Preview R16: Changes vs. Richmond Tigers (after the bye)

[Samcro24]

If we had a decent football manager, maybe Nicks could be pushed from that philosophy

It seems ingrained across many coaches, footy dept staff etc

 

[CrowBloke]

This post/reply is from the heart, from supporting the Crows since their inception.

Yeah - its a very valid point Froggy.

When he said "Nicks", I had thought the same. Nicks.

But I am in the dreaming part.

I love it that you're dreaming of a Flag for us; an unlikely Flag, against expectation.
Never stop dreaming. Flags are what dreams are made of .

I remember 1997 and 1998, Blighty, the elation, dreams that came true.
It was a helluva time, especially 1998, coming from fifth and after Melbourne clobbered us, storming back all over NM who were favourites on an 11-game winning streak but had burned their chances and burned themselves out by half-time. All that adrenalin used up for 6.15!
Adrenalin wore off during the half-time break ==> exhaustion. NM played on fumes and memory.

Think we can overcome the tactical ineptitude of Nicks.

Ay, there's the rub.
A Flag comes from the synergy between Coach-and-players but on the day it's won by players who know what to do and believe and make it happen.
I don't know what Blight said to them at half-time but whatever it was they knew what they had to do, they believed in each other and they did it.

From the AFC review of the game:
"Blight had one last long interval to resuscitate the flagging defence of the Crows’ title and most would have expected some angry discussions.

The reality is that Blight remained composed and upbeat. The game was not over, he reinforced, and deep down he believed the options and versatility at his disposal offered the club a way out. According to ruckman Shaun Rehn, the coach demanded a lift of five per cent across the board. Ricciuto said he made the point that there was time to make amends.

[by the way, Blight created those options and that versatility over 2 years!
What has Nicks "created" after over 5 years?]

Blight later said: “We were in a spot of bother. It was probably a bit of humiliation at half-time but we still had the half to get out of it. That was the theme of it.” "
Even more importantly, Blight made changes.
He moved Smart (All-Australian defender) to a forward pocket . Who'd have imagined that?
He moved Bickley and Kane Johnson into the midfield.
He re-arranged the defence "through the reassignment of Mark Ricciuto, Brett James and Mark Stevens".
The Crows played-on fanatically/immediately, ran for each other, handballed more. NM had no time to settle.

Blight's tactical brain was in overdrive:
" “North early were just … particularly in tight … were winning the 50-50s,” Blight said. “So what you have to try to do is spread the game open somehow. If that’s their strength, you’ve got to actually do something about breaking the game open.” [<== attention: Nicks]

Of the half-time moves, the switch of Johnson had the most impact. It was the first time he was available to play consecutive games in the season and he was brilliant through the middle. But Blight’s favourite decision was the one that left preliminary final star Matthew Robran at centre half-forward after a barren first half.
“Now, everyone would have been calling for his head,” Blight noted, “but he’s just so important to our structure and he actually started to contribute to things.” ".

I'm sorry and sad to say that I just do not believe that Nicks has the tactical nous to identify problems, make changes and turn a game around like that (let alone in a GF) and at some stage in any Final we play, he's going to have to do that to beat teams Coached by McRae, Chris Scott, Hardwick, Mitchell and so on.

In fact, when has Nicks ever brought us back into a game to win it after being overwhelmed to half-time and 24 points down? We both know the answer to that.

We have an amazing best 22 (IMO). We have a great injury list. A great draw that can build momentum.

We have a very good list, maybe our best since 2017. We've been lucky with injuries but I'd say that Burgess has had a lot to do with that.
The draw? Bulldogs away, Suns at home, PA will be fanatical to beat us for Hinkley and their own pride, Hawks and Collingwood at home.
To build belief, the Crows will have to win most of those.
To win the Flag, the Crows will have to do it again at least 3 more times.

Health, Momentum, Genuine match winners (Rachele, Rankine, Dawsom, TT), and Luck can overcome Nicks....

The fact that we're even talking about "the tactical ineptitude of Nicks" and the hope that "Luck can overcome Nicks" means the Crows would have to win the Flag in spite of their Coach, and I don't know any Premier who has done that since 1991, if ever .

Gonna need a perfect storm, but I remember the Bulldogs of 2016.

I really enjoyed your post, your optimism , the dream,
BUT
what we 'gonna need' is a better Coach.

