Round 4- Adelaide vs Sydney discussion thread

[Glenno23]

Just got back from the game tonight. Thought the effort was brilliant again. Very happy to see a side full of kids beat a side who are terrific in the clinches.

Hall = pwn3d - Rutten you genius

Macca, Macca, Macca - MAGIC

Radar has stepped up many notches and Thommo played pretty well again.

Griff - very, very special talent.

Thommo got a lot of the ball, but he needs to use it better. 40% of his kicks went straight to a Sydney player... needs more efficency

Macca surely has 9 Brownlow votes YTD

Griff is gonna be great, but will need to be rested when Maric comes back, as his frame still needs work

This looks to be Reilly's year to break out. He looks the goods

VB = Gun, puts his body on the line for the team

Rutten= GUN, Hall=pwned and Sydney are our bitches! Great win by the boys, it was a tight contest, but i felt our pressure was awesome

 

[FORCROWINGOUTLOUD]

VVVVVAAAAAANNNNNN BBBBEEEERRRRLLLLOOOOOO

Goodesy tried to knock him flat and he held on for the ride

Whatever happened to the holding the ball rule???

Starting to get sick of players like Goodes Judd etc running away with two or three players in tow. Anyone else it would be holding the ball.

Young Porps mark in the last quarter. What happened umpy? Arm clearly taken out and Sydney end up with the ball and shot on goal. Unbelievable

CCCCAAARRRRNNNN THE CROWS

First game I've seen this year thanks to Foxtel and the Bloody Rugby up here in Darwin. GODDAMN

B*MSNIFFER is terminology used for a RUGBY player for your information NikkiNoo, but if that is offensive to you.... Fair Enough

 

[fightingdreamer88]

That was a deadset mark to Porpy, disgusting decision that. We won though, and Porps was great. Knights has taken the next step this year, watching him slip that tackle in the backline and power away from his opponents and spot up a target while under that sort of pressure says to me he's finding himself.

VB was inspirational with his tackling, Reilly was great again. Young Vince showed flashes of brilliance at times tonight, all the usual suspects were up and about. Excellent team effort, and I think that many of Sydney's misses were the result of perceived pressure and generally difficult shots for goal. Adelaide worried them into errors time and time again. We saw the same thing with Port last week too.

 

[beck*]

VB = What a star
Rutten = Who doesn't he own?
Macca = Back to his best
Craigy = Giving Rucci some back, awesome

Knights, Griffen, Vince etc all impressed

Best part of all... Injury Free!

 

[beck*]

Oh, that mark!
I swear, if we were only a few points up, and that Swans score put them in front, they would've had a dead-set riot on their hands.
Shocking!

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Great Game of footy .....and yes for the purist the best game of the season thus far.

It has proven that a team game IS superior to the Victorian preferred gamestyle built around stars ....this is where I think the old VFL player coaches are falling down in their team development.

The game was tight and I can't recall any of the talls from either side having an impact offensively.
Given Sydneys lack of talls Ruttens was a game winning performance and IMO probably his best performance of his career over 4 qtrs.

Even though we have had 3 good wins from the last 3 games .....there have been in each game a qtr where we have had our lead whittled back to a position where we could potentially lose the game .....last night it was the thirds qtr.

In the last half we were IMO consistently beaten around the packs and scrimmages by Sydney's ability to get that ball out in tight congested situations to a free Swans player. But it was our ability to pressure the ball carrier that forced continual turnoevers across our HB line and then our ball movement and entry into our forward line was superior to Sydneys.

Thought all our players played their part and it was a great learning experience from the young players ..........the only exception was Douglas who we know will be a great player but again floundered with his game and ultimately forced Craig to bench him.

Macleod: as close to career best form and Brownlow medal form as you can get

Thompson: continued stellar form and as chan 10 showed it is 2nd and 3rd efforts that are highlights ......our best midfielder at present with Reilly who is starting to show the consistency that has been missing in recent years.

Hudson/Griffin: Thought Everitt who was going to be a key player last night against our rucks was disappointing ..........Hudson basically nullified at ruck contests but worked very hard around the ground to be another link player.

