Review 2024 Season Review - The Goodest, Baddest and Ugliest from the season

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cmndstab said:
And while I'm at it, the things that absolutely didn't work this season:

Going from being the best offensive team in the competition to one of the worst. Our game plan in the first four rounds was infuriating. The architect of it was rewarded with a contract extension.

The Burgess experiment was a failure, and Gollant seems unable to make an impact at AFL level. The fact that both of them were outperformed by Himmelberg - Himmelberg! - is an indictment.

Our management of Curtin bordered on disgraceful. We're fortunate that Walker got injured, or else he probably wouldn't have been given a chance up forward.

Rachele was hung out to dry by the club not once but twice, with the most recent time coming in the final round so he didn't even have a chance to get his redemption arc. I'm sure that will sit nicely in his guts for the next six months.

Somehow, after 23 games, we still don't know what our best mix of KPDs is. Do we go with Keane, or Butts? Or even Borlase (okay, no, not Borlase). Or will Keane just leave and make the decision easy?

We gave Cook 15 games to convert his potential into something worthwhile, and outside of a three-goal cameo against Hawthorn, he barely fired a shot. Three goals against North and two against the Eagles were his only games with multiple goals, both fellow cellar-dwellers. He seems to be invisible for 95% of every match. Why can't he get involved in the play? Who knows.

The ongoing selection of McHenry and Murphy despite every possible statistical measure showing them to be consistently in our worst two or three players on the ground. At least McHenry was given the boot at last. Meanwhile Jones is in no man's land. Three players with a combined 277 games experience between them, and none of them should be anywhere near our side.

Strachan proving that despite being an excellent SANFL ruck, he just can't make the step up to AFL level. We need another ruckman so badly.

Pedlar going from one of our most promising young players last year to an afterthought this year. I keep forgetting he's even still on the list.

The Laird and Crouch duo that, thank goodness, was finally done away with towards the end of the season. It doesn't work. It's never worked. End it.

Nankervis' second half of the year was disappointing.

Sloane taking up a list spot when every man and his dog knew he was cooked.

Thanks for your years of service Smith and Walker. I think it's time to say au revoir. Unfortunately we still don't actually have a replacement for Walker. Burgess and Gollant aren't up to it, Himmelberg is redundant with Thilthorpe in the side and likely to leave anyway, Toby Murray isn't ready. Gallagher shouldn't be on an AFL list. Welsh is still a kid. Maybe we should just lock Curtin in as his replacement. Or else give Walker another year and hope he doesn't tarnish his legacy too badly.
Click to expand...
I disagree about Tex with zero conviction but regardless Nicks said last night we haven't decided... how does someone as important as Tex not at least get a send off. The ugliest thing in this very ugly season
 
Scorpus said:
Lessons learned from the season:
  1. Extending Nicks was a mistake. He is a poor game day coach, implemented a game plan that made us worse than last year, continues to make baffling decisions on the regular, is poor at developing players and takes no responsibility for his own performances

  2. We have little to no on field leadership. Our leadership group is a joke and has been selected with a priority for off field standards instead of leading on game day

  3. The senior experience we backed in way back in 2020 are actually poor leaders and have fallen off sooner than expected, leaving us devoid of useful leadership and players that set a good standard for those we need to be developing

  4. The club has failed to adequately plan for the future, leaving us with a list that is still very inexperienced as the older players start to drop away and retire. This includes a failure to prioritize younger players, a failure to play them in positions that best develop them, and a failure to build the list into a decent position 5 years into a rebuild.

  5. The club drank its own bathwater believing we'd easily make finals after last season. Our messaging at the start of the season got ahead of ourselves and was arrogant.

  6. The club continues to lie to members and manipulate messaging, creating false narratives about our poor position, our injury list this year and state of the rebuild. The club is unwilling to take responsibility for finishing 15th seven years after last making finals.

