Autopsy Round 18: Liked, Hated, Learnt

[Stazza71]

No even close IMO

Dees are no chance at all

 

[Crow_Magnon]

Liked:

The Richmond GWS game, a hard scrap which made up for the lack of skill (the rain bought it down) with spite and hardness...and Nanks goal.
BT's commentary of Adelaide/Geelong in the first quarter: "LOOK AT ADELAIDE!" in that dogfight on the Members wing.
Brisbane have some serious talent, they destroyed Carlton in the first half.

Learned:
Some teams have another gear which can be engaged in big finals, some don't. One of those teams is Sydney, look out top 4.
West Coast have a massive, massive issue which is starting to trickle west as well. Been getting progressively worse since the 2015 Grand Final.

Hated:

Some really stupid umpiring, what did Richmond vs GWS have? Like 20 frees in the first quarter alone? Just let it go you bunch of self absorbed oxygen thieves.
Sydney vs St Kilda and Freo vs Hawthorn on a Saturday night. When have they ever had good games together?

Surely that should be in the 'Hated' section. The word 'like' and initials 'BT' should never be in the same sentence!

 

[TigermanM2]

Liked - Melbourne. I thought we did very well to absorb the pressure when Port came back. A Melbourne side of 3 years ago would've lost that. Looking every bit the finals side. Huge 5 weeks to go, so must maintain intensity. Starts again with a bogey team in North this week.

Richmond. Good on them. Top 4. I hope they give the flag a good shake this year. If we don't make it, it'd be good to see the Tigers get there.

Learnt - Sydney are serious premiership challengers. Look across every position on the ground, no weaknesses. Callum Sinclair looks to have ended Kurt Tippetts season and maybe swans career. He looks a good foil for buddy.

Adelaide will be top 2. Along with Sydney they're the two best sides in it.

Hated - Not much really.

Time we both played finals together. Do you know the last time Demons and Tigers did that? 1941.

 

[davos44]

Surely that should be in the 'Hated' section. The word 'like' and initials 'BT' should never be in the same sentence!

I like BT. I am sorry but I do. Its like people who enjoy Adam Sandler movies.

 

[JVseven]

Dees are no chance at all

We're a chance. Collingwood are 'no chance'

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

no problem with that. Although I think the crows will end their winning run as they certainly have the tools to dismantle Sydney

Serious question, because I haven't had the chance to see any Crows games this year. In what way have the Crows changed from the team that Sydney dismantled in the final last year? That game was over by Quarter Time. Have you changed that much?

 

[carnthedons]

Liked: winning ugly

Learnt: we can win ugly

Hated: playing terribly
Massive overreaction to the Hooker/Neilson situation

 

[NathanMX]

Learnt
- Adelaide is in the box seat to make the Grand Final who will join them is still a mystery
- Was a bit sad the way a 12 gamer dismantled a superstar Nick its time to hang up the boots
- Eagles rival Port as the biggest flat trackers in the league.

Will you say this the next time Lance Franklin has a bad game too?

Nick dismantled Alex Rance two weeks ago, now all of a sudden he is done? Good one. You know, the same Alex Rance who makes Buddy his bitch

 

[Kerleys Ghost]

Sydney still have to head to Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne to face the resurgent Hawks..tough call to label then flag favorites at this stage

You and I should be very worried about Sydney.

Flag favourites for me.

 

[Hobbes]

You and I should be very worried about Sydney.

Flag favourites for me.

With a brutal last five rounds to play, they're no certainty of top four, and that must be a prerequisite for flag favouritism.

 

[2000HP]

You and I should be very worried about Sydney.

Flag favourites for me.

I agree. Sydney have the quality, talent, experience, and a number of X-factor players. They are the form team of the comp'.

The only issue is whether they can maintain this form to the end. They are already in unchartered territory, coming from 0-6 to looking likely to make top 4.

 

[TooFar]

Serious question, because I haven't had the chance to see any Crows games this year. In what way have the Crows changed from the team that Sydney dismantled in the final last year? That game was over by Quarter Time. Have you changed that much?

I guess we will all find out in a few weeks...

 

[Kerleys Ghost]

With a brutal last five rounds to play, they're no certainty of top four, and that must be a prerequisite for flag favouritism.

Well it isn't.

And it's an unusual situation when a team that good starts 0-6 and then turns it around. They're top 4 quality and that's all that matters. They'll make short work of anyone in the lower half of the 8 if they do miss out.

