Club Focus Adelaide 2022 - Rankine, Michalanney, Dowling, Bond, McPherson, Seedsman

[Snuffaluphagus]

Data from footywire. To check the draft order see the thread here.

Footywire says: "While we make every effort to keep up to date with player contracts, it is likely that our data may at times be out of date, incomplete or inaccurate. If you find any player contracts that need updating, please let us know using our brand new contract submission form."

 

[Red Bull]

Holes everywhere.
Where to start ??

 

[The 747]

Holes everywhere.
Where to start ??

Crows fans would be closer to it than me but...

For a long time their ability to draft and develop AFL players was a huge strength. They lose a lot of players but always seemed to be able to develop more.

Not sure where that has gone and not sure what they need player wise, but they need something pretty badly. Going nowhere atm.

 

[Red Bull]

Keays Laird and Crouch is an absolute feather duster midfield.
That’s where the game starts …

 

[Golumless]

Holes everywhere.
Where to start ??

Getting more preseasons into the list is really the standout starting point. You're not winning much playing lineups with an average experience per player ranging between 55-70 games (for ref, other rebuilders are batting around 75-80 games experience as an average), and right now we're really having a typical Gold Coast season (who usually live around that mark) where we've faded as the year goes on.

In terms of actual needs?

Probably the big one is to find someone else to join Thilthorpe and Rachele as the jewels of this rebuild. Ideally a midfielder, as much as Rachele will end up transitioning in that direction in 3-4 years (and Cook may also end up in this conversation in his own right, seeing that lad is an absolute talent).
Developing ruck is now a need, seeing both ROB and Strachan are both approaching 30.
Another small forward wouldn't go astray either as it's definitely the weakest part of our list at the moment with Rowe, Murphy and McHenry all not giving a whole lot of confidence that they'll be long term options.
I wouldn't be against us trying to get a Touhy or a Zorko over for a couple of years, someone who is has been around for ages and not been at Adelaide.

Then it's just our kids stop being kids and grow into being top line footballers. If Fogarty and Berry continue on and really cement this turn of form in the second half of the year, it certainly gives a bit of reinforcement coming into 2023.

Personally? I reckon I'd be moving heaven and earth to woo JHF this off-season.

 

[Red Bull]

Getting more preseasons into the list is really the standout starting point. You're not winning much playing lineups with an average experience per player ranging between 55-70 games (for ref, other rebuilders are batting around 75-80 games experience as an average), and right now we're really having a typical Gold Coast season (who usually live around that mark) where we've faded as the year goes on.

In terms of actual needs?

Probably the big one is to find someone else to join Thilthorpe and Rachele as the jewels of this rebuild. Ideally a midfielder, as much as Rachele will end up transitioning in that direction in 3-4 years. There is enough talent underneath to find a bunch of solid, bottleneck players to go with them and to build a good core (us being third in the SANFL passively indicates this).
Developing ruck is now a need, seeing both ROB and Strachan are both approaching 30.
Another small forward wouldn't go astray either as it's definitely the weakest part of our list at the moment with Rowe, Murphy and McHenry all not giving a whole lot of confidence that they'll be long term options.
I wouldn't be against us trying to get a Touhy or a Zorko over for a couple of years, someone who is has been around for ages and not been at Adelaide.

Then it's just our kids stop being kids and grow into being top line footballers. If Fogarty and Berry continue on and really cement this turn of form in the second half of the year, it certainly gives a bit of reinforcement coming into 2023.

Personally? I reckon I'd be moving heaven and earth to woo JHF this off-season.

Yes, there are no shortcuts in getting games into the youngsters.
The ruck and midfield hurt.
JHF wouldn’t come cheap.
North members would riot for anything less than way overs …

 

[Golumless]

Yes, there are no shortcuts in getting games into the youngsters.
The ruck and midfield hurt.
JHF wouldn’t come cheap.
North members would riot for anything less than way overs …

Pretty much, unfortunately we've probably cut a bit too deep in the last year or two as well which has worsened it. At least there is some talent in that 19-21 year old group, but what rebuild doesn't have that after a couple of years?

Absolutely it'll cost a lot. Unless North are absolutely incompetent, it would be a 2022 and 2023 first moving the other way. Still, I'd do it at this point as JHF looks like he'll blossom into a serious player in a few years and its a good fit with what we need youth wise.

Otherwise, it's probably just a case draft the best midfielder we can get our hands on and have a pretty quiet off-season.

