Thoughts On The Melbourne game

[WaynesWorld19]

Well what a depressing day ......having said that the game standard in the first half was a very good standard .....after half time a bit boring ....probably mainly due to Melbournes dominance and the gap in scores.

You can't win footy with half a dozen or so players not switched onto the contest .......Melnourne definately were the "hungrier" side today .......we played up to about the standard of the previous two games BUT this time we got caught out by a desperate side.

First qtr was pretty even with what apperaed a strategy to drag Melb defenders up the ground and then turn them ......worked Ok too .......however for the rest of the game what was noticable was that our forwards played from behind and were generally a kick & a half from the Crows player releasing the ball ....easy pickings for the Melb defence.

The other noticable thing was the upsurges in tempo, attack on the ball and urgency at varous stages of the game ............this is the problem ......why were there such variances in the Crows game, why were Melb the hunter on the day and the Crows the chaser ........why aren't we more consistent at attcking the ball and getting it first rather than apparently putting the foot on and taking it off the accelerator???????

There were many instances today where in critical passages our players were positioned either for the link handball or the receive only for poor foot & hand skills to create a turnover to Melb

The shortage of KPP pressure for spots is starting to hurt us .....and frankly I'm not sure we have the answers other than to get the existing KPP players back into some form..

OK for the players who just were not switched on ......and remember some had cameo prerformances BUT 10 minutes of footy isn't going to win many games particularly if there are half a dozen in the same boat.

Bock: Start of the season I saw him at training .....he was confident, aggressive and importantly using his strong 193cm frame to shrug tackles and take strong contest marks .......well he's a shadow of that player .....easily stopped by smaller players, not using pace to get free and SETTLE before kicking ....and that hands in the back free against was simply demonstrating that he's not in the correct frame of mind.

Welsh: Had a very good player in Bell on him and he simply did not work hard enough ...was behind all day .....lead at 3/4 pace ....tried chest marks when the hands were the go ....simply not ready to play footy.

Stevens: looked lost at CHB .....was benched ...and thru neccessity after Perrie got injured had to go forward .....did play so OK footy ...but as i said 10-15 min of reasonable footy does not redeem the day and he (and Bock) should be back in the SANFL if replacements were available.

Thompson: yes he had a tight tag from Godfrey ......but he simply did not work hard enough to lose the tag ...easy prey ...easy victory for Godfrey

Johncock: overweight, un-fit and today a liability

Doughty: maybe because I'm seein the game live V on TV ....but he is just not connecting with me ...... probbaly because defensively each of his opponents seemed to lose him pretty easily.

........................................................................................................

Hudson: he's injured and still performing ok ....gave away heaps of free kicks today as he struggled with the high leaping Jeff White who played a great game and basically pinpointed most taps ......hence their midfield crushed ours both from clearances and offensively setting up many scoring opportunities.

Knights: got a heap of the ball .....so did his opponents ......Melb seemed to play thru Knights opponent in the first half on the wing .....Wheatley was hurting us more with his possessions than Knights possessions.
His disposal now is strating to concern .....bagging it onto the boot to no-one really, taking forwever to dispose when confronted and generally choosing the wrong option or a faulty disposal.

Certainly had a high possession game ...the kid can get it ....but very little hurt factor

Torney: said last week he looked slow ...today last week appeared an abberation as he was quick and earn't his keep.

Griffin: very good to play as he did today after last weeks injury .....but why after putting Griffin to FF in the last qtr did Craig move him after 5 minutes when the ball hadn't even gone into our forward 50 ....strange move as i would have left Griffin at FF

Rutten: superb game on Neitz

Van Berlo: his opponent lost him quite easily on occasions today ...but he battled away.

Mattner: started on the wing .....at least tried to attack when he got the ball ...made some mistakes at critical stages of the game.

Porplyzia: had cameo roles today, playing very well in patches and then going un-sighted for long periods ....needs to become more consistent.

Edwards/ Goodwin/Macleod/Bassett: The leadership group were switched on .....they came to play and lead the team well .......it was the second tier group that were lazy

It's unusual for us to make as many skill errors ....IMO we had period during the game when the run was in our favour and we were building momentum ....only to be let down by critical skill errors.

Yes just one loss but there were worrying signs...

 

[conVINCEd]

Bock: ....and that hands in the back free against was simply demonstrating that he's not in the correct frame of mind.

I'll forgive you as you were at the game and may not have seen replays, but this was a complete and utter mistake from the umpire - Bock used his forearm throughout the contest. Simply a case of the umpire not being able to see, so plucking out a free kick he though might have been there for the home side.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

I'll forgive you as you were at the game and may not have seen replays, but this was a complete and utter mistake from the umpire - Bock used his forearm throughout the contest. Simply a case of the umpire not being able to see, so plucking out a free kick he though might have been there for the home side.