  7. We have decent younger players that have been held back through poor development, coaching and leadership. Players such as Zac Taylor and Billy Dowling debuted too late into the season. We didn't realize Dan Curtin wasn't a key defender until 3/4 of the way into the year, and when we did play him we severely and unfairly limited his time on ground. We threw Josh Rachele under the bus in the media.

  8. Despite having some decent youngsters, an almost decade long wasteland of drafting and development continues to hurt us and we lack quality in many areas on the ground.

  9. Our club is too insular and self protecting to admit we got various things wrong (including selection of coaches, list management, football staff) and make changes that will put us on a path towards a premiership. They are yet to even admit the season as a whole has been a disaster and below expectations, instead shifting the goal posts claiming we got unlucky with injuries. We have far too many key staff members that think their own ability in their position is far greater than it really is.

  10. We fail and shrink when there is expectation on the club to perform and win. This is not a good sign for the group performing in finals, if we ever make it there.

  11. Nicks seems to have not actually solved the club's cultural problems. The way the club and especially senior players threw Rachele under the bus was disgraceful and not indicative of a strong team first culture. We are continuing to set double standards between senior players and junior players, particularly around selection and performance standards on game day. Our player retention issues seem to have been solved more through dollars than turning the culture around and making us a club players want to play for.
Click to expand...
The adelaide boys club full of old money from the Adelside club on north terrace is well and truly alive.

They have a real problem of disengagement from current members as well as the next generation!

The internal focused club has moved away from inclusiveness to be back patting and self preservationist.

Reminds me of our current government actually!

Agree with no accountability and no actual people in place to invoke change.

The board and footy departments are made up of mates of mates it stinks really bad.

People lost faith in supporting this club and don’t see succcess anytime soon! This will be mediocrity for a while now.

There will not be change due to the deep infiltration of the boys club.

The first step is to actually bring in successful professionals that are NOT linked to the current crop
 

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So this is what supporting the Crows has become.

We now look forward to the off-season as the part of the year to give us some hope - maybe trade in someone or draft someone that will make us better?

We talk about what we stand for, our culture … when no one respects us as a club or what we do on the field.

Oh dear :-(

Our next couch has to be brutal and respected before they start. No finding your feet, no learning on the job, no trying to keep the off fielders happy.

I’m not sure how much longer this version of the AFL will keep me - no success for 26 years - game is getting harder to watch - the open bias within the competition itself (and the games individually) is almost unbearable.

I want to enjoy something that I put this much time and energy into, not have it drain me and piss me off each week.

Hope we see some real change in 2025, coz my fingernails ain’t going to hold on this cliff for much longer.
 
* This year we took a huge step backwards, the "pushing for finals" and then "pushing to be competitive" pushed us off a cliff because we stuck with Smith, Laird and Walker for too long.

* Speaking of which, Smith should be done, Laird and Walker should be "in case of emergency" next year - Nobody went near him after that kickout error, nor they should have, absolutely brainless rubbish from a 240 gamer, I expect that of a <10 gamer. Walker shouldn't have played.

* The gameplan didn't work, we push back way to hard and opposition team just chip it around and find targets anyway. When we do have the ball, it's just this awful, crabbing, sideways, slow ball movement that looks so out of place. We literally wait for every opposition player to get back and set before moving forward, it makes no sense.

* Clearance work around the ground- if Laird and Crouch are getting 30+ we are losing, because it just continual backwards handballing around the pack and then a shallow shanked kick to half forward- turnover goal. Easy

* McHenry, Gollant, Smith and one of Borlase, Berg and Burgess need to go (minimum).

* Can we get Teague to work with the forwards instead of Burns? He is out of Richmond.

* Recruitment wise, what do we do with pick 4? Swap with GC's or Freos 2x if they lose today? If Rachele wanted to go, swap Geelongs first rounder? We need a young ruckman and small forward as well. Is there a point in Lukosious?

* Our blueprint should be the Hawks, the way they play is fantastic and they cut back deep with Mitchell. Our problem is the impatience and expectation of our supporter base, they had 3 premierships when smartphones existed. Our last flag was when SMS was a novelty. We aren't wrong for being impatient or wanting change, this sucks.

