Crows V Eagles Prelim

[Dutchy]

Wheres Sid?????

[Mr66]

Crows used all thier luck in 1997/1998, the wheel has turned now.

To quote a great philosopher (Meatloaf)"You took the words right out of my mouth".

[mal]

Wheres Sid?????

Watching the 1998 Grand Final replay.

[heater31]

Wheres Sid?????

trying to balance his books after emptying his bank account to put it on the Crows

[Dutchy]

pity the Crows lost as I was looking forward to the banter regarding how much better the Crows are than Sydney.....

[magpie in the 80's]

speaking of sydney...... sydney-dog no where to be found or heard

[Dutchy]

speaking of sydney...... sydney-dog no where to be found or heard

Check out the top of the Bridge...

[RustyCage]

[NFC]

Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

Still sour at 3 years on end of complete and utter choking eh?

[Magpiespower]

speaking of sydney...... sydney-dog no where to be found or heard

Check out the top of the Bridge...

Police have been called to 'The Gap.'

Where a pair of shoes and Crows scarfe were found...

[Jimmy]

judds 'bounce' was special!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Booney]

judds 'bounce' was special!!!!!!!!!!!!

Left hand weaving through traffic? Speeeeecial

Just saw Curly Seal walk past looking for Syd........

[sydney-dog]

Thanks all for your concerns

Thankfully yesterday I had 20 or so mates over to watch the Prelim, so I am all good, safety in numbers

My thoughts

Firstly disappointed given our position at half time but congrats to west coast, Judd, Cox, Kerr and Cousins through their outstanding second half performance turned the game

On the Crows, listen I wont get caught up in posts or threads debating if the crows are chockers, bottom line is 2 years ago Craigy took over a list that lacked depth, had aging stars and by many footy observers the list was rated bottom 4 and the crows were 2-3 seasons away from playing finals footy...

Basically o/night, not through high draft picks or trading Craigy has positioned the AFC as a top 4 club by developing the list he has been handed, now the challenge is to develop a good side in to a premiership side

The past 2 seasons I have enjoyed the transformation of the club and I have no doubt success will come but yesterday was a reality check for me and probably a lot others on exactly where we are as a footy club

What the side needs

1. A key forward, yesterday's game re-inforced to me the value of Trent Hentchel, yesterday we did not have a forward who demanded the ball and forced a contest, Bock played well, Perrie was disappointing and Welsh will be a better player as a third tall option, none of these blokes you can structue a forward line around, we need to find that forward, with that strong pressence.

2. Ruckman, on this year's performance, both ruckman have competed strongly at the stoppages, but we need a ruckman that can cover the ground and win the footy around the ground, Cox was outstanding yesterday, his around the ground work was the best I have seen and basically played as an extra midfielder, my tough call is, the club needs to chose between Biglands and Hudson as the number 1 ruckman and trade the other for a high pick or talented forward or running player, this will give game time to Maric, while Meesen and Griffen will be given another year to develop in the SANFL

3. Midfield, Goody and Edwards have been sensational for many years but these guys cannot continue to carry the load, we need more depth and speed, Van Berlo once again showed some strong signs in the first half and we continue to get better, but we need to find some magic and class and Johncock could be the answer, this bloke needs a big off season, he is too good to sit a HB for his career, he can be the crows new midfield leader, players like Knights, Pfeiffer and Jericho need to realise their is a huge opportunity at this footy club, have a huge off season and put your name on the white board

4. Defence, our defence is still very sound, but maybe it is time to develop B Rutten in to a Nietz style of forward

Who is under threat, I think Clarke will retire
I think Hart should be encouraged to retire,
Gibson has not developed,
Massie has contributed but we have players like Torney who can play that Role,
Jericho has all the physical attributes the club needs but does he have the confidence and the confidence of the coaching staff, Skippy may be down the selection pecking order, with players like Van Berlo, Proplyzia and Knights in front of him,
Meesen, does this kid want to be a 150 game player for the AFC

[magpie in the 80's]

quite interesting how the clubs have used their ruckman over the finals series. with cox and sandilands being involved in plays all round the ground as running ruckman. their disposals would be well up compared to early in the season. players not afraid to bring them in to the play. even clarke with kicking goals in the last 4-5 games

[leftlegger]

Very good analysis there SD.
Agree with all of that.

Also I would like to see McGregor also have a big off season and re-claim a position up forward

[mal]

To get within 10 points of a side that is a 10 goal better
team was quite an achievement.
Beaten but not disgraced.

[GWW]

SD

I seriously doubt the Crows would get anything at all for either Biglands or Hudson. I think the Crows just need to bite the bullet and play Maric. Also I think it would be worth offering the Lions their second pick (and maybe a player - Skipworth) for Cameron Wood from the Lions as well.

Douglas is the one the Crows need to base their midfield around for the next 10 years. Signing him (and Knights) to a long term contract should be a priority for the AFC.

Its well documented that the Crows had a great rookie draft a few years ago (Mattner/Rutten/Bock) but their most recent rookie selections were very poor. All but one were South Aussie lads, none of which played any meaningful SANFL footy this year. Presumably they had a bias for SA lads, they should have picked the best available talent. I'm not trying to be overly critical or smart about this, i'm just making an observation. If there were 1 or 2 lads worth upgrading it would make their list management a bit easier coming into next year.

The Crows are still a little in front of my club (Port) but i can see the gap narrowing in the next couple of years. I cant see the Eagles losing their edge against the Crows in the near future (i think they and Freo have the best lists in the league), so unless they can gain an advantage through superior trading/drafting within the next 3 years, i cant see them winning a flag within the next 5/7 years if they dont win one by 08.

[sydney-dog]

I agree Maric needs to play regardless

Knights signed a new 2 year deal, 4+6 weeks ago, but he needs to work on his kicking over the off season he misses too many targets

Douglas will play more AFL footy next year, but I would think he will learn his craft across HB, HF or the wing

[Booney]

To get within 10 points of a side that is a 10 goal better
team was quite an achievement.
Beaten but not disgraced.

LMAO Mal,you seriously think WCE are ten goals better than the Crows? Does Adelaides early to mid season form leave you under the impression they are that far behind? More of a mental thing than a personel issue when it comes to Adelaide V WCE...

[Rik E Boy]

Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

Still sour at 3 years on end of complete and utter choking eh?

It sounds like you know all about sour at the moment.

regards,

REB

ps - good post Syd.