2nd 1/4's

[Paladin]

What it shows is that Craig is a reactive coach.
Blight went pro active come finals time and caught sides out, Craig has yet to do that and it's debatable if he is capable of it.

An interesting point that will not come as a surprise to anyone, is that since 2004 you have won 17 games more than us during the season proper, only 5 games short of a full season, yet we have scored more goals than you during the same period.

Would you rather win more games or kick more goals?

 

[*PAF]

Would you rather win more games or kick more goals?

Very few GFs are won by teams that have a reactive gameplan.
On that note, I'd rather we go down the path of trying to win games rather than not lose them.
If if was all down to the home and away season, then your gameplan is the way to go.

For those that follow the round ball, Juventus have made an artform out of not losing games, but their Champions League record (knock out) sucks.

 

[Deaneus!]

What it shows is that Craig is a reactive coach.
Blight went pro active come finals time and caught sides out, Craig has yet to do that and it's debatable if he is capable of it.

An interesting point that will not come as a surprise to anyone, is that since 2004 you have won 17 games more than us during the season proper, only 5 games short of a full season, yet we have scored more goals than you during the same period.

A testament to both your forward line's ability to kick goals, and our defenders over the same period (where i count at least 3 AA players).

 

[*PAF]

A testament to both your forward line's ability to kick goals, and our defenders over the same period (where i count at least 3 AA players).

Also a testament to our kamikaze midfield strategy of peeling off and going forward at all cost (to win games) Vs your peel off and go forward only if the defensive side has been covered by some other midfielder already (to not lose games).
I do not think either result happened by fluke.

Craig will always play his best players in defense and then create a forward line with the remainder whereas Williams, rightly or wrongly, tries to strike some sort of balance with the ultimate goal being winning games rather than not losing them.

 

[Big Gazoongas]

Yep.

Interesting, even more interesting since you are comparing Port to the Crows, especially given that since Craig's tenure at the Crows we have dominated showdowns.
You only have to look at some of the winning margins, not bad for a reactive coach!!

 

[Big Gazoongas]

Very few GFs are won by teams that have a reactive gameplan.
On that note, I'd rather we go down the path of trying to win games rather than not lose them.
If if was all down to the home and away season, then your gameplan is the way to go.

For those that follow the round ball, Juventus have made an artform out of not losing games, but their Champions League record (knock out) sucks.

Another interesting statement, let me think now.... 2005 semi at AAMI Crows V Port (Chads dream final) would you say that playing 20 players in your defensive zone constitutes 'trying to win games'. So funny to see Bassett having a conversation at CHB with the field umpire whilst Port were trying to 'win the game' without anyone forward of the Crows half forward line.
In fact, good old 'creative' Mark does this on a regular basis, in fact Mark has tried on many occassion to "not lose the game' and lost.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

that's crap. the end

Oh poo. So the boring preseason continues. Surely you could have at least pretended you cared. Just to help pass the time.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

What it shows is that Craig is a reactive coach.

Very few GFs are won by teams that have a reactive gameplan.
On that note, I'd rather we go down the path of trying to win games rather than not lose them.
If if was all down to the home and away season, then your gameplan is the way to go.

Interesting observations coming from an outsider.

Almost every poster on here complains that Craig doesn't react and sticks too rigidly to Plan A rather than making moves and adjustments on match days.

 

[Zvim]

It is a hard thing to control, you can control what you do but you can't control what your opponent chooses to do.

I think the Crows score better the more their opposition attacks, my guess from watching the Crows play is you score a lot more from rebounding than you do from center clearances.

If a side can retain possession and restrict the amount of rebound out of their forward line I think the Crows struggle a bit offensively. I think as the games open up in the 2nd and 4th quarters and teams are a lot more reckless with their attack it provides a lot more opportunity for an aggressive rebounding defence.

