Adelaide

I would give Hendo the week off too and bring in Shaw and Jaensch

I reckon Kerridge will come in, that's what I'd like to see anyway.

Gingernuts wrote: There is a lot of talk already about this week’s game being the ultimate test. Whilst we are on the improve, I think we’ll most likely fail this weekend’s test comfortably.

I’m expecting a losing margin of around 45 -50 points. This might sound a bit negative, but if we lose by anything under 5 goals I’ll be relatively happy.

Wasn't far off the mark with my tip. Was relatively happy until 3 quarter time but the last quarter blew out too much for my liking.

To be honest I think they tried hard, their disposal was just a bit rough and their finishing in front of goal was terrible. Really dissapointing to see Tippett dominate his opponent with some cracking marks, only to miss the set shot. Not only that, many times today Hawthorn ripped it up the other end for a goal after an Adelaide miss.

Also, the fumbles, aaarrrgh! Lost count of the number of times Adelaide were first to the ball, but couldn't take it cleanly leading to a Hawthorn clearance. So close and yet so far!

Despite all that, I'm not all that shattered about the result. I don't know what it is, but I'm confident they will improve as the season goes on. I think the team is balanced nicely now, experience is the key. Today will be excellent for their development. Will be looking for a convincing response next week at home against GWS.

People keep going on about how good Adelaide’s draw is but after this weekend’s home game against GWS we have:

Port
Sydney away
Geelong home
Carlton away
Collingwood home
Freo away

Then a bye (thank the Lordy!).

Anyone who thinks that’s an easy run is kidding themselves. Enjoy this weekend Adelaide fans, because we could be in for a very lean month or so after that.

Anothe discussion point from the game - Tippett's yips in front of goal, what do people think is causing it?

I agree with Sanderson, he starts his approach too close to the man on the mark for my liking. He needs to go back further and get into a bit of a run rather than just walking in and squeezing it out.

If you mark 30 out, then start your run if from the 50 if you have to, get some momentum up before you kick it.

It's a big problem and I don't think excessive coaching or 'routine' helps.

Coach him as simple a routine as possible, as it's a mental problem for players. As soon as they see the goalposts, they treat it differently to a normal kick.

Without the goalposts, they'd be horrified if they missed a target by more than a metre or two.

Definitely all in the head. The thing that makes it particularly frustrating is that he is dominating opposition defences and taking fantastic contested grabs so far this year. The lack of finish is making it all worthless though.

He could be a genuine star of the competition if he kicked straight.

The goalposts at AFL level are way too high and makes them look more intimidating. If they reverted back to shorter posts, then it would make the distance between the posts look wider. At the moment IMO, players must feel like they're threading the eye of a needle. Let's be honest though, they are trying to kick a ball that's 20cm wide between 2 posts that are 640cm apart. How is that so hard?

howthewestwaswon wrote:The goalposts at AFL level are way too high and makes them look more intimidating. If they reverted back to shorter posts, then it would make the distance between the posts look wider. At the moment IMO, players must feel like they're threading the eye of a needle. Let's be honest though, they are trying to kick a ball that's 20cm wide between 2 posts that are 640cm apart. How is that so hard?

Gablett and schultz dont seem to care how big the sticks are... his technique is just not good enough - looks like someone who has converted from basketball and football is not his natural sport

Adelaide were shown just how much work they need to do to mix it with the cream of the AFL crop on Sunday and should bounce back with a simple win with GWS on Saturday evening.

If the Crows go into Saturday's match with an attitude as flippant as my opening statement, then they expose themselves to facing the embarrassment of being GWS' first scalp. Now I'm not suggesting that the Crows will be that complacent in their attitude towards the Giants, but when you are coming up against a side as uncompetitive as the Giants, you need to make sure prepare mentally for this game just like any other match. As poor as GWS have been so far, they are still an opponent and need to be given the respect any opponent deserves. All it takes is for GWS to lift by 5% and the Crows to drop by 5% and it could potentially bring GWS into the game.

Under Neil Craig, this game would have been more dangerous given how notorious the Crows were in recent years of under preparing, and ultimately getting thrashed, against lowly sides. Under Brenton Sanderson, he will make sure that the Crows have the right mental attitude for this game.

Once the Crows establish that right mental attitude I expect them to have, they should be able to overcome the Giants quite comfortably. The key to this game is mental preparedness.

bigclock wrote:

howthewestwaswon wrote:The goalposts at AFL level are way too high and makes them look more intimidating. If they reverted back to shorter posts, then it would make the distance between the posts look wider. At the moment IMO, players must feel like they're threading the eye of a needle. Let's be honest though, they are trying to kick a ball that's 20cm wide between 2 posts that are 640cm apart. How is that so hard?

Gablett and schultz dont seem to care how big the sticks are... his technique is just not good enough - looks like someone who has converted from basketball and football is not his natural sport

Well then that's the risk you take for drafting a latecomer from basketball.

What an ugly win by Adelaide this evening. After jumping out of the blocks to lead 4.3 to 0.0, GWS fought their way back into the game as Adelaide struggled to cope with the wet and slippery conditions - wet enough for the goal umpires to keep their warm-up jackets on all game!

In the end, the Crows were able to overrun the young Giants side, but not without an almighty scare from the Giants.