* This is the best time to cut back and go back to the draft; before Tasmania comes in, while our core group is 20-24 so when Dawson is 30-31 we come into our peak time.

* Our group is right, our development is good but our recruitment has been abysmal in the first round. That is killing us.

* Next year will be difficult (but green shoots difficult), I don't see us playing finals without a miracle.
 
davos44 said:
* This year we took a huge step backwards, the "pushing for finals" and then "pushing to be competitive" pushed us off a cliff because we stuck with Smith, Laird and Walker for too long.

* Speaking of which, Smith should be done, Laird and Walker should be "in case of emergency" next year - Nobody went near him after that kickout error, nor they should have, absolutely brainless rubbish from a 240 gamer, I expect that of a <10 gamer. Walker shouldn't have played.

* The gameplan didn't work, we push back way to hard and opposition team just chip it around and find targets anyway. When we do have the ball, it's just this awful, crabbing, sideways, slow ball movement that looks so out of place. We literally wait for every opposition player to get back and set before moving forward, it makes no sense.

* Clearance work around the ground- if Laird and Crouch are getting 30+ we are losing, because it just continual backwards handballing around the pack and then a shallow shanked kick to half forward- turnover goal. Easy

* McHenry, Gollant, Smith and one of Borlase, Berg and Burgess need to go (minimum).

* Can we get Teague to work with the forwards instead of Burns? He is out of Richmond.

* Recruitment wise, what do we do with pick 4? Swap with GC's or Freos 2x if they lose today? If Rachele wanted to go, swap Geelongs first rounder? We need a young ruckman and small forward as well. Is there a point in Lukosious?

* Our blueprint should be the Hawks, the way they play is fantastic and they cut back deep with Mitchell. Our problem is the impatience and expectation of our supporter base, they had 3 premierships when smartphones existed. Our last flag was when SMS was a novelty. We aren't wrong for being impatient or wanting change, this sucks.

* This is the best time to cut back and go back to the draft; before Tasmania comes in, while our core group is 20-24 so when Dawson is 30-31 we come into our peak time.

* Our group is right, our development is good but our recruitment has been abysmal in the first round. That is killing us.

* Next year will be difficult (but green shoots difficult), I don't see us playing finals without a miracle.
Click to expand...

That year of being obsessed with playing senior players to achieve finals seriously screwed us up.
 
baldandbroke said:
I’m not sure how much longer this version of the AFL will keep me - no success for 26 years - game is getting harder to watch - the open bias within the competition itself (and the games individually) is almost unbearable.
Click to expand...
A few posters get salty when I said I dont see us as a genuine flag chance till the 2030s.

It takes so much to get right to be in a position to win a flag. Its not just about having the right players and depth in the squad, you need a good strong club, coach and team cohesion. On top of that you need a good draw and need injuries and suspensions to go your way as well. Luck also plays a huge part as well. Having a MCG tenant peak at the same time, also makes it more challenging as well.
 
davos44 said:
* Next year will be difficult (but green shoots difficult), I don't see us playing finals without a miracle.
Click to expand...
Some thought we would play Finals last year, some this year, it wont be next year.

I dont see it happening at all under Nicks.

In any case, playing Finals should not be seen as the prize. We should be assembling a list and designing a game plan that will be successful to be a Top 4 side, that can genuinely be in a position to win a flag. This is years away from happening.
 
OldCrowBloke said:
At the end of 23 season I felt some optimism.
24 season has knocked that out of me.
Click to expand...
Some of those wins in 2023 were fraudulent and it led to over inflated expectations in 2024.

We lost 6* games in 2024 to teams that wont make the 8.

Whats the point of even making the 8, if we cant even beat teams that are at our level outside of it.


*depending on outcomes today.
 
GROTTO said:
Some of those wins in 2023 were fraudulent and it led to over inflated expectations in 2024.

We lost 6* games in 2024 to teams that wont make the 8.

