Face Off: Adelaide v St Kilda - Cairns

[GreyCrow]

Saturday June 12​

6.55pm ​

Cazaly Stadium - so named because its ''up there'' ​

Injury crisis: Saints may struggle to name full squad of 26

Now thats a nice headline to see on a Wednesday - though given our record Saints win this easy as we tend to relax playing sides we should beat

The Record

45 games for 28 wins 16 losses and 1 draw



Of course the most famous win is the 1997 GF



Recent games against St Kilda have been mostly Adelaide - St Kilda defeated Adelaide in 2020 at AO by 23 points . Prior to that the AFC had defeated St Kilda 10 times going back to round 12 2012

The Teams

Adelaide should get Berry back from concussion protocol . Walker is no longer a doubt and Brown wont be selected. Meaning O'Connor and McPherson might miss . Sholl looks like he needs a break but I feel the club want him to ''push through'' so I can see him play up to the bye

Its hard to predict what team St Kilda will bring or who to match up on - this may mean Murray misses or plays - its just that difficult

Brad Crouch

I know there are fans of Brad and there are not. Brad reminds me of Cousins a bit in that he gets a lot of ball for very little impact - and yes there will be days - like Ben - where he will. But it seems too varied for me

Brad is in the top 10 for tackles and top 20 for handballs.

38 disposals last week v Swans but 320 metres gained - less than 9m per disposal .

Brad is averaging 25.9 disposals per game .

But whatever your position on Brad all eyes will be on him this week.

Game Day Tactics

Its quite difficult to formulate any real analysis because of the lack of knowledge over who will play for St Kilda. But the one thing I would do is give our future mids more ToG and centre bounces. If we are rebuilding - and most signs point to this - then this is a good game to up the ante and ''play the kids'' in meaningful positions for longer

There are varied reasons and some will say we shouldnt disrespect St Kilda but I dont see it that way. They are in our area of the ladder and a win for Adelaide playing the senior players in the midfield wont mean much - but a win playing the future will help establish a greater belief.



St Kilda Ins and Outs

Speaking of playing the kids this is the Saints injury list

Jake Carlisle	Back	Season
Leo Connolly	Shin	1-2 weeks
James Frawley	Shoulder	Test
Jarryn Geary	Shoulder	TBC
Jade Gresham	Achilles	Season
Dan Hannebery	Calf	TBC
Zak Jones	Quad	3-4 weeks
Darragh Joyce	Concussion	Test
Dean Kent	Concussion	TBC
Rowan Marshall	Foot	2-3 weeks
Daniel McKenzie	Calf	1-2 weeks
Shaun McKernan	Toe	1-2 weeks
Ben Paton	Broken leg	Season
Mason Wood	Hamstring	Test

The Saints will wait several days before coming to the determination on Geary's shoulder that may require surgery. King will be assessed after re-aggravating a back injury during the half-time warm-up against Sydney. Wood injured his hamstring against the Swans but hasn't yet been ruled out to face the Crows, while Frawley and Joyce also face tests this week. Marshall, Connolly, Jones, McKenzie and McKernan will all be out until at least after the round 14 bye. Seb Ross and Tim Membrey also departed the travelling party on Monday and have returned home to Victoria to be with their families. -

Win/Loss

As noted Adelaide tend to bring themselves up for games against top sides and struggle against teams they are even with or expected to beat. Given the above injury list a lot of players would be feeling very complacent about this match.

Being in Cairns this may be an upset game as the AFC choose this week to relax in the warm Cairns weather after a chilly start here in Adelaide

Outcome

I am still tipping Adelaide and by 24+

 

[1990crow]

It will take some genius coaching by Nicks to lose this one.
I'm thinking Doedee and Kelly as the key defenders.
Mackay as inside mid.
Chayce Jones to half forward.
O'Brien to start kicking inside fifty.

 

[BRL121]

I'm waiting to see whether Nicks will do a Sando and start complaining that the high temperatures in Cairns will take too much out of our players.

