Thoughts On The Richmond Game

[pjcrows]

Absolutely pathetic, lazy display, make no mistake. We were shown up by a young Richmond side that is winless and sits on the bottom of the ladder. We had a good first quarter, and yet let them hang around due to our poor work in defence. The second quarter was nothing short of disgraceful, and then we saw about 5-10 minutes of the rubbish that is “tempo football”.

We won sure, we got the 4 points, but I’m taking zilch away from this game. Our defence was atrocious, Rutten got comfortably beaten for the first time of the year, and Mattner had at least 5 clangers and needs to be dropped IMO.

We saw the good, the bad and the ugly from Chris Knights tonight. Had some great clearances and did some hard running, but his disposal was iffy tonight. At least half of his handballs led to turnovers; why does he go for these 2 metre handballs that put teammates under pressure?

I thought van Berlo was great, and he was so calm and collected out there. He didn’t rush his disposal like most of the team, and almost all of his 20 disposals were effective. Good game from VB.

Brett Burton, well, a new thread might need to be made about why he’s actually in the team.

You certainly know when Drummond arrives

Four points, mate. We're in second, maybe third gear. Just relax.

 

[pjcrows]

So you'd prefer us 5-3 than 8-0?

I'd prefer us to be not playing our best footy in May. Two years in a row we have cruised through the first part of the year and then fallen over. I'd much rather build towards the finals, win enough games to get us into the Top 4 with our best team on the park, ready for an assualt on the finals. Look at Sydney over the last few years.

 

[Crow Envy]

Very frustrating game. We seem to battle in the games we are expected to win and then pull out good away performances such as WB and Brisbane. Im off to the Carlton and Melbourne games so hope the trend continues.

Stevens has had some major clangers in the last 3 games, twice tonight his kicks went to the opposition, which is suprising because last year his disposal was good.

We have to give Burton a rest. What is the point of playing him? Craigy said there were a few due back so lets start with next week.

 

[camsmith]

it sounds ridiculous but Richmond are a far better side than 0-8 suggests.

They have now run all four top4 sides to within a few minutes of winning.

Everyone focuses on Geelongs game against them, but forget Geelong were under enormous pressure too at that stage and just had one of those night where everything clicks (like us against Essendon last year).

Good to hear someone with sense talking about us. If you take the Geelong game out of it we've pretty much been in every game.

Well done Crows.. im really pissed off about losing but im happy both teams had a crack at it and the tackling was great to watch. Good luck in the finals.

 

[CrowHop]

Absolutely pathetic, lazy display, make no mistake. We were shown up by a young Richmond side that is winless and sits on the bottom of the ladder. We had a good first quarter, and yet let them hang around due to our poor work in defence. The second quarter was nothing short of disgraceful, and then we saw about 5-10 minutes of the rubbish that is “tempo football”.

We won sure, we got the 4 points, but I’m taking zilch away from this game. Our defence was atrocious, Rutten got comfortably beaten for the first time of the year, and Mattner had at least 5 clangers and needs to be dropped IMO.

We saw the good, the bad and the ugly from Chris Knights tonight. Had some great clearances and did some hard running, but his disposal was iffy tonight. At least half of his handballs led to turnovers; why does he go for these 2 metre handballs that put teammates under pressure?

I thought van Berlo was great, and he was so calm and collected out there. He didn’t rush his disposal like most of the team, and almost all of his 20 disposals were effective. Good game from VB.

Brett Burton, well, a new thread might need to be made about why he’s actually in the team.

Agree with this. A few points :

1) Knights. Some good work, just needs to work on his disposal. So frustrating because he is such a ball magnet.

2) Burton. Not sure why he was out there, didnt look fit and could probably have done with the rest after having gastro during the week.

3) Van Berlo. Agree completely, the value of a player goes up ten fold when they ahev exquisite foot skills. Hit targets regularly tonight.

4) Rutten. Beaten tonight, but wasnt terrible. Richmond midfield actually hit Richo with good passes tonight.

5) Mattner. So frustrating. Needs to learn to play a bit more conservatively. Run 10 metres, break the lines and kick long = high percentage play.

6) Tempo football. Bowden and at times Tivendale had a field day picking up cheap possies tonight across half back. Possibly the softest players in teh AFL, hence we tried to hold the ball up more often. I think the solution is to run, carry the ball and hit targets. Keepings off is ok, but you need to work the ball forward aswell.

