No finals for Carlton and Chris Judd in 2008
The third team on my hit list is Carlton, last position in 2007, new coach in 2008, gun recruits. What does the 2008 season hold for the Blues, lets take a look.
Big Expectations
Reading the AFL Footy Forums that are around there is a lot of expectation on the Carlton Football Club this year because of the recruitment of one C Judd. Does this automatically make them finals contenders? Improvers yes but I still think they are a couple of years off being finals contenders. Yes they have a couple of prized draft picks in recent years, but they are going to take a few years to develop and will not make an immediate impact you wouldn’t think.
Let’s first take a look at the additions and departures
ADDITIONS
Richard Hadley (Brisbane Lions), Chris Judd (West Coast)
Rookie elevation: Ryan Jackson, Aisake O’hAilpin
NAB AFL Draft: Dennis Armfield (Swan Districts), Steven Browne (West Perth), Matthew Kreuzer (Northern Knights)
DELETIONS:
Retired: Anthony Koutoufides, Matthew Lappin
Traded: Josh Kennedy (West Coast)
Delisted: Craig Flint, Dylan McLaren, Anthony Raso, David Teague, Lance Whitnall, Ross Young (rookie)
The Blues have proven that they have the ability to be a free scoring team. In 2007 they were ranked 5th in points scored per game. Carlton actually use the football very well for the amount of possesions that they get, if you take into account they were 13th on the list of total disposals per game in 07 but as I stated above are 5th in points scored per game. Meaning they get value for there possessions, the problem is that they don’t get enough of it.
Defensive skills are the downfall
Where they are being let down more though is their defensive skills and turnovers all over the ground, I mean they may be able to score quite well but the opposition are scoring at a frantic pace, the Blues had the most points scored against them in the league last year. I wonder if this lack of defensive pressure is brought about with the amount of top draft picks they have had over the last couple of years and the fact that those players were the best in their respective under age competitions and had no real need to be all that defensive.
Now that the likes of Bryce Gibbs and Mark Murphy have gone through a year like that they should now be aware of what is needed to compete at the top level. These two youngsters are quality players and are very important to the future of the Carlton midfield group. Murphy especially needs to get some tricks from Judd on how to break the heavy tags that he is beginning to receive.
The Judd Factor
The addition of Judd will help these players a lot and they should be hanging off his every word of advice. Nick Stevens has now been given the all clear for 2008 but you can’t expect him to fire straight away but come the second half of the year he should be starting to find his feet again. 
Scotland seems to find a lot of the footy but just doesn’t hurt the opposition with the touches he gets.
This midfield group just need to put more pressure on the opposition, Carlton had the 3rd least amount of tackles on the opposition last year and is an area the must turn around.
Ruck Department is a concern
The Ruck is another huge worry with them last on the list in 07 for the number of hit outs. Any team with Cain Ackland and Cameron Cloke as their Ruckman would be in this position though. The quicker they develop Matthew Kruzer the better. It obviously helps the midfield if the ruckman can be competitive in that department.
The forward line has a good setup I reckon with Fevola and Fischer as probably their main targets. Eddie Betts and Jarrod Waite need to step up a bit in this department and kick a few more goals but I think you might find that Judd spends a bit of time down there and he is sure to snag a few. This is where Gibbs and Murphy can help out by getting this into their game.
Tall defenders will be an issue in the back half, I don’t see them with enough options down there. I think Jarrod Waite will need to take the main defensive role along with maybe Bentick, Setanta O’hAilpin will also play down there but I think he is still a couple of years from becoming a quality defender that is able to take a Lloyd, Mooney and the like.
Overall I think Carlton fans will see some marked improvements in the Blues this year, while there will be improvement I still don’t think are going to be able to get near the action in September. The big areas for me are their defensive pressure and their skill level.
Ladder Position: 13
i love chriss judd