2003

[napsyd]

Where will we end up in 2003?

Before you go pressing the premiership button, think about our performances this year.

1. Attack. 2002 third in league. We will surely be bolstered by the inclusion of Carey (fingers crossed). This may take the pressure off the midfield to kick goals and our current forwards like Welsh, Burton and Stevens. The loss of Burton for Carey is a real possibility. IMO this may leave us no better off as I believe Burton in a good year without the pressure of being a leading forward could be a 60 to 80 goal proposition. I also have some concern with balancing the forward structure. The Swans Hall/Lockett failure is a classic example of how this balance is difficult to achieve regardless of how good your forwards are.

2. Defence. 2002 sixth in league. Our defence still lacks a gun back. We have great difficulty holding off tall forward structures. Smart is not getting any younger and whilst still playing good football, is no longer reliable against the oppositions leading forward. This year I felt that when our midfield was down our defence crumbled. Assuming Carey stabilises our attack, I think this is the real concern for 2003.

3. Midfield. We will remain strong here with our brilliant midfield and many youngsters pushing for selection. Best place for a trade for Carey to come from. Perhaps trade a young gun (or two) and keep the Johnson/Macca/Roo/Edwards/Goodwin set intact.

4. Ruck. A surprisingly good year, with Biglands coming into his own. Clarke is getting on and it's time for us to consider drafting a young ruckman to groom over the next two years. I think we all agree that Marsh has to go, but then what backup do we have?

5. Overall depth. We had a reasonably good year injury wise this year. I think we will still lack forward and backline depth in 2003, and as mentioned above ruck depth is also a problem. Midfield depth seems to be very good.

Assuming we do not pick up or develop a gun back over the summer, and that we have a reasonably injury run again in 2003, I would think we will again finish top 4, with a GF appearance a possibility.

Your thoughts?

 

[Crowaholic]

Just think this about this how can we not win the flag when...

We have a very strong foward line. Scott Welsh working with Wayne Carey and Brett Burton how can we miss??

We have one of the best mid fields McLeod and Roo with Rhett in ruck and all of the others.

We also have a great baclkine with Benny

BTW you have to remember that Bickles will be back with his final season ever so you know it should be the best ever.

Smart has had a great season and can only improve and think of how great all our youngins are such as John**** Bode, Massie etc...

We are going to be almost undefeatable.

I just hope that Johnson decides to stay with us.

 

[Jabso]

What would your views be on Stevens and maybe 3rd/2nd round pick for Carey?

 

[Crowaholic]

I don't want us to give up any players for him. Maybe a few picks though. He isn't worth a great player because he doesn't have that long left in him.

 

[napsyd]

Originally posted by jabso
What would your views be on Stevens and maybe 3rd/2nd round pick for Carey?

It has been reported that Stevens really hated his time at the Kanga's so I'd say he'd have to go somewhere else in a three way deal.

But seriously, I'm like us to use our midfield depth with players like Mattner, Gallagher etc being the obvious choices. These guys given game time would be top level midfielders but are unable to get a good foothold due to our midfield depth.

 

[Jabso]

Yeah I guess so.
Also if you keep Stevens you have great forward line depth/flexibility with Fitzy, Carey, Burton, Stevens, Welsh, Bode making a very potent and deep forward line and also the ability of pushing Riccutio and McLeod to the forward line.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Originally posted by jabso
Yeah I guess so.
Also if you keep Stevens you have great forward line depth/flexibility with Fitzy, Carey, Burton, Stevens, Welsh, Bode making a very potent and deep forward line and also the ability of pushing Riccutio and McLeod to the forward line.

Also, it gives us the flexibility of playing Stevens in the backline if we have trouble with one of the opposition's forwards.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Originally posted by napsyd
Where will we end up in 2003?

Before you go pressing the premiership button, think about our performances this year.

1. Attack. 2002 third in league. We will surely be bolstered by the inclusion of Carey (fingers crossed). This may take the pressure off the midfield to kick goals and our current forwards like Welsh, Burton and Stevens. The loss of Burton for Carey is a real possibility. IMO this may leave us no better off as I believe Burton in a good year without the pressure of being a leading forward could be a 60 to 80 goal proposition. I also have some concern with balancing the forward structure. The Swans Hall/Lockett failure is a classic example of how this balance is difficult to achieve regardless of how good your forwards are.

