View Full Version : Neil Craig's 13/9 Media Conference
Kane McGoodwin
13 Sep 2007, 18:42
Here's the extract from the media conference - makes for interesting reading!
HAVE YOU UNDERACHIEVED?
No, I'm a great believer in the fact that after 22 rounds the premiership table is a great indicator of your team's performance. We had to fight pretty hard to get into the top eight and it was a top fight for us, but considering the whole season, to get into the top end I thought was an average performance for the year for us. So we've gone from two prelim finals to probably finishing eighth in the comp. We've certainly gone backwards as far as the scoreboard is concerned, we need to acknowledge that, which we obviously do but I reckon eighth was, well, its middle of the road, isn't it?
DO YOU NEED A BIG CLEANOUT?
The last couple of years we've drafted five players a year, which seems to be about the right number, I reckon. You can say, let's clean out nine or ten players, we'll get nine or ten younger players in but it's not just a matter of getting young players, you've got to get young players who are actually capable of playing AFL footy. Otherwise you just get young people into your footy club and nothing else happens. That's a matter of us having a good handle on the draft and knowing where everything sits, and doing a really good strong, rigorous assessment of our playing list, which we'll do between now and after the trade week, before we make any decisions. I'm sure there will be some tough decisions that have to be made, and if they have to be made, they will be.
We've still got some things to go through like I know there is some interest in some of our players in terms of trading, and we've still got some guys who have got some injuries, so we need to go through all that just to see how it all settles down. The reality is we won't make the decision on that until the end of trade week.
WHAT TYPE OF PLAYERS DO YOU NEED?
I think we need to refresh our forward line and continue to build some talent in there. I mean last year unfortunately Kurt Tippett, who we drafted as a forward, he wasn't able to spend a lot of time playing or training. So hopefully he can get through the pre-season, but we need to continue to bring new people into this area, and bolster that area of footy club.
TRIGG THOUGHT YOU MIGHT NEED SOME MIDFIELDERS AS WELL?
Every club is always looking for midfielders, because week after week we talk about where the game is going to be won or lost, we all know it's in the midfield, so that goes without saying. But (being) really specific to our football club, is obviously a fairly key forward if we can find them.
SMALL FORWARD?
Yeah it is, yeah. Small forwards seem to be becoming more and more dominant in the AFL, you look at some of the clubs, Essendon for example, even Geelong on the weekend, some of their small forwards. We had Matty Bode last year, so that is the type of player, Jason Porplyzia was starting to develop, a different style of player but a small type forward. It's interesting from a fashionable point of view that type of player has become pretty important.
TIME TO REFLECT ON THE WEEKEND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT?
I just thought up until 3/4 time I thought we played some pretty reasonable footy and our biggest disappointment was our last quarter. We pride ourselves on being able to play pretty tough footy and playing the whole game out, but it needs to be recognised that Hawthorn were far too good for us in the final quarter. You might say it was only three points but the reality is Hawthorn could have beaten us by three or four goals with the opportunities they missed...they dominated the last quarter in a very important game, which we have to be really disappointed with. If we could rectify one thing it would just be our competitive nature in the last quarter.
CRITICISM of YOUR COACHING ON MATCH DAY?
What particular area?
THAT YOU'RE NOT REACTIVE ENOUGH
Obviously I've said before, you look at the criticism, you take it on board, if there's any truth in it, analyse, reflect on it, use it, make some changes, I guess the topical one would have been Massie on Franklin, we've all had time to reflect on that and a variety of areas, which I've done. In terms of match day coaching no, I'm pretty comfortable in what we do. I tend to stick with players longer in positions, maybe longer than some other coaches, that seems to be a style of mine. I tend to look more for the cause rather than the end product. The end product is often on show pretty much easier to see than where it's starting from. And the system that we use to play, from a flexibility point of view, is probably an area we need to look at as in the system we use and the number of players weve got available to go through that system as well. That's probably the area we need to look at as a footy club.
LOOK AT COACHES AS WELL?
No, I'm really happy with the assistant coaches we've got, so that's not an area of concern for me.
DOES PETER JONAS LEAVE THE BOX TO GO INTO DEVELOPMENT?
No.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING? THE FANS FEELING SHOCK.
I can understand that. We fought hard to get into the finals and that gave our supporter base a lot of hope and expectation which was great for them. That's important for any football club. And to have that all taken away from them in one game and in particular the last 40 seconds if you like where it just goes, I can certainly understand from the supporter base point of view how disappointed and angry they would be with that. Whilst there's no guarantees, it's certainly a game we thought we could win. The way we went about it in the last quarter and particularly the last set play, if you like, was nowhere near the standard we set ourselves. For a two minute period before half time we held onto the ball for two minutes. They couldn't get it back off us. Whereas in the last part we had to do it maybe for less than 30 seconds, we couldn't do it. So I understand exactly, and we feel no different to how you described how the supporters feel.
I thought this is probably our worst result in terms of finals results.
I feel disappointed, loss of opportunity, to go through to the finals, but in this game you can't wallow in those sort of emotions. And even now what it does is sort of increase your resolve for 2008 to do it better and get stuck back into planning, and look at your list, and things we need to change or add to our footy club. I know the players have been through their own review which we'll get the results of that. Once the emotions of that start to diminish a bit, then the resolve starts to come back. To our supporters, make no mistake about it, it increases our resolve for 2008 to do it better.
