So What Is The Problem???

[Stiffy_18]

No.
But I wouldn't drop Perrie. He's a hard worker. Put him where the hard work is required at the moment. Throw him on the ball or into defence. Put Gill in the hot spot. Otherwise why recruit such an old player?

As for Mattner... wing, then defence... now attack.

We all know that he can gather the ball and run around the entire circle. His only problem is sorting out how and when to get rid of it after fifteen steps.

If he can gather and run around the circle, and have a shot at goal, and if Adelaide hasn't had a decent crumbing forward all year... things click into place.

Break your own ice sculpture, Neil, and put Mattner on the forward flank or pocket as a crumber to Burton and let him slot 45 metre goals. Put both of those old wingers together and get Kenny, Scotty and Roo out of the forward picture completely. Reinvent other young men. The forward structure has been miserable all year, and its present chairshuffling is not its future. And is not even its present. Ask Roo to retire right now. Scotty and Ian Perrie, as much as I admire those men, are dropdead failures for a modern attack. They could develop other roles in the canteen or in the backlines or they could go. Welsh for Bassett? Maybe. But probably not. Perrie for Bassett or Rutten? Maybe more maybe than anyone would think.

Think radically INSIDE the square, Neil Craig, because nothing that has been attempted, outside of Adelaide's obligation to turn up, has even begun a debate. This year has meant diddly squat for the club and its employees and its players and supporters alike. That Hawthorn victory was their day off, not Adelaide's day on.

Neil Craig must reinvent this week and reinvent for the rest of the year with some bold strokes, or else he becomes the slow witness to his own lack of dare.

Sorry but how soon do we forget!!! DO you not remember how DREADFUL Perrie is in defence?! He is useless. His recovery is non existant. Ayers played him in defence a few times and EVERY time he had a bag kicked on him even by the most average of opponents.

Perrie's best position is as a forward. Either play him there or drop him!

 

[Campbell's Chunky]

Sorry but how soon do we forget!!! DO you not remember how DREADFUL Perrie is in defence?! He is useless. His recovery is non existant. Ayers played him in defence a few times and EVERY time he had a bag kicked on him even by the most average of opponents.

Perrie's best position is as a forward. Either play him there or drop him!

I wouldn't drop him, but rather, play an extra presence across HF.

I just think that where we break down is HF, and if the midfield have another option to kick to (eg when Richard Douglas ran into Dean Solomon because Ian Perrie had his back facing his kick) we will be much more efficient in our forward line.

My answer would be Nick Gill.

 

[Cap]

The problem I have with this post is that you say how Gill is "highly talented". If that were the case he would have had a lot more AFL games under his belt. He is talented but lets not forget that this is his 3rd AFL club and he is yet to make a debut. He is a solid depth player to have but he is far from "highly talented" player you make him out to be.

I am not particularly fussed whether he plays or not BUT lets keep some perspective here. Gill is just an average KPP by AFL standards. A solid depth player but nothing more.

if that is the sole reason we recruited him - i'm pretty F***ing pissed off

we can add that to another wasted pick

 

[Alecks]

I agree that players appear to be playing injured, it seems to have been this way with various players all year. I think it is disgraceful form for the selection comittee, surely its just dragging the injuries out possibly making them worse ?
I thought NC said something about refusing to bring in half done players, fully fit only -what a load. Or was that finals only? I also remember the 'whole good form in bad form out regardless', what a crock that was eh.

I just dont see why we keep playing sore stars or backboners constantly in poor form when the losses keep racking up. I guess it might help if we put the players in their best positions eg. mattner to wing , bock to CHB. It also might help to keep them in just 1 position for at least two weeks in a row, swap back , forward, back, forward! If my job constantly changed every week, im pretty sure i wouldnt be too great at it either.

I honestly used to think craigy was a genius, but he has shown to be a bit of a one trick pony and i suspect the players are onto this and starting to doubt him. I think a trained monkey might have the same matchday impact as craigy in the box (eg. point here, guess there- massie on riewoldt ooh ohh ahh ahh scratch my head, throw some faeces), though theres no doubting his managerial skills whatsoever. Im sure that they also hate his brownie points system too, if you know what i mean. That plus the injuries, lack of selection pressure you could almost go on all day but its depressing enough already.