2. Defence. 2002 sixth in league. Our defence still lacks a gun back. We have great difficulty holding off tall forward structures. Smart is not getting any younger and whilst still playing good football, is no longer reliable against the oppositions leading forward. This year I felt that when our midfield was down our defence crumbled. Assuming Carey stabilises our attack, I think this is the real concern for 2003.

3. Midfield. We will remain strong here with our brilliant midfield and many youngsters pushing for selection. Best place for a trade for Carey to come from. Perhaps trade a young gun (or two) and keep the Johnson/Macca/Roo/Edwards/Goodwin set intact.

4. Ruck. A surprisingly good year, with Biglands coming into his own. Clarke is getting on and it's time for us to consider drafting a young ruckman to groom over the next two years. I think we all agree that Marsh has to go, but then what backup do we have?

5. Overall depth. We had a reasonably good year injury wise this year. I think we will still lack forward and backline depth in 2003, and as mentioned above ruck depth is also a problem. Midfield depth seems to be very good.

Assuming we do not pick up or develop a gun back over the summer, and that we have a reasonably injury run again in 2003, I would think we will again finish top 4, with a GF appearance a possibility.

Your thoughts?

Just quickly.

1. Attack should be OK with Carey's inclusion, giving us 2 key marking forwards. Also, Burton is a better option as a flanker & Welshy will kick goals if he stays free of OP.

2. Defence - I agree with your comments that we need another tall option. IMO, we should trade for Thurstans who is not happy about his lack of opportunities at Port.

3. Midfield is no problem & I agree that we should be trading some 2nd tier players, as we probably have too much depth compared to other parts of the team (but keep Johnson & Stenglein).

4. Rucks are OK, but as you mention we need to trade / draft another ruckman or 2 to back up Biglands / Clarke. I reckon Port will be looking to trade one of their talls, so Brogan probably best fits our needs (again has lacked chances).

5. Depth wise as you mentioned we would be in strife if we lost our 2 leading ruckman, so we need probably 2 more options there. Defence we are fine for smalls / mediums but probably need a tall to play immediately (Rutten can be groomed for the future).

 

[King Crow]

Who satrted the Burton rumour to North??

Its really pi$$ing me off hearing it everywhere on bigfooty

He kicked over 50 goals this year, is vital to the Crows future. If Burton goes in the Carey deal, I will be very ****ed off.

Burton is "more accurate kicking" away from being a star.

 

[napsyd]

Originally posted by King Crow
Who satrted the Burton rumour to North??

Its really pi$$ing me off hearing it everywhere on bigfooty

He kicked over 50 goals this year, is vital to the Crows future. If Burton goes in the Carey deal, I will be very ****ed off.

Burton is "more accurate kicking" away from being a star.

Agreed. Burton must not go. If he does, the trade is practically worthless.

 

[Mong]

I think it would be totally stupid to trade away Stevens to get Carey. Carey is a 2-3 year option and yes would be better than Stevens for 2 years. But Stevens is a 6-7 year option and is a solid forward and our BEST Centre Half Back when played there. Bringing in Carey helps in a couple of areas because it takes the load off Mark Stevens if they both play forward or it releases Stevens to defense and significantly improves our defense which while is solid, is lacking depth.

Giving Stevens up is just taking away from our forward line to bring in another forward and does not improve us significantly enough.

Carey is good but he won't carry us by himself, so the better the forwards we put around Carey, the better Carey will be for us.

The BEST option for us is to trade midfielders for Carey, and considering we have many quality midfielders it should be easiest to find some tradeable ones. We can afford to lose a midfielder or two and still have a good midfield, the key here is to improve the forward line and defence and Carey does both (indirectly).

This goes for Burton also, a valuable forward.

 

[Jars458]

Originally posted by Crowaholic

We are going to be almost undefeatable.

You have serious delusional problems.

15 wins is a realistic target again.