 

[RoweyThePainter]

We had no right to lose to Collingwood but somehow we did. So I can definitely see us losing this one.

It will be decided by who can sink their set shots and both teams had absolute mares last week.

It's a very difficult game to get excited about ... playing the uninspiring St Kilda of all teams in the AFL mecca of Cairns of all places. The week before the bye and we really can't decide if it's better to win or lose. Yay.

 

[radzyb]

Saturday June 12​

6.55pm ​

Cazaly Stadium - so named because its ''up there'' ​

Injury crisis: Saints may struggle to name full squad of 26

Now thats a nice headline to see on a Wednesday - though given our record Saints win this easy as we tend to relax playing sides we should beat

The Record

45 games for 28 wins 16 losses and 1 draw



Of course the most famous win is the 1997 GF



Recent games against St Kilda have been mostly Adelaide - St Kilda defeated Adelaide in 2020 at AO by 23 points . Prior to that the AFC had defeated St Kilda 10 times going back to round 12 2012

The Teams

Adelaide should get Berry back from concussion protocol . Walker is no longer a doubt and Brown wont be selected. Meaning O'Connor and McPherson might miss . Sholl looks like he needs a break but I feel the club want him to ''push through'' so I can see him play up to the bye

Its hard to predict what team St Kilda will bring or who to match up on - this may mean Murray misses or plays - its just that difficult

Brad Crouch

I know there are fans of Brad and there are not. Brad reminds me of Cousins a bit in that he gets a lot of ball for very little impact - and yes there will be days - like Ben - where he will. But it seems too varied for me

Brad is in the top 10 for tackles and top 20 for handballs.

38 disposals last week v Swans but 320 metres gained - less than 9m per disposal .

Brad is averaging 25.9 disposals per game .

But whatever your position on Brad all eyes will be on him this week.

Game Day Tactics

Its quite difficult to formulate any real analysis because of the lack of knowledge over who will play for St Kilda. But the one thing I would do is give our future mids more ToG and centre bounces. If we are rebuilding - and most signs point to this - then this is a good game to up the ante and ''play the kids'' in meaningful positions for longer

There are varied reasons and some will say we shouldnt disrespect St Kilda but I dont see it that way. They are in our area of the ladder and a win for Adelaide playing the senior players in the midfield wont mean much - but a win playing the future will help establish a greater belief.

View attachment 1151023

St Kilda Ins and Outs

Speaking of playing the kids this is the Saints injury list

Jake Carlisle	Back	Season
Leo Connolly	Shin	1-2 weeks
James Frawley	Shoulder	Test
Jarryn Geary	Shoulder	TBC
Jade Gresham	Achilles	Season
Dan Hannebery	Calf	TBC
Zak Jones	Quad	3-4 weeks
Darragh Joyce	Concussion	Test
Dean Kent	Concussion	TBC
Rowan Marshall	Foot	2-3 weeks
Daniel McKenzie	Calf	1-2 weeks
Shaun McKernan	Toe	1-2 weeks
Ben Paton	Broken leg	Season
Mason Wood	Hamstring	Test

The Saints will wait several days before coming to the determination on Geary's shoulder that may require surgery. King will be assessed after re-aggravating a back injury during the half-time warm-up against Sydney. Wood injured his hamstring against the Swans but hasn't yet been ruled out to face the Crows, while Frawley and Joyce also face tests this week. Marshall, Connolly, Jones, McKenzie and McKernan will all be out until at least after the round 14 bye. Seb Ross and Tim Membrey also departed the travelling party on Monday and have returned home to Victoria to be with their families. -

Win/Loss

As noted Adelaide tend to bring themselves up for games against top sides and struggle against teams they are even with or expected to beat. Given the above injury list a lot of players would be feeling very complacent about this match.