BTW i agree that pez should be dropped. He looked like a tank vs freo, literally . Some 1905 tank that goes about 1 kmh and has no firepower whatsoever
I know hes only just back in the team but even when hes fit 2 goals and a few marks would be considered great game for him.

I mean for gods sake how many times have you seen someone hit up perrie with a nice pass only to see the ball "bounce off his hands" (lol!) or fingertips and then he gets circles ran around him when he picks his ass up off the ground . I guess mcgregor and the rest of the forwards dont do much better roo and birdman excluded. Someone needs to give our forwards a tape of the pav from the game, show em how a real forward plays.

I never would have thought that by 2007-8 i would still be longing for the days of modra and fud.

 

[relapse]

The problem I have with this post is that you say how Gill is "highly talented". If that were the case he would have had a lot more AFL games under his belt. He is talented but lets not forget that this is his 3rd AFL club and he is yet to make a debut. He is a solid depth player to have but he is far from "highly talented" player you make him out to be.

I am not particularly fussed whether he plays or not BUT lets keep some perspective here. Gill is just an average KPP by AFL standards. A solid depth player but nothing more.

Well isnt most of our side ???

Doughty, Shirley, Perrie, Stevens, Bock, McGregor, Massie and Bode come to mind as solid depth players yet they all get a game each week. Its not like we are going to lose that much if someone like perrie was dropped.

 

[maccas_no1]

Well isnt most of our side ???

Doughty, Shirley, Perrie, Stevens, Bock, McGregor, Massie and Bode come to mind as solid depth players yet they all get a game each week. Its not like we are going to lose that much if someone like perrie was dropped.

I agree Gill isnt going to be any worse.....play Gill and find out what we have or we never will and will persist with Dud Perrie.

 

[RoosterLad]

Gill was playing as a fullback at Port Melbourne when Jars recruited him so I'm not sure if he was always thought of as a defender, maybe that's why he never played a game.. plus he has even said so himself he is a late bloomer.

Burton and Gill up forward would be excitement plus, at least we would have a chance of kicking quick goals instead of battling just to get one sausage roll.

 

[AndrewJo]

I've got no doubt Craig can take us to a flag.

But someone needs to tell him that fanatical adherence to a player empowerment program doesn't work if you're willing to show loyalty to players who don't deserve it.

He was ruthless in cutting Ben Hart, and most of us applauded it, where has that ruthlessness gone?

I think most of you are missing the point. The players who you would like to come in have been injured themselves and have needed match fitness to get themselves ready for AFL hardness. Maybe Jericho and Griffin were not in that boat but Pfeiffer, Meesen ,Campbell, Gill, Porplyzia, Archard, Vince and Sellar have all had injuries and were not really ready.
I think that Maric was probably given a couple of games to show his wares and maybe it will be Meesen's turn in the next 2 weeks.
It's ok to be ruthless but you have to have someone to replace the player with. Having said that I think that there are a few in the list above who have shown form for 2 weeks that will be given a go this week.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Sorry but how soon do we forget!!! DO you not remember how DREADFUL Perrie is in defence?! He is useless. His recovery is non existant. Ayers played him in defence a few times and EVERY time he had a bag kicked on him even by the most average of opponents.

Perrie's best position is as a forward. Either play him there or drop him!

Exactly Stiffy - Perrie is clueless as a defender.

He was played too deep for most of the game against Freo, whilst Welsh was playing too far up the field. They should have been swapped, as Perrie's strength is as a lead-out CHF, not close to goal (like when we got our run-on in the 3rd quarter).

Sarge is our best option at CHF - better than Bock & McGregor IMO.

Also, some are forgetting it was his 1st game back.