Whats the point of even making the 8, if we cant even beat teams that are at our level outside of it.


*depending on outcomes today.
Click to expand...
For me, it is more than who we lost to, or poor performances at home.
There just seems to be a feeling of malaise hanging over so much of the club from players to coaches to admin.
 
Ugly

There is only 1 ugly. This is the ugly tree. Every other ugly is merely a branch of the ugly tree.

The ugly tree is resigning nicks for 2 more years

Despite chorus of supporters not convinced by “almost making finals” as some sort of achievement.

“Players seem to like him” is not a kpi to base a decision around, and sounds like it’s not true anyway.

If he hadn’t been resigned, would he have the job still?

Or would we be casting our net far and wide like West Coast for Cox, Buckley, Dew, anyone who would give us some hope. But instead it’s going to be more of the same expecting better results.

I sincerely hope there was this rumoured win trigger that he could not have met and we can send him on his way.
 

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davos44 said:
* This year we took a huge step backwards, the "pushing for finals" and then "pushing to be competitive" pushed us off a cliff because we stuck with Smith, Laird and Walker for too long.

* Speaking of which, Smith should be done, Laird and Walker should be "in case of emergency" next year - Nobody went near him after that kickout error, nor they should have, absolutely brainless rubbish from a 240 gamer, I expect that of a <10 gamer. Walker shouldn't have played.

* The gameplan didn't work, we push back way to hard and opposition team just chip it around and find targets anyway. When we do have the ball, it's just this awful, crabbing, sideways, slow ball movement that looks so out of place. We literally wait for every opposition player to get back and set before moving forward, it makes no sense.

* Clearance work around the ground- if Laird and Crouch are getting 30+ we are losing, because it just continual backwards handballing around the pack and then a shallow shanked kick to half forward- turnover goal. Easy

* McHenry, Gollant, Smith and one of Borlase, Berg and Burgess need to go (minimum).

* Can we get Teague to work with the forwards instead of Burns? He is out of Richmond.

* Recruitment wise, what do we do with pick 4? Swap with GC's or Freos 2x if they lose today? If Rachele wanted to go, swap Geelongs first rounder? We need a young ruckman and small forward as well. Is there a point in Lukosious?

* Our blueprint should be the Hawks, the way they play is fantastic and they cut back deep with Mitchell. Our problem is the impatience and expectation of our supporter base, they had 3 premierships when smartphones existed. Our last flag was when SMS was a novelty. We aren't wrong for being impatient or wanting change, this sucks.

* This is the best time to cut back and go back to the draft; before Tasmania comes in, while our core group is 20-24 so when Dawson is 30-31 we come into our peak time.

* Our group is right, our development is good but our recruitment has been abysmal in the first round. That is killing us.

* Next year will be difficult (but green shoots difficult), I don't see us playing finals without a miracle.
Click to expand...

This is the most important strategy at the moment imo.
Realise we have stalled due to many reasons , pause the rebuild for a year and do whatever we can to load up quality
draft picks for this year not spend on average list cloggers.
Take advantage of pick 4 which was not expected, dust ourselves off, and jump start the rebuild.
Off field issues I will leave for others to hash out.
 
GROTTO said:
Some thought we would play Finals last year, some this year, it wont be next year.

I dont see it happening at all under Nicks.

In any case, playing Finals should not be seen as the prize. We should be assembling a list and designing a game plan that will be successful to be a Top 4 side, that can genuinely be in a position to win a flag. This is years away from happening.
Click to expand...
Correct, I see late this decade, say 2028 onward as our realistic opportunity.
 
Five years ago today.

2020 18th
2021 15th
2022 14th
2023 10th
2024 15th


www.foxsports.com.au

AFL 2019: Mark Ricciuto declared comprehensive review of Adelaide will take place — and no one is safe

Crows boss says doubters ‘don’t need to barrack for the footy club’
www.foxsports.com.au www.foxsports.com.au


August 25th, 2019

Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto has implored Crows fans to trust the upcoming comprehensive review of the team — otherwise they “don’t need to barrack for the footy club”.