But it was Griffin who IMO played his best game .....he clearly was outleaping Everitt at centre bounces and getting good decisive taps. Around the ground he moves very well and he looked comfortable in the environment last night.

Yes .....as soon as we get to boundary / scimmage ballups he is being out muscled by most ruckman and hopefully he can put on the muscle ........but even if he can't he has showed that he could be a forward option.

Vince: Last weeks game was OK .....this weeks game even better ......amazing if you can give players a stretch of games how they can develop. Great hands, good vision and disposal .......for a potential midfielder another couple of yards of pace would be nice though.

Knights: just super impressive and is getting better with each game. Is not rushing or panicing his disposal as in the past

Douglas: for most of his games this and last year his disposal has been very iffy ...........he is "just" missing targets, either just short or a little wide.
He was very loose last night and has to obviously learn WHEN to leave his opponent to help a team mate and when to stick. His handballs and kicks have too much loop and he needs to punch his disposals a bit more to reduce the air time.

Perrie: again the good, bad, and ugly .........but gee he tries his guts out

Mattner/Bassett/Torney : how do you separate their performance? ........all cool under pressure, all providing run and choosing the right options to set up offensive movements ..........excellent games

Welsh: Probably our most reliable forward .......his goal kicking this year has been excemplary.

Van Berlo: Gee I nearly forgot him .........for a smallish player his efforts ATM are simply superb. If he wasn't leading captaincy b4 he must surely be now. I can't think of another candidate to replace Roo. Rutten maybe but at FB IMO that's too far away from the action.

That tackle on Goodes was particularly noted by Craig after the game along with Porp's run down tackle as superb efforts ........and yes both were by young "crushers" which says something about our future

In summary a lot of talk has occurred that we haven't any Judd players or "stars" on the lists because we don't get top draft picks .......but if you have an excellent player recuitin dept and development program PLUS play TEAM footy then you don't need the star system.

BTW because we drafted Meesen over Wood .....we got Van Berlo because the word was that Brisbane was extremely keen on VB at pick 19 but with Wood available were obliged to take the big fellar.

Luck can fall your way

 

[Scott Van Persett]

Hudson/Griffin: Thought Everitt who was going to be a key player last night against our rucks was disappointing ..........Hudson basically nullified at ruck contests but worked very hard around the ground to be another link player.

But it was Griffin who IMO played his best game .....he clearly was outleaping Everitt at centre bounces and getting good decisive taps. Around the ground he moves very well and he looked comfortable in the environment last night.


I wonder whether Sydney have made a mistake with Everitt. His only good match for the year was against Richmond-enough said!.
Against the better teams I think he will struggle to have an impact.
However, I guess he gives Jolly a chance to take a breather

Scott

 

[showdownhero]

I dont know. Some say poor kicking is poor football and sometimes luck does play a part.

Im still unsure if Sydney made a concerted plan to go wide...which didnt help the angle they were kicking from or if the AFC pushed Sydney wide.

No doubt Truck was brilliant and McLeod stood up again and VB was VB... but if Sydney kicked straight we would be talking about other things

I don't think its a conincidence that in the last 2 games both teams have had (and missed) a lot of set shots from difficult angles. The Crows are pushing them wide.

 

[- PC -]

I don't think its a conincidence that in the last 2 games both teams have had (and missed) a lot of set shots from difficult angles. The Crows are pushing them wide.

I know we try and do it against WC

 

[Markthirtytwo]

That's how old fashion footy is played, not this fancy nancy fast flowing all the time stuff. Might be pretty to watch, but get down and dirty sometimes it makes it all worth while.

It might look fugly, but gee willackers it was hard tough footy.

Lots of mistakes but the constant pressure from both sides made it look worse.

Gimme more games like that instead of blowouts please.

 

[snakebite01]

Good tough game. Excellent result.

Macca was unbelievable in the 2nd half. Unfortunately for him, he will be denied the Brownlow again as provided he doesn't get reported, Kerr will p!ss it in IMO.