Being in Cairns this may be an upset game as the AFC choose this week to relax in the warm Cairns weather after a chilly start here in Adelaide

Outcome

I am still tipping Adelaide and by 24+

Cousins was 50x the player Crouch is

 

[Scorpus]

A true spudbuster

I'm thinking something awful like a 6.15 to 5.18 scoreline, both teams woeful with ball handling in Cairns and the unfamiliar stadium

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Will it be dewy?

 

[Vhaluus]

going along to this game, will be the first time I get to see the Crows in person in many years.

Might not be a blockbuster but I'm excited.

 

[Vhaluus]

Cousins was 50x the player Crouch is

With 50x the drugs too

 

[RoweyThePainter]

Will it be dewy?

No, it's ratts.



Sorry.

 

[Apsaalooke]

No, it's ratts.



Sorry.

Nix to that

 

[Go the Guts]

Cousins was 50x the player Crouch is

Took 50 x the amount of drugs too. Which is saying something.

With 50x the drugs too

Touche'

 

[Go the Guts]

Will it be dewy?

Never been to Cairns obviously. No.

 

[Deaneus!]

This could be horrendous to watch, but at least we have the bye afterwards '

 

[moogerfooger]

This could be horrendous to watch, but at least we have the bye afterwards '

Odds are good the bye will be more entertaining.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

We haven't done very well in the games we're expected to win so far.

Even the wins over Gold Coast and North Melbourne were pretty unimpressive. Felt we played better in losses against West Coast and Richmond.

Would be a good mental hurdle for us to overcome if we can put the beleaguered Saints away.

 

[arrowman]

We haven't done very well in the games we're expected to win so far.

Even the wins over Gold Coast and North Melbourne were pretty unimpressive. Felt we played better in losses against West Coast and Richmond.

Would be a good mental hurdle for us to overcome if we can put the beleaguered Saints away.

Yes, our best football has probably been played against Geelong, Melb, WCE and Richmond. Produce that against the Saints and we should massacre them. That's something we haven't done yet.

 

[RoweyThePainter]

Yes, our best football has probably been played against Geelong, Melb, WCE and Richmond. Produce that against the Saints and we should massacre them. That's something we haven't done yet.

Wont happen, both teams will drag the other down. I expect an error ridden crap fest.

Hope I am wrong but I think it's unlikely in 2 years we will be saying "remember that cracking match vs StK in Cairns?!"

 

[PCORF]

We know who is more excited about this game = Brad Crouch. He'll be absolutely pumped for sure, the rest of his teammates not sure.

I am not expecting a pretty game, but then again both teams could surprise and kick straight but it is more likely someone will kick terribly. St Kilda favorites.

 

[PCORF]

This could be horrendous to watch, but at least we have the bye afterwards '

And hopefully our game vs Carlton after the bye gets moved to AO (still a Carlton home game).

 

[Deaneus!]

And hopefully our game vs Carlton after the bye gets moved to AO (still a Carlton home game).

 

[lamby]

FFS. Dropped 14 possession Sholl - best kick, young kid. Kept 10 possession MacKay - 30+ no future.

Really? What possible logic can make that happen.

He is not injured because he is named as emergency

 

[Stephen2]

People reckoned Sholl needed a rest, and I personally agree. This week + bye rest will be good for him. Great to see Worrell debut

RE: Mackay surviving, I think it's separate discussion to Sholl, personally, and would have done Mackay vs ROC comparison instead. I think ROC was awful, but would have given him this game anyway, because that would be way more valuable than Bran Nue getting another. Sigh.

 

[GreyCrow]

Welcome Josh Worrell

Enjoy the game and get in amongst it

 

[Johnny Rutten]

Despite injuries, Saints still a much more experienced team (only 3 sub-25 game players picked, compared to our 10). Anyone thinking we will walk over an injury-riddled team is just kidding themselves. They still have enough talent/experience to win, but hopefully we can get the job done.

Not sure if this has been mentioned here, but we are the only team to not have won 3 quarters in a match this year. A pretty solid indication that we fail to maintain game standards across 120 minutes. A symptom of the inexperience in our team.