Ricciuto said the end of the season “couldn’t come quicker enough” for the Crows, who finished their disappointing 2019 campaign on Sunday with a 34-point loss at the hands of the Western Bulldogs.

Speaking on Triple M Adelaide on Sunday, Ricciuto said a review of the Crows would “start from the top down”, but labelled suggestions that certain personnel would be looked after as “ridiculous”.

Ricciuto said he hoped supporters understood what was about to occur.

“Whether it’s the coach, the assistant coaches, the footy manager, the list manager, the high performance manager, the CEO, the chairman — every person you know is trying 100 per cent. Now it doesn’t always work out, but the club is bigger than any individual,” Ricciuto told Triple M.



“People throwing accusations around about looking after each other is just ridiculous. It just won’t happen and it will not happen at the Adelaide Football Club — and I don’t think it happens at every AFL football club.

“Whatever decision has to be made from the top to the bottom will be made for the betterment of the football club. The supporters should back the people in — and if they don’t, well then maybe they don’t need to barrack for the footy club.”
 
baldandbroke said:
So this is what supporting the Crows has become.

We now look forward to the off-season as the part of the year to give us some hope - maybe trade in someone or draft someone that will make us better?

We talk about what we stand for, our culture … when no one respects us as a club or what we do on the field.

Oh dear :-(

Our next couch has to be brutal and respected before they start. No finding your feet, no learning on the job, no trying to keep the off fielders happy.

I’m not sure how much longer this version of the AFL will keep me - no success for 26 years - game is getting harder to watch - the open bias within the competition itself (and the games individually) is almost unbearable.

I want to enjoy something that I put this much time and energy into, not have it drain me and piss me off each week.

Hope we see some real change in 2025, coz my fingernails ain’t going to hold on this cliff for much longer.
Click to expand...
This is why I am not watching or listening to our games anymore. It's pointless getting angry over something you have no control over - apart from the power to simply walk away.
 
Doctor B said:
Five years ago today.

2020 18th
2021 15th
2022 14th
2023 10th
2024 15th


www.foxsports.com.au

AFL 2019: Mark Ricciuto declared comprehensive review of Adelaide will take place — and no one is safe

Crows boss says doubters ‘don’t need to barrack for the footy club’
www.foxsports.com.au www.foxsports.com.au


August 25th, 2019

Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto has implored Crows fans to trust the upcoming comprehensive review of the team — otherwise they “don’t need to barrack for the footy club”.


Ricciuto said the end of the season “couldn’t come quicker enough” for the Crows, who finished their disappointing 2019 campaign on Sunday with a 34-point loss at the hands of the Western Bulldogs.

Speaking on Triple M Adelaide on Sunday, Ricciuto said a review of the Crows would “start from the top down”, but labelled suggestions that certain personnel would be looked after as “ridiculous”.

Ricciuto said he hoped supporters understood what was about to occur.

“Whether it’s the coach, the assistant coaches, the footy manager, the list manager, the high performance manager, the CEO, the chairman — every person you know is trying 100 per cent. Now it doesn’t always work out, but the club is bigger than any individual,” Ricciuto told Triple M.



“People throwing accusations around about looking after each other is just ridiculous. It just won’t happen and it will not happen at the Adelaide Football Club — and I don’t think it happens at every AFL football club.

“Whatever decision has to be made from the top to the bottom will be made for the betterment of the football club. The supporters should back the people in — and if they don’t, well then maybe they don’t need to barrack for the footy club.”
Click to expand...
If next year is like the last 5 years, I will take Roo's advice.
 
Footypie32 said:
Thought about him during the week. Wow, has he really fallen off the radar. Is his shoulder injury that bad, or is it something else?

Would love to know what's going on with him.
Click to expand...
If we do something like decide he really needs surgery in like, December, I am going to lose my mind.
 

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Review 2024 Season Review - The Goodest, Baddest and Ugliest from the season

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