 

[demondavey]

Time we both played finals together. Do you know the last time Demons and Tigers did that? 1941.

I did not! That's unbelievable. I think a Richmond & Melbourne GF would be huge.

 

[Joey longshadow]

Liked :

Learned : Crows V Cats was meaningless, virtually switched scores from six weeks ago, nothing to learn from this game other than they are both not as good as the Swans. Adelaide have horror last four games.
The premiership favourite is not even in the top 4 currently with only 5 games to go, now when has that ever happened? The Swans will replace one of the current top 4 teams come finals time.
GWS are in serious trouble...they might not make the top 4, Stevie J is shot, Motlop and Stanley must be traded.

Sansa will betray Jon Snow....

Hated: White away strips, Geelong policy of "White" shorts only.

Damn them bloody Starks

 

[Freofalcon]

Liked : Eagles last quarter.

 

[Juddalenko]

Liked: The young talent on show in the Sunday twilight match.
Learned: Richmond can tough it out against the big guns.
Hated: Rhys Mathieson - the way he goes about it is deplorable. Everyone knows he's flinging the head back except the umpires apparently. It is so infuriating and pathetic to watch.

 

[GreyCrow]

Liked: Unsociable Crows
Learnt: Its anybodies
Hated: Injuries to players who have put in all year and look to miss finals

 

[Jase Cutler]

We're a chance. Collingwood are 'no chance'

A chance for the flag? A great team, but I don’t think think year mate. I’d expect Demons to be top 4 side next year however.

 

[Cyclonus]

Hated: White away strips, Geelong policy of "White" shorts only.

What colour shorts other than white could Geelong wear against the Crows?

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I guess we will all find out in a few weeks...

Sure, and I am very much looking forward to it. Should be a cracker.

I was just hoping a Crows supporter could fill me in on what, if anything, has changed for you guys. Change of game plan? Hot newcomers making their mark?

 

[Tigers_fan24]

Liked: the fight back from our boys and the tough footy they played
Hated: the umpiring in our game both ways. 58 free kicks is shambolic and over-officiating, exacerbated by the fact that at least 30 percent of them were blatantly incorrect. Put the damn whistle away!
Learned: I have no idea who will win it this year. Tipping Sydney at the moment

 

[demondavey]

What colour shorts other than white could Geelong wear against the Crows?

Green, orange, aqua... all reasonable choices for mine

 

[EddieEddieeee!]

Liked : Alex Heath looks like a player - toweled up Harry Taylor on a few occasions.
Sloane back to his best, Dusty was just awesome again.

Learnt : Geelong will struggle to win away from Simonds, especially without a fully fit Danger.
West Coast need to grow some dusters.
Brisbane youngsters look the goods.

Hated : Dickhead with the flare on Friday at AO, could have hurt someone.

 

[VictorianCrow85]

Sure, and I am very much looking forward to it. Should be a cracker.

I was just hoping a Crows supporter could fill me in on what, if anything, has changed for you guys. Change of game plan? Hot newcomers making their mark?

In particular our midfield is in much better condition I would say compared to say our final against Sydney. For instance:
- Scott Thompson was cooked last year, externally people may not have realised but most Crows supporters knew he was a liability.
- Brad Crouch was still very underdone and frequently missing against better sides due to missing so much football early in his career. This year he started a bit that way but the longer the season has gone he's really been building and noticeably much better.
- Matt Crouch he's the #2 ball magnet in the comp this year. He was decent last year but is stronger, can kick the ball much better this year, effectively now not just a 21 year old kid with under 50 games.
- Sloane is still Sloane but thanks to his being tagged the Crouch boys especially have had to be more important which balances us much more.
- Greenwood very raw still but just brings much more intensity and capability at todays speeds than what Thompson could do late last year.

While it's still a very inexperienced midfield it's just another year better. Still our weakest area but improved a lot on last year.

As for other game styles? Early season we were still all out attack but over the last few weeks we seem to have found a better balance between all out attack and defense by tightening up defensively which has been nice and leaves us less susceptible to leaking masses of goals. It's a bit early to celebrate that however as it's still a work in progress and will need to be proven week in week out for the rest of the year to become the normal and not just a form fluctuation upwards.

Otherwise mostly you just need to remember much of the squad has now played together a while and the younger guys experience level is rising week to week so there is that natural improvement that comes with it.

That's the main summary for me.

Other point I'd mostly include is that Pyke is starting to become a bit more flexible and reactive rather than backing in same old which you would hope as he gains experience as a 2nd year coach.