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WaynesWorld19 said:
Talking of which ....similar occurrence this year with Harley Reid ....not in the best shape, and already picking up injuries

We wouldn't take aim at a player from another Club ....but we're quick to right off our own

Click to expand...

Please don’t compare Pedlar with Harley Reid

Pedlar gave us one good season out of 3 then had a shocker , even at sanfl level . His career is at the crossroads and it’s now or never for a 1st round pick … and no he’s not a midfielder

Harley hasn’t played a game yet this season in season 2
 
Scorpus said:
Why not? Our midfield mix looks great without him

Dawson, Rankine, Peatling, Soligo as the main rotation, can also bring in Rachele, Curtin, Pedlar and Neal-Bullen as a second rotation. Draper to come in to the side at some point.

With that mix and Curtin's strong pre-season I don't see the need for Crouch
Click to expand...
Crouch will be last mid picked starting on bench with low TOG
 

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bigman said:
Big chunk of match sim today. Four quarters going for 25 minutes each, so very close to actual game length.

It was a good standard too - there was a wind from the south that caused some issues but overall I thought the lads looked pretty slick and exciting. Some very nice grabs today too which had been rather absent up until now.

As far as I could tell there were no causalities from the game, though Sholl was a late scratching after doing the warm up. I’m guessing it’s related to the corkie he received on Wednesday. He was listed to play but was replaced by Jones shortly before the start of proceedings.

Thilthorpe, Ibis and Welsh all played full games despite recent issues. Nankervis and Worrell were both held off from the final term. Rankine did not do the end of session running but looked to be ok.

Teams weren’t changed until half time, after which the defensive units of both teams were essentially swapped. There were also a few changes to the midfields for the final quarter.

The original teams, once again very much an A vs B situation, were as follows (I’ll note the players which swapped teams):

Blue:

Keays (switched to yellow for Q4), Curtin
Thilthorpe
Rachele
Murray (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Pedlar
Dawson
Walker
Soligo
Michalanney (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Hinge
Rankine
Worrell (switched to yellow for Q3)
Peatling (switched to yellow for Q4)
Neal-Bullen
Laird (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Milera (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4
Fogarty
O’Brien
Cumming
Keane

Yellow:
Berry
Murphy (switched to blue for Q4)
Crouch (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Edwards (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Cook
Welsh
Taylor
Burgess
Ryan (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Schoenberg
Nankervis (switched to blue for Q3), Dowling
Smith (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Draper (switched to blue for Q4),
Borlase (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Gallagher
Drury
Toby Murray
Bond
Butts (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
McAndrew

Goals were: Curtin 3, Thilthorpe 3, Keays 2, Rachele 2, Burgess 2, Jones, Pedlar, Walker, Soligo, Taylor, Rankine, Schoenberg, Neal-Bullen, Dowling, Fogarty, T.Murray

I also recorded the centre bounce attendances except for the rucks (O’Brien and McAndrew did the bulk of the work with a couple each from Thilthorpe and Toby Murray).

CBAs:
Crouch - 22
Schoenberg - 21
Peatling - 20
Berry - 20
Draper - 18
Dawson - 16
Rankine - 15 (played forward in Q4)
Soligo - 13
Keays - 7
Rachele - 5
Taylor - 4
Dowling - 1

Standouts for mine were Rankine (surprise), Neal-Bullen, Schoenberg, Thilthorpe, Worrell, Peatling, Soligo and Berry but most impressed in some way. Only a few had quiet games (Welsh, Gallagher, Hinge, Ryan and Tex didn’t have big days).

Thoughts on a bunch of players:

Keays - played forward and was solid before swapping to the yellow side for the final quarter and into the guts. Ironically kicked his two goals playing midfield and probably looked the sharpest I’ve seen him this summer.

Berry - has his work cut out for him to play round one but deserves it if he does. Only had the one bad fumble and was quite prolific at times for the yellow side, both at stoppage and around the ground. Doing a lot right.

Crouch - was strangely quiet for the yellow side - Berry and Schoenberg were far more influential - and even dropped a sitter which cost a goal. Swapped to the blues in the second half and quickly found his groove. Not concerned.

Curtin - played mostly forward but also spend some time on the wing which was interesting. Kicked three goals and was typically classy with the pill. Not a huge aerial threat today but finds ways to get involved. Laid a great run down tackle on butts on the 50 line and proceeded to dob the goal.

