This year.

Its an unlevel playing field....WA and SA teams have their players running around in the SANFL and WAFL if they dont play seniors and we have to put up with our kids who dont make the Bullants ones playing kids from the burbs in the twos and we wonder why their rookies and kids develop so fast....

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

This is one of the area's the NRL craps all over the AFL. They (Sydney and regional teams anyway) all have Reserves, U21, U19, U17 and U15 teams that compete on a weekly basis. Teams like Melbourne and Brisbane don't field sides there but stronger regional sides (like Newtown) are played in the Reserve grade comp in their place to keep the numbers even.

I have a mate who supports the Bulldogs and he has seen blokes develop from the Harold Mathews U15 sides, through teh juniors into the senior grade and then onto rep football. It was one of the things my old man loved most about Carlton when we still lived in Melbourne - the develop of the youngsters through teh system.

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The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

GWS wrote



That's vision GWS, and also a possibility when we're more financial. We have to focus on embracing the "Carlton family" and building on this in the future. That includes those playing in the third team and the second team with a Carlton jumper on them...that is what supporters ideally want to see (except traditional Bullant supporters).

Great idea.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Heavs wrote



Me too and thousands of others.

I'd bet that there would be more people wanting to see one Carlton reserves team with all Carlton listed players (notwothstanding injury) than they would the Bullants....especially as we rise up the ladder, and our arrogance/euphoria returns.

Elwood blue wrote



And you hit the nail on the head Elwood. We're disavantaged; the kids in the thirds, the seconds, the team, the club and the supporters. We need to fast track development...and that can't happen in the burbs if we want to compete with SANFL and WAFL developed players/kids.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

If my Powerball numbers come up tonight*, I'll personally chip in half a mill to fund a Carlton stand-alone team in the VFL.









*This is dependent on me picking up more than 2 million.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

Great idea GWS.

Pity about the cash flow.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Now that is an initiative that would be worth looking at.

Never worried me greatly. I always supported Preston inthe VFA so this kills 2 birds with the one stone.

carlton 2nds. why did that ever fold?
on dissapearances
what happened to the blue birds?

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dane's trolling again

If we want to return to our former glory, we have to think like our former glory, and aim for our former glory...call them milestones, but lets set them to:

Bring me the Carlton Reserves (VFL, VFA, AFL...I don't care, just aim to get it back in 1,2,3 5 years)

Bluebirds....bring them back and get Virgin Blue to sponsor them (they can dance on transparent perspex and I don't care if you call it the 'hymen')

Bring back the Carlton family at MC Labour (as GWS suggested; let him be the architect)....just aim to bring it back

Bring back our P&L in the black and out of the red...just do it (Nike can help, as would a new board)

Bring back finals for the Blueboys,,,,they're coming, that we can bank on.

Give me that Holy Grail in 2009 and I'll be blown away!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I reckon we all get out of the nineties and into this decade.

The Bullants is a fantastic opportunity for us to farm and then harvest support.
Huge area with a heap of great footballing history.. blokes like Stevens Scotland and Whitnall as well as Kouta have come from those suburbs.

We should be cultivating the northern suburbs for future members and have better recruiting intelligence from that way instead of fighting change (Once again).


There are absolutely hundreds of thousands of people up in those suburbs and we have our cocks in it and dont know what to do like schoolboys.

Unbelievable.,

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

But any decent players will be in the TAC System and up for grabs in the draft.

The AFL have got it arse about (as per usual ) they want AFL clubs to align with VFL clubs but they give no incentive to the AFL club to nurture any talent.

At least give the AFL club the incentive to Rookie List a local player from the aligned clubs area.

The AFL should also stand on the VFL and get rid of the 12/10 rule so at least listed AFL players play in the firsts and not the seconds.

For @#$%&! Sake VFL Admin is in AFL House - who are they trying to kid.

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

Winston Churchill

Absolutely Synbad.

I think its natural to pine for the past and pine for the things that we thought led to our success in the past, but fielding a reserves team of our own isnt going to happen. Cost & management time are the main reasons, but look through the competition and who else in Victoria has them and why? Geelong...because there is going to be a Geelong team!

We have to embrace change and utilise it to our advantage if possible.

Oh for the days of Aaron Sinnot, Brent Gutterson, Justin Berry, Tyson (?) Heinrich etc in the final days of the Carlton stand-alone VFL team...

One of my priorities if at some stage down the track Carlton was cashed-up enough again and it was viable would be the return of the Carlton VFL side. I have nothing at all against Northern Bullants but it's just not the same.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

Those players impacted your Carlton supporting life did they???

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Molsey wrote



It's not about pining, it's not about what I/we think worked for us and made us successful...it's about what I would like to see, what I liked to see, that worked for me...and to create a bit of excitement as a collective.

Don't you like the idea of:

The Carlton squad playing together every week?

The Carlton squad wearing Carlton jumpers every week?

The Blue Birds?

Using MC labour Park as a Carlton reserves venue?

I'm not looking at the financial side of the proposal, I'm tabling possibilities, and if we like them, we scope them, with the aim of executing when/if financially viable; it's part of the planning process.

It's just something to aim for, just like all the other things we aim for, but can't necessarily put in place due to financial or AFL constraints...eg change of coach, attracting more sponsors, marketing the club, reversing the PP 2002 penalty, Telstra Dome....

It's a wish list....to create a diversion from the doom and gloom...a bit of excitement...anything is possible.



Nothing wrong with that philosophy Molsey....and I'd like a change from the Bullants jumper to the Carlton jumper...and to generate a bit more excitement...and that's certainly lacking with the current set up in the VFL.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Synbad wrote



Great idea!! It's in our backyard and we should be converting them into members...but I thought your position on this is that we are doing something about this by playing for the Bullants. You're confused....and you say they're schoolboys...I agree.



Synbad, have a look at our membership numbers since we've been part of the Bullants. It's going backwards. There is absolutely no benefit for the Carlton brand or membership numbers being with the Bullants....and that means no net gain...we are cultivating nothing via them...we are not a red jumper team...where's the brand association for the northern masses? You are dreaming.

Yes I agree that there's 1000's of people living in the northern suburbs.....but where's the connection between the Bullants and Stevens, Scotland, Kouta, Whitnall? Yes they're boys from the suburbs...nothing to do with the Bullants and the Bullants jumper though....Daicos is from there too, but he's Collingwood!

You're talking about a great footballing history in that area.....my understanding of your comment is that you want to get out of the nineties, forget about the past, and yet your interested in the legacy of the past.!!?!??!

What's wrong with a Carlton jumper on our reserves team?

If we wish to field a team in the northern suburbs to increase our reach, would it not be better to do it in a Carlton jumper?

I'm not stuck in the nineties, I'm looking for improvement and excitement, and strong branding...and only the Carlton brand.

I can live with the Bullants crap, I'm just scoping and SWOTing....but as I've stated, there are more negatives than positives with the current set up. Thats all. For a better CARLTON.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

If it is not possible due to finances to field a VFL side in its own right .

Why not have an association with two of three VFL teams at least that would ensure that all the players would at least be playing at the VFL senoir level.

I know it doesn't help you bondi you might have to watch 4 of 5 games but on a truely professional level we would fast track player development if they were all able to play at the higher level

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

As long as the Carlton Soocer club isnt mentioned...

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Ich bein ein Carltonian