Carey going forward my allow Stevens to go back to defence.

What shall we do with Schell and Fitzgerald???

Hewitt could get more game time as a backman as he appears suited to this role

Beinke Shirley Shir are all introuble. Possibly Nelson as well

We may have to de-list some and possibly redraft them.

we defnintley need a third ruckman.

Barnaby French anyone?

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Originally posted by Jars458


You have serious delusional problems.

15 wins is a realistic target again.

Carey going forward my allow Stevens to go back to defence.

What shall we do with Schell and Fitzgerald???

Hewitt could get more game time as a backman as he appears suited to this role

Beinke Shirley Shir are all introuble. Possibly Nelson as well

We may have to de-list some and possibly redraft them.

we defnintley need a third ruckman.

Barnaby French anyone?

Are Schell & Fitzy cotracted for 2003? Reckon Fitzy will get another year, but if Schell isn't he would be in danger of being dlisted too. Agree with your players in trouble. Reckon Shir is tradeable along with Handby who hasn't been given a chance. Reckon we are more of a chance to get Brogan than French, who is Port's 2nd ruckman.

 

[King Crow]

Originally posted by Kane McGoodwin
Are Schell & Fitzy cotracted for 2003? Reckon Fitzy will get another year, but if Schell isn't he would be in danger of being dlisted too. Agree with your players in trouble. Reckon Shir is tradeable along with Handby who hasn't been given a chance. Reckon we are more of a chance to get Brogan than French, who is Port's 2nd ruckman.

I dont think Handby will be traded. Hes come along preety well and was desperately unlucky not to play against Geelong. I think they see something in him. Unlike his moron TAC teammate that came along with him.

 

[King Crow]

Originally posted by Kane McGoodwin
Are Schell & Fitzy cotracted for 2003?

I think Fitzy is out of contract. But I think theyll re-sign him. If he can stay fit,string games together in the AFL, he can be a very good player for us. Having 3 tall options up forward (Carey/Fitzgerald/Stevens) rotating, or up at the same time will stretch teams.

 

[Damp Squarie]

Originally posted by Crowaholic
I don't want us to give up any players for him. Maybe a few picks though. He isn't worth a great player because he doesn't have that long left in him.

pfft!! Your Jokin {Says the Roos recruiting gurus}

Would the unthinkable occur ?
ie An agreement cant be struck because both clubs play hardball?

Its possible.

 

[Crowaholic]

Originally posted by King Crow
Who satrted the Burton rumour to North??

Its really pi$$ing me off hearing it everywhere on bigfooty

He kicked over 50 goals this year, is vital to the Crows future. If Burton goes in the Carey deal, I will be very ****ed off.

Burton is "more accurate kicking" away from being a star.

I dont think that Burton will be traded. I think he is a too gooder assett to our team. I don't really understand how the trades work so don't be bothered by what I say if it's not by the rules.
Do you choose players to get put up to trade or do they say ok we want Burton and Crows have to say yes to get Carey?? Personally I would rather Burton than Carey he has heaps longer left in him and is a great player.

 

[Leigh Roy]

I voted top 8.

I reckon the lowest we could finish will be 6th. 2003 in my view will be a highly charged season and a lot of clubs will be constantly knocking on the door of the top 2 and 4 and 8 each week. If that makes sense.

Forward line, I'm not even considering Carey at the moment, you all seem to be placing too much emphasis on him. I think we should maybe grab a backman or midfielder and turn them into a goalkicker - Crowell and Massie are my first suggestions.

The Back line, Mattner and John**** need to stay there and learn the trade inside out I reckon. They've shown more than flashes of brilliance in defense already. I hope we keep Edwards as he'll probably retire in two or three years, he's a key ingredient to the defense I think.

The midfield, don't want to be too complacent here. I hope the trade helps us out here more than it does our attack actually.

Rucks, yeah we need at least two more.

Overall, the veterans need to show some leadership and help the new generation up a bit. Too many times this year there's been a quarter where we could have won the game, but couldn't - while the other three quarters were stellar. Also, taking it down a notch in one quarter and letting the opposition to constantly come back from the dead and either just lose, or over-run us.