IF YOU HAD YOUR TIME AGAIN, WOULD YOU HAVE CHANGED MASSIE ON FRANKLIN?
I've been through it and if the time came to go in with exactly the same circumstances, you know i'd probably give Kris first go at him again. I've been through that, I'm happy to walk you through the journey of that if you want me to.
He got a goal in the first quarter, I thought Kris was really good in the first quarter, he got it on a lead which was the sort of style we thought he would get it on. A quick lead, Kris was really close to him but good mark.
Second quarter it was a contest, ground ball, great snap by franklin. The third goal he got was probably the one that concerned me the most, where Franklin took Kris a bit deep, one-on-one, ball coming in high, that was an area that was causing us concern if Franklin continued to do that, but he didn't. His fourth goal was a free kick from Jason Torney.
So at half time Kris was still at a strong competitive spirit. Probably my major concern at that stage was probably Roughead, as well, I thought he was a really dominating forward, particularly in the air, you know strong contested marks.
Third quarter Franklin had two possessions, gave away two 50m penalties, he didn't kick a goal, Kris was a really good player for us. So we were sort of saying this is going pretty well.
Fifth goal, i thought defensively we were really poor and he got Kris on the lead.
Sixth one Scotty Stevens was on him, and the last one you all know about it, and I'm saying that's team responsibility. That's Massie defending the space behind him, and we have two players in front, and we still can't cut it off.
When you walk through it objectively that's why i'd give Kris first go at it again.
DO YOU TRADE FOR A BIG NAME?
If they exist, but the one that was going to be a big name was Pavlich of course, and clearly our club would have been aggressive in that area. First of all is there a big name available, does it fit your needs and have you got the trades available that clubs would want so you've got to satisfy all that criteria.
So we go into trade open-minded, and as I've said there is some interest in some of our players but you're not going to upgrade your list massively by the trade unless a guy like Pavlich is there and he's not there.
YOU CAME HERE TALKING ABOUT WINNING FINALS FOOTY YOU ARE NOW 2-4 IN FINALS DOES THAT TELL YOU YOU DONT HAVE WINNING FINALS FOOTY IN YOUR GAMEPLAN?
It's what two out of six, its 33 per cent positive strike rate, that's not good enough for what we want. We've created it, well, I've created it, I need to live with it and in the end I need to change it. So if we get good enough to get back in the finals, there's no other way round it, it's no good sitting here and offering up excuses for it, finals footy if you get in there, you are judged on win-loss purely and that's the way it should be.
WHAT DO YOU CHANGE?
A whole range of things you look at personnel, you look at structures, you look at the way you play, we talked about the last quarter against Hawthorn, which we pride oursvels on, but once again we have to look at the skills of perseverance, resilience, all those sorts of aspects of it. It will never be (just) one thing, and that's where our reviews in those areas need to be full of rigour so we don't miss out on any point at all.
HAVE YOU TOLD ANY PLAYER THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED?
No I haven't, reviews are still ongoing both from a coaching perspective and also from a playing group. So that will unfold in the next couple of weeks. Players have been asked to stay here this week, so all the medicals and the physical side of things and all the other discussions can take place. They are still at the footy club for their competitive year if you like, and they finish on Friday, that's when their eight weeks will start. And from there we will have a lot of information on the table and we can start to make decisions.
SHOULD HAVE PLAYED MARK RICCIUTO?
My decision wouldn't change, Mark had kicked three goals against Collingwood, he trained on the Wednesday before the Hawthorn game and actually trained really well, in actual fact going into the game Mark was more pleased with his body to my view he looked better felt better going into the game, so there was no hesitation from my point of view that I selected him on his form and based on his capacity to perform going into the Hawthorn game. I know there's been some insinuation I gave him a game to break the record, but that certainkly wasn't the case. Mark was selected based on his form and his capacity to perform against hawthorn.
EFFECT OF INJURIES
I'm happy to stand by our record, from a coaching point of view, I'm happy to stand (by the fact) that we won 12 games for the year, we can be judged on the way we played, we can be judged on whether we played aggressively, or too defensive, I'm just happy to talk about our performances.
Injuries always play a part, and it's important you understand certain areas where they do have an effect on you.
But we all know, what injuries did we have in round six? Anyone remember? No. And that's the way it is. Okay that's the way it is. And in two weeks time you won't be able to remember what injuries we had going into the elimination final, and that's the way it should be. Externally, that's the way it should be, internally we need to be better than that.
BEEN A CONTENDER FOR A FEW YEARS, IS IT TIME TO LOWER THE BAR?
Well, I'm glad you're not in our club, you want to come to me and talk about lowering the bar and taking it easy, you'd be first on my trade list, young fella.
NikkiNoo
13 Sep 2007, 18:53
thanks Kane - interesting reading and see I said Stevens was on Franklin at one stage in the last quarter and he got beaten!
afccomau
13 Sep 2007, 18:54
FYI, we've also put the video of the full press conference on afc.com.au too: http://afc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4417/Default.aspx?newsId=51071
Cheers.
Capitalist
13 Sep 2007, 18:56
FYI, we've also put the video of the full press conference on afc.com.au too: http://afc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4417/Default.aspx?newsId=51071
Cheers.
is there more ?
NikkiNoo
13 Sep 2007, 18:59
Thanks for that as well afccomau, very much appreciated. :thumbsu:
It is very hard to find full transcripts of press conferences and what is reported in the press here in Adelaide is always only a very small part of the conference and always slanted towards what the journalist wants to report (understandably).
