O'hAilpin Brothers Need To Escape Carlton
The Sydney Swans might be one of a number of teams that could use a couple of 2m tall defenders. Imagine Dunkley with more height and better kicking skills, that might be Setanta O'hAilpin. His younger, and slightly bigger, brother Aisake also has the build to be a dominant defender. Compared to the confusion at Carlton, the O'hAilpin brothers would be in a more settled situation at Sydney, surrounded by classy veteran teammates as well as a couple of Irish players.
Brett Ratten may be applauded by many in a couple of weeks, if he defeats Melbourne, but so many of his decisions are just too odd. When he took over as coach, he made a team that lacked strength and hustle even worse by dispatching Adam Bentick to the VFL. Now he has taken a Carlton team that is short in the back half, and made them even shorter by dismissing the contribution that Setanta O'hAilpin can make. Here is another mistake during the short Ratten era, a team that delisted one centre half forward and traded another away didn't even go tall with their preseason pick or their later two picks in the national draft. Pfeiffer, Browne and Armfield didn't fill a required need.
The O'hAilpin brothers need to look elsewhere, and would be great for the Swans, Bulldogs, Tigers, Demons or Hawks. At Carlton they are played out of position, when they are played, and Setanta seems to be blamed for defeats when there are others that are the reason. It is a shame to see two young players, who hustle and never give up, be treated this way by their club. The brothers need to get out when they can, as Carlton isn't going to change while Ratten, Lappin, Teague and others are still around. If only the rest of the Carlton players put in as much effort on the field as Setanta O'hAilpin does, maybe they would be looking towards the finals and not the early picks of the 2008 AFL draft.
From The Age: Trial and error
When Carlton think of development, they think of Matthew Lappin. Which means Carlton are in a lot of trouble. In another jobs-for-the-boys decision, Lappin was kept around to supposedly develop Carlton's young players. Aisake O'hAilpin should be commended for not wanting to have anything to do with Lappin, not demoted to the VFL reserves.
To say Carlton invested heavily in the O'hAilpin brothers is just wrong. They didn't use a high draft pick on either of them. They didn't give them huge salaries, like those that Thornton and Russell received not too long ago. Carlton didn't even bring in a highly-paid specialist coach for them, something that other clubs would have done. Carlton are talking about how the O'hAilpin brothers might "stop making progress", Houlihan stopped making progress after 10 games and they have kept him around for another decade.
Brett Ratten may be applauded by many in a couple of weeks, if he defeats Melbourne, but so many of his decisions are just too odd. When he took over as coach, he made a team that lacked strength and hustle even worse by dispatching Adam Bentick to the VFL. Now he has taken a Carlton team that is short in the back half, and made them even shorter by dismissing the contribution that Setanta O'hAilpin can make. Here is another mistake during the short Ratten era, a team that delisted one centre half forward and traded another away didn't even go tall with their preseason pick or their later two picks in the national draft. Pfeiffer, Browne and Armfield didn't fill a required need.
The O'hAilpin brothers need to look elsewhere, and would be great for the Swans, Bulldogs, Tigers, Demons or Hawks. At Carlton they are played out of position, when they are played, and Setanta seems to be blamed for defeats when there are others that are the reason. It is a shame to see two young players, who hustle and never give up, be treated this way by their club. The brothers need to get out when they can, as Carlton isn't going to change while Ratten, Lappin, Teague and others are still around. If only the rest of the Carlton players put in as much effort on the field as Setanta O'hAilpin does, maybe they would be looking towards the finals and not the early picks of the 2008 AFL draft.
From The Age: Trial and error
Aisake's demotion was part disciplinary. He had been dropped to the VFL twos following an on-field spat with Matthew Lappin, the veteran ex-Blue who has a joint coaching and playing role with Carlton's VFL affiliate.
When Carlton think of development, they think of Matthew Lappin. Which means Carlton are in a lot of trouble. In another jobs-for-the-boys decision, Lappin was kept around to supposedly develop Carlton's young players. Aisake O'hAilpin should be commended for not wanting to have anything to do with Lappin, not demoted to the VFL reserves.
Having invested heavily in the pair, Carlton is willing to continue the wait. "From our view point, we think that whilst the boys are still making progress, we still think it's an important project," said Carlton's football operations manager Stephen Icke. "Once they stop making progress, obviously we need to, we need to start asking some questions. But at the moment, they are still making progress, and that's why they're still on our list."
To say Carlton invested heavily in the O'hAilpin brothers is just wrong. They didn't use a high draft pick on either of them. They didn't give them huge salaries, like those that Thornton and Russell received not too long ago. Carlton didn't even bring in a highly-paid specialist coach for them, something that other clubs would have done. Carlton are talking about how the O'hAilpin brothers might "stop making progress", Houlihan stopped making progress after 10 games and they have kept him around for another decade.
