Crows v Geelong

[Blue Boy]

if Adelaide want to make the finals, they need to get rid of Perrie

wont make it this year - who knows what will happen in the off season !!!

I know lets sit on our hands as we have the last couple of years

[Blue Boy]

Man that Mooney's an awesome player, more marks inside 50 than the entire Crows team, I lost count of how many goals he set up and one of his "assists" was probably the best Ive ever seen.

Mooney to get two votes today Bartel will get three he was everywhere today might have had a bit of leather poisoning.

You are on the mooney so to speak with the top 2 - one vote maybe the stiffman !!!

[haloman]

Players to drop:

Douglas- Couldn't find the ball if his life depended on it
Perrie- He's getting worse by the week, a liability out there
Jericho- Pathetic without possession, doesn't work hard enough

Jericho was okay whilst on the ground today - need him @ Norwood do ya

Jericho needs more game time. No point in having a bloke like Jericho on your list if when he does play he only gets 30-40 minutes. He does need to work harder when he doesn't have the footy.
If Perrie plays next week I might take to my membership card with an axe. That effort on Harley in the goal square late in the last quarter was pathetic. Van Berlo's performance today should see him back in the SANFL next week. Bartel good but how good was the opposition......... not very.
Report Card out of 10....

Goodwin, 8
Edwards, 7
Van Berlo, 2
Jericho, 5
Perrie, 1 ( SURELY CAREAR ENDING PERFORMANCE)
Johncock, 9 (outstanding, would have been 10 if not for 5 mins worth of rubbish in the 3rd quarter.)
Rutten, 4 (still injured.......why play him mumbles?)
Stevens, 7
Maric, 3
Shirley, 8 (great job on G. Ablet)
Burton, 7
Knights, 5 (disposal TERRIBLE)
McLeod, 7
Thompson, 6
Douglas, 3
Bock, 4
Griffin, 3 (why didn't mumbles rest him up forward when not rucking?)
Torney, 7 (solid again)
Massie, 6
Gill, 8 (Geeez this bloke tries hard. Someone fix his kicking PLEEEEASE!)
Porplyzia, 6 ( another one who needs kicking practice.)
Rielly, 4 (soft around the contested footy too often again)
Mumbles, 2 (again poor especially in that 3rd quarter)

McGregor 10 (His best game of the year. Didn't do a thing wrong )

All in all Cats had to many winners all over the ground. There will be a few nervous lads at West Lakes this thursday waiting for selection. B.Cambell, Hudson, Welsh surely back in the side next week. Grif will go out, Perrie out (PLEEEEASE), pick a midfielder to make way for Cambell.
Van Berlo, Douglas???????

[sydney-dog]

NFC, I didn't think Jericho was not our worst player today

If we use Geelong as the bench-mark, where are the crows failing

1. Leg Speed, Adelaide have too many players that lack leg speed and find it hard to either find space or break away from contests, this puts added pressure on their skills, the crows do not have genuine leg speed on every line, but they are carrying a player that lack speed on every line. For example, Torney and Massie in defence, Shirley and edwards in the midfield, Proplyzia and Perrie up forward.

2. Creativity. the crows failed to be bold today, this is because we lack capability of players who can take on the opposition, Shirley struggles to be anything other than defensive player, while Van Berlo needs to start using his engine to take sides on, Johncock, Macca, Proplyzia, Goodwin, Thompson and Burton are the only players who have a natural instinct to take on the opposition.

3. Similar Types , once again this is part of the creativity issue, Adelaide have too many players who play similar roles, for example Shirley, Doughty, Van Berlo and Douglas all play the same type of role and footy, Torney and Massie, once again, same type of player, finally, Jericho, Welsh and Burton all play the same type of game up forward, their is too much of a sameness about Adelaide

4. Skill Level for a team that focuses so much on skills at training, this area has deserted them this year, today Knights, Burton, Proplyzia and Jericho all missed relatively easy shots, while Knights foot skills in general play is poor, Torney continues to make poor decisions at times, Van Berlo needs to be cleaner with his hands and Shirley, well good job on G Ablett today but he is not in my best 22 for many reasons.

