Toast Well, I'm convinced!

[cmndstab]

As much as I've enjoyed the last two wins, there's been a voice in the back of my head each time telling me not to get too excited. In both games, Richmond and Port played like shit, and moreover, they played gamestyles that seemed almost custom-designed to play into the Crows' hands. As pleasing as we had been, I was always concerned that it would fall apart when we played a quality side that didn't let us have it all our own way.

Not anymore. I'm convinced now. We are a genuinely good football side who can win against quality opposition even when they don't hand it to us. Other than proving we can take a big scalp interstate (and Hawthorn at the G next week is the perfect opportunity...) we've done everything we can to announce our arrival this season.

I couldn't be more impressed by the boys tonight They made a believer out of this old fence-sitter

 

[little graham]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

 

[Captain Morgan]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

What has that got to do with it ??????

 

[SydCrow]

And the boys in the middle have lifted to cover you know who.

 

[Mego Red]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

... yes?

 

[MRB37]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

Debbie, quite being a downer.

 

[Glenno23]

Great ****ing thread and then look at the 2nd post. What a peanut

**** YES THAT WAS AWESOME

 

[huludicidal]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

You are the most consistently bemusing poster on this entire website.

 

[dplggr47]

Honestly did not think we could match it with a top contested side with that many inside superstars; proven wrong!

 

[earlsta]

Can't wait until Neale and Brad Crouch are in the centre square together next year.
We'll be a force... If Thommo keeps up his form he needs another year, he has been brilliant this year.

 

[Norwood1878]

Great game, my first live Crows game for the season. Happy with the win but we still need to tidy up our disposals and decision making. Some bombs into or forward line with nobody there or clearly out numbered forwards had me scratching my head but the Swans pressure would account for some of that. More games and i think we will be more polished.
Mc Luvin really stood up, Sloaney, Thommo were good. Need a drink now to calm the nerves.

 

[Hank93]

The lid is well and truly off now

 

[jenny61_99]

Still plenty of up-side to our game too - Crouch, Cameron and Menzel in the wings. The pleasing thing is that the players believe. That's hard to quantify, but I reckon it's the most important thing.

Still hard to gauge:
WB - who have beaten teams ranked 12, 17 and 18 and lost to 8.
Sydney - who have beaten teams who were ranked 11, 15 and 18 and lost to 6.
Geelong - who have beaten teams ranked 8, 14 and 16 and lost to 11.
Gold Coast - who have beaten teams ranked 16,17, and 18 and lost to 15.
West Coast - who have beaten teams ranked 13, 14 and 17 and lost to 8.
North - who have beaten 6, 10 and 14 with a game to come.
Hawthorn - who have beaten 1, 5 and 12 and lost to 3.

And

Adelaide - who have beaten 2, 9 and 13 and lost to 7.

 

[Wright Away]

A very pleasing win, a high pressure game where the Crows absorbed the pressure and succeeded.

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

Oh go eat some more magic mushrooms ya muppet.

 

[cmndstab]

It's been interesting to see how individual players have fared this season.

Sloane has been down for three weeks, then plays an absolute blinder tonight. Walker down all season but bobs up when necessary. Hartigan plays his best game of the season while Cheney has a rare down game. Milera's only poor game so far while Atkins serves up genuine polish. Very few players who have been consistently great or consistently poor.

If we can get our whole 22 firing at once, we'll beat anybody.

 

[Samcro24]

Sydney are a lock for top 4 I think, so we've passed the first test.
We always lose these games, but not tonight. Huge test next week, we will see how far we've come.

 

[Geoffa32]

I think my signature sums up how I feel right now.

Our seed has been planted and began to germinate.

Having said that I love how we are playing. Not just the wins but we are a great team to watch right now.

 

[chazwazza]

I was concerned leading into this game how we would deal with the massive step up from other oppositions' pressure around the ball. We only had fluid movement in patches but really impressed how we dealt with it and fight out a win. To me it was really important that we could win a game like this against a serious opponent like Sydney.

 

[Sanders]

Remember Essendon in the peptide years?

Tosser

 

[Iron]

It's been interesting to see how individual players have fared this season.

Sloane has been down for three weeks, then plays an absolute blinder tonight. Walker down all season but bobs up when necessary. Hartigan plays his best game of the season while Cheney has a rare down game. Milera's only poor game so far while Atkins serves up genuine polish. Very few players who have been consistently great or consistently poor.

If we can get our whole 22 firing at once, we'll beat anybody.

No one is dragging the team down and looks like an obvious omission waiting to happen. Over 4 games, everyone has played an excellent game or two, and no one has really had more than one average performance.

We're all team first. Love it!

 

[mattymac]

I too am a believer now.

More so even than the 2012 prelim. It always felt like we were riding our luck a bit in 2012. As it stands now it feels like we've got some solid foundations and if we continue to make such good decisions off field we are in play for some sustained success.

This group is still so young and has so much time ahead of them together and yet they are already a well drilled unit that play for each other and have been welded together by adversity like no other side in the history of the league.

There is something very special brewing and something well deserved.

 

[Southerntakeover]

I feel like we don't lose at Adelaide ****ing Oval any more.

Great feeling. Couldn't stand that we gave up wins there in the first two seasons. Now a trip teams don't want on their calendar.

 

[SugarShane]

Driving to the game I had no confidence whatsoever of a win. Sure I was dreaming about how amazing a win would be, but didn't realistically entertain it.

During that last quarter I could barely sit still, these are the games that the old Crows would limp out of with honourable losses. "At least we took it to them," we'd say. Not anymore.

 

[Interloperer]

The first "four quarter" performance of the year is cause for optimism.

 

[Mepeyep]

For the first time in six years it will take me a few seconds to tip Hawthorn, rather than my customary 0 seconds when we play them. This is big.