7) Vince and Douglas. Players with potential but out of form. Will be the first ones dropped when the likes of Porplyzia, Bode, Reilly, Johncock et al come back in the team.

8) Sarge. Good game tonight, sloppy at times, but 10 marks as a lead up forward, I thought was ok.

9) Ladder position. We're 5-3 and fielding a B grade side. A lot more positives to come.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Care to retract the comment on these 3 lazy boys above old son - from the sounds of it some of our best players

Griffin will be as good as we have had since Renhny

Why????......Welsh WAS lazy in the first half ....didn't chase and Richmond were able to take the ball out of our forward line way too easy.


Because he plays better in the second half after I'd suggest the team got a fair roasting doesn't then re-write history ....old son

 

[crow87]

I would have thought Welsh was anything but lazy tonight! His tackles, his marks under pressure and 5 goals. By the time he kicked that last goal it was clear he was well & truly stuffed! Some people aren't easily pleased.

Yes, his efforts regarding 1 percenters have improved this year and tonight they were good-mostly 2nd half, but (as I said in another thread) thats gotta be the minimum not a standout performance then back to the same old.

 

[Drummond]

Face up to the fact that Richmond played with a lot of spirit and intensity. As for Knights he made a few errors, but I dunno why you think his handballing is poor, consider the position he's in when he makes those handballs.

As for VB, I thought he was just okay. Made some errors, looked lost at times. A solid enough game but not his best. Can't question his commitment but I question whether he is on the sort of rise that you blokes reckon he is.

I think I understand your motive here. You pump up every other young bloke on our list, and you tend to cop a bagging for it, so you have to look slightly objective by questioning the youngster who everyone at this club rates so highly. That’s it isn’t it?

VB was great tonight and I suggest you watch the game again. His hands were sharp in close, he got boot to ball often while under intense pressure, and he ran extremely hard tonight and as a result of this he took 7 marks.

So for you to say he looked “lost at times” is quite bewildering.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Gotta agree with Drummond ....nothing but 4 points gained from tonights game

There is a reason why those teams who play experienced players outplay teams who "supposedly" are in the youth rebuilding phase .......young players are up and down and in pressure games they can let you down.

Our young players with the exception of Griffin in the first half had a forgettable night .......Knights was superb in the first half when he had run in his legs ....but as he became tired and the pressure lifted he went back into panic mode ......2 direct gaosl for Richmond and nearly a third which could have cost us the game.

Douglas just has to be dropped .....good player in the making but AP he's getting "gift" games due to player unavailability.

Vince and van Berlo also were fairly ineffectual although Van berlo was probably the pick just becuase of his composure.

We simply gave Richmond too much time and space around the centre corridor and Richmond CAN play well in those circumstances .......
We took them too easy and very nearly paid the price and lost a great opportunity to improve our percentage and most importantly continue to build fear about the Crows side of 07.

Griffin: Iam convinced ....a star in the making ......he seemed to run out of steam in the second half and those who were at the game maybe they can tell us whether he was changing off the bench with Hudson in the second half.

For 202cm he's a very good one grab mark, has a great leap, and is quick and well balanced .....for a thin cat he doesn;t get knocked off balance.

He taps the ball beautifully and can change as a forward ......

Jericho: as a person who thought last year could have been a wakeup call ....I'll have to completely support Macca23 ....the guy is a D.U.D!!

Has NO strength in his body .... cannot break tackles, still goes one handed for balls in the air and on the ground .....and under pressure has no composure or awareness around him ....picks poor options.

get him out on his own and he looks a million dollars ......in a good side he'll look good ....but in a struggling side he would really struggle to get his own ball ....in other words he's a passenger

Perrie: for all those back biters ......again he was the rock in our attack ....didn't kick the goals but he was a safe passage to goal and very servicable game as we can normally expect from pez.

Shirley: two weeks in a row ....two plaudits .....a very good game and AP he's a very important cog in our midfield andIam happy to acknowledge his great efforts

Burton: What Is The Use ........he must be rested because he's not giving any output other than taking up a good opposition defender ......but IMO the words out with other clubs and that ploy will not succeed going forward.....in fact teams will actually use his opponent knowing Burtons limitations.

Welsh: great second half full of effort .....S..t first half ....pure laziness.

Doughty: also much better second half after drinking from the same well as Welsh

Mattner: haven't had much of an opinion on him playing so deep but tonight we needed him running thru the centre and breaking Richmond up ...much the same as Edwards was doing for Richmond (I can see why the Crows were so keen on him).

