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Ted Fahey (11)
With the wife out last night, a bottle of red wine opened and a pizza ordered I opened up the Green and Gold forum and to my annoyance a number of threads were filled with the weekly Tom Carter debate. My initial thoughts on Carter’s game was he was solid without being spectacular (quite often this is what I think of his games). But with nothing better to do last night, half a bottle of red wine down and a recording of the Tahs game on the Fox IQ, I thought I would have a closer second look. I went through and rewatched the game focusing solely on Tom Carter and his involvement to see whether the stats tell the full story and to see what kind of game he had. I started this in an attempt to finally the debate once and for all but I fear this may have the opposite effect.
Let me again stress, wife out, red wine open, very bored.
Obviously there are limitations with doing this with camera angles and player being on screen. Things which you can pick up at the ground are sometimes out of shot. But let’s give it a go anyway.
I’ll post my conclusions first as I am sure some (all) people may get bored of my notes of all his moments of involvement below.
Firstly, let’s start with Carter’s strength, Defense. Carter is crucial to the Tahs defensive pattern and this is why he is in the team. There is no questioning his work rate and his one on one tackling ability. Along with Barnes he is crucial in bring the line forward. Fox Sports had him with 9 tackles, I counted 7 tackles where he was the main tackler and 3 assists. He didn’t miss a tackle in the game and was continually working hard to get to the outside position of the rush defence. This outside position is crucial and Barnes and Carter are typically the 2 filling it. The Cheetahs however didn’t really test the outside edges of the defence and only got to outside once and made good metres. This looked like it was due to bad communication between Barnes and Carter but that is purely speculation.
Moving on to the Attack, and I was very surprised by what I observed. Firstly, foxsports had him with 9 runs and 3 tackle busts. I counted 8 runs and 2 tackle busts, so no great discrepancy there. Interestingly most of those runs were from set piece where he used in first phase to crash the ball up. The Tahs from set piece became more and more predictable during the game. Whilst Carter had some success early on in the game hitting the ball up, later in the game it was so predictable that he got hammered. The Tahs really need to get the ball wide in first phase, I would like to see them mix it up with Carter and use him as a decoy with the blind winger running an arch behind to shift the ball wide.
What I observed in general play really surprised me. When the Tahs have the ball, Carter heads straight to the left wing and Mitchell plays a roaming role. Now is almost the complete opposite role from what Mitchell plays for the Wallabies where O’Connor is used in the roaming role. And I’m not sure it’s the best role for him, I would rather see him stay out wide where he can find space and use his pace. Anyway, back to Carter, they appear not to trust him in general play and want to hide him on the wing. Either that or they just want to Mitchell involved more. What is does in effect is mean the Tahs are not planning to play with much width at all and are relying heavily on individual brilliance.
IMO the Tahs really need to focus on their attack if they want to be a legitimate contender this year. The play in the weekend from set piece was far too predictable and I don’t know how successful they can be hiding their inside centre on the left wing. Having said that Carter is crucial to the defense so I am not sure what the answer is.
Anyway, below are my notes from his involvement in the game if anybody is bored enough to read them:
00:30 Barnes put Carter in some space down the right touchline. 3 Cheetahs are coming across in cover but TC does well to make an extra 5 metres after contact and lays the ball back nicely. Good Start.
1:00 Carter in the same position on the right hand side receives the ball at first receiver, he has Pakalani outside him who appears open at first but cover is coming across. Carter cuts inside a defender before the Cheetahs number 8 takes him down. Slow ball for the Tahs as the number 8 holds his feet in the tackle and contests. Carter probably took the right option in not passing but probably to fight to stay on his feet a bit longer.
2:30 Almost gets in the way of a simple inside ball from Barnes to McCutcheon. I don’t know what he was doing or thinking and I don’t think he does either. Surprising he backs completely out of the way and doesn’t get involved into the cleanout.
3:00 Barnes puts a grubber through, Turner is first there. Only other chaser was Carter, around 5 metres behind.
6:50 Palu makes a strong tackle and holds the ball carrier up. Carter latches onto the ball and slows it down. Gets to his feet and is warned by the ref for being offside.