Thilthorpe - bit in and out of the game but when he was hot he was easily one of the most influential. Took a number of clunk marks including one on Murray where he was just too big and too good.

Pedlar - scrappy but I liked his endeavour and he seemed to enjoy his time in the blue side. Could’ve kicked three if not for some wayward shots. Not sure he plays round one but should get some confidence from today.

Soligo - played a mix of midfield and forward. Was super clean at the coal face and showed why he needs to play more there. Ball use was sharp even when against the wind.

Taylor - really liked his game. Despite playing forward for the yellow side he quickly got involved and I enjoyed his energy, both with ball in hand and his tackling. Kicked a lovely goal from 50 as well. Moved into the guts for the third term and unsurprisingly had several clearances. Moved back forward to make room for Keays in the last and went quiet, but pleasingly was one of the best in the running at the end.

Burgess - another good day at the office. Definitely seen an uptick in his intensity and work rate lately. Not easy playing key forward for the yellow side but he’s lifted no doubt.

Worrell - the best defender today in my view. Had a number of intercepts including a ripping specky in the second term. Sat the last quarter out but impressed me a lot.

Schoenberg - similar to Berry, up against it to break into the midfield but is doing a lot right. Intensity is top notch and is strong over the ball. Does love a whinge at the umpires however!

Neal-Bullen - was very good. Seemed to be involved in a lot of scores and was noticeably clean on the deck. Very unselfish footballer too.

Draper - couldn’t win a clearance for the yellow team but took a couple impressive marks that surprised me. Switched to the blues for the last and would have had at least four clearances where exited the stoppage at pace.

O’Brien - thought Mcandrew out reached and out jumped him too much at stoppages again, but he did finish off the game quite well as his opponent tired. Still a worry with his form I think, he needs a couple big praccy games.

Cumming - aside from a lovely mark over Murphy, seemed to be in cruise control and didn’t do a heap. Seemed to get through unscathed though and hopefully gets motoring over the next few weeks.

I’ll discuss a few more players later but feel free to ask questions.
Click to expand...
How was McAndrew around the ground? I saw you mention he was taking some contested marks the other day..
 
adonski said:
What's Dawson's secondary position when not in the mids, fellas ?
Click to expand...
He's a jack of all trades who can plug a hole anywhere but generally he floats behind the ball. Wouldn't be surprised if his CBAs get dialed down a bit this year and he spends more time on a wing.
 
Crow_68 said:
Just showed a couple of Draper’s clearances on Ch.9, exciting to watch.
Click to expand...
Looked more comfortable in A team than B team, which i gather is because he got better supply.

Found it interesting that Schoenberg & Berry once again had strong games for the B's, but Crouch struggled. Gather lack of connection with different ruckman or worse supply.
 
adonski said:
What's Dawson's secondary position when not in the mids, fellas ?
Click to expand...
On Glenelg golf course.

In all seriousness, with a deeper midfield, expect he will have a greater outside to inside mix to previously & also time elsewhere.
 
Kane McGoodwin said:
Looked more comfortable in A team than B team, which i gather is because he got better supply.

Found it interesting that Schoenberg & Berry once again had strong games for the B's, but Crouch struggled. Gather lack of connection with different ruckman or worse supply.
Click to expand...
I’ve kind of wondered about this. Leaving aside the questionable utility of the probables beating up on the possibles, I sometimes wonder about the self fulfilling nature of our selection decisions.

Someone gets into the “blue team”, perhaps in a narrow decision over their internal competition. They then get a much easier time in match sim to show what they can do, and the narrow gap grows in the eyes of selectors. The pecking order becomes increasingly entrenched.

Suddenly in the midst of an injury crisis the coaches are forced to play Dowling and Taylor and it turns out they were better than Jones and McHenry the whole time.

Read: Milera vs Nankervis, 2025 pre season.
 

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Elder van Berlo said:
I’ve kind of wondered about this. Leaving aside the questionable utility of the probables beating up on the possibles, I sometimes wonder about the self fulfilling nature of our selection decisions.

Someone gets into the “blue team”, perhaps in a narrow decision over their internal competition. They then get a much easier time in match sim to show what they can do, and the narrow gap grows in the eyes of selectors. The pecking order becomes increasingly entrenched.