This evening's game showed just how much rain can be an equaliser in games like this. The poor weather caused many Crows fumbles and turnover, which GWS took full advantage of. In drier conditions, GWS may not have had those opportunities. This was not helped by a perceived lack of respect of the opposition. I mentioned in the preview that a lack of respect could come back to haunt, and it nearly did. Several occasions the Crows had spent the ball before they had it, and there was the repeated times Crows players were taking each other out to get the ball - the first resulting in Petrenko being subbed out of the game after 20 seconds! This is basic teamwork, and the Crows need to stop playing for themselves and realise this is a team game.

There are two alarming concerns for the Crows though. First is defence. GWS were able to take the Crows defence apart, and if GWS can do that with ease, better sides have and will go to town with Adelaide's defence if they don't address the problems in defence. Second is our goal kicking. Even in this weather, 13.18 is unacceptable, and continues our shocking goal kicking this year. So far their goal kicking hasn't come back to haunt them, but if we keep kicking this badly it will cost them a game. Tippett and Walker need to have some serious goal kicking practice as they will be our main focal points for the foreseeable future, and we can't afford them missing simple shots.

Tough game on Saturday night, walking out of it I felt a bit like it was a loss. Not sure why, a 40 odd point win in those conditions is a solid effort, and when you look back on it you’d have to think the margin would’ve been 10 goals plus had things been drier.

The key issues for me:

1. Too many fumbles at the moment. You can be first to the footy but if you can’t take it cleanly then it’s a been a wasted effort.
2. Can’t hit a target, particularly with handball. Leads to over use, pressure from the opposition, and eventually a turn over.
3. Tackles aren’t sticking. When you’ve committed to the contest you need to keep the ball in there otherwise it will pop out and the opposition is away.

Goal kicking is also a concern but I thought Tippett showed good composure in front of goals this week, I can’t even recall him missing a set shot. Walker kicked a fair few points though.

Vince has been fairly disappointing so far this year. In a way I’m actually happy he’s copped an injury and someone else can have a go. He’s just not doing enough and when he does get it, he burns it.

In the end I still feel as though we’re a long way off it. People keep talking us up as finals prospects but our next 6 weeks leading into the bye are:

Showdown
Sydney @ SCG
Geelong
Carlton away
Collingwood
Freo away

We could realistically not have another win for a long time. Showdown this week is crucial, an absolute must win if we are to have any chance of finals footy this year. To be honest I’m not at all confident. Robbie Gray’s injury has given me a little more confidence, but I’m still very pessimistic about this weeks game.

Looking forward to tonight's big clash against Sydney, and the start of a 4-5 week run of tough matches leading into the bye. Both sides are in good form, though Adelaide have been aided by a very soft draw. They failed their first big test 3 weeks ago, how will they fare tonight?

What a game, what a win. A classic Sydney v Adelaide battle - Adelaide jumped out to a 28 point lead halfway through the second quarter only for Sydney to reel that in and have a 9 point lead at 3 quarter time. The last quarter was going to be a real test of Adelaide's psyche, and didn't they pass, jumping out of the blocks with the first 4 goals of the quarter to take an 18 point lead halfway through the last quarter. But there would be one last fightback from Sydney, and they got the margin back to 4 points late in the game and nearly pinched it. Then Johncock looked to have kicked the sealer, but the video review saw it correctly adjudicated a poster, leaving Sydney with half a minute to steal victory. In the end, they fell about 40 metres short, as the siren sounded and Adelaide held on to win by 5 points.

So Adelaide pass their first test in this tough month of football, but there's several more tests ahead, with Geelong next week the next test. Their record now 5-1.

Awesome stuff !!

That'll teach 'A Dad' and 'A brother' to tip against them !

A Mum wrote:Awesome stuff !!

That'll teach 'A Dad' and 'A brother' to tip against them !

Might as well add Thiele to that list. Good win by the Crows boys

Interesting checking a tipping leaderboard for one of the AFL tipping comps I'm in - last night's result costed about half the comp a perfect round (not me, my faith in the side was rewarded)

All this talk about the Walker/Tippett combo not working is a bit rich.

To me it’s working perfectly. One takes the best defender and the other kicks a bag on the 2nd or 3rd best defender. As long as one kicks 5 or 6 and we get anywhere around 7 to 10 a week between them then we are on a winner IMO.

Could be a combo like the Lloyd/Lucas double act for the Bombers of a few years ago.

Dare we suggest that Adelaide are at top 4 prospect??

IMO they look the hungriest of any team in the comp at the moment.

Keeping a lid on it at the moment but starting to lose my pessimism of the last couple of seasons. I think we might be back!

How awesome is it ??

But yes - lid needed - you just never know unfortunately!

I was hoping they'd beat Geelong - but by that margin = wow.

Good stuff

I must admit I couldn't believe it after the game. I know Geelong was a bit injury depleted but gees, what a convincing win!

They look very hungry and hard at it.

They will come out with all guns blazing on Sunday against Carlton I reckon.

Can't wait for the game, will be interesting to get a look at Carlton tonight.

Walker's copped 2 matches for his tackle on Harry Taylor

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/135752/default.aspx

Was to be expected unfortunately

I didn't think it was that bad personally, but anyways.

If the ban sticks I would bring MacKernan in to play forward and take his place. Leave Jenkins & Jacobs with the ruckwork.

Taylor did something very similar last season playing for Norwood. He was reported and then managed to get off .. I think. I'm sketchy on the details but I recall him being available to play the following week.

Does anyone recall it?