Crows V Eagles Prelim

[Dutchy]

would have thought never playing on the ground would be a negative but

[PhilG]

..

[sydney-dog]

fox footy showed a fair bit of footage from crows training today

Birdman and Macca trained flat out and both looked pretty sharp

My opinion both Birdman and Macca will play, Douglas and maybe Massie to be omitted

Roo will be gunning for GF

[Blue Boy]

fox footy showed a fair bit of footage from crows training today

Birdman and Macca trained flat out and both looked pretty sharp

My opinion both Birdman and Macca will play, Douglas and maybe Massie to be omitted

Roo will be gunning for GF

Birdman is a sure thing - not sure on Magic yet !!!

[Rik E Boy]

So conflicted with this game. Don't know who to hate more.

regards,

REB

[sydney-dog]

I'm going to put my dog nuts on the block and pick my Crows side for this week

F BODE BOCK WELSH
HF BURTON PERRIE THOMPSON
C RIELLY GOODWIN DOUGHTY
HB MCLEOD STEVENS MATTNER
B BASSETT RUTTEN JOHNCOCK
1R CLARKE SHIRLEY EDWARDS
INT PROPLYZIA TORNEY BIGLANDS VAN BERLO

IN MAGIC BIRDMAN
OUT MASSIE DOUGLAS

Match Ups
JUDD - Craigy will rotate Shirley, Doughty and Van Berlo on the Superstar
COUSINS - He will play across HF, Mattner is the man for the job across HB
LYNCH - Rutten
HANSEN - Stevens
HUNTER - If Hunter or pushes forward Bassett will pick him up, but Woosha may not have this luxury

Other Options
Roo, my mail is that Roo's fitness and conditioning may be a bit further progressed then what has been communicated, don't be suprised if he plays, if so Proplyzia may be the unlucky player

Kenny, but I can't see him getting the nod over Stevens, 1. Hansen is not a body player, 2. Kenny is not setting the world on fire with his form

Skippy, outside chance, if Craigy is concerned by West Coast depth in Midfield rotations

Strategy
1. Attack and play on at all cost when in possession of the footy
2. Hunt the Eagles ball carrier and close down space
3. Control the corridor, push them wide
4. Most importantly win the stoppages

[heater31]

Big ask for Van Berlo in a final but this kid is a tough as they come. Also S dog I feel this could be another "Ramsgate" affiar with Roo they aint tellin us the full story

[sydney-dog]

Heater31

i might agree with you, their may be a few things that sort of don't add up but who knows

my gutt feeling, his progress seems to be rapidly on the improve, "RAPIDLY"

[NFC]

The Cows will play their not right stars and pay the price.

regards,

REB

Bet you're hoping aren't you.

Burton is rearing to go, if you don't think that's a bonus then I don't know what is...

[am Bays]

At the minute my footy head is leaning towards the Eagles, too many Guns in the mid-field, with Lynch providing them with a real target and Hanson providing a forward leading option asa target out of defence.

The unknown is how well the break has benefitted the Crows in having the week off. Freshness can be a big help in September, as we saw in last years Prelim at Ubi Dubi Subi.

I like your plan S-Dog but in all honesty, and I'm sure you'll agree, your four points are the key to winning games of footy full-stop. In fact I reckon your points are more crucial when palying Sydney as quick ball movement to the forward lines denies them the opportunity to flood back.

Just goes to show the team that wins in the mid-field more oten than not wins the game. Crows just have to be up and at 'em all game.

Like all FBs Rutten is reliant on the midfield putting pressure on the ball carrier to reduce the quality of the delivery to Lynch et al. Not much a FB can do when it is delivered to the FF on a platter.....

My other prediction is that, I believe the winner of this game will win the GF the following Saturday.

[NFC]

At the minute my footy head is leaning towards the Eagles, too many Guns in the mid-field, with Lynch providing them with a real target and Hanson providing a forward leading option asa target out of defence.

Lynch is a dud, and if Stevens can beat Pavlich I don't see why he can't beat Hansen.

[sydney-dog]

1980 Tassie Medalist

mate, in regards to Lynch I think Rutten is a wonderful match-up, except for last week Lynch's finals record is very ordinary, and in all honesty the WB did not have a match up for him, and the service from the midfield was with little or no pressure.

i rather look at the swans game as a better guide, Lynch was ordinary because he did not get lace out service, I will go one step further, when the Eagles are under pressure their transition from midfield to forwards is not clean by a long shot, and their forward structure looks very ordinary, Hansen had a good game last week, but I could of got a kick at CHF last week

i have watched all the top four sides continuously over the past 3 weeks, one thing noticable about the eagles is they do not naturally play the centre corridor, they play the flanks and the boundary, this will play in to Adel hands.

one other factor, the Eagles have not won a final away from Subi in 5 years under Woosha, with losing last years GF and week 1 finals this year, their minds may be playing tricks

[am Bays]

NFC I've seen many "hacK" AFl footballers kick bags when the delivery of the "pill" is on a platter....