A case in point is Bock's comments last week that were selectively edited out of an adelaide article when it was repoduced in the Herald Sun.
I know that when JohnK was posting the aftermatch conferences last year they were greatly appreciated - especially by those Adelaide fans that are interstate and overseas.
Love the last line.
Come one Neil, get us a flag next year.
NikkiNoo
13 Sep 2007, 19:01
Love the last line.
Come one Neil, get us a flag next year.
wonder who it was that got that smackdown? :D
Love the last line.
...
Well depends on how one looks at it.
Lower the bar in terms of what one wants to achieve? No of course not.
Lower the bar in terms of trying to get the most out of the current players? Perhaps yes, it could be time to change, both in terms of some players nearing the end of their careers and find a new gameplan based on your players of the future.
brilliant last line..zing.
Have been thinking about NC and his so called lack of decisiveness. I was at the game and one of the many who called for him to move massie. Have been thinking about this, is this indecisiveness or is this a decision that he made. The knee jerk reaction of everyone watching would have been to move massie, the decision, after thinking about it, was to keep him there. If you know that plan A (massie) is the right plan (read NC interview to why it was right) even though it is not working, is changing to the wrong plan B (bock, too slow would be turned around by franklin too easy and stevens, did you see him on lloyd) a good decision... or is the best decision to leave him there and cop the flak if it doesn't work.
Most coaches and people in all buisness make knee jerk reactions, they have to change something if its not working, how often do they work when they are worse plans than the first?
King Elvis
13 Sep 2007, 19:56
brilliant last line..zing.
Have been thinking about NC and his so called lack of decisiveness. I was at the game and one of the many who called for him to move massie. Have been thinking about this, is this indecisiveness or is this a decision that he made. The knee jerk reaction of everyone watching would have been to move massie, the decision, after thinking about it, was to keep him there. If you know that plan A (massie) is the right plan (read NC interview to why it was right) even though it is not working, is changing to the wrong plan B (bock, too slow would be turned around by franklin too easy and stevens, did you see him on lloyd) a good decision... or is the best decision to leave him there and cop the flak if it doesn't work.
Most coaches and people in all buisness make knee jerk reactions, they have to change something if its not working, how often do they work when they are worse plans than the first?
Without turning this into another one of those threads, he selected McGregor to give us flexibility - then he refused to use it.
Massie as first choice; no complaints.
Massie as ONLY choice; that was the problem.
Decent press conference from Craig, like the last answer.
I'm just happy with him mentioning big Kurt every time he's asked about the forward setup.
Sounds like he'll play ALOT net year :thumbsu:
Get on the bandwagon now, before it fills up next season.
ThePeckers
13 Sep 2007, 20:22
I'm just happy with him mentioning big Kurt every time he's asked about the forward setup.
Sounds like he'll play ALOT net year :thumbsu:
Get on the bandwagon now, before it fills up next season.
Is this what you said about the Richard Douglas bandwagon last year...
jenny61_99
13 Sep 2007, 20:24
Craig must have said something somewhere about numbers being changed because on Fox news channel he is reported to have said we will be turning over 6 or 7 players. Apparently he also mentioned Ian Perrie as being one of them. That's quite different to this media statement above.
asdfasd
13 Sep 2007, 20:25
Great read! Cheers for posting.
Is this what you said about the Richard Douglas bandwagon last year...
Probably. He's improved this year from last year. Not as much as we would like obviously, BUT ......
I've seen him play ALOT and his general understanding of where to run, crumbing skills have improved a great deal this year. Even if he hasn't quite turned it on at AFL level.
Next year, he'll be an absolute revelation (if fit), I'll guarantee that with more certainty than anything else next year.
Needs a big PS and he should be away.
CrowMagnum
13 Sep 2007, 21:43
brilliant last line..zing.
Have been thinking about NC and his so called lack of decisiveness. I was at the game and one of the many who called for him to move massie. Have been thinking about this, is this indecisiveness or is this a decision that he made. The knee jerk reaction of everyone watching would have been to move massie, the decision, after thinking about it, was to keep him there. If you know that plan A (massie) is the right plan (read NC interview to why it was right) even though it is not working, is changing to the wrong plan B (bock, too slow would be turned around by franklin too easy and stevens, did you see him on lloyd) a good decision... or is the best decision to leave him there and cop the flak if it doesn't work.
Most coaches and people in all buisness make knee jerk reactions, they have to change something if its not working, how often do they work when they are worse plans than the first?
No-one said it was indecisive. Quite the opposite, it was quite deliberate and stubborn.
The decision was crap, the explanation not much better, and a more logical decision to swallow your pride and correct an obvious mismatch could have won us a final.
Neil Craig, you were wrong.
Kane McGoodwin
13 Sep 2007, 22:17
thanks Kane - interesting reading and see I said Stevens was on Franklin at one stage in the last quarter and he got beaten!
Thanks to my source for providing the extract. :)
RoosterLad
13 Sep 2007, 22:19
I'm just happy with him mentioning big Kurt every time he's asked about the forward setup.
Sounds like he'll play ALOT net year :thumbsu:
Get on the bandwagon now, before it fills up next season.
Kurt playing a lot where? At West or Crows...
Pretty sure he will be at the Bloods unless the Crows move him away, he could end up like Willits even though Gray was a rare success at that rabble of a club.
Kurt playing a lot where? At West or Crows...