8:30 Palu again makes a tackle, Carter comes in and assists. Once on his feet. He heads to the far side of the field. 2 plays later the Cheetahs go wide. Carter and Barnes are too bunched in defense and the Cheetahs make some easy metres around the outside. Looked like some poor communication between Carter and Barnes.
11:40 Pressures a clearance kick from Viljoen. No effect on the kick.
14:00 Kick from the Cheetahs in general play goes to Beale. Carter is first there to clean out.
17:00 Turner makes a tackle from first phase. Carter flops in afterwards.
17:30 2 Plays later Carter does very well, after being the victim of obstruction he still makes his tackle. Ref penalises the Cheetahs for obstruction. Carter does some stupid tough guy stuff whilst getting up.
18:30 Barnes chips for Turner on first phase. Turner regathers and has Carter on his outside open and Pakalani on his inside. Goes to Pakalani who drops it. Turner didn’t seem to know Carter was there, perhaps another communication issue.
21:30 Tahs Scrum. Palu passes straight to Carter, who steps inside a defender shooting out of the line and makes good ground. Quick ball too.
22:45 Is 2nd in the chase for a Burgess kick. Kick is marked. Carter does retire 10m and is pinged.
24:30 Barnes and Carter combine to tackle Duries well behind the advantage line. Cheetahs retain possession.
25:30 Carter’s turnover. He thank Drew Mitchell for this. Burgess kick, good chase from Mitchell who makes the tackle, gets to his feet, contests the breakdown forcing the Cheetahs to clean him out. Carter is the next man there and is free to pick it up. After gaining position he is wrapped up quickly and a scrum is called.
33:45 Carter attempts charge down. No effect.
34:50 Tahs attacking lineout. Ball off the top. Barnes to Carter. Caught behind the advantage lineout. Holds his feet until support arrives. Tahs first phase is becoming very predictable.
So that’s the first half. I have started to notice an interesting ploy in attack, in general play Carter will head to the left hand wing and Mitchell plays a floating role in the midfield in order to get involved more.
41:00 Runs a decoy line from the scrum. Gets himself in an awkward position and hangs around 2 rucks doing nothing and looking like he doesn’t know where he should be.
41:30 After looking lost for about a minute, Beale instructs him to run an inside ball off him. The play is horribly predictable and Carter is caught behind the advantage line, he falls awkwardly and is penalised for holding on.
45:00 Attempts charge down. No effect.
47:00 Tries a counter ruck by himself against 4 Cheetahs, no effect.
48:00 Tahs lineout. Barnes throws the ball in front of Carter and Turner who just stare at it.
48:50 Runs a scissors with Mitchell. Carter gets tackled strongly and loses the ball. Looked forward to me but called backwards by the ref. Marto comments “Tom Carter couldn’t even punch it up.”
54:20 Tahs scrum. Barnes drops the pass. Carter tidies up and takes it forward. He’s hit heavily and driven backwards. Retains ball.
56:45 Makes a tackle on the goal line. Lies all over the ball, slows it up, not penalised. Good play.
59:30 Tahs attacking lineout. Carter decoy off Burgess. Barnes cross kick. We know how that finishes. (Actually looking at the reply it looks like the right option just a poor kick).
62:20 Pakalani chases a kick and regathers the ball near the posts. Ball comes loose, Carter is the next man there, dives on it and secures possession. Very good play.
63:00 Mitchell has a 3 on 2 in the corner with Beale and Carter outside him. Beale cuts in and doesn’t give it.
64:50 Tahs 5m Scrum. Burgess straight to Carter. Tackled behind the advantage line, slow ball. Becoming very predictable.
66:30 Makes tackle in centre field on Cheetahs loosehead. Takes 2 to get him down. Good gain and quick ball for the Cheetahs.
67:30 Not used at Set piece. Next phase shovels it onto Beale who loses it.
71:00 Tahs regathered their own 22m dropout. Ball goes from Burgess to Carter who draws his man and passes to Mitchell who kicks it out on the full.
