NC coaching in the showdown - thoughts?

[ok.crows]

I thought NC had by far the better of the caoching today.

I thought his answers at the press conference were spot on as well.

 

[JohnK]

I thought NC had by far the better of the caoching today.

I thought his answers at the press conference were spot on as well.

Yes... yes... but say why.

I thought Craig outcoached Williams because he allowed Williams to put his best players on Adelaide strengths and threw the hard tasks onto Adelaide's lesser lights. And how well they perfromed... Mattner and Reilly, for example.

Craig also threw out a few blinds... starting Johncock in attack... later switching back to defence. Realising that Riccuito should stay on the ground and sending him to full forward, rather than the bench for a breather.

William's coaching was faith-based, hoping and praying that his known winners would turn the game around eventually. They never did. Big questions now about Francou and Primus. Francou is not delivering in the midfield. Where else can he play? At the press conference, Williams said that he could play forward. That's wrong. Francou needs to keep moving in the same direction. He's lost his ability to turn on a five cent piece. That means the half back line or possibly a defensive winger. As for Primus, what exactly is his role at the moment? How long can Port carry their captain? Round five?

 

[Arsene Wenger]

The big fella is under pressure... One ruckman must go next week - If Chocco has balls id say Primus is under the kosh..

NC did not really coach extraordinarily today but he showed faith and took risks unlike Chocco so i spose that is good and he clearly defeated mark in that area..

 

[outback jack]

none are particularly good match day coaches. NC's test will be next wk, against roos, he is a good match day coach, and NC's attack at all costs policy will not win. Good to see how he improves from last yr. He had a big win the game b4 he went up last time too, and were very poor that game.

 

[Cove Cobra]

none are particularly good match day coaches. NC's test will be next wk, against roos, he is a good match day coach, and NC's attack at all costs policy will not win. Good to see how he improves from last yr. He had a big win the game b4 he went up last time too, and were very poor that game.

Ummm . . . we play Sydney

Craigs match-day coaching was first class IMO. Loved the forward line zone from the kick-ins, choked the life out of the Power backline run.

The midfield pressure was fantastic and the clearing of the ball at the stoppages was the best I've seen for 3 years.

Our backline was fantastic all day; although they didn't have much work to do in the second half! Ken McGregor- stand up! Our next Captain IMO - top onfield leader.

Yep, we grabbed the 4 points but we take something more important out of this game - BELIEF. The second-teir brigade of Reilly, Johncock, Hentchel, Doughty, Mattner, Shirley and Co. showed that they have what it takes to mix it with the best.

Self belief, confidence. I am a firm believer of the 80% mental 20% physical rule.

 

[Still Crowing]

Ummm . . . we play Sydney

<snipped>

I'm not going to stick the boot in for your blonde moment, but "Who coaches Sydney? First Name: Paul.......

 

[ok.crows]

Self belief, confidence.

It is good to see it back. I haven't seen it at the Crows since we lost it early in 1999.

This is why NC is doing a fair job as a coach.

He has begun to bring the BELIEF back.

 

[relapse]

We just didnt allow them to create any space and we are finally attacking down the middle Halla**ckinluya. I think Port werent switched on at the start and to our credit we didnt give them anything to allow them an opportunity after our fantastic start to turn the game as they have done many times before. We crowded Tredrea and put him under some pressure (finally!!) caused him to miss two kickable goals

From what I have heard many of Adelaide's match ups and tactics are coming from Noble. I heard that this is why he was headhunted by the AFC he isnt the most motivational speaker, but his tactical knowledge is superb.

We all know that Rome wasnt built in a day and this certainly wont dictate how the crows will play all year, but it is a sign that the club can and hopefully will play some tough passionate football which is what we all want to see. Could some of us (myself included) be getting prepared down the track to eat some humble pie ???

 

[noddy]

Well during the 2nd quarter when young Skipworth made a very soft attempt to mark & continued to look all at sea there after i was fuming that Craigy benched the Roo & continued playing Skippy in the mid-field.

At the after match press conference Craig sort of explained why & that was to keep showing faith in our 2nd tier mid-fielders when the heat is on or otherwise our future will be very bleak in a few years time.

