Just heard that Bentick is out for the last two games with a shoulder problem he's been carrying all year.

Wow, 9 pages on poor ol' AB?

What about the fact that he's high up in the stats in our 1%ers and tackles etc yet down the bottom in errors .

He's a good kid and will play many games for us, get off his back!!

Been there done that 4 pages back: http://www.talkingcarlton.com/phpBB2/vi ... 020#341020

And team stats like these ones most certainly DO still have significant meaning in today's game ... e.g. blocks and screens give protection for centre bounce takeaways.

Headplant - what are the stats for effective disposals?? This counts as far as I'm concerned.

As I've said previously - IMHO next year will define this kids' career.

We desperately need players with foot skills in our team which is evident from after watching the match at the dome last sunday...

I've been a Carazzo fan but i am starting to go off him... I love Bentick for his attack on the ball at the stoppages but his foot skills still leave a bit to be desired.. especially when passing to forward targets like Fevola and such..

Players with poor foot skills in our CURRENT best team include..

* Bentick
* Carrazzo
* McGrath (in general)
* O'Hailpin (he's getting better)
* Wiggins (who has improved)

My thinking is a trade that would be something like this..

Carrazzo and Bentick are C Grade footballers who have some talent and ability..

We could do a trade with the Bulldogs that would go...

* Carrazzo and Bentick for * Daniel Giansiracusa (who i'd consider a B Grade footballer with good skills)

I've found watching or guys this year is that most of the time... we are more than competitive but luck the skills to make the most of our advances on the field... This is an area which has hurt us deeply... we can be 3 goals up on a side and then within minutes the scores can be cut back to level all due to our own mistakes and poor skills on the field...

Now I know we have a lot of young players who will get better with experience in that area but are we sure players like Carrazzo and Bentick will be part of our next premiership team on talent alone...

With a substantial membership loss this year and another poor performance on the field (plus 4 out of 5 years as cellar dwellers) I think its all the more important to deliver a message to the members that a competitive carlton unit is right around the corner.. so we can get our membership back up, which correlates to more profit from the club.. which will help our our club in some small way get back to the glory days when we were a rich and proud club...

What if next year our total membership drops to around 25k!!... That would be nothing short of a disaster and eventually one of the worst membership bases in the AFL...

Thats why I think it's important to pick up a couple of YOUNG players (Not an akermanis type!) with GOOD FOOT SKILLS and overall disposal in general...

* Wiggins (who has improved)

My thinking is a trade that would be something like this..

Carrazzo and Bentick are C Grade footballers who have some talent and ability..

We could do a trade with the Bulldogs that would go...

* Carrazzo and Bentick for * Daniel Giansiracusa (who i'd consider a B Grade footballer with good skills)

.

Ok to all those astute football watchers that think Bentick has no place in the side... can you please tell me (dont fly off to la la land) who you would replace him in the guts with????

Thats what i wanna know...

Ok... knock me over....

I can see some posters here getting frustrated and somewhat emotional over AB, for one reason or another, just by reading some of the responses and their words.

Synners, I think he has a place in the side, but needs to be more damaging to the opposition in terms of disposal and decision making. He has talent, but is limited. Whether his place in the side is long term - this is where I'm doubting based on what I've seen thus far. If he can be half as good as Ratten, we have a winner in AB - I don't see that, though.

Other options in the centre (guts or in and under) are Smith (only just getting a go, so will need a season or two to see if he can cut it), and Blackwell (his first season, so same as Smith).

I think the MC have much to answer for my opinion on AB as his job is a difficult one and the kid needs help in the middle and further development in other parts of his game, otherwise he's very vulnerable.

Wangers i read all of that but i didnt hear who youd replace Bentick in the guts with.

also can someone give me the statistics (these statistics are not useless) of Benticks tackling before his injury and since???

Just remember he is 21 and we have no grunt.
he is the only inside player we have with ANY KIND of grunt.
He stands up in tackles which is something we dont do collectively.
He is under every pack.

I really dont understand what some people are watching when they watch football.

To have a go at Bentick just outlines how out of touch supporters are with the reality of this football club.

If you had Sam Mitchell you might not need Bentick as much.

stKilda take the pressure of Harvey and Ball with a guy like Powell. Who is one tough bastard and is close to 30 years old. His body has broken down because like Bentick he is at the heart of every pack clutch.

These blokes sacrifice their bodies by being TOUGH BASTARDS doing amazing bulldoze work to make others look good.

Youre not serious when you bag him for not being silky are you???

Its horses for courses but if you understand the role and the kid you have to appeciate AB not bag him....

However, unlike Powell, Bentick is not damaging other teams by disposal when he's free out of the packs after being belted breaking tackles and bullocking?

I did state Smith & Blackwell as the other options, plus whoever we target in this years draft/trading period that can play this position.

Since when was powell damaging?

Powell damaging ...you sure you've got the right Powell??



I can't believe people who question Bentick's worth think that Smith is a better option!! That is akin to St Kilda saying Kosi is too injury prone let's trade him for Hartlett...

He has speed and and can hit a target. Has been good for the Aints since they picked him up in the PSD. In fact many on here were hoping we'd pick up Powell in PSD.

Answer this, is Bentick damaging in your eyes? Be honest, too!

Synbad - we're all astute judges here on TC. Does the CFC keep AB on the list indefinitely purely because he locks the ball in, creates paths for others, locks the opposition up with his tackles?

What do we do about his lack of leg speed, slow release of the footy from hand to foot, lack of penetration in his kicking? He will only ever be a plodder who with hard work may improve his kicking and may learn to position himself better to cover for his lack of pace and become a handy player on the list rated at 25-30 (a Graham Whitnall/Alan Mangels type). Mind you he's been in the system now for 3 years and he hasn't improved in these areas and in fact looked more likely in his first year.

Who do we put into the team in his place? God only knows because we ain't exactly overflowing with Judd-esque footballers. But here's my pick - Blackwell, Jackson (should of been elevated) and why not try Butch Edwards kid in the middle - what do we have to lose?