Moving forward

The crows need to win the last three to be a chance, so what would I do

1. Continue to play Van Berlo, Knights and Douglas, however play them in attacking roles and give them a license to take on the opposition
2. Shirley needs to come out of the side, Massie to play as a tagger
3. Forward, Perrie needs to go, he was aweful today , Edwards needs to play more as a small forward, he is a smart player inside 50, his time in the midfield is over
4. Rucks, I thought Maric and Griffen were very good in the ruck contests and I would persist with them for the last three rounds

With 3 rounds to go who is under the pump

From the senior players, Shirley, Doughty and Perrie will not take this club further, they need to be either de-listed or traded

From the younger group, Hinge has played 1 game in three years, Jericho and Vince only a handful, all these players will come under strong consideration to be de-listed or traded

Trade Bait, with Biglands back next year, and the emergence of Griffen and Maric, with Tippett waiting in the wings, I would consider trading Hudson and Meesen, in addition, with Hentchel coming back Perrie also needs to be put on the table

In summary, big 3 weeks coming up, however a bigger sept awaits either way, with Biglands and Hentchel back in 2008, not to mention a disappointing year thus far and so many South Australians coming off contract this year, this year is the time to make list changes

[NFC]

haloman, no way should VB be dropped. He was brilliant last week, and while he didn't have a great game today I thought he was a contributor. He used the ball well, set up at least 2 goals and he also was the 3rd man up at numerous ruck contests.

In: McGregor, Campbell
Out: Perrie, Douglas

[Stumps]

Players to drop:

Douglas- Couldn't find the ball if his life depended on it
Perrie- He's getting worse by the week, a liability out there
Jericho- Pathetic without possession, doesn't work hard enough

Jericho was okay whilst on the ground today - need him @ Norwood do ya

Jericho needs more game time. No point in having a bloke like Jericho on your list if when he does play he only gets 30-40 minutes. He does need to work harder when he doesn't have the footy.
If Perrie plays next week I might take to my membership card with an axe. That effort on Harley in the goal square late in the last quarter was pathetic. Van Berlo's performance today should see him back in the SANFL next week. Bartel good but how good was the opposition......... not very.
Report Card out of 10....

Goodwin, 8
Edwards, 7
Van Berlo, 2
Jericho, 5
Perrie, 1 ( SURELY CAREAR ENDING PERFORMANCE)
Johncock, 9 (outstanding, would have been 10 if not for 5 mins worth of rubbish in the 3rd quarter.)
Rutten, 4 (still injured.......why play him mumbles?)
Stevens, 7
Maric, 3
Shirley, 8 (great job on G. Ablet)
Burton, 7
Knights, 5 (disposal TERRIBLE)
McLeod, 7
Thompson, 6
Douglas, 3
Bock, 4
Griffin, 3 (why didn't mumbles rest him up forward when not rucking?)
Torney, 7 (solid again)
Massie, 6
Gill, 8 (Geeez this bloke tries hard. Someone fix his kicking PLEEEEASE!)
Porplyzia, 6 ( another one who needs kicking practice.)
Rielly, 4 (soft around the contested footy too often again)
Mumbles, 2 (again poor especially in that 3rd quarter)

McGregor 10 (His best game of the year. Didn't do a thing wrong )

All in all Cats had to many winners all over the ground. There will be a few nervous lads at West Lakes this thursday waiting for selection. B.Cambell, Hudson, Welsh surely back in the side next week. Grif will go out, Perrie out (PLEEEEASE), pick a midfielder to make way for Cambell.
Van Berlo, Douglas???????

I assume you must be rating gill out of twenty halo, he got towelled up by scarlett IMO- Scarlett had twice as many posessions and kicked the same amount of goals as Gill.

Johncock I agree was excellent but was loose all day- his opposition loose man (mostly enright) was excellent for geelong too. I thought McLeod was Best and highest rated- he was creative, attacking, and kept a very dangerous stokes (who kicked 5 last week and is very dangerous in those conditions) to no impact- and varcoe when he was on him
Perrie looked abysmal and i continue to enjoy bocks work at CHB he was 3rd best for mine behind mcleod then stiffy.

