Unofficial Preview Changes vs Melbourne

[Pugsley]

That's a HELLUVA "dash"!
View attachment 683674

If they don't make it in time, they're omitted.

 

[Murray2503]

Oh, for the days of Blighty, who recognised the simplest, most direct (and therefore quickest) way to goal was through the middle, made them play that way, and got us 2 Flags. *sigh*
I doubt he'd tolerate Atkins' weaknesses.

Blight turns 70 next year.
Let's give him a 3-year $6m WELCOME-BACK contract + around 3K for a mobility scooter, if needed --- if not, he can use it for champagne after one of the Flags he delivers in that time.
More seriously, get him in as direct assistant/advisor to Pyke, after sacking Hart, Burton and Camporeale (which Blight would insist upon, anyway).

Yeah, I know, I'm dreamin'.

They should at least get Blighty on the board. Good replacement for Chapman imo. Blight has a lot of contacts in the industry which could only help with various club appointments.

 

[CrowBloke]

His best games this year have been against average opponents

Quite a few posters have said this. What it overlooks is that at the time the Suns, Saints and Freo were playing well and with confidence, all above us on the Ladder, and we knocked them off. Can't do any more than that.
That they have since proven to be "average" opponents is time-travel logic. At the time, it was noted that the wins were good wins against opposition that had been playing well.

Everybody plays better against weaker opposition, well, except us vs NM in R4. Everybody struggles against stronger opposition. If Tex was BOG every week it'd be an aberration and it's unfair to expect that he will always beat his opponent.

 

[marty36]

Quite a few posters have said this. What it overlooks is that at the time the Suns, Saints and Freo were playing well and with confidence, all above us on the Ladder, and we knocked them off. Can't do any more than that.
That they have since proven to be "average" opponents is time-travel logic. At the time, it was noted that the wins were good wins against opposition that had been playing well.

Everybody plays better against weaker opposition, well, except us vs NM in R4. Everybody struggles against stronger opposition. If Tex was BOG every week it'd be an aberration and it's unfair to expect that he will always beat his opponent.

Very hard to judge how good an opponent is early in the season the draw can be misleading to how well you are travelling

 

[Wouldbetackler]

2 is a bit weird, Knight needs to find form in the SANFL.

Agree it looks as though they have ranked the players as next one up and not picking on form. Knight dropped and back in and others knocking the door down in the 2’s that play same role

 

[MRB37]

Shame we don't apply the performance criteria for coaching and football department staff. Jobs for life.

I can understand it though. It's not coaching that made Seedsman drop the mark. It's not coaching that somehow turned Talia's brain into scrambled eggs. It's not coaching that causes umpire #12 to ride us hard every time we threatened to get the momentum back. I'm not saying the coaches were perfect against the Weagles, but a hell of a lot of that was on the players, same as the Brisbane game.

 

[Mego Red]

Hard to work out issues surrounding Atkins. Some of his poor efforts stretch back a bit, and surely we can assume there’s been some strong conversations at a minimum.

Yet here we are down the track and no selection punishment.

Can only assume he’s performing as they want him to. But I agree I would have spelled him 2 weeks ago.

They dropped him last year, he improved when he came back. I don;t think his efforts have been as weak this year (though there's been a couple of shockers), but he's gone missing more than in the past.

 

[MRB37]

Would hope he would supply run. Shows glimpses and then nothing. Has the talent but seems play well when everyone around him is playing well. To me he goes missing a lot.

He's an outside mid who is in a team that is playing a heavily contested gamestyle. Of course he's not going to look as good as he did in 2017.

When have you ever seen our midfielders get clean ball out of a contest? It's always this hack it forwards shit.

 

[MRB37]

Oh, for the days of Blighty, who recognised the simplest, most direct (and therefore quickest) way to goal was through the middle, made them play that way, and got us 2 Flags. *sigh*
I doubt he'd tolerate Atkins' weaknesses.

Blight turns 70 next year.
Let's give him a 3-year $6m WELCOME-BACK contract + around 3K for a mobility scooter, if needed --- if not, he can use it for champagne after one of the Flags he delivers in that time.
More seriously, get him in as direct assistant/advisor to Pyke, after sacking Hart, Burton and Camporeale (which Blight would insist upon, anyway).