 

[jenny61_99]

I agree that players appear to be playing injured, it seems to have been this way with various players all year. I think it is disgraceful form for the selection comittee, surely its just dragging the injuries out possibly making them worse ?
I thought NC said something about refusing to bring in half done players, fully fit only -what a load. Or was that finals only? I also remember the 'whole good form in bad form out regardless', what a crock that was eh.

I just dont see why we keep playing sore stars or backboners constantly in poor form when the losses keep racking up. I guess it might help if we put the players in their best positions eg. mattner to wing , bock to CHB. It also might help to keep them in just 1 position for at least two weeks in a row, swap back , forward, back, forward! If my job constantly changed every week, im pretty sure i wouldnt be too great at it either.

I honestly used to think craigy was a genius, but he has shown to be a bit of a one trick pony and i suspect the players are onto this and starting to doubt him. I think a trained monkey might have the same matchday impact as craigy in the box (eg. point here, guess there- massie on riewoldt ooh ohh ahh ahh scratch my head, throw some faeces), though theres no doubting his managerial skills whatsoever. Im sure that they also hate his brownie points system too, if you know what i mean. That plus the injuries, lack of selection pressure you could almost go on all day but its depressing enough already.

BTW i agree that pez should be dropped. He looked like a tank vs freo, literally . Some 1905 tank that goes about 1 kmh and has no firepower whatsoever
I know hes only just back in the team but even when hes fit 2 goals and a few marks would be considered great game for him.

I mean for gods sake how many times have you seen someone hit up perrie with a nice pass only to see the ball "bounce off his hands" (lol!) or fingertips and then he gets circles ran around him when he picks his ass up off the ground . I guess mcgregor and the rest of the forwards dont do much better roo and birdman excluded. Someone needs to give our forwards a tape of the pav from the game, show em how a real forward plays.

I never would have thought that by 2007-8 i would still be longing for the days of modra and fud.

I think you are missing the bigger picture. We have HAD to play players with niggly injuries and perhaps not performing to standard because of how many injuries we have had. I would fathom a guess that if all players that had niggles and those that have underperformed were dropped (as would be standard approach), we couldn't field a full team. Neil Craig refuses to use the injuries as an excuse but I honestly believe this is the main reason we are struggling.

 

[Crow-mo]

Neil Craig refuses to use the injuries as an excuse but I honestly believe this is the main reason we are struggling.

it's pretty much undeniable.

 

[IslingtonCrow]

Injuries and the amount of dead wood on our list are the primary reasons.

The following players will add nothing to the future of AFC.

Massie, Torney, Doughty, Stevens, Perrie, McGregor, Jericho, Gill (harsh - but I have a feeling he will be a dud like the rest of our forward line), Biglands and Shirley (when was the last time he successfully blanketed a gun mid-fielder?).

Unfortunately, many of these blokes have been getting a regular game time whereas in years gone by maybe they wouldnt have seen so much. They have all been around a while and are depth players at best on our list and certainly on the lists of Geelong, West Coast etc.

We cant move all of them on at the same time but over the next couple of years we need to be moving these guys on as quickly as possible so that players like Pfeiffer and Campbell can prove themselves, and more importantly, develop into players that are the equal of or better than the middle aged hacks I have described above.

If we can offload any of these players via a trade we should be grateful for the opportunity, although i cant imagine why any club would want to take them.

 

[Kickin_Goals]

Can't agree with Torney being in your list there in any way.
If your throwing in Stevens you might as well be throwing in Bock.
Stevens is playing perhaps his best season, Bock has been very poor this season compared with his 6 return matches last year.
Back in 2005 he was a decent back man, this year he has been rather poor most everywhere he's played including down back.
Shirly ain't tagging none he gets hard ball gets that become flat foot hand ball circles but still he's probably defendable, I'm not about to though I'd much prefer someone that will do something with it when he gets it sets the tone ferociously or can run with a player which hasn't been something he's shown lately.
Gill hasn't played that's a foolish assumption, I have a feeling..... what you don't like how his name sounds or your basing this perception on the forwards that play a different style of football to him?