73:00 Makes regulation tackle 10m from own line in centre field.
76:30 Makes goal line tackle.
78:40 Tries an ineffective counter ruck
79:00 Nice break from Dennis. Carter cleans out. Quick ball for the Tahs.
80:00 Plays first receiver. Shovels it on to Mitchell. Receives pop pass back takes it up and is hit hard.
Let me again stress, wife out, red wine open, very bored.
Obviously there are limitations with doing this with camera angles and player being on screen. Things which you can pick up at the ground are sometimes out of shot. But let’s give it a go anyway.
I’ll post my conclusions first as I am sure some (all) people may get bored of my notes of all his moments of involvement below.
Firstly, let’s start with Carter’s strength, Defense. Carter is crucial to the Tahs defensive pattern and this is why he is in the team. There is no questioning his work rate and his one on one tackling ability. Along with Barnes he is crucial in bring the line forward. Fox Sports had him with 9 tackles, I counted 7 tackles where he was the main tackler and 3 assists. He didn’t miss a tackle in the game and was continually working hard to get to the outside position of the rush defence. This outside position is crucial and Barnes and Carter are typically the 2 filling it. The Cheetahs however didn’t really test the outside edges of the defence and only got to outside once and made good metres. This looked like it was due to bad communication between Barnes and Carter but that is purely speculation.
Moving on to the Attack, and I was very surprised by what I observed. Firstly, foxsports had him with 9 runs and 3 tackle busts. I counted 8 runs and 2 tackle busts, so no great discrepancy there. Interestingly most of those runs were from set piece where he used in first phase to crash the ball up. The Tahs from set piece became more and more predictable during the game. Whilst Carter had some success early on in the game hitting the ball up, later in the game it was so predictable that he got hammered. The Tahs really need to get the ball wide in first phase, I would like to see them mix it up with Carter and use him as a decoy with the blind winger running an arch behind to shift the ball wide.
What I observed in general play really surprised me. When the Tahs have the ball, Carter heads straight to the left wing and Mitchell plays a roaming role. Now is almost the complete opposite role from what Mitchell plays for the Wallabies where O’Connor is used in the roaming role. And I’m not sure it’s the best role for him, I would rather see him stay out wide where he can find space and use his pace. Anyway, back to Carter, they appear not to trust him in general play and want to hide him on the wing. Either that or they just want to Mitchell involved more. What is does in effect is mean the Tahs are not planning to play with much width at all and are relying heavily on individual brilliance.
IMO the Tahs really need to focus on their attack if they want to be a legitimate contender this year. The play in the weekend from set piece was far too predictable and I don’t know how successful they can be hiding their inside centre on the left wing. Having said that Carter is crucial to the defense so I am not sure what the answer is.
Anyway, below are my notes from his involvement in the game if anybody is bored enough to read them:
00:30 Barnes put Carter in some space down the right touchline. 3 Cheetahs are coming across in cover but TC does well to make an extra 5 metres after contact and lays the ball back nicely. Good Start.
1:00 Carter in the same position on the right hand side receives the ball at first receiver, he has Pakalani outside him who appears open at first but cover is coming across. Carter cuts inside a defender before the Cheetahs number 8 takes him down. Slow ball for the Tahs as the number 8 holds his feet in the tackle and contests. Carter probably took the right option in not passing but probably to fight to stay on his feet a bit longer.
2:30 Almost gets in the way of a simple inside ball from Barnes to McCutcheon. I don’t know what he was doing or thinking and I don’t think he does either. Surprising he backs completely out of the way and doesn’t get involved into the cleanout.
3:00 Barnes puts a grubber through, Turner is first there. Only other chaser was Carter, around 5 metres behind.
6:50 Palu makes a strong tackle and holds the ball carrier up. Carter latches onto the ball and slows it down. Gets to his feet and is warned by the ref for being offside.
8:30 Palu again makes a tackle, Carter comes in and assists. Once on his feet. He heads to the far side of the field. 2 plays later the Cheetahs go wide. Carter and Barnes are too bunched in defense and the Cheetahs make some easy metres around the outside. Looked like some poor communication between Carter and Barnes.