Yeah, I know, I'm dreamin'.

You so realise we'd take the corridor if we could? Teams block that area of the ground more than ever, especially against us since it's how we became such a powerfully scoring side. So we had to change the gameplan, but we don't have the personnel to fully carry out a defensive style against good teams, especially in the midfield.

 

[Dank Academy]

Yeah, righto.




On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[MRB37]

Yeah, I don't get it.
When we're dominating, he looks good, but even then he can be a momentum-stopper with kicks ootf or straight to oppo players. His unwillingness to tackle (avge 1.4/game, awful, right down there with Gallucci also 1.4 and Hartigan 1.3 (!!) ) is obvious to all of us. He's a noted contact-avoider. It's unacceptable but not, apparently, to Pyke and Co.
JJ was dropped, so why not Atkins as well?

Does anyone have (or can please tell me where to look for) stats on how he fares compared to other outside runners in the Comp., especially tackling?
(OK, deaneus, not the evil Google )

I'm starting to think these comments about Atkins are a bit over the top. He's an outside player, his pressure numbers are still around the same level as the majority of other outside players and we're then talking about the difference of maybe 1-1.5 tackles a game. Like everyone wishing for Henderson back and he's averaging .3 of a tackle more.
View attachment 681617

 

[Tex200]

From me it's not hate, I love the bloke.

His best games this year have been against average opponents, and against Port he was smacked by Clurrey.

He was no chance of being dropped, but 5 games against ordinary opponents doesn't fill me with confidence.

That said, I hope he kicks a bag tomorrow night.

You’re nearly as bad as Grotto, looking for non existent reasons to qualify a mythical loss of form. Mind you, you’re not as silly in referring to some teams 2018 form - that took the biscuit, can’t go lower or sillier.

Anyway you’re nearly as bad:
Tex is poor
Stats say Tex has been good
Oppo is poor

You think Brisbane up there is an ordinary opponent? They are 6th, 1 game behind WCE, Richmond and GWS. They lost 1 game after the siren.

Freo, Saints and Port all either inside the 8 or just % outside.

So apart from GCS, every game he played during the period R5-10 where he was assessed as the 5th best forward in the league, was played against either current top 8 contenders or current top 4 contenders.

Now you can try to move goalposts and you can try and justify why he has been poor even though he’s been good, but the facts don’t lie. And you’re another one I’m surprised at. Totally ignoring the factual basis for his form.

The reason I’m getting so annoyed is the total lack of logic in bagging him - if he’s been rubbish over the last month I would be critical - but he just hasn’t.

Edit - as for being smacked by Clurey? He still had 5 marks, kicked 2 goals, had a goal assist and 7 score involvements. So if that’s getting smacked - well...don’t know what to tell you as I’d be wasting my time

 

[mcattack]

You so realise we'd take the corridor if we could? Teams block that area of the ground more than ever, especially against us since it's how we became such a powerfully scoring side. So we had to change the gameplan, but we don't have the personnel to fully carry out a defensive style against good teams, especially in the midfield.

Our game plan is also a victim of not having runners. Gotta find that medium between holding patterns and go. Hence why Grundy is being thought about so highly by us. Centre clearance are vital to win.

 

[Pugsley]

Yeah, righto.

View attachment 683692


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

They're morons.

 

[Deaneus!]

Yeah, righto.

View attachment 683692


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

It's pretty difficult to write a sentence where every part is wrong, but he managed it.

 

[hey shorty]

You’re nearly as bad as Grotto, looking for non existent reasons to qualify a mythical loss of form. Mind you, you’re not as silly in referring to some teams 2018 form - that took the biscuit, can’t go lower or sillier.

Anyway you’re nearly as bad:
Tex is poor
Stats say Tex has been good
Oppo is poor

You think Brisbane up there is an ordinary opponent? They are 6th, 1 game behind WCE, Richmond and GWS. They lost 1 game after the siren.

Freo, Saints and Port all either inside the 8 or just % outside.

So apart from GCS, every game he played during the period R5-10 where he was assessed as the 5th best forward in the league, was played against either current top 8 contenders or current top 4 contenders.

Now you can try to move goalposts and you can try and justify why he has been poor even though he’s been good, but the facts don’t lie. And you’re another one I’m surprised at. Totally ignoring the factual basis for his form.

