Thoughts On The Port Adelaide Game

[kingyubbo]

His awareness is still very poor. Holding the ball again because he didn't look around.

 

[Drummond]

Really feeling confident about his knee

Agreed, he's back to full fitness and it shows. Great game, especially second half and his work rate was just terrific.

You said his first 7 were innefective on another thread, so his last 7 were spot on. Cant ask for more than that. Just a note, his pass that was intercepted was a good pass...if that makes sense... the Port player was too quick for the receiver.

Doughty would have to be one of the most average players in the league. What exactly does he do? What are his strengths? He makes me nervous every time he's about to dispose of the ball. He did improve after half time but my word his first half was ordinary.

Why? Matchups or because yo think he is struggling?

Struggling.

Who would you replace him with? I think he brings enthusiasm to the side. Disappointed his leads in the last quarter were ignored for the safe chip pass option

No doubting the fact that he does bring enthusiasm but is that reason enough to keep him in? His last quarter was pretty decent tonight, but are people forgetting his first 3 quarters? He barely had a touch.

Funny , I had in my best players to half time. I felt he was one of the few whose intensity was there from the start, he laid a few bumps to Port players to remind them they were playing football

We’ll disagree on this one. Johncock might have been decent to half time but overall he was quiet once again and continues to struggle.

Yep

A rarity, no arguments on this one.

While Meesen languishes. I think Maric is going to be ok

Why have you brought up Meesen? I rate Maric very highly, but I thought he struggled in the ruck tonight, but he worked hard around the ground.

Funny looking hands then...lol at stats

Ooops.

ie ''I'm not sure how Shirley went so I will play the safe option and bag him without bagging him '

I just thought he wasn’t overly effective and if he didn’t play there wouldn’t have been much of a difference. You disagree, fine.

 

[Drummond]

It's being composed enough to make a calm calculated decision. He's still adjusting to the pace of the game, but he's getting better

I think he should remain in the side. The only way he's going to improve on this is getting used to the tempo he needs to play at. Don't see the point in sending him back to the SANFL every second week, where he clearly has the tempo under control.

Spot on. He's about where Knights was last year, and look at Knights now. Good decision making comes from confidence, and confidence comes from being comfortable at this level.

Another excellent example of this point is Hentschel - used to freeze like a rabbit in the headlights until he became comfortable at AFL level, and then we saw just how good he is.

Douglas should play every week.

I obviously watched a different Richard Douglas tonight, so must have the 4 mates who also watched.

You’re right that his disposal on the whole wasn’t too bad tonight. However he goes missing for long periods and he’s still struggling to find the ball. His awareness is pretty poor IMO, as was evident when he got chased down again by an opponent off a long run.

Looks a fair way off AFL material right now. I've been bagged for saying this in the past, but he missed a fair few tackles again tonight that would’ve stuck with a bigger body. Needs a huge pre-season in the weights room.

I know, I know we've been through this before. But does he look slow to anyone else? He tried to chase down a few guys tonight but couldn't get close.

 

[- PC -]

Doughty would have to be one of the most average players in the league. What exactly does he do? What are his strengths? He makes me nervous every time he's about to dispose of the ball. He did improve after half time but my word his first half was ordinary.

Listen I also think Doughty is struggling , but I ask myself do we replace every struggling player with a new kid each week just because.

If Doughty gets dropped this week you wont see me complain, neither will I complain if he is retained

No doubting the fact that he does bring enthusiasm but is that reason enough to keep him in? His last quarter was pretty decent tonight, but are people forgetting his first 3 quarters? He barely had a touch.

Yeah but who would you bring in

We’ll disagree on this one. Johncock might have been decent to half time but overall he was quiet once again and continues to struggle.

I was at the game ( resists ''were you'' ) and will say his off the tv screen work was fantastic ( but then again I am a GOM and I like some old fashioned aggression ) yes his second half was quiet but he looked at one stage to be in the hands of the trainers...knock to the head?

A rarity, no arguments on this one.

No argument on the ones I deleted either

Why have you brought up Meesen? I rate Maric very highly, but I thought he struggled in the ruck tonight, but he worked hard around the ground.

I brought up Meesen because I felt that you wanted to add him into your report on Maric but felt you shouldnt... maybe I am crediting you with too much subtext

 

[Stiffy_18]

He tried to chase down a few guys tonight but couldn't get close.

WTF?!

He chased Shaun Burgoyne all the way from our half forward line to almost our half back line and he was a bee's proverbial from catching him! DEFINETLY not slow. He showed his pace a number of times tonight with the way he chased and applied defensive pressure.

 

[Drummond]

WTF?!

He chased Shaun Burgoyne all the way from our half forward line to almost our half back line and he was a bee's proverbial from catching him! DEFINETLY not slow. He showed his pace a number of times tonight with the way he chased and applied defensive pressure.

I remember Scott Welsh chasing Burgoyne from those positions you mentioned, not Douglas though.

PC, if McGregor comes up and Bock is ready to return, then perhaps bring in Bock for Gill. I just didn't think apart from a little period in the last term he was anything special.

