O'halpins and a couple new draftees take the next step, Houla may be pushed onto a bench, or in a pocket, but he will provide experience, strength and skill to support them.

PS: I am not a Houla lover, I'm just not a Carlton hater. I'm a Carlton lover.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Bondiblue I admire your loyalty to the blues but I think it is scary that you put Houla up on such a pedestal, it is a sad state of affairs that he isn't a fringe player (yet) and many of us dislike his ability (or lack of) long before he pulled out of a contest. Just watch his inability to tackle - unfortunately this appears to be rubbing off on Walker and Sporn also.

I'll check it out.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

No need bondi, as far as assessments go, kingkerna is being fairly myopic.

I am getting older but my eyesight is still pretty good - correct me if I am wrong on the tackling

How many tackles did Teague have last week?

You're not wrong, but you're not looking at why it's happening.

Is it just me or is there anybody else out there who reckons there will be posters on here for Hoops' 200th game posting that he'll never make it as an AFL player!! I reckon the Hoops '06 version is having a real crack. He will never be Diesel Williams or David Teague in the hardness stakes but his effort to get back up and go on at Subi was 100% what I want to see. Also saw him give one of his team mates a real spray last weekend when a handpass missed the mark and went out for a throw when better executiuon could have meant we kept possession. I reckon Hoops is trying his hardest and as other posters have said, we dont have too many blokes like Hoops in the squad.

If bravery and commitment is all we want, give me a contract. I'm 39, have 2 bung knees, am slower than Billy Brainless chasing the Fosters truck down the Geelong road and couldnt kick/mark/handball to save myself but by geez I'd make a right go of it to crash into some of those skinny AFL blokes!!! I'd probably only ever get 2 mins on the ground so an 8 week suspension wouldnt be an obstacle to me.

In a perfect world we'd have a team of Cox, Judd and Jonno Brown clones running around every week but nobody has that luxury. Credit where it is due, Hoops looks like he is doing everything that could be asked of him at the moment.

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

Never had any doubt that Houla would make it as an AFL player. He's far too skilled to be lost to the game.

That doesn't mean you can't wish for him to be a more complete player though.

Great signs getting up after the knock at Subi and pushing on. That took a lot of courage by anyones standard.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Have we all gone mad?!!! Deluca had a shocker against Sydney. All game I thought "don't kick it to him". He presents well, but itsno good getting the ball if you give it back every time. If he learns to kick, he's in.

He should probably be groomed to be another Scott Lucas...

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

We need as much hardness at the ball as possible.

teague has to play week in week out.

He makes mistakes but he crunches the opposition regularly.

Deluca is a little giraffe like for his own good. I am not sure he can improve

How can someone possibly be pro-teague and anti-de luca.....? both of them are garbage. sure david teague is hard at the ball, but it makes no freakin difference how hard you are at it when as soon as you get it, you cough it up.....teague can crash as many packs and back into as many marking contests and dive blindly for the ball on the ground as he likes, he is still not up to AFL standard....

as far as houlihan goes....i have made no secret about how much i disliked houla. but i am willing to eat my words and say i was wrong. I have been saying for ages that the only thing houla lacked was physicality and hardness at the ball, too many times i saw him shirk the issue. This year, the 06 model houla, with free air and more kick in the guts, has bulked up and is playing like an AFL player should, hitting the packs and disposing of the ball with silky perfection....

so yeah, i was wrong about Houla, but i will NEVER EVER say that about david teague or de luca, both need to be cut, seasons end......

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Back like a raging case of pubic lice