Suddenly in the midst of an injury crisis the coaches are forced to play Dowling and Taylor and it turns out they were better than Jones and McHenry the whole time.

Read: Milera vs Nankervis, 2025 pre season.
Click to expand...
A very astute observation.
The Nank vs Milera example is an excellent example.
 
Again a huge thanks and well done , it was pleasing the boys had a real hit out and showing some skills .
Some questions if don't mind.
Milera and Laird both being picked by most in our starting lineup round 1 but again didn't make your best ,so are they still in your top 23.
So many defenders and interesting out of those that did good job last year who might miss out
Didn't have Peatling down as played well but certainly attended plenty of centre bounce attendances so wondered your thoughts.
I am one of Shoeys fans obviously playing well but can he get a game in mids if maybe injury.
From what you have seen who would be next pick out of Shoey,Berry or Pedlar or even Taylor.
Re Curtin as you know I am excited about ,interesting your remarks about not aerial threat at 197 m why you think maybe not .
Any thoughts I would appreciate.
 

Quite a big article but unfortunately can't post any more due to BF rules.​

​

Adelaide Crows track watch: Riley Thilthorpe, James Peatling dominate match sim as Nicks reveals likely round 1 side​

If what we saw from Adelaide’s forward line on Friday is a sign of things to come, opposition defenders are officially on notice. Get all the intel as the Crows reveal more about their best side.
Veteran Matt Crouch and Sam Berry started in the midfield for the yellow side but Crouch did later swap sides.

He suffered a foot injury late on in the session with the extent of it unknown.
There was a bit of a scare for Keane after he hurt his elbow in a contest with Walker but he was fine.

Worrell took a fine high-flying mark early on but this was surpassed by an absolute hanger by Luke Nankervis later in the session.

PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED​

Riley Thilthorpe​

The man mountain was dominant, not just as a key forward.

Thilthorpe kicked three goals as he dominated his match-ups but was taking marks all over the ground with the young gun going into the ruck to give O’Brien a chop out.

The Crows were supremely confident Thilthorpe was going to have a breakout year in 2024 before his long-term knee injury in the final moments of their pre-season game against West Coast.

If he remains fit then watch out defenders in 2025.

Dan Curtin​

The second-year player was another to kick three goals and after just the seven games in 2024 the former No. 8 draft pick looks like he could find a consistent spot in the Crows side.

While there still might be some question marks around whether the Crows can go with him, Walker, Fogarty and Thilthorpe, Curtin was dominant on Friday.

His first goal came after he got Jordon Butts in a tackle and he also spent some time on the wing.

His kicking and hand skills were also impressive but perhaps most importantly he played with plenty of aggression.

Izak Rankine​

At times Rankine did things that made his opposition look silly on Friday.

He sat Keane down after bamboozling him on one of his many mazy runs with the ball, while there were a couple of other times where did stuff that was a class above the rest.

He only spent a small amount of time forward with the majority of match sim played as a damaging midfielder.

James Peatling​

The recruit from GWS started on the ball and was electric in the midfield throughout the session.

He looks like he will add something to the Crows midfield mix in 2025 with the only thing stopping him on Friday was when his boots failed him and he had to go and get some new ones.

Ben Keays​

Continued to play his invaluable role in the forward line and was rewarded with multiple goals on Friday.

He then went into the midfield when the Crows further switched up the teams and had plenty of good moments there, in a nod to when he was in the thick of the Crows engine room.
 

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bigman said:
Big chunk of match sim today. Four quarters going for 25 minutes each, so very close to actual game length.

It was a good standard too - there was a wind from the south that caused some issues but overall I thought the lads looked pretty slick and exciting. Some very nice grabs today too which had been rather absent up until now.

As far as I could tell there were no causalities from the game, though Sholl was a late scratching after doing the warm up. I’m guessing it’s related to the corkie he received on Wednesday. He was listed to play but was replaced by Jones shortly before the start of proceedings.

Thilthorpe, Ibis and Welsh all played full games despite recent issues. Nankervis and Worrell were both held off from the final term. Rankine did not do the end of session running but looked to be ok.

Teams weren’t changed until half time, after which the defensive units of both teams were essentially swapped. There were also a few changes to the midfields for the final quarter.