Macleod: excellent first qtr......servicable second half but you can say that about most of the team.

In fact I always believe you can tell a lot about how a team runs on to the park and warms up ....look at the replay and just see how lucklustre the team looked running onto the ground and during warm up .....simply thought they had to turn up.

 

[jenny61_99]

I didn't think VB's game was great - in fact very disappointed to half time. Douglas did a couple of good things and had a couple of clangers. Mattner was shocking. Stevens was shocking. Rutten was shocking. Burton was shocking. Bock was ordinary for half the game.

On the upside, Jericho and Griffen both put in great games!

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Face up to the fact that Richmond played with a lot of spirit and intensity. As for Knights he made a few errors, but I dunno why you think his handballing is poor, consider the position he's in when he makes those handballs.
.

No, no, no ....I have seen Richmond too many times and seen them play NICE footy when the pressure's off ........apply the pressure and the passes miss targets and players like Tivindale and Bowden drop in a heap.

No tonights effort was purely due to our lack of attack on the ball.

 

[Blue Red and Gold]

I keep hearing about how Jericho has plenty of pace but I have failed to see it. Ever.

Is it a myth? I didnt think he was too bad tonight. (did anyone else hear on 5aa a caller say he is possible captain material? WTF?) However there were a few occasions when it was a free ball on the wing or something, it was a foot race and he lost every time.

 

[Stiffy_18]

How was Jericho's game for those watching?

He was solid. First half he played on the wing and across HBF mainly coming on to give others a breather.

I thought he really gave us a bit of spark in the forward line in that 3rd quarter. Missed a shot on goal but set up another couple.

Overall a solid showing by Jericho.

As for the game, if there is such a thing as a disappointing win, then this was it. It was all in the mind and the work rate. We went into it cocky as some of the supporters on this board and nearly went home empty handed.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

I didn't think VB's game was great - in fact very disappointed to half time. Douglas did a couple of good things and had a couple of clangers. Mattner was shocking. Stevens was shocking. Rutten was shocking. Burton was shocking. Bock was ordinary for half the game.

On the upside, Jericho and Griffen both put in great games!

Jenny really don't think you can bracket Jerichos game and Griffins ........ALL jerichos disposals were uncontested .....how many tackles did he lay? ....how many balls did he win in tight???......


No ......he's just a pretty boy footballer who likes to run with the ball in one hand and pose .....he'll let us down everytime the pressure is on

 

[macca23]

Nah.
I try and watch a minimum of a couple of games per week and can safely say the Crows have had a trademark on it for a few years.

Crap!!

I go to a lot of Port games and believe me, they invented the boo!!

Hoot and holler like stuck pigs for no reason!!

 

[Stiffy_18]

Why????......Welsh WAS lazy in the first half ....didn't chase and Richmond were able to take the ball out of our forward line way too easy.


Because he plays better in the second half after I'd suggest the team got a fair roasting doesn't then re-write history ....old son

VERY harsh on Welsh! His workrate was definetly up for the whole game. He did chase and put the defensive pressure on their defenders. He also marked well and kicked 5 goal.

He was one of our best tonight.

 

[Drummond]

Jericho was pretty pathetic; anyone who praises his game has no clue. A few thoughts on his game:

• No awareness, as I mentioned last week. He will not get anywhere and this is a major reason why.
• Soft attack on the ball. At least 3 occasions he went into contests half heartedly and his opponent came away with the ball. He doesn’t like taking any hits, he doesn’t like being tackled, and he refuses to get in and under.
• One handed attempts at marking. Seriously, it might not have cost him tonight but it will, you can be sure of that.

He needs to be dropped, and then delisted.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

VERY harsh on Welsh! His workrate was definetly up for the whole game. He did chase and put the defensive pressure on their defenders. He also marked well and kicked 5 goal.

He was one of our best tonight.

Just thought Stiffy early in the game there were a few half hearted chases ....certainly winning the game and him kicking 5 goals covers a lot of sins .....but those half hearted efforts can start a malaise that infects the team

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Jericho was pretty pathetic; anyone who praises his game has no clue. A few thoughts on his game:

• No awareness, as I mentioned last week. He will not get anywhere and this is a major reason why.
• Soft attack on the ball. At least 3 occasions he went into contests half heartedly and his opponent came away with the ball. He doesn’t like taking any hits, he doesn’t like being tackled, and he refuses to get in and under.
• One handed attempts at marking. Seriously, it might not have cost him tonight but it will, you can be sure of that.