 

[walterhobbs]

Midfield is where is starts and a Crouch (no hurt factor with possies),Keays (butchers the ball and no right foot), Laird(no hurt factor) combo isnt going to get us where we want to be. Thats where the improvement needs to start.
Next is small forwards Murphy, Rowe and McHenry just cant hit the scoreboard when needed. Rachele will be fine but thats another area.
Key position wise another KPD to play CHF support Butts. Murray has his moments but very raw.
Unfortunately today guys leaders like Doedee and Smith were terrible with ball in hand so that was disappointing.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Agree with everyone else, it stops and starts with the middle and the Crows midfield isn’t only middling, it’s mature, not a good combo in a full rebuild. Desperately need young elite talent in there.

I think they should be very careful about going for JHF this year, there are too many positions to fill to use two top 10 picks on one player

 

[Danger in Texas]

We desperately need to hit on a couple of top tier midfielders in the next two years

I can’t see us making finals until 2025 at the earliest, as it stands

 

[walterhobbs]

Agree with everyone else, it stops and starts with the middle and the Crows midfield isn’t only middling, it’s mature, not a good combo in a full rebuild. Desperately need young elite talent in there.

I think they should be very careful about going for JHF this year, there are too many positions to fill to use two top 10 picks on one player

Bringing Crouch back in to push Hately to the wing was a shocking move. Sam Berry showing up keays laird and crouch with 12 clearances on only 66 % tog shows those 3 are the problem.

 

[1990crow]

Bringing Crouch back in to push Hately to the wing was a shocking move. Sam Berry showing up keays laird and crouch with 12 clearances on only 66 % tog shows those 3 are the problem.

Berry, Hately and Schoenberg need to be given the keays (pun intended) as soon as possible.

 

[Golumless]

Berry, Hately and Schoenberg need to be given the keays (pun intended) as soon as possible.

Berry is developing well, but those numbers (especially TOG) are indicative of a 2nd year mid. The goal from here has to be to give him the best chance to last the season. Still, he seems on track to force Crouch out of the lineup next year.

Hately is a bottom of the rotation midfielder, who can accumulate but nothing else. Not the guy you want to say "yeah we're building around you".

Schoenberg should be getting Hatelys minutes but had an off season.

That said, none of those are players you give the keys to over Laird. The best candidates on our list are Rachele and Cook, but both are likely 1-2 years off making that transition.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Berry is developing well, but those numbers (especially TOG) are indicative of a 2nd year mid. The goal from here has to be to give him the best chance to last the season. Still, he seems on track to force Crouch out of the lineup next year.

Hately is a bottom of the rotation midfielder, who can accumulate but nothing else. Not the guy you want to say "yeah we're building around you".

Schoenberg should be getting Hatelys minutes but had an off season.

That said, none of those are players you give the keys to over Laird. The best candidates on our list are Rachele and Cook, but both are likely 1-2 years off making that transition.

I've seen a few guys say to move Rachele to the midfield, I'd think ideally, he's someone you can leave forward and have others in your midfield no? Match winning smalls who can play above their size are pretty valuable, if it was us, I'd hate to be losing that forward presence.

 

[Golumless]

I've seen a few guys say to move Rachele to the midfield, I'd think ideally, he's someone you can leave forward and have others in your midfield no? Match winning smalls who can play above their size are pretty valuable, if it was us, I'd hate to be losing that forward presence.

I'm definitely in the camp of if a player with class can make it as an inside-out mid, you're doing a disservice playing him elsewhere. After all, adding class to a midfield set up is a really hard thing to achieve.

To use a comparision from Adelaides history, 97-98 does not happen if Adelaide didn't pull the trigger on McLeod moving into the midfield. Another example is Geelong, who likely doesn't win three premierships without Ablett being moved into the midfield etc. Sometimes you get rewarded for having the balls to want more from a player.

With someone like Rachele, a really good small forward is really the fall back position. His game will work moving up the field.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

Keays Laird and Crouch is an absolute feather duster midfield.
That’s where the game starts …

The classic with this comment is that when asked by the media earlier in the year why our young mids weren’t getting more CBA’s, Nicks said that the midfield is “stacked”. And no, I’m not making this s**t up.

It doesn’t matter if we draft elite mid talent, whilst we have the same numpties coaching, we won’t play more than one youngster in the middle at a time

 

[Dangerousfield]

The official word from the AFC is that the rebuild is ahead of schedule, so all's good here, nothing more to see, move along!