 

[CrowBloke]

No unforced changes? Backing the boys in again?

Nicks almost has to be trolling at this point. No coach can this be incompetent, surely?

Even Nicks has been Nicksed.

 

[jenny61_99]

Taylor does!

Has already had more influential games than Murphy with limited experience.

Draper could easily offer as much as Murphy.

Agreed. But his form wasn’t as good (statistically) as Murphy. Look I know Draper or Taylor would be a far better option but Murphy was playing “good” sanfl footy.

 

[skam85]

Finally a challenge for Kane and the usual suspects, can you make a post that disagrees with my opinions without feeling the need to attack me personally?

get stuffed hypocrite
or does it not count because you rarely have the spine to name anyone and just deal in vagueries?
"the board" "astute posters" "Bigfooty experts"

I wonder whether some posters have ever watched Freo except when they play us.

As identified by some astute posters last week, Jordan spent a bit of time forward against the Dockers which was clearly a ridiculous coaching move.

Did you actually watch him play a single game in 2017?
For those not familiar with the Scorpus sense of humour, Murphy was not on our list in 2017.

My apologies.

I was not aware that only Moderators are allowed to make sarcastic remarks.

DO YOU DISPUTE THIS FACT 1970Crow????

DO YOU DISPUTE THIS FACT 1970 Crow???

After all the outrage that Pedlar was subbed off rather than Murphy or Walker (after Pedlar had a spectacular 5 disposals, no goals , no goal assists) not a single poster suggested the possibility that Pedlar may have been injured.

Haters gotta Hate.

Well I was less than overwhelmed with his 5 possessions than some posters.

I also subscribe to the theory that I refrain from going batshit crazy until I have all the facts.

I don’t need affirmation from a bunch of crazies.

I do like to point out the inconsistencies in some posters valuable insights/incites on the Crows.

Some posters are so obsessed with blaming the club or Nicks for everything that goes wrong that their posts are sooo predictable.

CDS = Crows Derangement Syndrome
NDS = Nicks Derangement Syndrome

Another example of Murphy/Nicks Derangement Syndrome.

Just because anti-Murphy posters stated this, it doesn’t make it TRUE.
Did you watch all or any of the match?

 

[Syd Crow]

Agreed. But his form wasn’t as good (statistically) as Murphy. Look I know Draper or Taylor would be a far better option but Murphy was playing “good” sanfl footy.

But why do we keep picking a guy who after 117 AFL games plays at best average AFL footy just because he plays good SANFL footy? Investing games into guys who have played less than a 20% of that number of AFL games or indeed less than 10% after showing reasonable SANFL form should be the path to build depth in the team. Also we all know playing good SANFL footy does not mean you will play good AFL footy. Also we know that some players actually shine more at AFL level than SANFL when given an extended run at the level, after a number of games it just clicks for them (see Dan Curtin for latest example). Murphy and Smith are OK when the cupboard is bare, but we should be exposing as many of the younger guys with less than 20 games as possible to really give them a chance to shine and build depth we need to succeed, than the same old same old, whose abilities we are more than familiar with if we have no other choice. But Nicks and his panel always goes for the conservative safe option of playing players who they should well and truly know by now what they will get from them rather than try newer players to build the experience of these younger players who might only be average now but have potential to be so much better than that with experience. It's totally frustrating.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Agreed. But his form wasn’t as good (statistically) as Murphy. Look I know Draper or Taylor would be a far better option but Murphy was playing “good” sanfl footy.

It's not like Murphy was consistently our best player in the sanfl... which is why when he was picked, Nicks justified it by saying that form isn't everything!

There is not selection integrity as players who have had patches of good sanfl form have been overlooked for players who have more experience.

Smith over the likes of Edwards.
Murphy over the likes of Dowling.

It's so obvious, so please call it as it is, rather than pretend form is the major factor when even the coach has admitted it's not.

 

[Southerntakeover]

We had players who were in more form in the sanfl than Murphy when he was selected.

If only form was used as primary basis for changes...

Selecting based upon performance at SANFL level rather than projecting AFL performance is absurd anyway.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Selecting based upon performance at SANFL level rather than projecting AFL performance is absurd anyway.

True, but should be looking to reward form of younger players in the sanfl when we can & we have had opportunities to play them, but brought it the experienced players instead.

Blight was so good at giving younger players a taste early & some surprised & stayed in the AFL from a young age.