 

[lacrow]

I would bet my left nut that the reason we are doing so poorly is INJURIES. Look at McGregor, for example... he is a shadow of his former self. I watched the replays of him trying to spoil Pav a few times and he can't even jump. There is definitely something wrong with him. Remember, this guy used to be a rock at CHB, one of the best in the comp.

As for Bock, I think it's the same thing. I KNOW the guy can move better than what he has been showing.

Then there's Goodwin. OK he's been getting a lot of possies the last few games, but against Hawthorn (?) I think he had 30 possies with like 28 handballs... there is obviously something wrong with him too.

Add all that to the guys who are out with injury AND the fact that we are playing a few youngsters (Knights, Van Berlo, Douglas, Reilly) who all - with the exception of Reilly (IMHO) are not yet consistent - and you can obviously see that we're not going to be the league's most dominating team.

 

[jenny61_99]

I would bet my left nut that the reason we are doing so poorly is INJURIES. Look at McGregor, for example... he is a shadow of his former self. I watched the replays of him trying to spoil Pav a few times and he can't even jump. There is definitely something wrong with him. Remember, this guy used to be a rock at CHB, one of the best in the comp.

As for Bock, I think it's the same thing. I KNOW the guy can move better than what he has been showing.

Then there's Goodwin. OK he's been getting a lot of possies the last few games, but against Hawthorn (?) I think he had 30 possies with like 28 handballs... there is obviously something wrong with him too.

Add all that to the guys who are out with injury AND the fact that we are playing a few youngsters (Knights, Van Berlo, Douglas, Reilly) who all - with the exception of Reilly (IMHO) are not yet consistent - and you can obviously see that we're not going to be the league's most dominating team.

Even from Los Angeles it's THAT obvious! Goodie's knee is still clearly concerning him. McGregor and Bock both seem to have the same thing (I'd hazard a guess that it's also knee related judging by how they are both moving). Even Radar is still proppy on his twice injured ankle. We bought back Roo when he clearly wasn't still right and then he got two heavy knocks AND twisted the ankle. Last year when we were fit and firing on all six cylinders, we WOULD have dropped the underperforming players, and we would not have played those with niggles nor bought back players too quickly from injury. This year we have not had that luxury. I think this may be the reason our mental approach is also lacking. The boys KNOW we are hopelessly short staffed and that has to play on their minds.

 

[Crowked]

There is no doubt in my mind its 90% injuries, and 10 lost confidence because of them. We are 8 and 8 with probably the worst run of injuries Ive ever known at any club in any year. Most clubs would be trying to avoid the wooden spoon with the injury list we've had all season.

The tide has to turn sooner or later. Lets hope its sooner.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Even from Los Angeles it's THAT obvious! Goodie's knee is still clearly concerning him. McGregor and Bock both seem to have the same thing (I'd hazard a guess that it's also knee related judging by how they are both moving). Even Radar is still proppy on his twice injured ankle. We bought back Roo when he clearly wasn't still right and then he got two heavy knocks AND twisted the ankle. Last year when we were fit and firing on all six cylinders, we WOULD have dropped the underperforming players, and we would not have played those with niggles nor bought back players too quickly from injury. This year we have not had that luxury. I think this may be the reason our mental approach is also lacking. The boys KNOW we are hopelessly short staffed and that has to play on their minds.

McGregor has injured his knee a couple of weeks back and is playing with medial strain. Bock has been carrying a groin injury pretty much all year and also has a bit of a sore hip so both of these guys will be somewhat limited in what they can give.

Add to that Reilly's tender ankle and Goody's knee still not being near 100% and you are carrying 4 players with obvious injuries.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

Well now that Meesen and Gill are fit and in form, choose who is playing the key defender roles this week, and drop one of McGregor or Bock (preferably Kenny unless Bock's injury is much worse than his). Why keep all our unfit average talls in the side now we have a choice? If Rutten miraculously comes up then i wouldn't hesitate to drop them both and rest them.

 

[jenny61_99]

McGregor has injured his knee a couple of weeks back and is playing with medial strain. Bock has been carrying a groin injury pretty much all year and also has a bit of a sore hip so both of these guys will be somewhat limited in what they can give.

