Autopsy Crows thrash swan (don’t worry tho, this game won’t define us)

[ErrolisGoldun]

Have stayed off this site for a couple of years, but I return to give my 2 Bob at a time of need for the club.

1. I don’t think we ever truly worked through the scars of 2022 GF, history has repeated obviously, but that sh&tshow has started our recent history. Especially team selection.

2. We never got to the bottom of the (really) poor form last year, Saints, Dogs and Port. What happened, we played our way back (a little) but for mine this was the problem starting in 22 GF.

3. Playing Logan was a mistake GF24 (which is appearing to rule him out 2025) similar to Sam Reid

20

Sam Reid

Age

33

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.7

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

12.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

6.0

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

0.0

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.4

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.4

3star

in 22. These choices were connected. Logan was dropped in 22, incorrectly, to continue to play Sam Reid

20

Sam Reid

Age

33

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.7

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

12.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

6.0

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

0.0

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.4

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.4

3star

. They couldn’t force Logan to sit out 24 with his injury, which he was hampered with in an eerily similar way to Sam Reid

20

Sam Reid

Age

33

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.7

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

12.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

6.0

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

0.0

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.4

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.4

3star

. Both ineffectual, if a firmer decision was made in 22, we may not have endured so much pain.

4. Team needs a real heart to heart chat over the bye weekend. Ideally with Coxy and some of the assistants, not all. They need to air out any grievances to move forward. What we are witnessing is back to the bad old days of early 90’s, lack of effort, confidence, bond.

5. Coxy needs to back the players in any media he does. The club needs to call out the poor decisions that go against us at startling regularity in games. The players are visibly frustrated and Coxy was too honest in his acceptance of Amarteys and to a lesser extent J-Macs potential suspensions. You don’t see the best coaches throw players under the bus, even if they are in the wrong. Eg - Scott brothers seem to play this game very well, umps look after them.

6. Our normal game plan has been unidentifiable this season. This appears to have led to confusion for the players.
For the game v Tigers, it just needs to be back to the basics, about intensity, pressure, tackle pressure and no bombing long to contest (or even worse an outnumber).

7. We are wasting Blakey, he kicked 3 in a quarter when played forward (his only time). McCartin didn’t work out but the role Blakey is playing has been worked out. Free him up, get some confidence going and at least we will some pace in a key forward.

Some musings that I would like to see implemented and that would hopefully take us forward for 2026, this season is a dumpster fire but we need to regain our form and belief before we finish 2025.

 

[Nuggetz]

still dont understand why cleary was sub when he was one of our best pressure fwds.

 

[Wheresbuddy]

still dont understand why cleary was sub when he was one of our best pressure fwds.

Bit like why was Sid picked? Very average half back flanker with not much up side. At least Oli has played good games of AFL footy.

 

[Nuggetz]

Bit like why was Sid picked? Very average half back flanker with not much up side. At least Oli has played good games of AFL footy.

tbh i'm happy vfl players are getting a chance because we can't keep picking the same afl players and expect different results right now. I have no idea why sid was picked though but I say bring more on. Maybe they're worse but maybe they're better at afl level. Who knows, perfect season to find out since we'll be missing the finals anyway.

 

[Punts]

I thought he did alright

Probably get scapegoated

 

[Wheresbuddy]

tbh i'm happy vfl players are getting a chance because we can't keep picking the same afl players and expect different results right now. I have no idea why sid was picked though but I say bring more on. Maybe they're worse but maybe they're better at afl level. Who knows, perfect season to find out since we'll be missing the finals anyway.

Jack Buller?

 

[caesar88]

I thought he did alright

Probably get scapegoated

His running to cover the ground early on was really impressive. As bad as the end margin was, it could've been even worse if not for two goals Mitchell saved by pushing back to defence better than anyone else to be on the last line. Granted, was barely sighted after that. Along with 21 of his mates.

 

[bedford]

Have stayed off this site for a couple of years, but I return to give my 2 Bob at a time of need for the club.

1. I don’t think we ever truly worked through the scars of 2022 GF, history has repeated obviously, but that sh&tshow has started our recent history. Especially team selection.

2. We never got to the bottom of the (really) poor form last year, Saints, Dogs and Port. What happened, we played our way back (a little) but for mine this was the problem starting in 22 GF.

3. Playing Logan was a mistake GF24 (which is appearing to rule him out 2025) similar to Sam Reid in 22. These choices were connected. Logan was dropped in 22, incorrectly, to continue to play Sam Reid. They couldn’t force Logan to sit out 24 with his injury, which he was hampered with in an eerily similar way to Sam Reid. Both ineffectual, if a firmer decision was made in 22, we may not have endured so much pain.