The original teams, once again very much an A vs B situation, were as follows (I’ll note the players which swapped teams):

Blue:

Keays (switched to yellow for Q4), Curtin
Thilthorpe
Rachele
Murray (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Pedlar
Dawson
Walker
Soligo
Michalanney (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Hinge
Rankine
Worrell (switched to yellow for Q3)
Peatling (switched to yellow for Q4)
Neal-Bullen
Laird (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4)
Milera (switched to yellow for Q3 and Q4
Fogarty
O’Brien
Cumming
Keane

Yellow:
Berry
Murphy (switched to blue for Q4)
Crouch (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Edwards (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Cook
Welsh
Taylor
Burgess
Ryan (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Schoenberg
Nankervis (switched to blue for Q3), Dowling
Smith (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Draper (switched to blue for Q4),
Borlase (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
Gallagher
Drury
Toby Murray
Bond
Butts (switched to blue for Q3 and Q4)
McAndrew

Goals were: Curtin 3, Thilthorpe 3, Keays 2, Rachele 2, Burgess 2, Jones, Pedlar, Walker, Soligo, Taylor, Rankine, Schoenberg, Neal-Bullen, Dowling, Fogarty, T.Murray

I also recorded the centre bounce attendances except for the rucks (O’Brien and McAndrew did the bulk of the work with a couple each from Thilthorpe and Toby Murray).

CBAs:
Crouch - 22
Schoenberg - 21
Peatling - 20
Berry - 20
Draper - 18
Dawson - 16
Rankine - 15 (played forward in Q4)
Soligo - 13
Keays - 7
Rachele - 5
Taylor - 4
Dowling - 1

Standouts for mine were Rankine (surprise), Neal-Bullen, Schoenberg, Thilthorpe, Worrell, Peatling, Soligo and Berry but most impressed in some way. Only a few had quiet games (Welsh, Gallagher, Hinge, Ryan and Tex didn’t have big days).

Thoughts on a bunch of players:

Keays - played forward and was solid before swapping to the yellow side for the final quarter and into the guts. Ironically kicked his two goals playing midfield and probably looked the sharpest I’ve seen him this summer.

Berry - has his work cut out for him to play round one but deserves it if he does. Only had the one bad fumble and was quite prolific at times for the yellow side, both at stoppage and around the ground. Doing a lot right.

Crouch - was strangely quiet for the yellow side - Berry and Schoenberg were far more influential - and even dropped a sitter which cost a goal. Swapped to the blues in the second half and quickly found his groove. Not concerned.

Curtin - played mostly forward but also spend some time on the wing which was interesting. Kicked three goals and was typically classy with the pill. Not a huge aerial threat today but finds ways to get involved. Laid a great run down tackle on butts on the 50 line and proceeded to dob the goal.

Thilthorpe - bit in and out of the game but when he was hot he was easily one of the most influential. Took a number of clunk marks including one on Murray where he was just too big and too good.

Pedlar - scrappy but I liked his endeavour and he seemed to enjoy his time in the blue side. Could’ve kicked three if not for some wayward shots. Not sure he plays round one but should get some confidence from today.

Soligo - played a mix of midfield and forward. Was super clean at the coal face and showed why he needs to play more there. Ball use was sharp even when against the wind.

Taylor - really liked his game. Despite playing forward for the yellow side he quickly got involved and I enjoyed his energy, both with ball in hand and his tackling. Kicked a lovely goal from 50 as well. Moved into the guts for the third term and unsurprisingly had several clearances. Moved back forward to make room for Keays in the last and went quiet, but pleasingly was one of the best in the running at the end.

Burgess - another good day at the office. Definitely seen an uptick in his intensity and work rate lately. Not easy playing key forward for the yellow side but he’s lifted no doubt.

Worrell - the best defender today in my view. Had a number of intercepts including a ripping specky in the second term. Sat the last quarter out but impressed me a lot.

Schoenberg - similar to Berry, up against it to break into the midfield but is doing a lot right. Intensity is top notch and is strong over the ball. Does love a whinge at the umpires however!

Neal-Bullen - was very good. Seemed to be involved in a lot of scores and was noticeably clean on the deck. Very unselfish footballer too.