Add to that Reilly's tender ankle and Goody's knee still not being near 100% and you are carrying 4 players with obvious injuries.

As well as Roo's situation (when he was playing) and Burton's long stint out with his knee problem. Huddo's returned from a reconstruction and still isn't in the fine form he was before hand. So we effectively we have a quarter of the squad playing injured, another quarter out injured which leaves us with very few options. I'm actually amazed we are only just out of the 8!

 

[AndrewJo]

I think you are missing the bigger picture. We have HAD to play players with niggly injuries and perhaps not performing to standard because of how many injuries we have had. I would fathom a guess that if all players that had niggles and those that have underperformed were dropped (as would be standard approach), we couldn't field a full team. Neil Craig refuses to use the injuries as an excuse but I honestly believe this is the main reason we are struggling.

Spot on Jenny. There is no doubt that some players are playing with injuries because there has been no-one fully match fit to replace them. Ian Perrie was a classic who toiled manfully under injury and I think Kenny and Bock are also sore. There is the problem ...who comes in as a key forward?? Jericho? He is not a key forward. Move Stevens forward? OK who plays CHB on a tall?? There was no-one. This week I would rest the 3 named and give Gill and Meesen key posts up forward. They have both had time back in the SANFL after injury and are showing good form. Teams just cannot afford to play unfit players at any level. The only other alternative would be playing Kenny in the goalsquare where he could at least take a mark. Added to those we have Burton who is also very much underdone and playing with injury.
Instead of bagging the players/coach at least show some acknowledgement of their courage to simply get out on the park under duress.

 

[AndrewJo]

I would bet my left nut that the reason we are doing so poorly is INJURIES. Look at McGregor, for example... he is a shadow of his former self. I watched the replays of him trying to spoil Pav a few times and he can't even jump. There is definitely something wrong with him. Remember, this guy used to be a rock at CHB, one of the best in the comp.

As for Bock, I think it's the same thing. I KNOW the guy can move better than what he has been showing.

Then there's Goodwin. OK he's been getting a lot of possies the last few games, but against Hawthorn (?) I think he had 30 possies with like 28 handballs... there is obviously something wrong with him too.

Add all that to the guys who are out with injury AND the fact that we are playing a few youngsters (Knights, Van Berlo, Douglas, Reilly) who all - with the exception of Reilly (IMHO) are not yet consistent - and you can obviously see that we're not going to be the league's most dominating team.

Your left nut is obviously not in danger! Spot On!!

 

[Alex99]

As soon as the finals are out of reach any players that need to have any off season operation should have it done immediately.

Don’t wait until mid November to get them in and under the knife, do it ASAP. We need to have a solid pre season so who ever is left over from the culling at the end of this season can be ready to go from the first round of the NAB cup.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Well now that Meesen and Gill are fit and in form, choose who is playing the key defender roles this week, and drop one of McGregor or Bock (preferably Kenny unless Bock's injury is much worse than his). Why keep all our unfit average talls in the side now we have a choice? If Rutten miraculously comes up then i wouldn't hesitate to drop them both and rest them.

I completely agree.

I can understand carrying injured players earlier in the season when we have limited options in the SANFL, but now we have form players in the SANFL, there is no reason why we should be playing this amount of players under duress.

We are playing too many players who are either not 100% fit & coming back from injury/lacking match practice. May as well play a younger player or 2.

 

[- PC -]

I think we are missing Don Pyke from the coaches box.

I dont know why this hasnt been expanded on... some say its the coaching box that is struggling so why not look to see what changes have been made.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I dont know why this hasnt been expanded on... some say its the coaching box that is struggling so why not look to see what changes have been made.

I agree Pyke leaving should be talked about more.

Most games are won in the midfield & for whatever reason our midfield has been nowhere near last year's levels. No doubt injuries haven't helped, but is tha the full story?

Talking of coaches, Jonas menetioned that he had some different players in mind for playing in defence. ie. players previously not playing in defence. I can't recall him trying anyone different that was out of the ordinary. BTW, Don't try Perrie this week!!!