Gee some of the comments re tonights game, are pretty emotional - shouldn't post straight after the game
I was really proud of the effort the AFC put in tonight.
Fact is we wern't good enough, particularly in the bigman dept. Its twice now that we haven't been able to match-up on the likes of Reiwoldt, Kosi, Noble, Macguire,Penny, gehrig. We were able to cover some, but not all, and our lack of a FB was very evident tonight, in that Smart and Basset were never going to be able to match Gehrig. He is probably the best FF in the AFL at the moment, and we are
forced to play our oldest player on him conceding athleticism, height, and weight. Basset (although not in form) was never going to be the right matchup.
And yet this board has the audacity to can these two players for their performances!
We simply didn't have enough Bigmen options.
We need a tall strong FB, and Hentschell is not the short term answer.
We were outbodied and muscelled most of the night, yet our commitment and effort was first class
Robert Walls was absolutely correct in his call, going into the 3rd qtr, when he said "I fear for Adelaide, St Kilda have 10 players they can rotate in the midfield, Adelaide do not"
Our midfield and their disposal to forwards is woeful. Gallagher was great with his disposal coming into the forward line, but who else ?
Stenglein, FFS get him either to a HBF, or get him off the ground. I counted only 3 effective disposals for the night, and they were in open play. Put him into heavy traffic of the centre square, and his disposal skills are slow and woeful - count how many times Clarke got the ball to him, only to see a 20mtre mongral kick forward - try 100% of the time - get him out of the centre square!
Count how many turnovers he had - yet someone said he played well?
Player Comments:
Hentschell - continues to improve - stiffy your support was well warranted
Jerricho - Liked his demeanor, has a determined look on his face from when he ran onto the ground, which was great to see from a 1st gamer. Not overawed, yes took sometime to get the pace of the game - but gee he looked good.
Begley - Why was this guy overlooked in the PS. Has class, great disposal skills, and can do a wide array of jobs for the coach.
Bode - great tackling and determination, best game for a long time.
Welsh - out of form
Hudson - love him, want to adopt him. He is improving all the time, his palming has already improved substantially, as he is now getting his hands to the ball, and directing his taps. Deserves more game time.
Clarke - Great effort - tried his guts out all night.
Roo - leading from the front, inspirational - just would like to see his disposal to forwrds improve.
Macleod - After all the talk of trading him, havent seen many comments so far congratulating him on his game. A weeks a long time in football - he played a great game - hands up who still wants to trade this club icon.
Carey - Maybe fitter, but the swagger that has always been synonomous with Carey has gone, and I think he knows his time in the game is coming to an end.
In summary, beaten by a better team, with more body weight, and big man options, and midfield stregnth.
Game style considering the above was IMO fine, and the coach couldnt have taken too much of the blame for the loss.
Certainly the best we have played this year, and we are getting better.