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Selection poser for Craig
3:11:21 PM Sat 12 February, 2005
Alan Shiell
Sportal
Related Content:
Listen to Neil Craig
Adelaide coach Neil Craig has forecast some early selection headaches for his match committee this season as it strives to achieve the ideal youth-and-experience balance, particularly with the forward set-up.
Mark Stevens' successful return from injury and the good pre-season form of other tall forwards have magnified the Crows' dilemma - albeit a pleasant one - at this early stage.
Stevens' four-goal second-half effort at full-forward in Adelaide's 125-point thrashing of a young, undermanned Norwood-North Adelaide side in a practice match at Norwood Oval on Friday night suggested he had made a sound recovery from the groin and knee injuries that restricted him to just three AFL matches last season.
Craig qualified his post-match evaluations by saying: "You've got to be a bit careful. The opposition was nowhere near the standard that you can make too many judgments on, but I thought our intensity to play the game was good."
And he said of Stevens: "He gave us some real strong aerial power. We went to the full-forward area with some confidence.
"More importantly for Mark, he's come a long way. He's put a lot of work in, he's been very diligent with his preparation. He's been under some pressure as far as being listed versus delisted, and to get through without injuring himself is a big plus for him.
"So if he can continue that, you would expect that Mark's going to play a pretty important role for us throughout the year.
"That's going to be a real balancing act for us - (Trent) Hentschel, Stevens, (Ian) Perrie, (Nathan) Bock, (Scott) Welsh. They're all pleasing signs and hopefully it's going to be a headache for the match committee to get the balance there.
"Having said all that, I'm not going to back away from the fact that we've got to play some kids, so that's the pressure that a guy like Mark Stevens will feel.
"That's not saying he won't play. I'm just saying that the pressure is that Bock, Hentschel … and Perrie now looks like he's coming of age … they're the ones now putting pressure on those senior guys."
The likelihood of Adelaide playing three ruckmen in its 22 - Matthew Clarke, Rhett Biglands and Ben Hudson - also puts a squeeze on the forwards, with the versatile, mobile and long-kicking Biglands able to play a key-position role in attack or defence.
And 200-centimetre draftee ruckman John Meesen, 18, from Geelong Falcons underlined his immense potential during stints in both practice matches on Friday night, with Craig saying later: "It's the best I've seen him move for us - much better in the late game than the early game."
Meesen and another 18-year-old draftee, former West Perth midfielder Nathan Van Berlo, described by Craig as 'looking really composed', could be given further exposure in the Wizard Home Loans Cup, in which Craig indicated the Crows would be experimenting with some youngsters and positions while still 'playing to win - very much so'.
Of Brent Reilly's dominant display as a midfielder, Craig said: "Brent's done a lot of weight work. He's carried on from where he left off last year, in terms of that intensity. The next part of his education is to be able to become a regular AFL player, and I'm talking now of being fit and sound to play 22 games.
"Whether that's in the midfield this year on a regular basis, I'm not sure. Ideally, it would be nice for him to be able to come off a back flank and just learn his footy back there. But it'll be up to him."
Hmmm, Stevo has his attention, so does Reilly. GOOD!
The Count will get a chance and I doubt if he will fall from the side for round 1.
Selection poser for Craig
3:11:21 PM Sat 12 February, 2005
Alan Shiell
Sportal
Related Content:
Listen to Neil Craig
Adelaide coach Neil Craig has forecast some early selection headaches for his match committee this season as it strives to achieve the ideal youth-and-experience balance, particularly with the forward set-up.
Mark Stevens' successful return from injury and the good pre-season form of other tall forwards have magnified the Crows' dilemma - albeit a pleasant one - at this early stage.
Stevens' four-goal second-half effort at full-forward in Adelaide's 125-point thrashing of a young, undermanned Norwood-North Adelaide side in a practice match at Norwood Oval on Friday night suggested he had made a sound recovery from the groin and knee injuries that restricted him to just three AFL matches last season.
Craig qualified his post-match evaluations by saying: "You've got to be a bit careful. The opposition was nowhere near the standard that you can make too many judgments on, but I thought our intensity to play the game was good."
And he said of Stevens: "He gave us some real strong aerial power. We went to the full-forward area with some confidence.
"More importantly for Mark, he's come a long way. He's put a lot of work in, he's been very diligent with his preparation. He's been under some pressure as far as being listed versus delisted, and to get through without injuring himself is a big plus for him.
"So if he can continue that, you would expect that Mark's going to play a pretty important role for us throughout the year.
"That's going to be a real balancing act for us - (Trent) Hentschel, Stevens, (Ian) Perrie, (Nathan) Bock, (Scott) Welsh. They're all pleasing signs and hopefully it's going to be a headache for the match committee to get the balance there.
"Having said all that, I'm not going to back away from the fact that we've got to play some kids, so that's the pressure that a guy like Mark Stevens will feel.
"That's not saying he won't play. I'm just saying that the pressure is that Bock, Hentschel … and Perrie now looks like he's coming of age … they're the ones now putting pressure on those senior guys."
The likelihood of Adelaide playing three ruckmen in its 22 - Matthew Clarke, Rhett Biglands and Ben Hudson - also puts a squeeze on the forwards, with the versatile, mobile and long-kicking Biglands able to play a key-position role in attack or defence.
And 200-centimetre draftee ruckman John Meesen, 18, from Geelong Falcons underlined his immense potential during stints in both practice matches on Friday night, with Craig saying later: "It's the best I've seen him move for us - much better in the late game than the early game."
Meesen and another 18-year-old draftee, former West Perth midfielder Nathan Van Berlo, described by Craig as 'looking really composed', could be given further exposure in the Wizard Home Loans Cup, in which Craig indicated the Crows would be experimenting with some youngsters and positions while still 'playing to win - very much so'.
Of Brent Reilly's dominant display as a midfielder, Craig said: "Brent's done a lot of weight work. He's carried on from where he left off last year, in terms of that intensity. The next part of his education is to be able to become a regular AFL player, and I'm talking now of being fit and sound to play 22 games.
"Whether that's in the midfield this year on a regular basis, I'm not sure. Ideally, it would be nice for him to be able to come off a back flank and just learn his footy back there. But it'll be up to him."
Hmmm, Stevo has his attention, so does Reilly. GOOD!
The Count will get a chance and I doubt if he will fall from the side for round 1.