4. Team needs a real heart to heart chat over the bye weekend. Ideally with Coxy and some of the assistants, not all. They need to air out any grievances to move forward. What we are witnessing is back to the bad old days of early 90’s, lack of effort, confidence, bond.

5. Coxy needs to back the players in any media he does. The club needs to call out the poor decisions that go against us at startling regularity in games. The players are visibly frustrated and Coxy was too honest in his acceptance of Amarteys and to a lesser extent J-Macs potential suspensions. You don’t see the best coaches throw players under the bus, even if they are in the wrong. Eg - Scott brothers seem to play this game very well, umps look after them.

6. Our normal game plan has been unidentifiable this season. This appears to have led to confusion for the players.
For the game v Tigers, it just needs to be back to the basics, about intensity, pressure, tackle pressure and no bombing long to contest (or even worse an outnumber).

7. We are wasting Blakey, he kicked 3 in a quarter when played forward (his only time). McCartin didn’t work out but the role Blakey is playing has been worked out. Free him up, get some confidence going and at least we will some pace in a key forward.

Some musings that I would like to see implemented and that would hopefully take us forward for 2026, this season is a dumpster fire but we need to regain our form and belief before we finish 2025.

Big effort , but nothing different

 

[bedford]

Bit like why was Sid picked? Very average half back flanker with not much up side. At least Oli has played good games of AFL footy.

HE'S a winger

 

[Wheresbuddy]

HE'S a winger

Got moved to HB in VFL this year. His heat map shows he was mainly in the defensive half but that could also be related to our inability to shift the ball out of defence.

 

[bedford]

Got moved to HB in VFL this year. His heat map shows he was mainly in the defensive half but that could also be related to our inability to shift the ball out of defence.

I think that's more like it . Give him a 4 or 5 game run at it , i think he has more upside than Chads brother

 

[Rhino5]

The Blakey thing really irks me. We are wasting him and hardly ever now putting him in a position to play to his strengths. Why not put him forward for a decent stretch? Out forwards are hopeless, he can’t do any worse (plus that’s where he started).

I’d give him some CBAs too, just to get him involved and in the game. I’m sure I recall Horse playing him as a mid once for at least part of a game and he looked awesome. Really. I’m pretty sure it happened…or maybe I just dreamt it.

 

[ErrolisGoldun]

Big effort , but nothing different

Sorry what do you mean?

 

[kelpie_X]

If the fans drop off the second we get shit, thats a bit sad

When you have to pay now to watch the game on TV, interest dwindles pretty quickly. Sad as it may be, that's the AFL.

 

[kelpie_X]

I'm trying to think of a positive or some upside to come out of tonight's came. But there's literally nothing.

The sun will rise tomorrow.

 

[kelpie_X]

We are cooked plane and simple ..
Richmond will be licking there lips

Correction. Richmond will be shitting themselves thinking they will climb the ladder and lose pick spots.

 

[Superstar swan]

Riewoldt saying our spirit is broken.

These are some serious dark days for the club. Didn’t think it could get worse from the gf…but here we are

 

[kickthething]

Got moved to HB in VFL this year. His heat map shows he was mainly in the defensive half but that could also be related to our inability to shift the ball out of defence.

Your last bit nailed that….would be interesting to put everyone’s heat map on a page……a lot will look the same I reckon.

 

[bedford]

Sorry what do you mean?

You did a lot of time on that and good on you , we all need to release atm

 

[wolftone57]

What was slip over/fall over count at the end of the game? Saw the Crows do it maybe two or three times over the whole game, but there was a Swans players slipping over every 5 minutes.
Similar to every other other week, so.....are we seriously not wearing the right footwear? I imagine most players are wearing the same thing across all clubs. Yet we fall over twice as much as anyone else. I reckon I saw less Suns and Dockers slipping over in a genuine wet slog.
What's going on? Is it another effort based thing? Just easier to go to ground than keep your feet? If it is a footwear thing why hasn't it been addressed?
What's the deal? I want answers. Why don't the journos ask this question?

The boots are not made for our game anyway. Not specifically anymore. The boots we now have were originally designed for Soccer. You have a choice of several styles but they are all Soccer boots. There is a splade fronted boot, that is meant for stopping and starting in soccer. This style is generally used on pitches that have been iced in. This is no good for our game as it can stick in the turf and at the speeds our bloke's turn cause things like knee and ankle injuries. Some players do like this boot and a friend of mine used to wear them way back. But he wasn't exactly fast lol.