Pretty sure he will be at the Bloods unless the Crows move him away, he could end up like Willits even though Gray was a rare success at that rabble of a club.
Sounds very much like NC is pushing for Kurt to play a fair bit for the Crowies next year. Which is good.
He's obviously seen a lot he likes in the kid. I'm not surprised. Remarkable athletic ability. Not to mention Craig McRae (good judge) calling him an Alastair Lynch clone with the hands of Stewie Loewe. Pressure much? :o
RoosterLad
13 Sep 2007, 22:52
I hope that is a joke!! I hate when people say shit like that, I feel sorry for the bloke. If McRae is on the money then Kurt should do the Coleman-Brownlow-Norm Smith treble quite easily.
I hope that is a joke!! I hate when people say shit like that, I feel sorry for the bloke. If McRae is on the money then Kurt should do the Coleman-Brownlow-Norm Smith treble quite easily.
Especially when... at the time of drafting, they've played less than 30 games in their life :D
He'll be a goodin big Kurtley Ambrose. :thumbsu: (see, the 'k' substitutes for the 'c') :)
SpringChoke
13 Sep 2007, 23:07
Neil Craig would make a great a poltitician.
Fred Phillis
13 Sep 2007, 23:11
I've seen him play ALOT and his general understanding of where to run, crumbing skills have improved a great deal this year. Even if he hasn't quite turned it on at AFL level.
Next year, he'll be an absolute revelation (if fit), I'll guarantee that with more certainty than anything else next year.
seconded from another bay watcher :thumbsu:
SpringChoke
13 Sep 2007, 23:18
I'm just happy with him mentioning big Kurt every time he's asked about the forward setup.
Sounds like he'll play ALOT net year :thumbsu:
Get on the bandwagon now, before it fills up next season.
This seems to be the party line from the club. How convenient, we were going to play him but he got injured. Sort of reminds me of the scene from Schindlers List where the street wise kid blames it on the guy Fiennes just shot.
pjcrows
13 Sep 2007, 23:21
Here's the extract from the media conference - makes for interesting reading!
HAVE YOU UNDERACHIEVED?
No, I'm a great believer in the fact that after 22 rounds the premiership table is a great indicator of your team's performance. We had to fight pretty hard to get into the top eight and it was a top fight for us, but considering the whole season, to get into the top end I thought was an average performance for the year for us. So we've gone from two prelim finals to probably finishing eighth in the comp. We've certainly gone backwards as far as the scoreboard is concerned, we need to acknowledge that, which we obviously do but I reckon eighth was, well, its middle of the road, isn't it?
DO YOU NEED A BIG CLEANOUT?
The last couple of years we've drafted five players a year, which seems to be about the right number, I reckon. You can say, let's clean out nine or ten players, we'll get nine or ten younger players in but it's not just a matter of getting young players, you've got to get young players who are actually capable of playing AFL footy. Otherwise you just get young people into your footy club and nothing else happens. That's a matter of us having a good handle on the draft and knowing where everything sits, and doing a really good strong, rigorous assessment of our playing list, which we'll do between now and after the trade week, before we make any decisions. I'm sure there will be some tough decisions that have to be made, and if they have to be made, they will be.
We've still got some things to go through like I know there is some interest in some of our players in terms of trading, and we've still got some guys who have got some injuries, so we need to go through all that just to see how it all settles down. The reality is we won't make the decision on that until the end of trade week.
WHAT TYPE OF PLAYERS DO YOU NEED?
I think we need to refresh our forward line and continue to build some talent in there. I mean last year unfortunately Kurt Tippett, who we drafted as a forward, he wasn't able to spend a lot of time playing or training. So hopefully he can get through the pre-season, but we need to continue to bring new people into this area, and bolster that area of footy club.
TRIGG THOUGHT YOU MIGHT NEED SOME MIDFIELDERS AS WELL?
Every club is always looking for midfielders, because week after week we talk about where the game is going to be won or lost, we all know it's in the midfield, so that goes without saying. But (being) really specific to our football club, is obviously a fairly key forward if we can find them.
SMALL FORWARD?
Yeah it is, yeah. Small forwards seem to be becoming more and more dominant in the AFL, you look at some of the clubs, Essendon for example, even Geelong on the weekend, some of their small forwards. We had Matty Bode last year, so that is the type of player, Jason Porplyzia was starting to develop, a different style of player but a small type forward. It's interesting from a fashionable point of view that type of player has become pretty important.
TIME TO REFLECT ON THE WEEKEND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT?
I just thought up until 3/4 time I thought we played some pretty reasonable footy and our biggest disappointment was our last quarter. We pride ourselves on being able to play pretty tough footy and playing the whole game out, but it needs to be recognised that Hawthorn were far too good for us in the final quarter. You might say it was only three points but the reality is Hawthorn could have beaten us by three or four goals with the opportunities they missed...they dominated the last quarter in a very important game, which we have to be really disappointed with. If we could rectify one thing it would just be our competitive nature in the last quarter.
CRITICISM of YOUR COACHING ON MATCH DAY?
What particular area?
