Universal Love 2016/2017 Pre-season Thread

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

You are battle scarred haha

There will be some opportunities for young players just like there were for Gov and Milera last year

I'm still not convinced on Menzel and Hampton but pre season games will tell more

Gov and Milera didn't get picked ahead of any first 22 players from the previous season.

Dangerfield left and Henderson and Knight were both out injured.

Injuries might open the door again but I have no confidence that any new players will get a game via selection choice. Would be great to see if it happens.

 

[WetCrow1991]

Thisi s where I differ, Pyke has final say and so he should if he didnt want Thommo this year he could say so, his arse is on the line and is responsible for the efforts of the team the most out of any other member of a selection committee or what ever.

If he didnt want Thommo he would be gone, the selection committee may or may not have convinced him to kepp him we dont know either way but it is ultimatley Pykes decision and so it should be who would want the job if you are reliant on others

No, I don't dispute that they wanted Thommo to stay, I dispute that it was the correct decision, but we will see how much AFL he will play, I hope it is none. Club cultures can be very strange and people can linger past their use by date and just because it is something Pyke wants, doesn't mean it is a good thing. That said there is nothing wrong with being wrong, I could be wrong Pyke could be wrong, the important thing is learning from that, does the AFC's culture allow him to do that, I don't know.

 

[WetCrow1991]

Gov and Milera didn't get picked ahead of any first 22 players from the previous season.

Dangerfield left and Henderson and Knight were both out injured.

Injuries might open the door again but I have no confidence that any new players will get a game via selection choice. Would be great to see if it happens.

Yeah I am of this opinion too, call me cynical, but the club from all public indicators appears to be following the established selection pattern, the same selection pattern that has delivered 0 Grandfinals since 1998, but perhaps the club believe that their selection policy is good, and it is other areas that are causing us to fail to succeed.

Edit:

I mean, in my opinion it appears that the Crows are massive chokers, could be we just aren't good enough when it comes to playing other top sides, but i think it is a combination of some of that and a almost endemic fear of success, a visible, obvious timidness in high pressure games, whether that has something to do with our preparation, how the club perceives, or conceptualises big games, and pressure, I think that is worth looking into. Nigel Smart did once run on hot coals, perhaps outside thinking is needed again?

That could all be my cynical bias too.

I think the club would really benefit from someone coming in an observing the entire operation, for a whole season, a fly on the wall. Just observing the institution, the different ideas and identities within the club, how they are constituted through discourse, how the club talks internally about different things. Then present the findings to the club, because it is hard when you are within a system to see how that system contributes to the construction of ideas.

Discourse, language, ideas these are very powerful when it comes to policy, decision making and in turn outcomes, in any institution. How you conceptualise success can influence how you approach success. This sort of thinking is well established in other fields and would work well if applied to researching for a policy paper at an AFL, shit I'd do it for free, I mean EU institutions are more my wheelhouse, but I wouldn't imagine the learning curve would be too great to prohibit a project like this.

 

[Carmo]

Haha what is this a 'man child' choose your own adventure? Oh no, I am shattered that 'Carmo' will think of me as an 'unknowledgeable pussy' and will call me out, whatever will I do?

Is that a no, I won't post in the prediction thread? Too scared to even do that are we? I mean its so scarey to make a prediction.

 

[WetCrow1991]

Is that a no, I won't post in the prediction thread? Too scared to even do that are we? I mean its so scarey to make a prediction.

Carmo pls.

 

[marty36]

No, I don't dispute that they wanted Thommo to stay, I dispute that it was the correct decision, but we will see how much AFL he will play, I hope it is none. Club cultures can be very strange and people can linger past their use by date and just because it is something Pyke wants, doesn't mean it is a good thing. That said there is nothing wrong with being wrong, I could be wrong Pyke could be wrong, the important thing is learning from that, does the AFC's culture allow him to do that, I don't know.

Im on the fence on Thommo, I can certainly see why they have retained him and could make an arguemnet for him to finish up also.

I dont think its difinitive that he should have been cut, looking at the weakness in our team which is clearly the mid.

Thommo has in his favor his durability which probably gave him the benefit of the doubt

 

[Carmo]

Carmo pls.

naww, dont be shy liddle fella, liddle widdle wet crow, cmon, dont play hard to get, just post in the prediction thread, if not for yourself, do it for us....

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Is that a no, I won't post in the prediction thread? Too scared to even do that are we? I mean its so scarey to make a prediction.

Some prefer to criticise than offer up opinion...

 

[1970crow]

Excellent Training report from Wayne's World and the rest of the team.