He needs to be dropped, and then delisted.

As a previous strong supporter for his retention on the list for this season ....I now officially am withdrawing from the "vote for Jericho" campaign and now support Drummonds views 100%

 

[macca23]

He was solid. First half he played on the wing and across HBF mainly coming on to give others a breather.

I thought he really gave us a bit of spark in the forward line in that 3rd quarter. Missed a shot on goal but set up another couple.

Overall a solid showing by Jericho.

A reasonable game Stiffy, but nothing that says he's safe from the chop at the year end.

I agree with WW - he's never going to win you the hard ball and they're the ones that win matches.

Nothing special about him at all - just a vanilla player on the list.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

A reasonable game Stiffy, but nothing that says he's safe from the chop at the year end.

I agree with WW - he's never going to win you the hard ball and they're the ones that win matches.

Nothing special about him at all - just a vanilla player on the list.

All glory ...no guts

 

[Stiffy_18]

A reasonable game Stiffy, but nothing that says he's safe from the chop at the year end.

I agree with WW - he's never going to win you the hard ball and they're the ones that win matches.

Nothing special about him at all - just a vanilla player on the list.

Look I never said he was safe. In fact he needs to do a lot more if he is to keep his spot on the list at the end of the year.

All, I am saying is that he was solid tonight and I thought he gave us something in the forward line in that 3rd quarter. He had a great lead and a mark but missed the goal. He also set up a couple of goals with his passes but there are also things in his game that have not improved and they need to improve if he is to stay on the list.

If Craig decides to bring in Reilly, Johncock and Porplyzia next week, then Douglas, Vince and Jericho will get the tap on the shoulder.

Jericho wasn't great tonight but he was as pathetic as some like to make him out.

 

[bigman]

We need to make a few changes this week.

The side needs to be freshened up in mind and body for next week.

We could look at Reilly for Vince.

Kenny could come in for the Birdman, or we could go for one of the younger players (Pfeiffer or Campbell) depending on form.

The jury is out on the walls. He is such an outside player.... and he is a selfish player..... I am sure if he cannot be more team orientated his time in the team will not be long. I am sure he will get some wraps for his ability to carry the ball but some criticism for his unwillingness to pass off the ball in the last quarter to a player in a much better position and to go one handed at a critical time. He will not be dropped on this performance however.

Griffen and Huddo were the highights of the night for me and particularly Griff. He really looks like he can become a dominant player at this level.

Good to see Thommo get back into the game after half time after a very quiet first half. Shirley very good again. Welsh presented well all night but must improve his defensive game - it was down in the first half.

Bock may need to start on the pine for a while next week at the start of the game. We need him to get back into form asap.

 

[Drummond]

Dude, look around you. I'm not the only one saying VB wasn't especially impressive tonight. Wasn't poor but definitely not "great".

I have no motive; I'm not screaming for VB's head. Truth is he's still only a youngster like a lot of others in our side; I don't expect him to be putting in match winning performances every week, and I'm also not going to outright lie about what I thought of his game just because he is the BigFooty Adelaide Board's favourite son. For what it's worth, Knights' played a better game than VB I thought. Douglas and Vince, well...Dougie is making errors and still hasn't found his comfort zone, and Vince, while doing some good things when in possession, needs to find more of the footy. VB was far from our worst btw, but his game wasn't outstanding (better than Dougie or BV though).

I really, really struggle to see what position Vince is going to make his own at AFL level. He’s not good enough to be a goal sneak because he loses his footing too often, he doesn’t read the play well enough and his reaction time is also far too slow.

Now I believe he is more suited to the midfield as he has excellent hands in traffic but he is just too slow I’m afraid. Even when he’s running flat out he goes nowhere so this is going to hold him back.

It’s going to be a huge struggle for Bernie as far as I’m concerned.

Douglas doesn’t look much better but he’s only 20, however he must be sent back to the SANFL to find some form.

 

[- PC -]

In fact I always believe you can tell a lot about how a team runs on to the park and warms up ....look at the replay and just see how lucklustre the team looked running onto the ground and during warm up .....simply thought they had to turn up.

I listened to the game at work on the radio and like most was fuming. I actually think the great 1st quarter was the reason we relaxed... a lot would have been saying at 1/4 time '' how far'' and then relaxed