Credit must go to Reilly and Thompson. Both had "meh" years last season but they've really stepped up to become top tier midfielders at our club. A lot less pressure on Goodwin and Edwards to perform. Add in the 'coming along' of VB, Knights and Porps and our midfield is displaying great depth.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

Good tough game. Excellent result.

Macca was unbelievable in the 2nd half. Unfortunately for him, he will be denied the Brownlow again as provided he doesn't get reported, Kerr will p!ss it in IMO.

Credit must go to Reilly and Thompson. Both had "meh" years last season but they've really stepped up to become top tier midfielders at our club. A lot less pressure on Goodwin and Edwards to perform. Add in the 'coming along' of VB, Knights and Porps and our midfield is displaying great depth.

I think O'keefe will get the 3 big ones from the game.

 

[snakebite01]

I think O'keefe will get the 3 big ones from the game.

McLeod should be on a minumum of 7 votes thus far. But Kerr's probably on 9.

Not sure if O'Keefe will get them. Played well but wasn't as flashy or damaging as McLeod IMO.

 

[Alex99]

That's how old fashion footy is played, not this fancy nancy fast flowing all the time stuff. Might be pretty to watch, but get down and dirty sometimes it makes it all worth while.

Exactly, most teams that own the central corridor will win the game.

When the other team is coming out of defence our half backs, wingers and midfields are accountable by playing man on man football and pushing them towards the wing. This makes it difficult for them to own the central corridor and forces them to go wide. Push them wide and the percentages for shots on goal goes down

 

[Alex99]

I think O'keefe will get the 3 big ones from the game.

95% of the time the 3 votes goes to the winning teams unless that player was exceptional. And I don’t think O’Keefe was exceptional last night.

Goodwin was exceptional in the NAB grand final, Buckley was exceptional in the 2004 GF against Brisbane and Ablett was exceptional in 1989.

McLeod 3 votes, Ben Rutten 2 votes and O’Keefe 1

 

[snakebite01]

Goodwin was exceptional in the NAB grand final, Buckley was exceptional in the 2004 GF against Brisbane and Ablett was exceptional in 1989.

Goowdin wasn't that exceptional. He won it because they thought the Crows would win when they had to decide the medallist.

Mooney was the matchwinner that night. Could have equally gone to Luke Jericho (Geelong).

 

[ok.crows]

I agree. What the hell did we do in the third term. We tried to slow up play... that will never ever work. The best way to keep a team on the back foot is scoreboard pressure. Just chipping it around and slowing down play when there is so much time left in the match is suicide. It's happened quite a few times.

I'm not sure about this. Sydney are a good side, who keep opponents to low scores. The have a couple of very good forwards. They were at near full strength. They are experienced and disciplined, and they work as a team.

The Crows were depleted, nowhere near full strength. They played four near-rookies. They enjoyed a let-off early through Swans poor kicking. The Swans came back at them in the third term.

IMO, the Crows stopped that momentum, slowed the game, then re-grouped for the last quarter effort. I would argue that the slow-down tactic in the latter part of the third term might have actually won the game for the Crows.

 

[Damp Squarie]

But it was Griffin who IMO played his best game .....he clearly was outleaping Everitt at centre bounces and getting good decisive taps. Around the ground he moves very well and he looked comfortable in the environment last night

I thought this was Griffs best game so far. Hes coming along nicely and stitched up Everitt in the centre.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

I thought if it wasnt for Sydney going wide or the AFC pushing Sydney wide we could have lost that match

Why we panicked/went defensive in the 3rd quarter is a mystery to me...we made our lead by playing quick moving football...yes our movement was great it was our skill errors...balls bouncing of chests and poor marking, handballing etc.

I think we were ultimately lucky to win that...but you take it and run with the 4 points

I think I was the only one in my area clapping when we went defensive in the 3rd quarter. I thought it was great play. Sydney had just kicked the last 3 goals. By us going ultra defensive it swung the momentum back in our favour. Granted we made some terrible skill errors ( Thomson ) in this patch of play which could have proved costly, but it didn't, and we managed to kick the next goal.

It still amazes me how some in the crowd still don't grasp the concept of tempo football. As Craigy said in his press conference, anyone that thinks we can play flat out with quick ball movement for the entire game is kidding themselves.