All opinions anyway
Stumps

[sydney-dog]

I thought Johncock and Bock were Adelaide's best two

Goodwin tried hard, Proplyzia won some contested footy but wasted some easy opportunities, while Macca was good but made some uncharacteristic mistakes, especially in the 3rd qtr

[Cambridge Clarrie]

I assume you must be rating gill out of twenty halo Stumps

I agree Stumps. I'm yet to be convinced by Gill. Sure, he does try hard, but his reading of the play and his execution leave a fair bit to be desired.

Can't agree with Sydney Dog's comment regarding trading Hudson or his comment regarding sticking with a Maric/Griffen combo for the rest of the year. Hudson does a lot around the ground and is clearly our best big man.

Do agree that there will be a fair churn of players at the end of the year though. Bye-bye Perrie, McGregor, Shirley, Doughty, Mattner (possibly - he seems really out of favour at present), Roo (retire) and more...

What we need is a strong forward. I know Hentschel will be back but another strong mark in the forward lines would be nice...Chambers???

[Psyber]

I assume you must be rating gill out of twenty halo Stumps

I agree Stumps. I'm yet to be convinced by Gill. Sure, he does try hard, but his reading of the play and his execution leave a fair bit to be desired.

Can't agree with Sydney Dog's comment regarding trading Hudson or his comment regarding sticking with a Maric/Griffen combo for the rest of the year. Hudson does a lot around the ground and is clearly our best big man.

Do agree that there will be a fair churn of players at the end of the year though. Bye-bye Perrie, McGregor, Shirley, Doughty, Mattner (possibly - he seems really out of favour at present), Roo (retire) and more...

What we need is a strong forward. I know Hentschel will be back but another strong mark in the forward lines would be nice...Chambers???

I tend to agree CC - Gill needs development and is not a first line player - the question remains about whether he can be developed at this stage of his career. I hope Hentschel does come up OK but who knows after such a severe injury. I think we do need to develop Maric and Griffin but without Hudson there is a fair way to go before they are good enough to carry the load as the ruck pair. There is also the question of whether Bigland's knee will recover well enough for him to be a ruckman again or whether CHF or CHB will be his future spot. So, we need to keep Hudson for now.

The question, now, is what to do for the rest of this year. I don't think it really matters about the finals this year - it will be Geelong, WCE, Sydney, in contention I think, with Hawthorn as a dark horse. If the Crows experiment they may get lucky.

How about:
B: Reilly Rutten van Berlo
HB: McLeod Bock Douglas
C: Jericho Torney Campbell
HF: Burton Maric Knights
F: Edwards Griffin Stevens

Ruck1: Hudson, Goodwin Johncock
Ruck2: Griffin Burton Knights

INT: Thompson, Porplyzia, Massie, Shirley [for his defensive skills for now.]

The best I have seen of Reilly has been in defence, and I think he and van Berlo are reactive players rather than creative. The same may be the case with Douglas, but I haven't seen much of him. Torney and Edwards are lacking speed but are hard at the ball and dig it out. I've left Welsh out, because his fitness is an ongoing issue, and because he is not consistent despite his occasional big days out when the midfield wins - which is rare these days. I think we need forwards who can take a mark when the ball is not delivered well, or get it when it hits the ground.

Other suggestions??

[Hondo]

Saw bits and pieces only as I was at a family do, sneaking looks at the telly when I could. But still managed to see about 4 misses from set shots as well as periods of the game where we controlled the footy but did not convert on the scoreboard. On the other side, I saw quick movement of the footy and quick scoring conversions.

Geelong just too good.

I agree with the consensus I think it's time to review the list very critically and make some hard calls on guys that just won't take us any further as a team and start to re-build again.

[NFC]

Why do the guys on BigFooty love Gill and always praise Douglas? Some are calling Douglas' game his best???

Douglas was invisible today.

[Dirko]

Why do the guys on BigFooty love Gill and always praise Douglas? Some are calling Douglas' game his best???

Douglas was invisible today.

Cos it's Big Footy not SAFOOTY !

I go in Big every now and then for Carlton stuff, and most are full of S##T !!

[sydney-dog]

Psyber
My thoughts on your side

We are in big trouble if Torney plays midfield, I will acknowledge his greatest quality which is courage, however he lacks leg speed and once again today, just failed to hit targets when he was in time and space...