THAT YOU'RE NOT REACTIVE ENOUGH
Obviously I've said before, you look at the criticism, you take it on board, if there's any truth in it, analyse, reflect on it, use it, make some changes, I guess the topical one would have been Massie on Franklin, we've all had time to reflect on that and a variety of areas, which I've done. In terms of match day coaching no, I'm pretty comfortable in what we do. I tend to stick with players longer in positions, maybe longer than some other coaches, that seems to be a style of mine. I tend to look more for the cause rather than the end product. The end product is often on show pretty much easier to see than where it's starting from. And the system that we use to play, from a flexibility point of view, is probably an area we need to look at as in the system we use and the number of players weve got available to go through that system as well. That's probably the area we need to look at as a footy club.
LOOK AT COACHES AS WELL?
No, I'm really happy with the assistant coaches we've got, so that's not an area of concern for me.
DOES PETER JONAS LEAVE THE BOX TO GO INTO DEVELOPMENT?
No.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING? THE FANS FEELING SHOCK.
I can understand that. We fought hard to get into the finals and that gave our supporter base a lot of hope and expectation which was great for them. That's important for any football club. And to have that all taken away from them in one game and in particular the last 40 seconds if you like where it just goes, I can certainly understand from the supporter base point of view how disappointed and angry they would be with that. Whilst there's no guarantees, it's certainly a game we thought we could win. The way we went about it in the last quarter and particularly the last set play, if you like, was nowhere near the standard we set ourselves. For a two minute period before half time we held onto the ball for two minutes. They couldn't get it back off us. Whereas in the last part we had to do it maybe for less than 30 seconds, we couldn't do it. So I understand exactly, and we feel no different to how you described how the supporters feel.
I thought this is probably our worst result in terms of finals results.
I feel disappointed, loss of opportunity, to go through to the finals, but in this game you can't wallow in those sort of emotions. And even now what it does is sort of increase your resolve for 2008 to do it better and get stuck back into planning, and look at your list, and things we need to change or add to our footy club. I know the players have been through their own review which we'll get the results of that. Once the emotions of that start to diminish a bit, then the resolve starts to come back. To our supporters, make no mistake about it, it increases our resolve for 2008 to do it better.
IF YOU HAD YOUR TIME AGAIN, WOULD YOU HAVE CHANGED MASSIE ON FRANKLIN?
I've been through it and if the time came to go in with exactly the same circumstances, you know i'd probably give Kris first go at him again. I've been through that, I'm happy to walk you through the journey of that if you want me to.
He got a goal in the first quarter, I thought Kris was really good in the first quarter, he got it on a lead which was the sort of style we thought he would get it on. A quick lead, Kris was really close to him but good mark.
Second quarter it was a contest, ground ball, great snap by franklin. The third goal he got was probably the one that concerned me the most, where Franklin took Kris a bit deep, one-on-one, ball coming in high, that was an area that was causing us concern if Franklin continued to do that, but he didn't. His fourth goal was a free kick from Jason Torney.
So at half time Kris was still at a strong competitive spirit. Probably my major concern at that stage was probably Roughead, as well, I thought he was a really dominating forward, particularly in the air, you know strong contested marks.
Third quarter Franklin had two possessions, gave away two 50m penalties, he didn't kick a goal, Kris was a really good player for us. So we were sort of saying this is going pretty well.
Fifth goal, i thought defensively we were really poor and he got Kris on the lead.
Sixth one Scotty Stevens was on him, and the last one you all know about it, and I'm saying that's team responsibility. That's Massie defending the space behind him, and we have two players in front, and we still can't cut it off.
When you walk through it objectively that's why i'd give Kris first go at it again.
DO YOU TRADE FOR A BIG NAME?
If they exist, but the one that was going to be a big name was Pavlich of course, and clearly our club would have been aggressive in that area. First of all is there a big name available, does it fit your needs and have you got the trades available that clubs would want so you've got to satisfy all that criteria.
So we go into trade open-minded, and as I've said there is some interest in some of our players but you're not going to upgrade your list massively by the trade unless a guy like Pavlich is there and he's not there.
YOU CAME HERE TALKING ABOUT WINNING FINALS FOOTY YOU ARE NOW 2-4 IN FINALS DOES THAT TELL YOU YOU DONT HAVE WINNING FINALS FOOTY IN YOUR GAMEPLAN?
It's what two out of six, its 33 per cent positive strike rate, that's not good enough for what we want. We've created it, well, I've created it, I need to live with it and in the end I need to change it. So if we get good enough to get back in the finals, there's no other way round it, it's no good sitting here and offering up excuses for it, finals footy if you get in there, you are judged on win-loss purely and that's the way it should be.
WHAT DO YOU CHANGE?
A whole range of things you look at personnel, you look at structures, you look at the way you play, we talked about the last quarter against Hawthorn, which we pride oursvels on, but once again we have to look at the skills of perseverance, resilience, all those sorts of aspects of it. It will never be (just) one thing, and that's where our reviews in those areas need to be full of rigour so we don't miss out on any point at all.
HAVE YOU TOLD ANY PLAYER THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED?
No I haven't, reviews are still ongoing both from a coaching perspective and also from a playing group. So that will unfold in the next couple of weeks. Players have been asked to stay here this week, so all the medicals and the physical side of things and all the other discussions can take place. They are still at the footy club for their competitive year if you like, and they finish on Friday, that's when their eight weeks will start. And from there we will have a lot of information on the table and we can start to make decisions.
SHOULD HAVE PLAYED MARK RICCIUTO?