 

[bus24]

I obviously watched a different Richard Douglas tonight, so must have the 4 mates who also watched.

You all had the "Go Pfeiff" pom poms out I'll assume?

You’re right that his disposal on the whole wasn’t too bad tonight. However he goes missing for long periods and he’s still struggling to find the ball.

This is true, but he would've had around the same/slightly more amount of game time as Campbell did last week. You pointed out Campbells TOG as the reason for his low possesion count

His awareness is pretty poor IMO, as was evident when he got chased down again by an opponent off a long run.

The only way he's going to improve this is getting used to the tempo of AFL footy. It's worlds apart from SANFL and the gap is far greater than people realise.

Looks a fair way off AFL material right now. I've been bagged for saying this in the past, but he missed a fair few tackles again tonight that would’ve stuck with a bigger body. Needs a huge pre-season in the weights room.

It's well acknowledged that he needs to bulk up substantially. The club knew this when they drafted him. Ideally he's an inside player, meaning he needs to put a fair bit of weight on.

I know, I know we've been through this before. But does he look slow to anyone else? He tried to chase down a few guys tonight but couldn't get close.

Actually in the games against Fremantle and St.Kilda he made quite a few good chases resulting in turnovers. Tonight he gave a great chase from half forward down to half back after giving a huge headstart, got reasonably close. He's not slow, he might have slowed down a tad this year due to adding extra weight, but overall he is NOT slow. His draft camp results show this.

 

[- PC -]

PC, if McGregor comes up and Bock is ready to return, then perhaps bring in Bock for Gill. I just didn't think apart from a little period in the last term he was anything special.

Ok thats who you would bring in...yet McGregor played and Bock would have played alongside Gill anyway...dont forget Doughty came in for Bock

But you answered my question

 

[Drummond]

You all had the "Go Pfeiff" pom poms out I'll assume?

Yes, because they're all Norwood fans. I guess other people can't agree with me that he was disappointing tonight? I know you love him, but get serious, he wasn't that good tonight.

This is true, but he would've had around the same/slightly more amount of game time as Campbell did last week. You pointed out Campbells TOG as the reason for his low possesion count

Fact is, he's gone 5 consecutive games with less than 10 possessions. Just needs to find more of the ball, would've though he would be by now.

The only way he's going to improve this is getting used to the tempo of AFL footy. It's worlds apart from SANFL and the gap is far greater than people realise.

You saying I don't realise the gap? Of course I do, and it's huge. Doesn't mean he's not having a real tough time dealing with it.

It's well acknowledged that he needs to bulk up substantially. The club knew this when they drafted him. Ideally he's an inside player, meaning he needs to put a fair bit of weight on.

Can't argue with that.

Actually in the games against Fremantle and St.Kilda he made quite a few good chases resulting in turnovers. Tonight he gave a great chase from half forward down to half back after giving a huge headstart, got reasonably close. He's not slow, he might have slowed down a tad this year due to adding extra weight, but overall he is NOT slow. His draft camp results show this.

Neil Craig said Douglas was brought back because he added flexibility as he could play in defence. Did he play there at all tonight? Didn’t look like it.

 

[bus24]

I guess other people can't agree with me that he was disappointing tonight? I know you love him, but get serious, he wasn't that good tonight.

I didn't say he was good/great/orgasmic. Overall he was OK and he did some nice things. He looked an improved player from the Saints and Freo games.

Fact is, he's gone 5 consecutive games with less than 10 possessions. Just needs to find more of the ball, would've though he would be by now.

Those statistics can be misleading

Round 7 v Brisbane and Round 8 v Richmond I remember him spending most of his time as a deep forward. Which isn't his go.

He then got injured and didn't play again until round 15, where he was always going to take time to re-adjust.

No surprise that his best games came against Fremantle and the Bulldogs playing out of defence. That is his best position at this stage. Either that or having a tagging role could be good for him.

You saying I don't realise the gap? Of course I do, and it's huge. Doesn't mean he's not having a real tough time dealing with it.

Of course it's going to be hard to adjust. He actually had started to, before being pushed deep forward and getting injured.

Neil Craig said Douglas was brought back because he added flexibility as he could play in defence. Did he play there at all tonight? Didn’t look like it.

Could play in defence. It gave him more options/possibilities if he needed another small defender to match up on their small forwards.

As it turned out the super attacking Port Power packed quite a few numbers around the footy (probably in response to us doing the same) and didn't have a whole lot of small forwards operating at once.

He was on Ebert for a short while (5 minutes maybe?), but that didn't continue. Terrible matchup if that had continued.

 

[Crow-mo]

I disagree.

I actually thought Douglas was clean in the wet conditions & used the ball well - has good vision & poise. Didn't get a heap of it, but what he did do, was good tonight.

fwiw I thought douglas was a non event tonight.

 

[Crow-mo]

Full Time Report:

McGregor .....well it's nearly over son

yep, lets pick on the injured player

 

[Crow-mo]

But we were able to plan for Bocks loss ....Brogans was last minute ....PLUS some really bad coaching decisions by Port coaches who I can only assume wanted to get well in front to then rest Lade and bottle up the game.