If Torney ever plays midfield I would finally conceed the crows season is over, I rather give our future midfielders time and experience in the role

In regards to CHF, hmmm, why play a kid who has never played CHF and long term does not have the capability to do so, Maric will be a fine ruckman and could play as a third tall up forward, however a CHF he is not an never will be

My Side for next week

F Griffen Gill Edwards
HF Burton McGregor Proplyzia
C Goodwin Thompson Johncock
HB Jericho Bock Macca
B Stevens Rutten Massie
IR Maric Van Belo Douglas (Tagger)
INT Hudson Knights Torney Radar

I would like to see Griffen play as a permanant tall forward, Johncock move to the wing to try and provide some creativity forward of centre, Edwards as a small inside 50 forward, Jericho to HB, where he can use his height, speed and athletic capability to take defensive marks and break lines, finally Douglas to play more minutes in the midfield as a defensive midfielder so he can develop his game.

In regards to Gill, his pace is a huge plus, so why not play Gill out of the square and open the forward 50 to create space for him to lead in too, their would not be too many FB who could go with Gill on a lead

Other considerations, Radar to HB, Radar played this role with some success in 2005 and 06, his ability to hit targets coming off HB would be an assett

[sydney-dog]

I wanted to take this opportunity to pay credit to the Cats

Couple things that really impressed me,

1. Skill level, the entire teams skill level is exceptional, their ability to hit targets is second to none, they give the opposition very few opportunities to score from a turn over.

2. Defensive pressure, the cats have a lot of confidence in their fitness, they work extremely hard for each other and create plenty of team goals from nothing

3. Forwards, very unselfish forward line, players push back hard on the mark and look to centre the ball quickly to a player in a better position for a set shot

The Gap is closing, Sydney, Hawthorn and West Coast will all be dangerous top 4 opponents for different reasons, and the Cats have the minor premiership hodoo to deal with, since 2000, only PA in 2004 have won the flag from top spot

[Rik E Boy]

A stress free day in front of the teeve today. Never felt like we going to lose this. Mooney was creative and strong up front on Truck, not Bock (LOL) so sorry silly cone tits, I reckon you might be wrong about the big Cat. Your club would love to have Mooney up there directing traffic and I could hear you cursing out the Big Hairy Cat all the way from Ipswich Qld.

Someone gave Thompson six out of ten today but wasn't he on Joel Corey? If so then six is a tad generous because Corey was second best on ground after Bartel for mine. A big tick to syd dog though, Ottens starting the game in the ruck got us rolling but when he went up front in the second stanza though the Cat attack stalled - all the while Blakey cooled his heels while the Blackbirds were forced to play a couple of kids in the ruck.

There has been a lot of talk about the next Crow generation on this site and others this year but I reckon you'll never make a Corey, Bartel or maybe even a Kelly out of Knights and Van Berlo. Shakespeare stuff boys......much ado about nothing. We were treated to so soul destroying comments by the commentators today about how the Crows were missing Ruccuito but sorry boys, he might be in Chris Grant and Nathan Buckley territory.

This match was lost in the third quarter. You had a chance, and you knew it. You owned the second quarter but missed some truly gettable goals but that's forgiveable playing at hostile venue. What isn't so forgiveable was chipping it accross the backline during the third quarter when an attacking option briefly opened up....you didn't believe in yourselves and we got a goal and then a run on. You can shut down this Geelong side for periods of the match but if you don't make it count then the Cats can and will hurt you. I was delighted with the way we put you away after you fiddled and we burned.

Due to other results the Crows got off scott free today. I still reckon that Adelaide deserve to be in the top eight. It is certainly tougher to play Adelaide than it has been against Fremantle or St Kilda, your best football will see you gain some September action but it won't be a long stay.

REB's votes would be 3 to Bartel, 2 to Corey and 1 to Johncock..but Stiffy surely can't be given a nine out of ten in a match where he coughed up two out of bounds on the full clangers. My prediction for the Inside Football ratings will be that he gets a seven.

While it's not 'smell you later' just yet..it's pretty darn close.

regards,

REB

PS - You guys are right about Perrie. He is a dead set DUD.

[Rik E Boy]

I wanted to take this opportunity to pay credit to the Cats

Couple things that really impressed me,

1. Skill level, the entire teams skill level is exceptional, their ability to hit targets is second to none, they give the opposition very few opportunities to score from a turn over.