So well done Neil & that was just another plus in my opinion in your coaching philosophy & vision for our future.

 

[noddy]

The big fella is under pressure... One ruckman must go next week - If Chocco has balls id say Primus is under the kosh..

NC did not really coach extraordinarily today but he showed faith and took risks unlike Chocco so i spose that is good and he clearly defeated mark in that area..

Having 3 top class ruckman in the 22 can have a negative effect on your team structure when up against a fast hard tackling side like who we put on show yesterday.

Brogan had no effect on the game what so ever & he must be wondering just what has happened to him.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

I absolutely loved the style of play the "team" played. If we play like that and loose games, I would be happy cause it will come with time that style will win more than we loose in the future.

My only negative about his coaching yesterday was taking Roo off and not having him in the forward lines. But he learnt his lesson and played him there in the second stanza.

Well done and OH what a feeling. Enjoy the moment but back to reality tomorrow.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

Having 3 top class ruckman in the 22 can have a negative effect on your team structure when up against a fast hard tackling side like who we put on show yesterday.

Brogan had no effect on the game what so ever & he must be wondering just what has happened to him.

Watching him yesterday he was sent into defence once the ball was bounced and was just at sea there.

By the way who was playing Ugly Football yesterday Chocco?

 

[drakeyv2]

He was on the front foot all week, made courages decisions at selection, & had them played great attacking footy.

Well done Neil Craig. Lots of gold stars on the report card for this one.

 

[- PC -]

I absolutely loved the style of play the "team" played. If we play like that and loose games, I would be happy cause it will come with time that style will win more than we loose in the future.

Couldnt agree more...but NC doesnt..in his interview before the WC game he intimated that there would be different approaches to different teams. So lets hope the players dont become schizophrenic

My only negative about his coaching yesterday was taking Roo off and not having him in the forward lines. But he learnt his lesson and played him there in the second stanza.

That seemed a pre determined arrangement and one Dermott Brereton knew about. In the 1st quarter he said 9 minute matk as if he knew that would be the time...same in the second was with 10 minutes to go


The only comment I will make is How good were we allowed to be?

 

[arrowman]

...The only comment I will make is How good were we allowed to be?

Fair question to ask, I don't think any team wins by 11 goals without some help from the opposition. On the other hand, whatever mistakes Port were making, on the field and in the coaching box, were only because of, or exacerbated by, the way the Crows played. Pressure, of course, of course, being the key word.

Yes, we were "allowed to be good" to some extent. But we made most of the 68 point margin by ourselves.

 

[captain ebert]

As for Primus, what exactly is his role at the moment? How long can Port carry their captain? Round five?

yes, some of us are wondering.

 

[Mong]

NC's attack at all costs policy will not win.

It's funny that Neil Craig's critics either claim he it too attacking and has no defensive side to his game plan, or he is criticised for being too defensive resulting in ugly low scoring games.

So which is it? The critics can't even seem to agree. One week it's this, the next week it's that. Is it possible that he is somewhere in between, or even adaptable to both styles?

I certainly see accountabilty in our style even if we're sometimes not good enough to execute well enough or stop good opposition attacks. I also see good attacking intentions in our style. But again, we are not always good enough to execute as well as we'd like.

But I like the style that Neil Craig is trying to implement. It won't always look as good as it did against Port, but the improvement, while very gradual, is noticable. Players are looking to the middle, they are going long, the forward line is often very open. As we get better players into our list this system will work ok.

 

[blighty]

It's funny that Neil Craig's critics either claim he it too attacking and has no defensive side to his game plan, or he is criticised for being too defensive resulting in ugly low scoring games.

So which is it? The critics can't even seem to agree. One week it's this, the next week it's that. Is it possible that he is somewhere in between, or even adaptable to both styles?

I certainly see accountabilty in our style even if we're sometimes not good enough to execute well enough or stop good opposition attacks. I also see good attacking intentions in our style. But again, we are not always good enough to execute as well as we'd like.

But I like the style that Neil Craig is trying to implement. It won't always look as good as it did against Port, but the improvement, while very gradual, is noticable. Players are looking to the middle, they are going long, the forward line is often very open. As we get better players into our list this system will work ok.

