Preview R14: Changes vs. Hawthorn Hawks

[AFC979810]

What I'd love to know and what didn't happen in the Port or Brisbane game is what would we have done had the opposition hit the lead despite our defensive midset in the final term?

What happens if Neale or Bailey kick their gimmies? Rozee or Georgiades kick their chances in the last? Plenty of time left in both of those games to do something.

We're down, so we're forced to change our game plan, after already needlessly changing it midway through a quarter. Do we revert to what we were doing that worked so well in the first place? If so, why change it at all?

I both hope and don't hope we get to find out

Then we go offense. Like we did at the beginning of the 4th against Brisbane.

Our issue is our coaching staff is extremely reactive - not proactive.

 

[Coopers]

He is still a woefully defensive coach. Here are his 3 years post 6-6-6. This is what a defensive coach looks like.

2025 - 12th most points for sitting 12th on ladder.
2024 - 15th most points for 15th on ladder
2023 - 15th most points for 6th on ladder.

To be fair, that might just be their very best offence

 

[Scorpus]

How can you argue a point when you can't even keep a consistent point.

Truly woeful.

All three are consistent.

It's correct to say we are defensive. And it's correct to say we are offensive. Both are true.

Coming in here and getting upset that people are saying we are defensive is pretty silly when statistically we are a very strong defensive side. Especially when you have spent so much time showing very similar stat rankings for how offensive we are.

Your own rankings that you are using to prove we are offensive, and not defensive, don't show any strong bias towards offense.

Drugs made the point that he thinks we aren't a defensive side overall. I said if I had to make an overall call (so instead of saying we are balanced) that the way our game is played makes us defensive by nature.

Tell me more though how you have continuously called Nicks and Sloane idiots for the past 3 years but now think they are geniuses because they said we were defensive despite the fact we are the #1 scoring team.

Yeah - and he is an idiot. The amount of shit Nicks has said that has been bullshit and you have called out is amazing. Now you take his word for it? So Nicks only makes sense when you agree with it?

Most coaches are defensively minded first and foremost. It's not exactly some crazy opinion to say a coach that has the best offense comes from a background rooted in defensive philosophy.

Go ahead and say you dont care and you quit. But the fact we are the F**** #1 scoring side in 2/3 years says we are not defensive. No universe does this scenario exist. You can't be the highest scoring team and be a defensive coach - it doesn't make sense.

Stop - you haven't. You pedantically questioned the Inside 50's* (I responded) then went quiet.

The fundamental question remains - how can the #1 scoring team in 2023/2025 be led by a defensive coach?

Thats the biggest thing. When two people you constantly bag say the Crows are defensively minded, then the data says the are the #1 scoring team in the league - how the hell do you support that?

Saying how can the #1 scoring team in the league be led by a defensive coach is the same as saying how can the #2 defensive team be led by an offensive coach

How does it make sense that a coach conceding the second fewest goals in the league is "offensive"?

To make that argument either way you have to completely ignore the other side of the equation which is exactly what you have done.

Nicks can be a defensively minded coach that happens to have achieved the strongest offense as well. That's not the impossible, nonsensical reality you propose. If you defend extremely well, stop the opposition from scoring and win the ball back, you're going to have to do something with the ball you win. As it turns out Nicks has found a way to very effectively score from our intercepts and the turnovers we create.

Ross Lyon decided to move the ball slowly and create rolling mauls. Nicks has decided to go fast and cut up the opposition on the counter.

The question of course is whether Nicks actually is defensively minded and whether the above is true. He could be an offensively minded coach that by chance of working on offense has created a system that is extremely effective at winning the ball back in the defensive half, despite conceding clearance. Maybe that was his plan all along.

Is there any strong evidence one way or the other outside of Nicks opinions of himself, which you think are bullshit anyway? Not really. He happens to be good at both things.

I would say Nicks has spent most of his six years coaching working on defensive systems and it's fair based on that to call him largely defensively minded. But over the last few years he has been trying to develop his offensive side. It didn't work in 2023 the way he wanted, causing us to lose our defensive focus. He overcorrected in 2024 and stripped back the offense, and now in 2025 he has developed a more effective offense that hasn't sacrificed defence. Fundamentally I don't think Nicks wants the blowout high scoring victories that a purely offensive coach would create.

 

[Betts are off]

Any chance we send Keays to Weddle this week? Despite him being 191cms he's arguable their best rebounder and Benny seems to thrive on those types of over aggressive rebounding defenders who can't go 2 ways with him.

He did the same job on the Lizard a few weeks ago whose 195cms.

 

[CrowBloke]

game likely to be played in near zero temps. Who is the intellectual giant at the AFL who decided that playing a night game in winter in Launceston in freezing temps would be a good idea. It beggars belief.

Same f-wit who scheduled us for the Suns in early April heat, then gave us a full FIVE days before we played Geelong.

 

[Slim258]

What I'd love to know and what didn't happen in the Port or Brisbane game is what would we have done had the opposition hit the lead despite our defensive midset in the final term?

What happens if Neale or Bailey kick their gimmies? Rozee or Georgiades kick their chances in the last? Plenty of time left in both of those games to do something.

We're down, so we're forced to change our game plan, after already needlessly changing it midway through a quarter. Do we revert to what we were doing that worked so well in the first place? If so, why change it at all?

I both hope and don't hope we get to find out

One thing that annoys me is that, we do the same thing over and over again out of defense, Long and High to a big pack to the right of the ground, very predictable and every club knows we do it, because we have been doing it for years. What I can't understand is why we don't throw in, maybe a couple of times a game, is let Curtin or Dawson, Keays even, start at the righthand side of the ground and just b-line to the left of the ground and we kick it to their advantage, back in their marking ability and/or speed to get onto it and just get to the other end of the ground.
Do it enough for other teams to be mindful of it and then change their structures rather than just send everyone to the right like they already do and clog the space.