2. Defensive pressure, the cats have a lot of confidence in their fitness, they work extremely hard for each other and create plenty of team goals from nothing

3. Forwards, very unselfish forward line, players push back hard on the mark and look to centre the ball quickly to a player in a better position for a set shot

The Gap is closing, Sydney, Hawthorn and West Coast will all be dangerous top 4 opponents for different reasons, and the Cats have the minor premiership hodoo to deal with, since 2000, only PA in 2004 have won the flag from top spot

Cheers Siddernee. Just a few comments.

1. Our skill level today was crap plain and simple. I haven't seen us miss so many targets since round one but that was due to the pressure the Crows applied today.

3. It is fairly obvious that the team rule is not to have a ping from the pockets with low percentage shots at goal. The only bloke who has licence would be Dog I reckon.

As for the gap closing here's how I rate the main challengers to the Cats.

WEST COAST: Getting respect this year for deeds they did last year. Ben Cousins has given his club a giant 5hitburger to eat and the idiot fans stand and applaud him for it. Embley has done a hamstring and Judd is being run into the ground by an increasingly desperate team. While I wouldn't write off the Eagles this is the team I'd like to meet most on Grand Final day.

HAWTHORN: Hawthorn probably worry me the most for a couple of reasons. Their midfield is excellent with two players in particular, Crawford and Hodge having an excellent record against Geelong. Another problem that all of the Hawks' opponents have is who is going to match up on Buddy. It would probably have to be Scarlo as Egan or Harley aren't quick enough. Maybe Milburn could be a sneaky match up to surprise Clarkson. The Cats have the advantage in Ruck but we have to play Buddy's Box a lot better than we did down in Tassie earlier in the year.

SYDNEY: Another team with a history of peaking at the right time of the year the Swannies will be about the place again. I still don't reckon that Kennelly and Hall are tip top in terms of fitness and Hall won't be able to bully Scarlo like he does with some fullbacks. The hands in the back rule has killed this player but O'Keefe and O'Loughlin remain dangerous smaller fowards who can trouble the Cats. The Swans make it difficult for Geelong to own the corridor and as such will be a tricky opponent come September. I predicted a Geelong v Sydney Grand Final on another site about five weeks ago and I'll stand by that, even if they don't get the double chance. If this Grand Final occurs and we've played one less final that would be sweet.

regards,

REB

[sydney-dog]

REB

I think the crows lost the game in the two ten minute periods, the first ten minutes of the game and a similar period in the 3rd when the Cats scored back to back to back goals

On the crows next generation

Maric and Griffen, in time will be two outstanding talls for the crows, in specific to Van Berlo and Knights.

Knights, lets remember Knights came cheaply in the draft, about pick 56, yes he needs to work on his disposal but the upside is, as a 20 year old he is averaging 24 touches a game this season, this tells me, he knows how to find the ball, he just needs to clean up his skills by foot, this can be achieved with hard work

Van Berlo, very poor game today, however, I believe he has some untapped ability, I have actually met the lad, and he has an infectious desire and hunger to keep improving, he will get better, he has the drive but he also has the engine, once he gets fitter and stronger his capacity will keep improving and so will his game.

I would not write these boys off just yet, especially considering Corey, Bartel and Kelly have all experienced lean years and it is only now, after being in the system for 5-6 years they are starting to fire with some level of high consistency

[Rik E Boy]

REB

I would not write these boys off just yet, especially considering Corey, Bartel and Kelly have all experienced lean years and it is only now, after being in the system for 5-6 years they are starting to fire with some level of high consistency

Good point. I just don't see in those players now that I saw in Corey, Bartel and Kelly early on in their careers, but Kelly in particular was horrible last season (although he did break a leg).

regards,

REB

[NFC]

My rankings:

Johncock 9
Bock 8
Porplyzia 8
McLeod 7
Goodwin 7
Massie 7
Torney 6
Edwards 6
Burton 6
Stevens 6
Reilly 6
Van Berlo 5
Thompson 5
Shirley 5
Gill 5
Jericho 5
Rutten 4
Knights 3
Douglas 3
Perrie 2
Maric 2
Griffin 2

[NFC]

Bit of a worry 4 of our youngest players are in the bottom 5...