I think the lack of consistent key position forwards is a significant reason why the Crows play the way they do. Your best forwards have been undersized forwards and they are far more dangerous in an open forward line and it is much easier to get the space when you rebound out of defence compared to coming out of a center clearance.

Once you get Hentschel back and some of the younger talls become consistent contributors you will probably find the Crows will attack more from the middle than rebound. Your disposal count doesn't seem abnormally low in the first or third quarters, I just think it has been something that has evolved due to the forward structure.

 

[*PAF]

Interesting observations coming from an outsider.

Almost every poster on here complains that Craig doesn't react and sticks too rigidly to Plan A rather than making moves and adjustments on match days.

Doesn't disagree with what you quoted.

Craig's gameplan is based around negating the opposition's attacking strengths.

Whenever there are changes, such as Franklin moving out of the forward line and becoming a loose player, he is reluctant to change his original "negating" gameplan.
Bock stays put, Franklin wins game. Had the game gone on longer he would have reacted accordingly and who knows, perhaps the Crows may have won.

 

[beartoo]

Not sure what game you were watching, PAF. The only match I can remember Bock staying back while Buddy ran all over the field like a chook recently minus its head, Buddy did SFA.

 

[*PAF]

Not sure what game you were watching, PAF. The only match I can remember Bock staying back while Buddy ran all over the field like a chook recently minus its head, Buddy did SFA.

Ended up with his highest disposal count for the year and won the game for the Hawks in the last few minutes.

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/games/2008/011020080614.html

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454934

 

[macca23]

It is a hard thing to control, you can control what you do but you can't control what your opponent chooses to do.

I think the Crows score better the more their opposition attacks, my guess from watching the Crows play is you score a lot more from rebounding than you do from center clearances.

If a side can retain possession and restrict the amount of rebound out of their forward line I think the Crows struggle a bit offensively. I think as the games open up in the 2nd and 4th quarters and teams are a lot more reckless with their attack it provides a lot more opportunity for an aggressive rebounding defence.

I think the lack of consistent key position forwards is a significant reason why the Crows play the way they do. Your best forwards have been undersized forwards and they are far more dangerous in an open forward line and it is much easier to get the space when you rebound out of defence compared to coming out of a center clearance.

Once you get Hentschel back and some of the younger talls become consistent contributors you will probably find the Crows will attack more from the middle than rebound. Your disposal count doesn't seem abnormally low in the first or third quarters, I just think it has been something that has evolved due to the forward structure.

An excellent and correct analysis of our deficiencies and the reasons why we play the way we do.

Hopefully we do have a better forward structure this year which will enable us to score more often from centre bounce breaks rather than through quick rebound.

Good post.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Doesn't disagree with what you quoted.

It does actually.

Craig's gameplan is based around negating the opposition's attacking strengths.

Whenever there are changes, such as Franklin moving out of the forward line and becoming a loose player, he is reluctant to change his original "negating" gameplan.
Bock stays put, Franklin wins game. Had the game gone on longer he would have reacted accordingly and who knows, perhaps the Crows may have won.

In other words, Craig is not a reactive coach.

 

[beartoo]

Ended up with his highest disposal count for the year and won the game for the Hawks in the last few minutes.

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/games/2008/011020080614.html

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454934

Thanks for the links, but I still reckon you are wrong. Buddy kicked one for the game and Bock played well on him. Buddy did kick 6 behinds, but almost all from difficult positions and angles and some under intense pressure from Bock and others.
My memory of the dying moments of the game is as follows. Buddy was set free to run anywhere, Bock stayed in the back 50. The hysteria of the commentators reached fever pitch any time Franklin was within 50 metres of the ball. I think this was the match where the ball was being contested in our forward line and the camera shot cut to Franklin and the commentator screamed, "...and Buddy is doubling back" and we got a shot of a footballer running in space towards his own forward line. Laugh.
Franklin possibly had one handball somewhere near the middle in those last, frantic minutes, but there is no way he won the game, or even influenced the final result through his actions in the last quarter.