It seems to be designed to flush the Alexes/aka Sam Malone out of the undergrowth .

It was nice not having wade through a discussion on what type of language was allowed to be used in the training reports. But credit to the Alex's, they were a great contributor for people like me who only get to see the televised SANFL games. RIP.

 

[1970crow]

Agree your thoughts .....just that Douglas had minimal impact when in the midfield, in particular centre bounces

Douglas plays this year as a 30 yo ....he has the maturity / composure that you'd expect, question is he needs more output than last year .....i assume this is behind the move to another role & i'm assuming out of the midfield rotations ??

People can criticize Thompson all the like .....but watch some of the games in replay & he was still a dominant clearance player

Thommo can be a bit similar to reviewing a CV, it's just as important to focus on what's missing as what's there. Unlike many of normally like minded individuals, I doubt that he's in their best 22 plans throughout the entire year, I think they'll pull the trigger reasonably quickly on him, but I reckon he's a fair chance to be there at the start of the season though.

 

[Bicks]

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

Name a club with a better C/VC combo. I'll wait ...

 

[Bicks]

Name a club with a better C/VC combo. I'll wait ...

Powa?

 

[GreyCrow]

Powa?

 

[Coopers]

Excuse me, that post was neither a personal attack, or attempt to bignote yourself. Furthermore, it did not discuss Thommo.

Please exit thread.

 

[Bicks]

Excuse me, that post was neither a personal attack, or attempt to bignote yourself. Furthermore, it did not discuss Thommo.

Please exit thread.

Gnome lol

 

[mistylake]

Yeah I am of this opinion too, call me cynical, but the club from all public indicators appears to be following the established selection pattern, the same selection pattern that has delivered 0 Grandfinals since 1998, but perhaps the club believe that their selection policy is good, and it is other areas that are causing us to fail to succeed.

Edit:

I mean, in my opinion it appears that the Crows are massive chokers, could be we just aren't good enough when it comes to playing other top sides, but i think it is a combination of some of that and a almost endemic fear of success, a visible, obvious timidness in high pressure games, whether that has something to do with our preparation, how the club perceives, or conceptualises big games, and pressure, I think that is worth looking into. Nigel Smart did once run on hot coals, perhaps outside thinking is needed again?

That could all be my cynical bias too.

I think the club would really benefit from someone coming in an observing the entire operation, for a whole season, a fly on the wall. Just observing the institution, the different ideas and identities within the club, how they are constituted through discourse, how the club talks internally about different things. Then present the findings to the club, because it is hard when you are within a system to see how that system contributes to the construction of ideas.

Discourse, language, ideas these are very powerful when it comes to policy, decision making and in turn outcomes, in any institution. How you conceptualise success can influence how you approach success. This sort of thinking is well established in other fields and would work well if applied to researching for a policy paper at an AFL, shit I'd do it for free, I mean EU institutions are more my wheelhouse, but I wouldn't imagine the learning curve would be too great to prohibit a project like this.

Wonder what 'ol Blighty is up to ATM.

 

[MRB37]

Wonder what 'ol Blighty is up to ATM.

Playing golf on the Gold Coast.

 

[Thetrader15]

Powa?

Essendon...

 

[Vader]

Gov and Milera didn't get picked ahead of any first 22 players from the previous season.

Dangerfield left and Henderson and Knight were both out injured.

Injuries might open the door again but I have no confidence that any new players will get a game via selection choice. Would be great to see if it happens.

Except that it wasn't injuries keeping Henderson out of the team for most of the season. Early, yes. But by the end of the year it was apparent that Pyke just didn't rate him - hence the decision to delist him.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

That's right: Early, yes.

 

[Vader]

Seedsman was out injured which meant we didn't have to make a call on Lyons/Mackay/whoever for the last spot in the 22.

Seedsman's injury was irrelevant, given that Lyons and Mackay were preferred ahead of him anyway. There was no call to make.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Seedsman's injury was irrelevant, given that Lyons and Mackay were preferred ahead of him anyway. There was no call to make.

No it wasn't. His injury was untimely and it took him forever to get back from it.

 

[Elite Crow]

No it wasn't. His injury was untimely and it took him forever to get back from it.

Can you let Vader know as he has me on ignore, that his using club champion voting as a guide to preference doesn't work for him.

Seedsman was polling well in the games before he got injured after a slowish start which is understandable given he was at a new club. Unfortunately his average votes was impacted by his stop start season.

 

[WetCrow1991]

naww, dont be shy liddle fella, liddle widdle wet crow, cmon, dont play hard to get, just post in the prediction thread, if not for yourself, do it for us....

Is that how you speak to your victims?