 

[Scorpus]

Same f-wit who scheduled us for the Suns in early April heat, then gave us a full FIVE days before we played Geelong.

Apparently the typical minimum June temperatures in Launceston are only 3 degrees colder than Melbourne

 

[Samcro24]

Apparently the typical minimum June temperatures in Launceston are only 3 degrees colder than Melbourne

13/4 there Friday
17/8 here

 

[footy4ever]

Apparently the typical minimum June temperatures in Launceston are only 3 degrees colder than Melbourne

Much rather a 12 degree day than a 9 degree day however. That's around my tolerance zone where 3 degrees is a very noticeable difference. However temps 7-4, 5-2, 3-0... don't think it matters. That shit'll freeze your nuts off regardless and you won't notice any real difference.

game likely to be played in near zero temps. Who is the intellectual giant at the AFL who decided that playing a night game in winter in Launceston in freezing temps would be a good idea. It beggars belief.

I'd be long-sleeving it.

Actually, I'd be faking a hammy.

 

[footy4ever]

Just on selection, are Friday's teams named on Wednesday?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Anyone?

 

[ams4crows]

Just on selection, are Friday's teams named on Wednesday?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Anyone?

No only Thursday game teams get named tonight.

 

[BRL121]

Any chance we send Keays to Weddle this week? Despite him being 191cms he's arguable their best rebounder and Benny seems to thrive on those types of over aggressive rebounding defenders who can't go 2 ways with him.

He did the same job on the Lizard a few weeks ago whose 195cms.

He is their best player and must be neutered, but I don't know that Keays is the correct choice for him.

We must also make sure that Chol doesn't have a freak game like last week, but that should be less of a problem.

In the midfield, we need to suppress Newcombe. Soligo or even Berry could take care of him.

 

[BRL121]

One thing that annoys me is that, we do the same thing over and over again out of defense, Long and High to a big pack to the right of the ground, very predictable and every club knows we do it, because we have been doing it for years. What I can't understand is why we don't throw in, maybe a couple of times a game, is let Curtin or Dawson, Keays even, start at the righthand side of the ground and just b-line to the left of the ground and we kick it to their advantage, back in their marking ability and/or speed to get onto it and just get to the other end of the ground.
Do it enough for other teams to be mindful of it and then change their structures rather than just send everyone to the right like they already do and clog the space.

What we could do is develop and use a few straight down the middle set-play team strategies from our first kickout. A couple of other teams are doing this stuff.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

How are the other clubs scoring with high picks in their forward line ?

Carlton have a couple of Coleman medallist’s , can’t get more firepower up forward than that

Carlton don't have much up forward outside their 2 Coleman medallists.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

What metric?

Average points for & against.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Being the best at ball movement or the fastest is different to being offensive/defensive

Didn't our defensive pressure rating go through the roof when we were under the pump against the Lions late in the game. Kept us in it & forced them to have shot mostly from where it was difficult to score with the wind.

Believe we have a very good pressure rating this year..

Also, I think we are the highest scoring team from defensive transition... so our defence has been holding up very well for the most part.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

He is their best player and must be neutered, but I don't know that Keays is the correct choice for him.

We must also make sure that Chol doesn't have a freak game like last week, but that should be less of a problem.

In the midfield, we need to suppress Newcombe. Soligo or even Berry could take care of him.

If Fog or Tex are out, could we send Max to Weddle.

Then bring in Bond to play on the Wizard.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

What we could do is develop and use a few straight down the middle set-play team strategies from our first kickout. A couple of other teams are doing this stuff.

We have done a few times earlier in the season too.

 

[MRB37]

What we could do is develop and use a few straight down the middle set-play team strategies from our first kickout. A couple of other teams are doing this stuff.

The last goal Rash scored was from us going straight down the guts from the kick-out and outnumbering Brisbane in our forward half. There was zero chance they'd try that again when we were up by less than a goal though since if he didn't win it in that area of the ground it's zipping right back into 50 in dangerous area.

 

[BRL121]

The last goal Rash scored was from us going straight down the guts from the kick-out and outnumbering Brisbane in our forward half. There was zero chance they'd try that again when we were up by less than a goal though since if he didn't win it in that area of the ground it's zipping right back into 50 in dangerous area.

That wasn't a set play. I'm talking about the pre-planned set play, with buy-in from all players, from the first kickout specifically, when there's some chance that they have remembered it.

 

[1990crow]

game likely to be played in near zero temps. Who is the intellectual giant at the AFL who decided that playing a night game in winter in Launceston in freezing temps would be a good idea. It beggars belief.

Recipe for soft tissue injuries. Everyone to wear long sleeves.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Zero degrees... yikes.

Who here was a long-sleeve wearer when they played?

 

[SellarStardom]

Come on people you just know it's Murphy for Peatling, Nicks his dying to get him back in. Could have Jones who would actually play a midfield role or Edwards with Hinge into the middle, but he'll go to his warm fuzzy blanket of Murphy

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

Didnt feel like working so i scraped goalkickers > 40 each year going back to 2000.

For anyone interested, 4 players with 40+ goals in a season from a club has been done 4 times since 2000. Never 5.
Port 2001
Hawthorn 2013, 2015
Adelaide 2016

does that include finals?

 

[Coopers]

So the last of the 3x big tests in a row.

This will be tough. A game in Tassie, having had Kornes just call us out for ducking vs one of the darlings of the AFL.

Need to be 5 goals better than them to win this.

Zero degrees... yikes.

Who here was a long-sleeve wearer when they played?

Google says 7 degrees around that time of night?