The reason I’m getting so annoyed is the total lack of logic in bagging him - if he’s been rubbish over the last month I would be critical - but he just hasn’t.

Edit - as for being smacked by Clurey? He still had 5 marks, kicked 2 goals, had a goal assist and 7 score involvements. So if that’s getting smacked - well...don’t know what to tell you as I’d be wasting my time

For a reasonable poster you do get a bee in your bonnet a lot.

You're basing your game on stats, like you do with Atkins. Stats struggle to tell half the story, you're smart enough to know that.

When games have needed to be won its the other captain who has stood up.

 

[CrowBloke]

You [do] realise we'd take the corridor if we could?

Mostly, it was a light-hearted, wishful-thinking post.

If we were good enough, we'd find a way through the corridor. We're not, but we certainly did in 2017.
Thanks, Ben Hart?
If the corridor is blocked, again, if we were good enough we'd find a way around that. We're not.
Our kicking out after points is woeful (Smith mostly, Talia). The WCE clearly kicked it wide to the boundary to force a throw-in, banking on their ruck and mids to get the ball further down the line. If the stoppage was mid-field and not wide, Gaff and Shuey ran rampant in the second half, even though Pyke had moved a forward in there to outnumber them. Watch the highlights to see Shuey/Gaff run around and through our mids in that second half.
Look at Rioli's goal with 10.10 to go in the third. Ruckman breaks weak tackles, then Rioli breaks weak tackles to goal. Look at the WCE goal @ 19.19 in the last, not a Crows mid in sight to stop delivery. How's it possible for those 2 WCE players to be free, forward of the stoppage?? Look at WCE goal from stoppage with 3.10 left in the game.
Blight would not tolerate those mids being so unaccountable. He'd have given McHenry a go, by now.

 

[Tex200]

Against

For a reasonable poster you do get a bee in your bonnet a lot.

You're basing your game on stats, like you do with Atkins. Stats struggle to tell half the story, you're smart enough to know that.

When games have needed to be won its the other captain who has stood up.

Against Port when they kicked 7 straight goals to get within striking distance, who stood up and kicked a goal deep into quarter at the 26 minute mark? Yep that was your captain. Not sure what Travis Boak was up to.

Who kicks a goal late in the 4th against Brisbane to give us a sniff? Yep him again. Not sure what Zorko was doing.

Saints got themselves back to within 11 points at 3/4 time. That first goal into the last quarter was pretty critical don’t you think. Yep, that was courtesy of your captain again.

And yes I have got a bee in my bonnet, which is directly related to false narratives that have little or no basis in fact.

 

[MRB37]

Yeah, I don't get it.
When we're dominating, he looks good, but even then he can be a momentum-stopper with kicks ootf or straight to oppo players. His unwillingness to tackle (avge 1.4/game, awful, right down there with Gallucci also 1.4 and Hartigan 1.3 (!!) ) is obvious to all of us. He's a noted contact-avoider. It's unacceptable but not, apparently, to Pyke and Co.
JJ was dropped, so why not Atkins as well?

Does anyone have (or can please tell me where to look for) stats on how he fares compared to other outside runners in the Comp., especially tackling?
(OK, deaneus, not the evil Google )

Mostly, it was a light-hearted, wishful-thinking post.

If we were good enough, we'd find a way through the corridor. We're not, but we certainly did in 2017.
Thanks, Ben Hart?
If the corridor is blocked, again, if we were good enough we'd find a way around that. We're not.
Our kicking out after points is woeful (Smith mostly, Talia). The WCE clearly kicked it wide to the boundary to force a throw-in, banking on their ruck and mids to get the ball further down the line. If the stoppage was mid-field and not wide, Gaff and Shuey ran rampant in the second half, even though Pyke had moved a forward in there to outnumber them. Watch the highlights to see Shuey/Gaff run around and through our mids in that second half.
Look at Rioli's goal with 10.10 to go in the third. Ruckman breaks weak tackles, then Rioli breaks weak tackles to goal. Look at the WCE goal @ 19.19 in the last, not a Crows mid in sight to stop delivery. How's it possible for those 2 WCE players to be free, forward of the stoppage?? Look at WCE goal from stoppage with 3.10 left in the game.
Blight would not tolerate those mids being so unaccountable. He'd have given McHenry a go, by now.