The sooner we get our best young talent to 50 games, the better.

 

[FR0GGY]

Playing Murphy midfield in the sanfl so he can dominate and get selected to play a small negating forward is about as stupid as you can get and that’s not even factoring in taking mid time away from those that need it.

 

[Archie87]

Murphy gets prime midfield minutes in the SANFL to show his stuff in a position he will never play at AFL. 20ish mediocre possessions gets him a game.

Taylor is expected to get 25 possessions and 3 goals a game from a forward flank at SANFL level to even get a spot on the emergency list.

 

[George CantStandYa]

Exactly

 

[Syd Crow]

Murphy gets prime midfield minutes in the SANFL to show his stuff in a position he will never play at AFL. 20ish mediocre possessions gets him a game.

Taylor is expected to get 25 possessions and 3 goals a game from a forward flank at SANFL level to even get a spot on the emergency list.

Yesterday Taylor finished with 15 disposals, six marks, four tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s and 4 goals. Is that good enough for Nicks and the coaching panel?

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Yesterday Taylor finished with 15 disposals, six marks, four tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s and 4 goals. Is that good enough for Nicks and the coaching panel?

It's not all about skill, or performance, or ceiling. Or football at all really

 

[kirky]

I think that’s one of the biggest frustrations with nicks, he seems to coach for the now rather than the overall success for the club.

He is coaching for his contract extension - he knows we aren’t reviewing until the end of the year so he needs to play finals as a minimum. And the only way he think that happens is with the most experienced team he can put on the field.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

He is coaching for his contract extension - he knows we aren’t reviewing until the end of the year so he needs to play finals as a minimum. And the only way he think that happens is with the most experienced team he can put on the field.

When considering his contract selection, I would be noting he is selecting for the short term & hindering the development of some of the squad.

 

[kirky]

When considering his contract selection, I would be noting he is selecting for the short term & hindering the development of some of the squad.

Yeh, I doubt the club will think in those terms.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Yeh, I doubt the club will think in those terms.

Which is a problem.

 

[PeterSalt]

Yeh, I doubt the club will think in those terms.

Would be interesting to know if he has any sort of KPI's beyond W/L & finals though .. and what they are

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Agreed. But his form wasn’t as good (statistically) as Murphy. Look I know Draper or Taylor would be a far better option but Murphy was playing “good” sanfl footy.

Murphy was playing well in the midfield yet Nicks is playing him forward where he's failed to deliver time and time again, which is the most frustrating part about his selection. If Nicks is so desperate to shoehorn his favourites, at least play him where he's actually been playing well in the SANFL, but it almost sounds like he's hardly rewarding form based on that.

Yesterday Taylor finished with 15 disposals, six marks, four tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s and 4 goals. Is that good enough for Nicks and the coaching panel?

This is who should be playing in Murphy's position.

 

[Pugsley]

Yesterday Taylor finished with 15 disposals, six marks, four tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s and 4 goals. Is that good enough for Nicks and the coaching panel?

No. He needs to wait in line if you ask VB.

 

[Golumless]

This is who should be playing in Murphy's position.

It should be Draper as this isn't a particularly relevant position in our lineup (outside of some defensive pressure), and it's also got a low-bar for success. Taylor had his opportunity and failed miserably (to the point he got overtaken twice) last time round.

That said, odds on the merry-go-round continues again next week and we continue to flick through Taylor/Pedlar/Murphy as the year comes to a close.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

It should be Draper as this isn't a particularly relevant position in our lineup (outside of some defensive pressure), and it's also got a low-bar for success. Taylor had his opportunity and failed miserably (to the point he got overtaken twice) last time round.

That said, odds on the merry-go-round continues again next week and we continue to flick through Taylor/Pedlar/Murphy as the year comes to a close.

Any of Draper, Taylor or Dowling would offer more & each can have useful stints in the midfield too.

Taylor this year has already showed he can ably play this role.

 

[Syd Crow]

It's not all about skill, or performance, or ceiling. Or football at all really

Ahh those non-statistical statistics....

 

[FR0GGY]

He is coaching for his contract extension - he knows we aren’t reviewing until the end of the year so he needs to play finals as a minimum. And the only way he think that happens is with the most experienced team he can put on the field.

Nah, he does the same shit even when he got the contract extension, just coaches for the now.