My decision wouldn't change, Mark had kicked three goals against Collingwood, he trained on the Wednesday before the Hawthorn game and actually trained really well, in actual fact going into the game Mark was more pleased with his body to my view he looked better felt better going into the game, so there was no hesitation from my point of view that I selected him on his form and based on his capacity to perform going into the Hawthorn game. I know there's been some insinuation I gave him a game to break the record, but that certainkly wasn't the case. Mark was selected based on his form and his capacity to perform against hawthorn.
EFFECT OF INJURIES
I'm happy to stand by our record, from a coaching point of view, I'm happy to stand (by the fact) that we won 12 games for the year, we can be judged on the way we played, we can be judged on whether we played aggressively, or too defensive, I'm just happy to talk about our performances.
Injuries always play a part, and it's important you understand certain areas where they do have an effect on you.
But we all know, what injuries did we have in round six? Anyone remember? No. And that's the way it is. Okay that's the way it is. And in two weeks time you won't be able to remember what injuries we had going into the elimination final, and that's the way it should be. Externally, that's the way it should be, internally we need to be better than that.
BEEN A CONTENDER FOR A FEW YEARS, IS IT TIME TO LOWER THE BAR?
Well, I'm glad you're not in our club, you want to come to me and talk about lowering the bar and taking it easy, you'd be first on my trade list, young fella.
:confused:
Looks like Craigy has been studying Gary Ayres' Book of Gibberish :o
He's got so wrapped up in uttering
- "We need to learn from this"
- "We need to follow the process"
- "We've got the system in place"
- "Our players know the system and the process
and
- "As a footy club we need to move forward"
He's forgotton how to speak English :o
I reckon I could write one of those books. "How to talk absolute shit, not actually offering anything, in a press conference" for Dummies.
jenny61_99
13 Sep 2007, 23:30
Actually I think most coaches have to undertake a "cliches and platitudes" course prior to taking on the coaching job. :D
RoosterLad
13 Sep 2007, 23:32
Jars didn't sit that course.
SpringChoke
13 Sep 2007, 23:33
:confused:
Looks like Craigy has been studying Gary Ayres' Book of Gibberish :o
Really worrying signs.
jenny61_99
13 Sep 2007, 23:35
Jars didn't sit that course.
You have to be able to actually read to get into it. ;):p
Thanks Kane...good read
Seasons over and Neil feels he did the right thing... its now up to the club to assess and be critical , or not, over what decisions were made or not made.
I would like some comment on the 31 point turn around...it seemed to be an issue all year. I recall a few times we were up at 1/4 time and half time and got rolled...PFG posted a good analysis of maybe why that is ie coaches make changes and NC doesnt react to those changes... and at half time the opposition make some more moves etc
Is it a mental relaxation by the players? Is it an issue with old bodies and young kids where each hope the other steps up?
jenny61_99
13 Sep 2007, 23:48
Thanks Kane...good read
Seasons over and Neil feels he did the right thing... its now up to the club to assess and be critical , or not, over what decisions were made or not made.
I would like some comment on the 31 point turn around...it seemed to be an issue all year. I recall a few times we were up at 1/4 time and half time and got rolled...PFG posted a good analysis of maybe why that is ie coaches make changes and NC doesnt react to those changes... and at half time the opposition make some more moves etc
Is it a mental relaxation by the players? Is it an issue with old bodies and young kids where each hope the other steps up?
I think our losses this year - both outright, and ones where the opposition comes from behind have mostly been mental relaxation. The games we were shoe-ins to win - you know, the St Kilda, Melbourne, Fremantle, Essendon games... they were all lost before we set a foot onto the park IMO. We clearly were not switched on mentally - we thought all we had to do is turn up and the 4 points were a done deal. The losses when we were in front are harder to take, but I think mostly can be attributed to a switch off in intensity as well. It's almost as if "aww we are gonna do this easy" and then whammo.... not so easy! It's not unusual for this to happen you would think - in either case... the disturbing thing was that it happened far too frequently, and that we weren't able to collectively switch back on to rectify it.
swanfan
13 Sep 2007, 23:52
I think our losses this year - both outright, and ones where the opposition comes from behind have mostly been mental relaxation. The games we were shoe-ins to win - you know, the Carlton, Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon games... they were all lost before we set a foot onto the park IMO. We clearly were not switched on mentally - we thought all we had to do is turn up and the 4 points were a done deal. The losses when we were in front are harder to take, but I think mostly can be attributed to a switch off in intensity as well. It's almost as if "aww we are gonna do this easy" and then whammo.... not so easy! It's not unusual for this to happen you would think - in either case... the disturbing thing was that it happened far too frequently, and that we weren't able to collectively switch back on to rectify it.
We didn't lose to Carlton or Richmond, Jenny. :)
jenny61_99
14 Sep 2007, 00:08
We didn't lose to Carlton or Richmond, Jenny. :)
I knew that, just seeing if anyone was actually reading what I said! :p
:o Fixed em!
WheresGroomgone
14 Sep 2007, 00:19
Thanks Kane...good read
Seasons over and Neil feels he did the right thing... its now up to the club to assess and be critical , or not, over what decisions were made or not made.
I would like some comment on the 31 point turn around...it seemed to be an issue all year. I recall a few times we were up at 1/4 time and half time and got rolled...PFG posted a good analysis of maybe why that is ie coaches make changes and NC doesnt react to those changes... and at half time the opposition make some more moves etc
Is it a mental relaxation by the players? Is it an issue with old bodies and young kids where each hope the other steps up?