11:40 Pressures a clearance kick from Viljoen. No effect on the kick.
14:00 Kick from the Cheetahs in general play goes to Beale. Carter is first there to clean out.
17:00 Turner makes a tackle from first phase. Carter flops in afterwards.
17:30 2 Plays later Carter does very well, after being the victim of obstruction he still makes his tackle. Ref penalises the Cheetahs for obstruction. Carter does some stupid tough guy stuff whilst getting up.
18:30 Barnes chips for Turner on first phase. Turner regathers and has Carter on his outside open and Pakalani on his inside. Goes to Pakalani who drops it. Turner didn’t seem to know Carter was there, perhaps another communication issue.
21:30 Tahs Scrum. Palu passes straight to Carter, who steps inside a defender shooting out of the line and makes good ground. Quick ball too.
22:45 Is 2nd in the chase for a Burgess kick. Kick is marked. Carter does retire 10m and is pinged.
24:30 Barnes and Carter combine to tackle Duries well behind the advantage line. Cheetahs retain possession.
25:30 Carter’s turnover. He thank Drew Mitchell for this. Burgess kick, good chase from Mitchell who makes the tackle, gets to his feet, contests the breakdown forcing the Cheetahs to clean him out. Carter is the next man there and is free to pick it up. After gaining position he is wrapped up quickly and a scrum is called.
33:45 Carter attempts charge down. No effect.
34:50 Tahs attacking lineout. Ball off the top. Barnes to Carter. Caught behind the advantage lineout. Holds his feet until support arrives. Tahs first phase is becoming very predictable.
So that’s the first half. I have started to notice an interesting ploy in attack, in general play Carter will head to the left hand wing and Mitchell plays a floating role in the midfield in order to get involved more.
41:00 Runs a decoy line from the scrum. Gets himself in an awkward position and hangs around 2 rucks doing nothing and looking like he doesn’t know where he should be.
41:30 After looking lost for about a minute, Beale instructs him to run an inside ball off him. The play is horribly predictable and Carter is caught behind the advantage line, he falls awkwardly and is penalised for holding on.
45:00 Attempts charge down. No effect.
47:00 Tries a counter ruck by himself against 4 Cheetahs, no effect.
48:00 Tahs lineout. Barnes throws the ball in front of Carter and Turner who just stare at it.
48:50 Runs a scissors with Mitchell. Carter gets tackled strongly and loses the ball. Looked forward to me but called backwards by the ref. Marto comments “Tom Carter couldn’t even punch it up.”
54:20 Tahs scrum. Barnes drops the pass. Carter tidies up and takes it forward. He’s hit heavily and driven backwards. Retains ball.
56:45 Makes a tackle on the goal line. Lies all over the ball, slows it up, not penalised. Good play.
59:30 Tahs attacking lineout. Carter decoy off Burgess. Barnes cross kick. We know how that finishes. (Actually looking at the reply it looks like the right option just a poor kick).
62:20 Pakalani chases a kick and regathers the ball near the posts. Ball comes loose, Carter is the next man there, dives on it and secures possession. Very good play.
63:00 Mitchell has a 3 on 2 in the corner with Beale and Carter outside him. Beale cuts in and doesn’t give it.
64:50 Tahs 5m Scrum. Burgess straight to Carter. Tackled behind the advantage line, slow ball. Becoming very predictable.
66:30 Makes tackle in centre field on Cheetahs loosehead. Takes 2 to get him down. Good gain and quick ball for the Cheetahs.
67:30 Not used at Set piece. Next phase shovels it onto Beale who loses it.
71:00 Tahs regathered their own 22m dropout. Ball goes from Burgess to Carter who draws his man and passes to Mitchell who kicks it out on the full.
73:00 Makes regulation tackle 10m from own line in centre field.
76:30 Makes goal line tackle.
78:40 Tries an ineffective counter ruck
79:00 Nice break from Dennis. Carter cleans out. Quick ball for the Tahs.
80:00 Plays first receiver. Shovels it on to Mitchell. Receives pop pass back takes it up and is hit hard.