In 2003, I don't care what happens I just hope this current squad remains pretty much intact and gets a good fine-tuning. We're in the 'zone' this year but next year we might not be able to handle the competition.

 

[Mong]

Originally posted by topjars

Would the unthinkable occur ?
ie An agreement cant be struck because both clubs play hardball?

Its possible.

Not likely, because the Crows will give in and give the Roos what they want. We've seen in the past how hard the Kangaroos play with these things. Unfortunately the past has shown us that the Crows give in all too easily when we want a player that we (apparently) desperately need.

Want examples? For Matthew Clarke (unwanted by Brisbane) we gave up a TOP round draft pick. This was when we still had Shaun Rehn too. Gave up Peter Vardy to get our hands on Daniel Schell. Last year we were willing to give up Kane Johnson for Ben Holland but thankfully the two players thwarted that deal.

 

[crazed_crow]

Originally posted by King Crow


I dont think Handby will be traded. Hes come along preety well and was desperately unlucky not to play against Geelong. I think they see something in him. Unlike his moron TAC teammate that came along with him.

i think u r being a bit harsh on young angwin, what happened to him was hardly his fault, just had a lot of bad luck. But seeing as he doesnt want to play with adelaide anymore, could be used as trade bait

 

[Jerome]

Originally posted by napsyd
Where will we end up in 2003?

Before you go pressing the premiership button, think about our performances this year.

1. Attack. 2002 third in league. We will surely be bolstered by the inclusion of Carey (fingers crossed). This may take the pressure off the midfield to kick goals and our current forwards like Welsh, Burton and Stevens. The loss of Burton for Carey is a real possibility. IMO this may leave us no better off as I believe Burton in a good year without the pressure of being a leading forward could be a 60 to 80 goal proposition. I also have some concern with balancing the forward structure. The Swans Hall/Lockett failure is a classic example of how this balance is difficult to achieve regardless of how good your forwards are.

2. Defence. 2002 sixth in league. Our defence still lacks a gun back. We have great difficulty holding off tall forward structures. Smart is not getting any younger and whilst still playing good football, is no longer reliable against the oppositions leading forward. This year I felt that when our midfield was down our defence crumbled. Assuming Carey stabilises our attack, I think this is the real concern for 2003.

3. Midfield. We will remain strong here with our brilliant midfield and many youngsters pushing for selection. Best place for a trade for Carey to come from. Perhaps trade a young gun (or two) and keep the Johnson/Macca/Roo/Edwards/Goodwin set intact.

4. Ruck. A surprisingly good year, with Biglands coming into his own. Clarke is getting on and it's time for us to consider drafting a young ruckman to groom over the next two years. I think we all agree that Marsh has to go, but then what backup do we have?

5. Overall depth. We had a reasonably good year injury wise this year. I think we will still lack forward and backline depth in 2003, and as mentioned above ruck depth is also a problem. Midfield depth seems to be very good.

Assuming we do not pick up or develop a gun back over the summer, and that we have a reasonably injury run again in 2003, I would think we will again finish top 4, with a GF appearance a possibility.

Your thoughts?

On a totally unrelated note, it was a beautiful day outside today ...and I can hear rain and thunder tonight???WTF??

1. Attack - Carey should be a huge asset. It was good to see him at the club today getting ready for 2003. Carey should strighten us up. One problem with our forward structure is our lack of rovers/crumbers hopefully we can fit another one in.

2. Defence is good, but we realkly need to recruit/groom a good centre half back/full back and place Bassett and Hart in a pocket and smart on a flank.

3. Midfield - tip top.

4. Ruck - If I recall correctly Neil kerley said we didnt even have one decent ruckman at the start of the year in the Sunday Mail. Only goes to prove there's no fool like an old fool. I know you're a Crows man kerls but Biglands and Clarke have been fantastic!! We really need to help them out with another two back up ruckmen in Marsh and Angwin go. We don't want a repeat of the position we were in the 99 season with injuries and lack of ruckmen. Trent in the ruck??

5. Depth is good, but we really need to improve our bigmen stocks. two more ruckmen and 3 - 4 key possie players 9inc Carey and Rutten) are required. I think our team really needs at least another 3 key position players in the side to improve.