SD I think you and I are in agreance here in that it is crucial for our midfield to win the battle to 1), get the ball into our forward line quickly to our tall and leading optians, and 2), make it easier for our defence to negate their forwards and provide the springboard for our attacks.

Don't get me wrong I think we are in with a good shot of winning, but at the minute my head is leaning towards West Coast. The boys need to revisit rd 2 the first 50 mins where we were all over them in the midfield but wasted our chances. we have to sustain that effort for 120 mins this week, not 50 min.

[sydney-dog]

Kerr has killed us in the past two years, I hope Craigy allows Goody to go head to head with Kerr

Wirrapunda is also a huge loss, as a loose man across HB he free's the Eagles midfield to run forward and attack, with his absense, the Eagles midfield may have to go a little more defensive, I know they will bring Banfield in to the side but he is more of a stopper and will get a defensive job on Bode

I also like Burton fresh, he has had two games this year returning from injury, first game he kicked 4, second time he kicked 5 goals, also his record against the eagles is outstanding.

Some race horses when they come back from a spell they take 2-3 runs to start hitting the line, others run well fresh, Birdman is like a race horse who runs well fresh after a spell

[am Bays]

Agree with Burton, he is so crucial to our flexibility and options.

#1 he is a midfield runner, to complimnt Goodwin, Edwrds, Reilly, Mattner etc....
#2 he has the license to run forward and be an option up forward, which his aerobic power allows him to do with greater alacrity than his opponent

[sydney-dog]

#3 I am not sure if the Eagles have a match up for the Birdman, they not only need a runner but someone who is strong in the air, they might have to sacrafice Embly's game to follow Burton, if so this is a win for the crows, the other option would be Stenglien, but then who gets Goodwin.

my other thought is, the Eagles do not have a quality small forward, this will give stiffy and macca a licence to attack from HB without worrying about a Farmer calibre type of forward

I agree the X factor is the fitness issue, what gives me confidence is last game Adelaide ran over the top of freo in the last half, but Freo looks as fit as any other side, two weeks prior to finals freo ran over the top of the eagles, so Adelaide will definitely be fresh and should runn the game out very strong

[Dissident]

The most damaging player will be Kerr.
Judd is better. Cousins has a bigger tank.

But Daniel Kerr just knows how to hit the Crows where it hurts.

If Lynch and Hanson can be held to 3 goals between them - the Crows will win.

Hunter is their wild card. The Crows forward line doesn't beg for a Hunter to defend it. If Woosha doesn't start him forward he's a fool.

Wirrpunda out - if it happens - is a huge bonus. Him and Johncock are very very similar players and having both on the field .. almost negates each other.

The game will be quick spurts of movement, can't wait.

[sydney-dog]

Dissident

I disagree, Woosha played Hunter forward last week because WB have the smallest forward line in the comp, Johnson is their go to man.

Adelaide will play, Bock, Welsh and Perrie forward, obviosly Glass will take one tall, who will take the other two talls ?

I think Hunter will have to play Back, if he does push forward Bassett is an ideal match up

[Dissident]

Dissident

I disagree, Woosha played Hunter forward last week because WB have the smallest forward line in the comp, Johnson is their go to man.

Adelaide will play, Bock, Welsh and Perrie forward, obviosly Glass will take one tall, who will take the other two talls ?

I think Hunter will have to play Back, if he does push forward Bassett is an ideal match up

Could be right.
I don't class Welsh as a tall though.

I wouldn't be suprised to see Bock played at both ends as well.

[sydney-dog]

Your right Welsh is 188cm but he is strong over head and demand a hunter type player who is 190cm, both players play tall.

The only options I see for the Eagles are Jones (187cm), Hunter (188cm) and Glass, so if Welsh, Perrie and Bock get on top, the eagles may be stretch down back, then they have to worry about Birdman pushing forward and maybe a smokey selection (Roo) as well

This eagles side relies so heavily on the midfield, if Adelaide can break even in the midfield, suddenly craps may open up up forward and down back for the eagles

this game is a long way from being one way traffic,