Other boots are studded and are for dry weather conditions. All are synthetic studs, rubbery. They are flattened off on the bottom allowing a players to run much faster. The so called wet weather boot is not as good as the old nylon studded boot which were longer. You can still slip in this boot. I used to work in footwear and there were many more style choices way back when. Now there are choices of several brands but the boots are very similar.

I am not certain the boots don't have anything to do with the increase in PCL, ACL etc injuries. I only know this because not that long ago I wanted to have a kick with my nephew and wanted to wear a pair of boots. It was difficult to find a pair that I liked. None of the so called AFL boots were as they were when I grew up or later when I played senior footy. I asked the sales assistant why the boots were so different and he told me if you look at soccer boots, they are just the same. Several styles fit all lol.

 

[zyzzbruh]

The boots are not made for our game anyway. Not specifically anymore. The boots we now have were originally designed for Soccer. You have a choice of several styles but they are all Soccer boots. There is a splade fronted boot, that is meant for stopping and starting in soccer. This style is generally used on pitches that have been iced in. This is no good for our game as it can stick in the turf and at the speeds our bloke's turn cause things like knee and ankle injuries. Some players do like this boot and a friend of mine used to wear them way back. But he wasn't exactly fast lol.

Other boots are studded and are for dry weather conditions. All are synthetic studs, rubbery. They are flattened off on the bottom allowing a players to run much faster. The so called wet weather boot is not as good as the old nylon studded boot which were longer. You can still slip in this boot. I used to work in footwear and there were many more style choices way back when. Now there are choices of several brands but the boots are very similar.

I am not certain the boots don't have anything to do with the increase in PCL, ACL etc injuries. I only know this because not that long ago I wanted to have a kick with my nephew and wanted to wear a pair of boots. It was difficult to find a pair that I liked. None of the so called AFL boots were as they were when I grew up or later when I played senior footy. I asked the sales assistant why the boots were so different and he told me if you look at soccer boots, they are just the same. Several styles fit all lol.

I'm all over this too. Stud patterns aside, the uppers are also designed for soccer and wrap around the foot giving it a slanted surface which imo is not condusive to kicking a footy. The other thing is the synthetic material used in those boots provide less friction and can cause the ball to spray off the boot. Had a pair myself a couple of years ago and my field kicking was woeful until a switched back to the traditional kangaroo leather.

I'm surprised clubs don't put more thought into this, i feel they're completely unaware of the effects. If i was a coach i'd be strictly implementing a kangaroo leather boot only policy. Basically anything Nike or Adidas these days is terrible for our game and tbh it shits me when i see our players wearing them. I think it can have a detrimental affect on field kicking and goal kicking.

Asics Testimonials style is the way to go. Asics also have a counter that raises the heel by 3mm which aids running posture by keeping you on your toes, and it's scientifically proven to reduce the chance of injury especially ACL's.

 

[Neverwas]

I'm all over this too. Stud patterns aside, the uppers are also designed for soccer and wrap around the foot giving it a slanted surface which imo is not condusive to kicking a footy. The other thing is the synthetic material used in those boots provide less friction and can cause the ball to spray off the boot. Had a pair myself a couple of years ago and my field kicking was woeful until a switched back to the traditional kangaroo leather.

I'm surprised clubs don't put more thought into this, i feel they're completely unaware of the effects. If i was a coach i'd be strictly implementing a kangaroo leather boot only policy. Basically anything Nike or Adidas these days is terrible for our game and tbh it shits me when i see our players wearing them. I think it can have a detrimental affect on field kicking and goal kicking.

Asics Testimonials style is the way to go. Asics also have a counter that raises the heel by 3mm which aids running posture by keeping your toes, and it's scientifically proven to reduce the chance of injury especially ACL's.

Interesting point about the heels Zyzzbruh. Also , good post Wolfy. I used to spend a lot of time in the club rooms when the great Norm Smith was coaching us. One of the first things he did was make the players wear boots with raised heels. This was part of the reason for the improvement at the time.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

The sun will rise tomorrow.

Oh, great, so we’re all gonna get skin cancer

 

[strauchanie59]

I thought he did alright

Probably get scapegoated

Yep, it's guaranteed Mitchell, Ladhams and one of Cleary/Sheldrick will be dropped this week.

They are far from the issue and deserve consistent AFL minutes.

 

[kelpie_X]

Oh, great, so we’re all gonna get skin cancer

Typical Big Footy response