No ...I had a direct view ...the umpire was in perfect position ...and look at Bock's reaction to the free kick ....it was "how dumb was I"

 

[Drummond]

No ...I had a direct view ...the umpire was in perfect position ...and look at Bock's reaction to the free kick ....it was "how dumb was I"

So you've paraded your stupidity in more than one thread. You’re going to feel awfully silly when you see the replay.

 

[tribey]

So you've paraded your stupidity in more than one thread. You’re going to feel awfully silly when you see the replay.

I'm hoping for a third and a fourth - it will make the fall that much greater.

 

[Drummond]

I'm hoping for a third and a fourth - it will make the fall that much greater.

Indeed.

 

[crowsarethebest]

WW- look at the replay and you will see that it shouldn't have been a free.

 

[pjcrows]

Thoughts on the Melbourne game? We were garbage.

Thoughts on the season in general? 6W 4L, playing nowhere near our best and looking forward to a solid run home.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Thompson: yes he had a tight tag from Godfrey ......but he simply did not work hard enough to lose the tag ...easy prey ...easy victory for Godfrey

There's an emerging trends with taggers in the competition where they are no longer assigned to the opposition's best player.

For example, against the Bulldogs teams are placing the tight tag on Adam Cooney rather than Scott West. I assume that the logic is that West has had 10+ years of experience dealing with taggers and always picks up his 30+ possessions anyway. Even the very good negating players struggle to keep him out of the action. Whereas Cooney would be somewhat unfamiliar with the tactic.

Today the Demons chose Thompson when everyone (including me) assumed Godfrey would run with Simon Goodwin.

 

[On the bench]

I thought the game was absolutely brilliant!

 

[bigman]

We are struggling at the moment.

Have we played above ourselves over the last two years? Or are we so well drilled and disciplined that we have up until now been able to make up for weaknesses that are obvious on our list and are just beginning to show. The next few months will tell us a lot.

Some things that concern me and I would do. I said a number of weeks ago that Bock had to go back to CHB. He has been a weak conributor for many weeks now and his wide turning circle is better suited to the back half. Stevo should start up forward next week and Kenny needs to come in for Perrie. We have few backups with Sellar, Tippett not ready or fit. Gill may get his chance if he can show something over the next few weeks.

I have been a big fan of Mick Doughty but his form this year has been not up to the stndard of previous years. His lack of marking ability has cost us at key times this year and he appears to have slowed up a little. He needs to use every possession well and he made a few critical errors today. On this performance i would replace him with Massie. He may get a reprieve with the possible loss of Radar.

The Knight Rider annoyed me today. He had a lot of possessions but a lot of his kicks did not hit targets. He had a chance to kick a few goals but he did not have the confidence to go for the goal or he kicked poorly with is execution. He needed to keep his head over the ball at a few key times.

Scott Welsh should not be happy with his efforts today -run down twice for near certain goals - you need to have more peripheral awareness. Not enough marking attempts stuck and not enough defensive pressure.

Our second tier mideild failed today. Thommo had a quiet game, Knighter could not hit a target with is leg, Doughty did not get enough of the ball, Shirley had little impact and if he was on Cameron the Bruce he gave him far too much room. VB he too makes too many errors with his disposal.

Porps did some good things and can kick a goal -he must nearly be with Welshy the best kick in the team. However he is not a fast mover and he often gets caught with the ball. Great hands though.

Bassett - played a more defensive game on Robertson and did well.

Rutten - tried hard but Neitz shaded him on the day.

Stiffy -looks like he is overweight and he is not fully fit. Played well in th last quarter.

Torney - one of our better players today.

Stevo - must play forward next week.

Mattner - crucial miss in last quarter. He played a reasonable game but he gave Green too much room at times.

Thommo- worked hard but another notch on the belt for Godfrey.

Edwards, Goodwin our best on ballers today by a mile - its a pity this has been the case for the last 5-7 years.

Griffin - he is trying and showing promise but as you would expect he is not taking the game apart. he needs to work on the defensive part of his game when the oppostion has the ball.

Huddo - tried very very hard and he was one of the reasons we got back into the game in the last quarter.

Next week changes: Ins: Massie, Kenny, Jericho
Outs: Doughty, Perrie, Reilly

 

[Wood_Duck]

Outs: Doughty, Perrie, Reilly

Doughty will not get dropped.

 

[jenny61_99]

I don't think doughty will be dropped either. But then i didn't think Jericho would be based on form! What the hell do I know????

I'd like to see:

Out: Perrie, Reilly (inj)
In: McGregor, Jericho

 

[bigman]

Doughty will not get dropped.

