The forward line

[Guest]

I haven't seen anything of Adam Richardson but hear that he's a strong marking forward. All of a sudden we now seem to have an abundance of tall forwards. Any thoughts on a possible forward setup with Perrie, Hewitt, Richardson, Stenglein, Clarke, McGregor, Robran, Marsh, Biglands (and probably others) all pushing for tall forward possies.

My foward line is:

HF: Vardy, Perrie, O'Loughlin/Bode
FF: Welsh, Richardson, Jarman

but there are some good options. It would be hard to leave Perrie out after his efforts last year before he was injured. You could send Welsh to a flank and put Hewitt into a pocket.

Beinke's also around the mark.



[This message has been edited by Spogs (edited 20 December 2000).]

 

[QT]

I agree Spogs, dont worry what everyone says about how pathetic our forward line is, i see 2001 as the rise again season of the mighty adelaide crows

 

[Crow54]

Seeing that the Crows seem to have endless injuries with the players, maybe it's a good thing to have so many available forwards!

Heard Greg Anderson say the other day that one of South Adelaide's players who trained with the Crows before Christmas, but was picked up by the Power as a rookie, was very impressed by the Power's team spirit and energy and enthusiasm. Seeing as he'd only just come from the Crows, what does that say about them????? Are the Crows lacking in those areas?

 

[Guest]

Crow54,

That's disappointing to hear. From what I've heard from the players (via the media) everyone's very positive about next year.

You can't help but wonder what sort of inspiration Gary Ayres is at this time of year. He comes across as a very dry, unsmiling sort of character who wouldn't make training any fun at all, not that Groucho Mark (Williams) is any barrell of laughs either.

Hopefully Roo, Bungi and the other new leader's will lift the enthusiasm around the club. At this time of the year the players have to be enjoying training otherwise it's going to be a very long year for players and supporters.

 

[The Pride Of]

Crows 2001 Premiership side

FF - Welsh , Richardson , Jarman
HF - Edwards , Hewitt , Vardy
C - Byrne , Riccuito , Burton
HB - Smart , Robran , Johnson
FB - Hart , Bassett , Bickley

Ruck - Biglands , Goodwin , McLeod

Bench - Clarke , Bode , Eccles , Stevens

Bring on the Bombers !

 

[ant]

Yeah Spogs, we seem to have a lot of tall forwards now, which isn't a bad thing. I'd like to see Perrie, Hewitt, Richardson get the first shot at the key forward positions, with one of them on the bench. With other crumbing, forward line options like Bode, Vardy, O'loughlin, Welsh, Jarman and Burton, as well as McLeod maybe even having a run on a flank, I believe we're in a good position for this year. I also believe the fact we're not as highly rated by our peers could be a big advantage and we might be able to sneak up on the competition.

 

[carb70]

Guys as Port supporter can you please explain to me how you see the Crows rising this year?, because I can only see them getting worse, Your strength is you back line which has been stable for a few years now, as far as your midfield you have got a couple of great onballers in Ricciuto,Goodwin,McLeod and even Johnson when he's fit, but you need at least another good wingmen and your ruckmen aren't really proven yet at this level and pesonally I don't think they will be up to it this season at least. Then we get to your foward which is a absolute joke, sorry, but it is,The only goalscorers you have are Jarman,who probably should have retired and Vardy, who you coach doesn't even like, as far as Richardson goes I watch SANFL every weekend a he's just a big log, don't expect anything from him, he even struggles to average 3 goals a game at SANFL level, what do you expect him to average at AFL level?. As far as Welsh goes he's just like Beinke too small, too slow for AFL football and as your other tall fowards go they are just like your ruckman, unproven at this level. You treat Malcolm Blight as a god but he has a lot to anwser for, For the position he has left your club in and while Gary Ayers is they it will never improve.

 

[ant]

The improvement will come from our younger players who will hopefully take a larger role and help support our more senoir players.

You mentioned "Ricciuto,Goodwin,McLeod and even Johnson", with Johnson's 2000 being wrecked by injury. Add Edwards, Eccles, Burton and Bode, who are versatile, midfield type players and you have a good mix of players capable of doing the job, provided they stay clear of injuries.

The ruckmen aren't too bad, Marsh, Biglands and Clarke are a handy trio, with Hewitt and Robran maybe helping out occasionally. I hope Clarke will be back close to his best this year after the problems with his veterinary course in 2000.

Our forward line is a little questionable, it remains to be seen whether the players we have there like Perrie, McGregor, Hewitt and Richardson can do the job but they are young players who we'll ask to make a contest and take a few grabs. Regardless of what you think, Jarman, Welsh and Vardy should again get their fair share of goals each, while Bode gives us the speedy forward line crumber we've been dying for. There's plenty of options here.

I don't think the forward line will be our main problem. While our defence did an admiral job last year, I thought on occasions we looked undersized down back and very vunerable. I'm not sure Robran is the answer there as he was killed by the better centre half backs. With Stevens returning from injury we look a lot more solid and more able to cope with the tall forwards of a team like the Bombers. If the old firm of Hart, Smart, Bassett can have good seasons, hopefully the defence can return to the days of 97 and 98 when we had the best backline around. If this happens, I can see the Crows making the finals.