The problem is you think throwing in one kid will make a difference. We've played Jones plenty and he's struggled to make a huge impact, you're kidding if you think McHenry would do better.

We found a way through in 2017 because it wasn't as heavily defended. Teams plan specifically to stop us moving the ball the way we did. We're now forced to go contest heavy, in both ground and in the air, but our team does not have the personnel to play this way yet around the ground, that's why Himmelberg got such a big run over Jenkins. We're clearly in a transition period where we're working through players to fit a new style, you can't change a list overnight, that takes time to fix up. And all that midfield stuff has always happened under Campo, he doesn't actually know how to set defensive system through the midfield, he just gets an extra player in. He'd rather that then actually take a proactive move like put Knight or Kelly in as a designated tagger.

Gibbs was just dropped for being unaccountable, we've loaded up on the contested mids, but don't have any speed through there which lets opposition mids, especially quick ones, get free. We do not have a plethora of big and speedy mids in our side ATM.

 

[StonesThrow]

There have been some strange reactions with respect to Gibbs and Jenkins this year both from our supporters and the media.

 

[DJ75]

Anyone else find the 'justification' of the selections a bit bewildering?

Pyke's defence of selecting Gibbs is that he has 'responded well' to being dropped. Um how exactly has he responded well? In the media he made it clear he had a firm discussion with the coach and disagreed with his dropping and the reasoning. So I'm guessing by 'responding well' he meant on ground. Only he hasn't played. So how exactly can you justify his selection? The answer is there is ZERO justification. Just another in a long line of complete stuff ups from the Crows (we have form in dropping players and then picking them again after they don't play) that indicate a clear lack of planning.

We have 100% panicked and gone back to the old MO of picking experienced players regardless of form. If Gibbs deserved to be dropped after the Brisbane game, then there is no way he deserves to be picked now. None. FFS he was dropped, we had two players pull out of the team and he still didn't get a game. Yet he's suddenly back in?? Then again, maybe he managed to avoid the TAB for a full week so is being rewarded...

 

[aabp1978]

Anyone else got a bad feeling about this game? Like the Dees have beaten us 3 out of the last 4, have some good ins, and have had a club tragedy this week. Having travelled all the way to Darwin this weekend, I cant imagine it will be like 2017 when it was the men against the boys...

 

[Tex200]

Anyone else got a bad feeling about this game? Like the Dees have beaten us 3 out of the last 4, have some good ins, and have had a club tragedy this week. Having travelled all the way to Darwin this weekend, I cant imagine it will be like 2017 when it was the men against the boys...

I think we’ll win but it’s clearly a danger game.

Specifically because they still have a very solid midfield unit that can score. I think if we’ve got the game on our terms defensively we can comfortably cover there forward lines.

However our midfield can be lazy and aren’t a great 2 way unit. If a couple of their mids get off the chain for 2-3 goals we will be in huge trouble.

Overall though - and against popular opinion, I think we’re in pretty good form given we are trying to bed down a different game plan.

 

[CrowBloke]

I gave the post a "like", good post, but I disagree with this:

The problem is you think throwing in one kid will make a difference.

Actually, no, I don't. Not one kid who would make a difference, but giving several of them a game based on SANFL form to see who impacts a game at AFL level (Jones has not, Gallucci barely imo, EH had his moments). All I said was that Blight would have given McHenry a go by now.
How will the Crows know if McHenry will cut it in the seniors (think: Doedee, who could have been tried earlier, too) without playing him?

We're clearly in a transition period where we're working through players to fit a new style, you can't change a list overnight, that takes time to fix up. And all that midfield stuff has always happened under Campo, he doesn't actually know how to set defensive system through the midfield, he just gets an extra player in. He'd rather that then actually take a proactive move like put Knight or Kelly in as a designated tagger.

Agree totally. Campo takes no chances; needed to tag Neale and one of Gaff/Shuey.

 

[CrowBloke]

AAARRRR deaneus, why'd you stick this

Delete your account.

in that thread?
Fair suggestion, btw. I can parrot on. Call it a weakness, not so much my achilles heel but akin to a wooden leg.
Still, by hook or by crook, posters who live by the sword die by the sword, ad nauseam .
Is that pun-ishment enough?