I know. I have been a huge fan of Micks but his 2007 form is nowhere near as good as 2005 or 2006 in particular.

There are few options in the SANFL atm.

I do think though that he will need to improve his form to guarantee his place in the side.

His last quarter probably saved him. He got some important touches and was one of the players to get us back inthe game. But look at his form in the first three quarters.

 

[macca23]

No ...I had a direct view ...the umpire was in perfect position ...and look at Bock's reaction to the free kick ....it was "how dumb was I"

Wasn't a free kick IMO. Held his ground but didn't use his hands.

 

[Mego Red]

I thought the game was absolutely brilliant!

Good on you. Congrats.

 

[glengowan]

Good write ups bigman and WW. Agree with most of what you've written.

Positives today
- Rutten and Bassett in the backline
- Stevens move forward
- Craig's 2nd half back against the wall moves of rotating good players through full forward. At least he tried something different.
- the form of Edwards and Goodwin
- Ricciuto got through the game, albeit with little influence

Negatives
- is there enough talent through the rest of the list? I don't think so and today it showed
- Thrashed in ruck until Hudson decided to play in the last quarter. Was it just that White got tired or was Hudson not switched on. Griffin was out of his depth.
- quick give skills and handballing in general, particularly Mattner and Knights.
- the form of Mattner, Perrie, Bock and Welsh. Massie, Burton, McGregor and Jericho anyone?
- Thompson's inconsistency. I thought he had stepped up, but he is far from being in the same class as a Goodwin or Edwards at this stage.
- the umpiring and rules, again. Though I will keep complaining until they get rid of the hands in the back and ease up on holding the ball.

-----------------------

The Crows would have expected to win all 3 of the last 3 games against the bottom 3 sides, but have scraped through two and beaten convincingly in the third.

That perhaps shows the even competition, but next week will tell a big story of where the Crows are currently at.

 

[master bate]

Just got to say that as you guys might know, you went very hard at getting Bell last year but he was happy to stay with us, hoping that when he got over OP (ie this year) he could play consistent good footy. It felt very good watching him and Scotty Thompson today. Playing Adelaide does seem to bring the best out of him and it usually goes the other way with Thommo (is very hard to boo him cause he was a favourite).

Watching Brad Miller really annoys dees fans, do you get the same feeling with Bock and Stevens? I'd paly Bock at CHB, but not on Mooney, Nablett would suit him well and Stevens forward.

Jason Torney is underrated

 

[bus24]

Probably a new experience for Thommo today, not sure if he's been tagged a whole lot in his career. Needs to learn to run harder to break the tag.

Having said that, I'll cut him some slack, as he had Godfrey taking a piggyback ride on him all day.

 

[jenny61_99]

I was surprised Godfrey got Thommo - felt sure he'd wear Goodwin like a second skin. Thommo did not handle it at all well... probably a good lesson for him (and us)?

 

[master bate]

Good write ups bigman and WW. Agree with most of what you've written.

Positives today
- Rutten and Bassett in the backline
- Ricciuto got through the game, albeit with little influence


- Thrashed in ruck until Hudson decided to play in the last quarter. Was it just that White got tired or was Hudson not switched on. Griffin was out of his depth.
-
- the umpiring and rules, again. Though I will keep complaining until they get rid of the hands in the back and ease up on holding the ball.

Would give so much for Rutten! Ricciuto showed he still has it, kicked a ripping goal. Hudson won alot of hitouts, Griffin was only against Johnson, don't think you lost the game in the ruck. Thought the umps were good on holding the ball, can't remember too many today, in my heavily biased view i think they were poor but didn't favour anyone, amazing how many more frees you get when your winning (us in the 2nd, you in the last).

 

[macca23]

Here we go, bagging Knights' disposal. He had a lot of friends in case you didn't notice....and one of them was VB.

I'm bloody tired of reading that rubbish time and time again.

His form is very consistent and right up there with the best week after week.


He works his arse off to get the ball and while he makes some errors so do some of the players who get it about one third as much as he does.

 

[jenny61_99]

I probably had Porps, McLeod, Goodwin, Edwards and Knights in my top 5 players. Thought Huddo battled manfully (as always). Was very difficult beyond that.

 

[macca23]

I probably had Porps, McLeod, Goodwin, Edwards and Knights in my top 5 players. Thought Huddo battled manfully (as always). Was very difficult beyond that.

They were my 5 best players but not in that order.

Huddo had a corker of a last quarter to get us going from the centre breaks.

 

[bus24]

I'm one of Knightas biggest fans, but his disposal today was poor. He was great at getting it, but when it came to disposing of it, it got ugly.