Draper - couldn’t win a clearance for the yellow team but took a couple impressive marks that surprised me. Switched to the blues for the last and would have had at least four clearances where exited the stoppage at pace.

O’Brien - thought Mcandrew out reached and out jumped him too much at stoppages again, but he did finish off the game quite well as his opponent tired. Still a worry with his form I think, he needs a couple big praccy games.

Cumming - aside from a lovely mark over Murphy, seemed to be in cruise control and didn’t do a heap. Seemed to get through unscathed though and hopefully gets motoring over the next few weeks.

I’ll discuss a few more players later but feel free to ask questions.
Click to expand...
Not all heroes wear capes. Thanks bigman!
 
Mutineer said:

Quite a big article but unfortunately can't post any more due to BF rules.​

​

Adelaide Crows track watch: Riley Thilthorpe, James Peatling dominate match sim as Nicks reveals likely round 1 side​

If what we saw from Adelaide’s forward line on Friday is a sign of things to come, opposition defenders are officially on notice. Get all the intel as the Crows reveal more about their best side.
Veteran Matt Crouch and Sam Berry started in the midfield for the yellow side but Crouch did later swap sides.

He suffered a foot injury late on in the session with the extent of it unknown.
There was a bit of a scare for Keane after he hurt his elbow in a contest with Walker but he was fine.

Worrell took a fine high-flying mark early on but this was surpassed by an absolute hanger by Luke Nankervis later in the session.

PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED​

Riley Thilthorpe​

The man mountain was dominant, not just as a key forward.

Thilthorpe kicked three goals as he dominated his match-ups but was taking marks all over the ground with the young gun going into the ruck to give O’Brien a chop out.

The Crows were supremely confident Thilthorpe was going to have a breakout year in 2024 before his long-term knee injury in the final moments of their pre-season game against West Coast.

If he remains fit then watch out defenders in 2025.

Dan Curtin​

The second-year player was another to kick three goals and after just the seven games in 2024 the former No. 8 draft pick looks like he could find a consistent spot in the Crows side.

While there still might be some question marks around whether the Crows can go with him, Walker, Fogarty and Thilthorpe, Curtin was dominant on Friday.

His first goal came after he got Jordon Butts in a tackle and he also spent some time on the wing.

His kicking and hand skills were also impressive but perhaps most importantly he played with plenty of aggression.

Izak Rankine​

At times Rankine did things that made his opposition look silly on Friday.

He sat Keane down after bamboozling him on one of his many mazy runs with the ball, while there were a couple of other times where did stuff that was a class above the rest.

He only spent a small amount of time forward with the majority of match sim played as a damaging midfielder.

James Peatling​

The recruit from GWS started on the ball and was electric in the midfield throughout the session.

He looks like he will add something to the Crows midfield mix in 2025 with the only thing stopping him on Friday was when his boots failed him and he had to go and get some new ones.

Ben Keays​

Continued to play his invaluable role in the forward line and was rewarded with multiple goals on Friday.

He then went into the midfield when the Crows further switched up the teams and had plenty of good moments there, in a nod to when he was in the thick of the Crows engine room.
Click to expand...
Reckon Keays could be a real weapon used in the midfield in last quarters.

Obviously will play mostly as his forward role, but really happy all of Keays, Rachele & ANB can pinch hit in the midfield as needed.

Recruiting Peatling i reckon means we get more of Dawson on the outside compared to last year. Perhaps a 50/50 mix.
 
spenze said:
He is in the 23 on reputation now; he's already been moved once because better options are available. He'd want to have a good season because his kicking is far from elite, his defending isn't a positive so his run and carry will need to be spot on this year.

Not saying he can't but if he dishes up a season like the back end of last year and the clubs injury count is good his spot is not safe.
Click to expand...

yeah because players are perfect all the time and never have an inconsistent year.
 
bigman even giving us CBA stats now, damn we've got it far too good - thanks as always!

Question regarding Berry - when he's played at AFL level, it feels like he's been put into the role as a defensive stopper mid to nullify the opposition running away with it - which in turn I believe has hurt his ability to rack up touches.

Since he's been stuck in the yellow team for the majority of the pre season, I presume he's been allowed to be more attacking / go for the clearance rather than a defensive minded role? If this is the case, has he been able to get more involved than he's otherwise been able to at AFL level?
 
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