I'd just worry about your team the Power, and their much talked about stable of young players that have yet to fulfill their potential.

 

[Crow54]

It's interesting to talk about which players we think will improve, etc. etc.

However, I'm a great believer in the "psychology" of a team. During the two p/ship years, the Crows weren't the best team going around, but they managed to win. They were a championship "team" rather than a team of champions. The pscyhology and team spirit obviously gelled at the right time.

In Malcolm's third year things came unstuck. Trouble with Mods, trouble with inflated egos, and complacency set in. Also I don't believe Malcolm really wanted to be there for some reason. Gary's first year continued with this feeling.

Let's hope a new season with Neil Craig, and a new set of leaders, will bring a new enthusiasm to the Crows. The bonding appears to be stronger now. A positive feeling amongst the team will pull them together and improve them more than anything else.

This may sound a bit "airy-fairy" but I really believe it applies to a lot of teams.

 

[Guest]

Crow54

Your thoughts about team phsycology (sp?) are good. I've often wondered what Malcolm Blight's affect on the club was when he announced half way through 98 that he was burnt out and didn't have the drive after two premierships. Imagine if your boss at work told you that he couldn't really be stuffed anymore.

How else can the players react other than start thinking along the same lines. I'm sure that legacy lingered into last year and would have made Gary's job just a hell of a lot harder.

Neil Craig will bring a lot back to the footy club and he may well prove to be the recruit of the year.

 

[Crows.ok]

Originally posted by The Pride Of:
Crows 2001 Premiership side

FF - Welsh , Richardson , Jarman
HF - Edwards , Hewitt , Vardy
C - Byrne , Riccuito , Burton
HB - Smart , Robran , Johnson
FB - Hart , Bassett , Bickley

Ruck - Biglands , Goodwin , McLeod

Bench - Clarke , Bode , Eccles , Stevens

Bring on the Bombers !

Just reviewing this topic after two trial games, and the structure might be changing given who is showing form.

FF - Bode , Richardson , Jarman
HF - Welsh , Perrie , Robran
C - Eccles , McLeod , Burton
HB - Goodwin , Biglands , Johnson
FB - Hart , Stevens , Smart

Ruck - Marsh , Riccuito , Edwards

Bench: Hewitt, Vardy, Bickley, Bassett

Who knows? There seems to be heaps of options. Its hard to fit all the names down in appropriate spots. The forward setup does begin to look a little more potent than last year, though.

 

[ptw]

Richardson ?

Richardson ?

The Cows are always doing this...picking up guys from the SANFL (Bienke, Atkinson etc).

Seriously, the last decent mature guy (say > 23 years) to come out of the SANFL was Francou...and even he is no star.

If your starting FF is a guy running around in a 3rd rate club in a 2nd rate comp last year then that is a worry.

Put Jarman there...he is clearly the best option for the club...and FF is clearly the best option for him

ptw

 

[ant]

ptw, I don't believe anyone thinks Richo is going to kick a whole bag of goals for us this year but I think to have that genuine full forward to kick and, dare I say it, 'make a contest', will be invaluable. I love Jarman at FF but that doesn't always work when other teams mark him closely. Having him in a pocket with a Bode or Vardy nearby and Richardson as the main target will hopefully enable him to have a little more freedom. I reckon if you don't pay Richo the respect he deserves, he could kick a few goals. I don't know, this is just a theory.

If Richo at FF doesn't work, no biggie, we'll just re-adjust our forward line with either Hewitt, Perrie or Jarman in the goalsquare. I hardly think our whole game plan for 2001 revolves around Richardson, there's a few other options. But why not give Richo first crack at it.

 

[Crows.ok]

Originally posted by ptw:
Richardson ?

Richardson ?

The Cows are always doing this...picking up guys from the SANFL (Bienke, Atkinson etc).

Seriously, the last decent mature guy (say > 23 years) to come out of the SANFL was Francou...and even he is no star.

If your starting FF is a guy running around in a 3rd rate club in a 2nd rate comp last year then that is a worry.

Put Jarman there...he is clearly the best option for the club...and FF is clearly the best option for him

ptw

The point of it all is that there are options. If not Richardson at FF, then maybe Hewitt, Crowell, or Jarman as you say. Welsh even. Options.

Crows picked their best 18 in their recent trial last week. Richardson was considered the best option at FF amongst these (apart from Hewitt who was unavailable).

Richardson did well enough last week. If he cannot sustain this form, there is quite a queue for places behind him.

Richardson was the best FF in the second best competition in oz. He has improved considerably in fitness and weight since then. Currently, he is worth a shot, and strangely enough is giving a better showing than say a Tredrea!

 

[Crow54]

One good thing about Richo is that he presents a strong presence in the forward line. He's a big, strong, tough looking (check out those tats!) guy, and he'll give the opposition something to think about. Welshy was used in the forward line last year, and you'd have to say Richo looks a bit stronger than Welshy.

 

[Team DJ]

Cameron Jenkins Betts
Menzel Walker Lynch

Vs

Breust Roughead Ceglar
Rioli Gunston Puopolo

I think we are at least a match for the best in the business.