Only rationale behind Choco's use of Lade.

In terms of my opinion that Port lost the game ....we'll listen to all the judges over next couple of days and see where popular unbiased opinion lay.

listening to the commentators a bit too much there WW?

1. it never used to be uncommon to expect a ruckman to go all day
2. they didn't have anyone else. who did you think they were going to throw in there? Trent Ormand-Allen?

they got killed because they tried to employ an attacking flood, and weren't clean enough with their skills in the wet to execute. that was dumb, the lade thing is just parrotting walls & co. for the sake of it.

without a bit of magic from ebert, they'd have been blown away.

 

[Allefgib]

listening to the commentators a bit too much there WW?

1. it never used to be uncommon to expect a ruckman to go all day
2. they didn't have anyone else. who did you think they were going to throw in there? Trent Ormand-Allen?

they got killed because they tried to employ an attacking flood, and weren't clean enough with their skills in the wet to execute. that was dumb, the lade thing is just parrotting walls & co. for the sake of it.

without a bit of magic from ebert, they'd have been blown away.

I also think its a tad unreasonable of WW to assume if they HAD rested Lade earlier in the game that the Crows would not have assumed more of an ascendancy during those periods he was resting. Game may have been won earlier had he been rested.

 

[nintiwirri]

Well done to Crows FC last night.They wanted it more and were much stronger than our young blokes.Crows coach Craig outcoached Williams too.I still only rate you a rough chance to make the 8 but I think we have been over rated too.

 

[- PC -]

Crowd noise was brilliant...but why does it take Port to bring out the noise?

And yes Port supporters do leave early

 

[swanfan]

Well, I woke up this morning without a voice. The first half left me ropable, I couldn't believe how badly we were playing.
The last two quarters I saw us play the way we should be playing.
Our persistence and pressure paid dividends. I was proud of the lads for just continually harassing Port and getting over the line.

Onward and upward lads.

 

[pjcrows]

Re: Shirley - I just thought he wasn’t overly effective and if he didn’t play there wouldn’t have been much of a difference. You disagree, fine.

See I thought some of Shirley's attack on the ball and disposal was excellent tonight, and his defensive game was good. I can see your comment as an underhanded dig because he was picked ahead of Campbell. Craig was asked about 4 times at the press conference about Campbell. He said that Bryce is lacking a real defensive side to his game at the moment and he needs to work on it. And going on that, I would agree with Shirley's selection as a more negating midfielder in wet conditions. 1+ to Craig.

 

[- PC -]

See I thought some of Shirley's attack on the ball and disposal was excellent tonight, and his defensive game was good. I can see your comment as an underhanded dig because he was picked ahead of Campbell. Craig was asked about 4 times at the press conference about Campbell. He said that Bryce is lacking a real defensive side to his game at the moment and he needs to work on it. And going on that, I would agree with Shirley's selection as a more negating midfielder in wet conditions. 1+ to Craig.

JohnK was the 4th one and boy didnt Neil give him a curt response

 

[macca23]

JohnK was the 4th one and boy didnt Neil give him a curt response

And rightly so.

Craig had just outcoached Choco in a tight enthralling game and two peanuts continually wanted to concentrate on the non-selection of a bottom of the squad player - someone who didn't even play in the game!!

WTF??

 

[ThePeckers]

Burton is keeping our finals hopes alive. Gill has so much potential, just can't kick at the moment(haha). I thought Van Berlo did very well, shut Chad down.

Torney made me so proud.

 

[Macca19]

I also think its a tad unreasonable of WW to assume if they HAD rested Lade earlier in the game that the Crows would not have assumed more of an ascendancy during those periods he was resting. Game may have been won earlier had he been rested.

fwiw, I think that when Maric went into the ruck, we should have thrown Thurstans in there for some of that time. Although not a great ruckman, hes decent enough as a pinch hitter to allow Lade a 5-8 minute rest a quarter.


Our coaching staff went back into their shells last night. Didnt make any moves at all.

 

[- PC -]

And rightly so.

Craig had just outcoached Choco in a tight enthralling game and two peanuts continually wanted to concentrate on the non-selection of a bottom of the squad player - someone who didn't even play in the game!!

WTF??

Its the Rucci disease.

 

[ams4crows]

so as some as you know I was at a wedding when the game was on. Anyway both my Dad and I had little pocket radio's and were listening in and it was half way through the Best man Speech when the siren went and Both him and I jumped out of our seat yelling YES!!! we hi-5ed each other and sat back down we had to explain the crows just won and it's on the wedding video so they'll remember forever exactly when we beat port!! WOOHOO!!

Great came so much fight and passion! loved it!

 

[swanfan]

so as some as you know I was at a wedding when the game was on. Anyway both my Dad and I had little pocket radio's and were listening in and it was half way through the Best man Speech when the siren went and Both him and I jumped out of our seat yelling YES!!! we hi-5ed each other and sat back down we had to explain the crows just won and it's on the wedding video so they'll remember forever exactly when we beat port!! WOOHOO!!

Great came so much fight and passion! loved it!

That takes dedication to a new level.