It seemed that throughout the 2007 season right across the league not just the Crows, that during a game there would be a turn around from 1/4 time.It is interesting that this "seemed" more prevalent this year than others, particularly on Friday night games I haven't looked at stats on it and could be wrong but in many games teams turned it around and it then becomes quite comical listening to the commentators back track on their earlier statements. I realise this is a smidgeon off topic, but it does demonstrate how close teams were this season, meaning that from ladder position about 2 to about 14 anyone could beat anyone. If you then look at the post in the general forums where posters are predicting where there team will finish, the vast majority believe their team is on the way up, which is impossible, but everyone thinks they have the existing talent and emerging talent to improve so therefore a greater empthasis is put on the coaching and support staff. The AFC have a lot of faith in Neil Craig and he seems to have "a big picture" I just hope he has, he appears very calm and controlled, next season is very important I hope his picture is in HD and he allows some adjustment.
Stiffy_18
14 Sep 2007, 00:53
wonder who it was that got that smackdown? :D
I think it might have been Thomas Rehn from Ch7. If it is, he got "ignored" by Burton and now got delisted by Craig :D :p
Asgardian
14 Sep 2007, 03:24
Here's the extract from the media conference - makes for interesting reading!
HAVE YOU UNDERACHIEVED?
No, I'm a great believer in the fact that after 22 rounds the premiership table is a great indicator of your team's performance. We had to fight pretty hard to get into the top eight and it was a top fight for us, but considering the whole season, to get into the top end I thought was an average performance for the year for us. So we've gone from two prelim finals to probably finishing eighth in the comp. We've certainly gone backwards as far as the scoreboard is concerned, we need to acknowledge that, which we obviously do but I reckon eighth was, well, its middle of the road, isn't it?
If you finish 8th, but you didn't underachieve, logically means the coaching staff had no great belief that you could finish any higher.
Yes, injuries, bad luck, etc, but still, "Did you underachieve" answer "No". A little odd
If you finish 8th, but you didn't underachieve, logically means the coaching staff had no great belief that you could finish any higher.
Yes, injuries, bad luck, etc, but still, "Did you underachieve" answer "No". A little odd
I took it to mean our performance in finals ie '' we finished 8th after the minor round so finishing 8th isnt underacheiving'' ie if we finished 4th we would have overacheived
Politician speak for sure but not incorrect
Crow Envy
14 Sep 2007, 09:14
I was very worried by what he said. He thought Massie did a good job in the 1st qtr. Did he not see Franklins dropped marks? Then his recanting of the goals, well it sounded like story telling, he seemed to dismiss how they came about and before you knew it Franklin had 7. And to then say he would be the first option again is a real worry. According to Ferret Head this morning, Jonas questioned the move in the 2nd qtr.
He concedes he keeps players on for too long without making a change. Its almost like hes being honest and we are supposed to forgive him. Well history has shown your stubborness has cost us games. Riewoldt anyone?
Craig has lost me, 3 poor finals series littered with poor coaching. Sounds like Gary Ayres all over.
NikkiNoo
14 Sep 2007, 09:33
I think it might have been Thomas Rehn from Ch7. If it is, he got "ignored" by Burton and now got delisted by Craig :D :p
Gee Channel 7 have drafted some quality reporters lately..... :p
baaaallllll
14 Sep 2007, 09:54
Craig has lost me, 3 poor finals series littered with poor coaching. Sounds like Gary Ayres all over.
We would not have made the finals if Gary Ayres was coach.
So should we be content with Franklin kicking 7 goals in a final? Sound to me like Neil Craig accepts this as the norm. Fact is Franklin was the difference on the day and we we did nothing to stop this, end of story.
McLeod23
14 Sep 2007, 13:03
Some interesting responses there from Craig, but I'm still mystified, surprised and pissed off that he doesn't think he did anything wrong leaving Massie on Franklin, and that he would do the same again even in retrospect.
I always thought Bock was the best match-up for Franklin, and it appeared that in the lead up to the game, Craig recognised this when he acknowledged that Massie had only beaten Franklin in the match at AAMI because it was wet, and seemed to suggest strongly that Massie wouldn't get the job again.
Very frustrating.
The next 12 months will make or break Craig as our senior coach.
Don't mean to fan the flames further but does anyone find it ironic that Neil Craig defends Massie when it comes to Franklin kicking 7 goals and then goes on to say Massie did a good job on him in the third quarter when he was goalless?
So when Franklin doesn't kick goals, Massie did a good job but when Franklin kicks goals, it's not Massie's fault.
Not saying I agree or disagree, but interesting nonetheless.
SpringChoke
14 Sep 2007, 15:38
Don't mean to fan the flames further but does anyone find it ironic that Neil Craig defends Massie when it comes to Franklin kicking 7 goals and then goes on to say Massie did a good job on him in the third quarter when he was goalless?
So when Franklin doesn't kick goals, Massie did a good job but when Franklin kicks goals, it's not Massie's fault.
Not saying I agree or disagree, but interesting nonetheless.
In effect what Craig has done is to hang Massie out to dry by not admiting the matchup was a mistake. If Criagy thinks it was a good matchup then what he is effectively saying is Massie had a shocker of a game.
I was very worried by what he said. He thought Massie did a good job in the 1st qtr. Did he not see Franklins dropped marks? .
Why did he drop those marks? External or internal pressure?
Crow Envy
14 Sep 2007, 21:06
Why did he drop those marks? External or internal pressure?
Internal, first final ever. Allowed to have some nerves.