We were well coached and well drilled last night. Fantastic win.

 

[macca23]

Goowdin wasn't that exceptional. He won it because they thought the Crows would win when they had to decide the medallist.

Mooney was the matchwinner that night. Could have equally gone to Luke Jericho (Geelong).

A little hidden gem.

 

[macca23]

Douglas: for most of his games this and last year his disposal has been very iffy ...........he is "just" missing targets, either just short or a little wide.
He was very loose last night and has to obviously learn WHEN to leave his opponent to help a team mate and when to stick. His handballs and kicks have too much loop and he needs to punch his disposals a bit more to reduce the air time.

Great match report as usual WW. I look forward to them each week.

Pretty spot on in all areas, although I thought this was a bit harsh. We have to cut this kid some slack, in what was only his 7th game of AFL.

Mattner and McLeod also struggled to contain O'Keefe as well as Douglas - he has been asked to take on a huge task since Stiffy got injured.

Just stay with him because he does have all the goodies and long term will be an absolute beauty for our club.

 

[conVINCEd]

Van Berlo: Gee I nearly forgot him .........for a smallish player his efforts ATM are simply superb. If he wasn't leading captaincy b4 he must surely be now. I can't think of another candidate to replace Roo. Rutten maybe but at FB IMO that's too far away from the action.

VB is obviously a standout for 'future captain' considering his leadership qualities, but I'd also have Reilly marked as 'possible future captain' in the very least.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Although, I didn't agree with it( Thomson), fantastic to see the likes of Reilly and Thomson ahead of Edwards and Goody in the best players. Now if we can manage to throw Mattner across the centre line, it's a nice little midfield we are building.

THE GOOD:

Macca - I was saying to my wife before the game, I wanted to buy the DVDs from the Carlton and Essendon game of last year as a reminder of Maccas brilliance. I may have to add a few games from this year to the list. The old stager is in special touch. Stiffy and S Burgoyne may have to wait awhile before they take over the mantle as the number one Aboriginal footballer in the state.

Rutts - Great game on the best tall key forward ( or at least top 3 ) in the competiton.

Van Berlo - Has this kid come on or what. I was surprised to see he only has 16 possessions. At the game, it seemed like he had alot more of the ball. Incredible courage. Proving himself more than just a reliable tagger.

Knights - Love the kid. I just get the feeling he is about to break out. Very strong in the legs and across the hips. Stands strong when tackled. Should be given more gametime.

Burton - Our number one forward. Good game.

The ruck combo - Not the best in the competition but give 110%. Finally have ruckman who don't seem to disappear from the ground once the rucks are contested. How's the kick on Griffen.

Tempo football in the 3rd quarter - Could have saved us the match.

THE BAD:

Not much. A few costly turnovers from Thommo.

Welsh - Lazy footballer. Will he stand up in finals?

THE UGLY:

The Umpiring , bad for both sides. No wonder the players are confused and frustrated. It used to be that the interpretations would change from one week to the next, now it's from quarter to quarter.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Great match report as usual WW. I look forward to them each week.

Pretty spot on in all areas, although I thought this was a bit harsh. We have to cut this kid some slack, in what was only his 7th game of AFL.

Mattner and McLeod also struggled to contain O'Keefe as well as Douglas - he has been asked to take on a huge task since Stiffy got injured.

Just stay with him because he does have all the goodies and long term will be an absolute beauty for our club. :thumbsu:

Spot on Mac. It was a bizarre night for Douglas, he had an absolute shocker. Everything he touched went pear shaped. Poor kid. At least he never wavered from 100% committment at every contest he was in. He never once dropped his head. Even when he was going to the bench after the fourth quarter huddle ( and rightly so ), he was geeing up his teammates. Speaks volumes about his character.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

THE BAD:

Not much. A few costly turnovers from Thommo.

Welsh - Lazy footballer. Will he stand up in finals?

Agree with your first comment and strongly disagree with the second one.

Last night Scotty was an extra link man instead of just a leading forward, who did some very good things from what I saw. His chasing and in particular two great tackles in the last qtr when they were coming at us to keep the ball in the area. One turned into a goal.