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

The official word from the AFC is that the rebuild is ahead of schedule, so all's good here, nothing more to see, move along!

 

[Elmer_Judd]

Best off field thing Adelaide can do it at the end of the season is get rid of the Old Boys Club/Former players still involved at the club in some capacity aka Riccuito (not sure if Bickley is still there)

Unfortunately they are stuck with Nicks for at least another year (impossible to sack him under Soft Cap rules whilst he is contracted to the end off 2024)

In all honesty, it's the off field dynamic at the Crows (from board and recruiting levels etc) that worries me about Adelaide far more then their on field prospects. Seen this same crap circus at Carlton for a very long time since this century started.

Hate saying this but Adelaide is the sleeping giant of footy, if they ever manage to put their egos aside and get all their off field personnel right from.the chairman and board downwards, they would become a major threat in this league once again.

 

[Red Bull]

Rebuilds are hard work.
The draft can be hit and miss as all clubs know.
Can the senior coach and his assistants keep everything together ?
We now see Lukosius is staying on the Coast and it’s traditionally very hard for lowly ranked clubs to attract quality players even with big $$$ offers.
A win against fellow struggler North this weekend could be crucial if JHF is indeed keen to return home.
A loss and a request for Port would be a bitter pill to swallow for young Reid and the crows …

 

[morris086]

The gap between M Crouch being drafted in 2013 and Schoenberg in 2019 explains why our best mids are a former delistee and a small defender. A lot of misses over that time, A few bit players like Greenwood, Gibbs etc but when you're unable to find afl standard players for such a stretch it's going to lead to a dire situation. The last two drafts have looked far better with Soligo, Berry and to a lesser extent Pedlar and Taylor but it's far from being a finished midfield.

 

[Red Bull]

The official word from the AFC is that the rebuild is ahead of schedule, so all's good here, nothing more to see, move along!

 

[Wargreymon90]

Their senior players are admirable and maintaining a high standard.

Their young players would have to be the worst crop over the last 10 years

 

[Elmer_Judd]

Where do you being?

Nicks is the main issue I feel , but they are stuck with him for next 18 months.

Need a fire sale and trade out the likes of Crouch, Brodie Smith

33

Brodie Smith

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.5

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

7.2

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.1

4star

MG

500.1

5star

D

17.1

4star

K

12.6

5star

HB

4.5

3star

M

3.5

3star

T

2.3

3star

MG

438.9

5star

D

17.2

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

3.6

5star

, possibly Laird, etc

Carlton may have a small interest in McAsey.

On paper, they do have some good kids, unfortunately their midfield seems a bit stale and possibly stagnated with Nicks coach.

Replenishing that should be no 1 on their agenda, so understand their keen interest in JH-F.

Nicks gets another year in i suspect and then gets the sack if they don't win at least 10 games next season (something I think is doable with the talent on their list, Fogarty coming good late in the season has been a plus for them)

 

[Red Bull]

Where do you being?

Nicks is the main issue I feel , but they are stuck with him for next 18 months.

Need a fire sale and trade out the likes of Crouch, Brodie Smith, possibly Laird, etc

Carlton may have a small interest in McAsey.

On paper, they do have some good kids, unfortunately their midfield seems a bit stale and possibly stagnated with Nicks coach.

Replenishing that should be no 1 on their agenda, so understand their keen interest in JH-F.

Nicks gets another year in i suspect and then gets the sack if they don't win at least 10 games next season (something I think is doable with the talent on their list, Fogarty coming good late in the season has been a plus for them)

Hawthorns attempted fire sale last trade period indicated the level of interest clubs have in these types of players these days.
A Bryce Gibbs type deal comes along once in a blue moon, but, I guess there is always St.Kilda and their “who’s available” list management “strategy”
Looks like the players at north got their way re Noble.
That being the case, JHF probably stays at Arden st for now at least.
Young Reid has plenty of work to do and it’ll be an interesting watch come seasons end …

 

[70lethal]

Hawthorns attempted fire sale last trade period indicated the level of interest clubs have in these types of players these days.
A Bryce Gibbs type deal comes along once in a blue moon, but, I guess there is always St.Kilda and their “who’s available” list management “strategy”
Looks like the players at north got their way re Noble.
That being the case, JHF probably stays at Arden st for now at least.
Young Reid has plenty of work to do and it’ll be an interesting watch come seasons end …

Reid is the problem not the solution. Decimated the list.