I'm actually waiting for the day we have a couple of class key forwards to see what they do with some of the longer kicks coming in....

Overall well argued case....agree completely...!
Does Craig still have critics amongst AFC supporters???

 

[outback jack]

Ummm . . . we play Sydney

yes if you are going to use sarcasm it is better to make sure you're right

Craigs match-day coaching was first class IMO. Loved the forward line zone from the kick-ins, choked the life out of the Power backline run.

The midfield pressure was fantastic and the clearing of the ball at the stoppages was the best I've seen for 3 years.

Our backline was fantastic all day; although they didn't have much work to do in the second half! Ken McGregor- stand up! Our next Captain IMO - top onfield leader.

Yep, we grabbed the 4 points but we take something more important out of this game - BELIEF. The second-teir brigade of Reilly, Johncock, Hentchel, Doughty, Mattner, Shirley and Co. showed that they have what it takes to mix it with the best.

Self belief, confidence. I am a firm believer of the 80% mental 20% physical rule.

the things you have mentioned like the forward zone, midfield and backline pressure isnt match day coaching. These would have been practiced and worked out much earlier. Great match day coaching is something the legendary coaches have, usually to change momentum in crunch games, like MB did so often. NC is still to display this, the port game was just a rout basically.

 

[outback jack]

It's funny that Neil Craig's critics either claim he it too attacking and has no defensive side to his game plan, or he is criticised for being too defensive resulting in ugly low scoring games.

So which is it? The critics can't even seem to agree. One week it's this, the next week it's that. Is it possible that he is somewhere in between, or even adaptable to both styles?

I certainly see accountabilty in our style even if we're sometimes not good enough to execute well enough or stop good opposition attacks. I also see good attacking intentions in our style. But again, we are not always good enough to execute as well as we'd like.

But I like the style that Neil Craig is trying to implement. It won't always look as good as it did against Port, but the improvement, while very gradual, is noticable. Players are looking to the middle, they are going long, the forward line is often very open. As we get better players into our list this system will work ok.

who are these critics you talking about, the opposition coaches? of course they are going to complain. I have encouraged the flood all the winning teams do it, and we did have players like Torney often dropping back against tredders, so it is still in action.

roos will make NC think at least, i dont think MW did this at all. He'll drag the HBF's back like reilly and co, and will slow the game to suite them. Much better coach than MW, thats all. He wouldnt have allowed that to happen if he was coaching port. NC had a big win against melbourne last yr i think, playing a very similar style, very attacking, but then went up to sydney and we didn’t even look like winning. It is amazing after one game that all of a sudden we seem to think that those problems we have, are all somehow magically fixed. Still will be a tough yr.

 

[Stiffy_18]

He was on the front foot all week, made courages decisions at selection, & had them played great attacking footy.

Well done Neil Craig. Lots of gold stars on the report card for this one.

Well said.

He made some tough calls at selection table. He came up with a plan and structure that can expose Port's weaknesses and play to our strengths. He then started played in different positions than they would normally start in. He made moves on time rather than waiting to see what happens.

One of his very best coaching displays both in preparation and match day coaching.

 

[macca23]

Well said.

He made some tough calls at selection table. He came up with a plan and structure that can expose Port's weaknesses and play to our strengths. He then started played in different positions than they would normally start in. He made moves on time rather than waiting to see what happens.

One of his very best coaching displays both in preparation and match day coaching.

I gave him 9/10 this week Stiffy. Pre-match preparation and planning was excellent.

A slight demerit point for taking Roo off the ground in the 2nd quarter rather than putting him in the forward pocket for a breather; Port got 3 goals in that 10 minutes.

He's starting to win me around.

 

[DaveW]

He made some tough calls at selection table.

Weren't all our changes forced?

 

[Stiffy_18]

Weren't all our changes forced?

Mark Stevens wasn't. He was dropped. NC could have easily shown faith in him. He also brought in Torney after he missed 5-6 week a fractured vertabrae. I thought both of those calls needed some courage.

 

[DaveW]

Ah yes, Stevens. Well he was forced because his form was so bad.

Fair point on Torney.