We have the passion, leadership, experience and professionalism in all areas in the club for us to succeed and improve.

For me, success in 2003 will really depend on our player recruitment and player development.

The coaching and recruiting staff will really have to recruit the right blokes and develop existing rookie players really well for us to improve in 2003.

Jerome

 

[dbcrow]

I think we should expect a similiar year to this one. Although, I'm a bit worried that complacency may creep in with Carey coming into the side. Could possibly cause our other forward line players to not be as desperate at the ball as they have been this year.

Attack: With Carey coming in, will be a huge plus if he can remain injury free for the majority of the season. Mark Stevens will benefit from another pre-season and will become a stronger marking option than he has been this year. Also, with Carey taking the best defender, Stevens may have it a little easier than he did this year. Burton (if he's still in the side) will then take the third best defender and so on. Players like John****, Crowell and maybe Ladhams will be useful at the fall of the ball, with McLeod chipping in for a rest in the forward pocket.

Defence: Need to blood some good quality defenders in the next couple of years. Although Smart has decided to play on for another year, next year will surely be his last, leaving a bit of a hole down back. Ben Hart still with another 3-4 years to go, and McGregor looking like quite a capable CHB will be good, along with Bassett. Defence is I think the area that we need to recruit for in the next couple of drafts.

Midfield: Excellent midfield which will hopefully only get better with the likes of Bode, Ladhams, John****, Gallagher, Mattner and the other untried players improving. I think our midfield will become stronger in the next couple of years because of this.

Ruck: Biglands is going to be a star. Needs to bulk up a little more over the pre-season. Also needs to get better at taking marks around the ground. If Carey can push up the ground like Tredrea and C.Cornes do, will make our marking ability stronger. Clarke, while being one of the best tap ruckmen in the league, is not, and will never be, a good solid marking player.

Overall Depth: Very good. Perhaps blooding another young ruckman and developing some key defenders will help. I guess in the next few years we'll need to find another forward option with Carey probably only playing a couple of years, although having said that, having him will do wonders for the likes of Burton and Stevens - who better to learn from than the KING!!!

If we have the same run of injuries that we had this year, we should accept no less than a preliminary final next year. I'm banking on this, so am biting the bullet and getting Category 1 membership next year, just so I have a chance to purchase finals tickets earlier.

Should be a good season next year, a shame that we have to wait so long for it to start!!

Cheers

 

[Jerome]

Originally posted by dbcrow
I think we should expect a similiar year to this one. Although, I'm a bit worried that complacency may creep in with Carey coming into the side. Could possibly cause our other forward line players to not be as desperate at the ball as they have been this year.

If Carey can push up the ground like Tredrea and C.Cornes do, will make our marking ability stronger.

Cheers

I don't know if they will become complacent. Carey will be deadset keen to play. Winning only 2 of the 3 finals has got to hurt even more than last years loss to Carlton. they should be fired up.

I don't like the idea of Carey pushing up the ground. I'd like to leave him in the goal square and let Welsh and Burton play further up the ground. There are Port people who don't seem to like Tredders pushing up the ground - Russell Ebert was critical of it on Saturday night.

Jerome

 

[dbcrow]

Originally posted by Jerome


I don't know if they will become complacent. Carey will be deadset keen to play. Winning only 2 of the 3 finals has got to hurt even more than last years loss to Carlton. they should be fired up.

I don't like the idea of Carey pushing up the ground. I'd like to leave him in the goal square and let Welsh and Burton play further up the ground. There are Port people who don't seem to like Tredders pushing up the ground - Russell Ebert was critical of it on Saturday night.

Jerome

Agreed, but I'm getting sick of seeing them always kicking to a contest on the wing/half forward line.

I think that was one area that we fell down in on the weekend, and for most of the year......luckily we have some good crumbers, but if they're not firing or are well held, we are in trouble.

 

[King Crow]

The good thing about Wayne Carey being a Crow (Woohoo )..is that it buys us 2-3 more years to develop some talls. And Wayne can also help Kenny, Handby etc develop.