I see so many similarities between these two Carlton players.

Ratts played at 184cm and 90kg....AB is listed at 184cm and 85kg.

Both were 19 when breaking into the Seniors after coming thru the ranks, though Ratts spent a long time in the back pocket because of the dominance of Fraser Brown and Diesel in our midfield.

AB was; and is a natural midfielder like Ratts; but has more pace and tackles as fiercely as our beloved No.7.

Ratts was so lucky to play with and learn from the Diesel; his handballs from packs to team mates were truly Dieselesque.

On the other hand; after 9 games this season; I found AB to be more attacking with his running and pace, and showed his class against Collingwood in Round 20 this year when he was awarded the NAB Rising Star Award for the round.

I'm really excited about AB's future as a gun midfielder....can we hope to have another Ratten?....or will he make his own mark on the AFL?

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

It maybe a big call but of the list last year i believe young Adam will be the best of the bunch.

He has footballer written all over him..

just love his work ethic. This kid leaves no stone unturned to improve himself.

I am not a good enough judge to know if he will make it or not


but I do know

he is probably the kid i most want to make it.


apart from every other bloke on our list


of course.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Love AB and hope he makes it. You can add 3 brownlow votes to the rising star nomination from that game against the filth as well. Clearly BOG with 35 touches or whatever. The Filth might not have had their best lineup out there on the night, but still a great effort from a bloke only just promoted off the rookie list.

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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

that is a big call, but not a stupid one.
I hold Blackwell in the same regard. he already looks a class above in the VFL. just needs to fill out and get a bit more expereince.

i think Blackwell and Bentick are going to be the conerstones of our midfiled for the next 10 years. (along with Murph).

Blackwell might take a year or so longer to come on, i see him as a year behind bentick in development, and probably about the same level as murphy is now.

I can feel a Mrs C post coming up.

If only #7 was available to give to the lad.

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In Bolts we trust.......Until we don't anymore

It will be at the end of 2006.

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"A good composer does not initiate. He steals."

- Igor Stravinsky

The thing that appeals to me the most about AB is not that he's the tough in and under midfielder we're crying out for, instead that he has leadership written all over him IMO. He was skipper of the Calder Cannons in the TAC cup and it now looks like we're putting together a fine leadership group of these yougner players

M.Murphy...Vic Metro Captain
J.Edwards....leader at the Jets
etc etc

MB

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Loooook OUT!

thegezman, agree 100% with your call about blackwell...in the few vfl games i saw blackwell also oozed class. has great poise and uses the pill very well.

question will be over whether he can stack on some weight and keep injury-free.

was actually a little surprised he didn't get some afl time, but accept that the club wants him to develop in the ressies, etc..

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"You're my boy(s), Bluuuee(s)..."

Brett Ratten was only moved into the mid-field (after languishing in the Back Pocket for many years) by our then Assistant Coach, Ken Judge (in 1995) who recognised Brett's ability.

I'm not sure where Brett Ratten would be now if Ken Judge never spent that season with Carlton (in 1995), I'm not sure whether David Parkin would have given Brett Ratten the opportunity.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Listened to Bentick being interviewed after the Collingwood game. Although he gave the standard "team" answers, I was impressed with the way he handled himself with Rex & the boys. He seemed to have a real understanding of where he was as a footballer & what he need to do going forward.

I looked at a pic of AB at todays training session and geez he's a solid boy now. It's gonna take some serious effort from his opponents next year to get the better of him I reckon. He'll make them seriously earn their possies. I'll be especially interested in his tackle count and hardball gets next year.

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There's so much I could say...

I hope he doesnt pull a 'walker' and we are expecting him to get 40 possies and about 15 clearences a week.

I do beleive he will be a good player for years to come and he is the inside player we have need for the last 3 years

AB is under no illusions about his footy.
He knows where he needs to improve and he leaves no stone unturned to achieve it.
As soon as the season finshed, he got a personal trainer, put the runners on and worked on his pace.
He also hit the gym and has put on 3kg of muscle since round 22.

If he doesnt make it as a player, it wont be from lack of commitment.
We'd have a much improved list if we had 38 players with AB's desire to be your best.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

That's top class stuff. Wonder what some of his other senior teammates were doing?

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There's so much I could say...

need I say more?

Mrs Cunningham?

Don't forget too that Sticks predicted that AB would be a future Captain of Carlton.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

It's good to hear about Bentick's attitude. I read an interview with Glenn Manton years ago when he first came to Carlton and Silvagni was running laps. It blew him away. I think that was the pivitol moment which secured Manton's future as a senior AFL footballer.

I have only seen Bentick play a few times. I think there's definitely a spot for him in the midfield with Camporeale and Johnson gone.

i can see AB now, driving a someone a little tipsy home after a Best and Fairest win

"Mrs Caz ..... you're trying to seduce me....."

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Love Cricket? Love me