NikkiNoo
14 Sep 2007, 21:17
Internal, first final ever. Allowed to have some nerves.
How can you really know? It's just guess work mostly. Would suggest that there would be more nerve associated with his final kick than with the start of the game.
Internal, first final ever. Allowed to have some nerves.
So was NC wrong in expecting that internal pressure to build and build? Making it a win for the AFC
Crow Envy
14 Sep 2007, 21:52
How can you really know? It's just guess work mostly. Would suggest that there would be more nerve associated with his final kick than with the start of the game.
Well considering the sitters he missed and his shanked kicks it would be a fair guess. By the time of the final kick and a game carving up a half back flanker his confidence was sky high.
For those who are still trying to defend Craig, look at it this way, when we played against the Hawks earlier in the year he conceded the Massie match up was a gamble. It paid off because of the rain. The following weeks gamble against Riewoldt cost us the St Kilda game. The gamble against Franklin cost us a final. That gamble conceded 6 goals (1 was against Stevens). Just look at that number, 6 goals. If we had a forward capable of kicking 6 goals and the opposition coach left the same undersized player on him we would be giving him a big thank you and thinking he was a bloody idiot.
To then state he is prepared to gamble again and match up with Massie is bloody stubborn and stupid. What do you think the players are thinking? Their confidence in their coach must be dimming pretty quickly.
What do you think the players are thinking? Their confidence in their coach must be dimming pretty quickly.
At least they wont be thinking '' if I make a mistake how long before Schwerdty is by my side asking me to sit on the pine''
NC talks about empowering players...this is about letting them know that mistakes wont be made an example of but that the player has to make up for that mistake.
Trite? Probably but I would prefer it to the Malcolm Blight scream in the ear 2 seconds later , or getting called out at the Press Conference
SpringChoke
14 Sep 2007, 23:01
At least they wont be thinking '' if I make a mistake how long before Schwerdty is by my side asking me to sit on the pine''
NC talks about empowering players...this is about letting them know that mistakes wont be made an example of but that the player has to make up for that mistake.
Trite? Probably but I would prefer it to the Malcolm Blight scream in the ear 2 seconds later , or getting called out at the Press Conference
Pretty costly lessons I would have thought.
CrowMagnum
14 Sep 2007, 23:06
Coaches will do anything to obtain a mismatch for just 5 minutes because it could jag them a goal.
Imagine what Clarkson thought when he was gifted a mismatch at the start of the game that continued on and on despite all the evidence saying it wasn't working. He would have been pinching himself to make sure it wasn't a dream.
15 out of 16 AFL coaches would have made the move, 9 out of 9 SANFL coaches would have done the same. A school coach would have known better. It wasn't empowering anyone except Franklin and it was just plain stupid.
Pretty costly lessons I would have thought.
No doubt
Has anyone worked out who was playing on Crawford yet?
At least they wont be thinking '' if I make a mistake how long before Schwerdty is by my side asking me to sit on the pine''
NC talks about empowering players...this is about letting them know that mistakes wont be made an example of but that the player has to make up for that mistake.
Trite? Probably but I would prefer it to the Malcolm Blight scream in the ear 2 seconds later , or getting called out at the Press Conference
What the????? :confused:
M Blight = 2 premierships.
N Craig = 2 Prelim losses.
I would have thought it was captain bloody obvious which method was the more effective!
I would have been stunned if Massie dropped his bundle if he was moved after Buddy's 4th or 5th goal.
What the????? :confused:
M Blight = 2 premierships.
N Craig = 2 Prelim losses.
I would have thought it was captain bloody obvious which method was the more effective!
.
Note I said '' I would'' .
I would punch a Malcolm Blight in the head
SpringChoke
15 Sep 2007, 00:07
No doubt
Has anyone worked out who was playing on Crawford yet?
Massie.
Crow-mo
15 Sep 2007, 03:45
We would not have made the finals if Gary Ayres was coach.
really? is your memory that bad? :)
Crow Envy
15 Sep 2007, 09:28
Anyone read Cornes article in the Advertiser today? He was spot on. Surely Craig still cant be living in his deluded fantasy that he made the right move and would do it again? This has to sending alarm bells to the Board, if not then maybe time we need a new board.
King Elvis
15 Sep 2007, 13:40
I would have been stunned if Massie dropped his bundle if he was moved after Buddy's 4th or 5th goal.
He'd probably be thanking Jesus, Allah and Buddah that he was finally moved off a guy he had little chance on.
SpringChoke
15 Sep 2007, 15:51
Anyone read Cornes article in the Advertiser today? He was spot on. Surely Craig still cant be living in his deluded fantasy that he made the right move and would do it again? This has to sending alarm bells to the Board, if not then maybe time we need a new board.
I don't buy the Advertiser anymore do you know where I can find a link?
Kane McGoodwin
15 Sep 2007, 20:10
Coaches will do anything to obtain a mismatch for just 5 minutes because it could jag them a goal.
Imagine what Clarkson thought when he was gifted a mismatch at the start of the game that continued on and on despite all the evidence saying it wasn't working. He would have been pinching himself to make sure it wasn't a dream.
15 out of 16 AFL coaches would have made the move, 9 out of 9 SANFL coaches would have done the same. A school coach would have known better. It wasn't empowering anyone except Franklin and it was just plain stupid.
Spot on.
I think it is even a bigger issue that Craig doesn't even think he is wrong in hindsight. How bloody-minded can one get?