Autopsy Adelaide wins the prelim [WARNING: ZERO TOLERANCE TO TROLLING]

[RegHickeyStand]

I'm in hospital. I think that rubbish will set me back a week. It bloody hurts when you know the talent is there. Adelaide were terrific. Geelong handed half their disposals back. Most of it was pressure from themselves. Scott needs help preparing for finals syructurally and mentally.
If we dont sign motters after this series we should be severely punished.
I see very good signs in stewart cocky parfitt motters menegola parsons zuthrie bews for our future.
We need to restructure our game around these guys.
Awful planning this week.
Cannot keep plodders any more after watching that painful effort.
Stanley Menzel not playing well enough on reflection.
Need more run from backline and players who are composed.
Cant take weak effort and shite disposal any more.
Mackie showed he is done. Lonergan held walker again.
2018 team
Stewart henderson bews
Tuohy taylor cockatoo
Blitz s.selwood kolo
Motlop hawkins ablett
Mccarthy danger stringer
Smith selwood duncan
Zuthers parfitt menegola guthers
Em simpson gardner lang gregson thurlow ruggles

In ablett stringer 5 guys with speed xfactor and composure
Out mackie lonners menzel stanley cowan hayball murdoch
Hurtful and damaging performance. That was the year to steal it

Mate, you have my best wishes. And I agree with everything you said.

 

[MarkCatsFan]

I'm not going to bag Kolo, he's one of about 3 blokes on our list that can kick a footy. Keep him. Stewart a good first year, Parsons will be good, Parfitt has A-grade potential and Cockatoo. We have decent youth on our list that is worth building around now. It's time that the GFC makes a decision, do they want to go back and rebuild, or top up for one last tilt. They've tried to have it both ways and it just doesn't work, you end up with capitulation after capitulation with a couple of good players dragging along a group of useless plodders who will never stand up in a final. Who are we as a team? I don't think any of the coaches could answer that. Something has to change. I want to see something in the off-season to say that they are responding to that loss, because we learned nothing the last two times.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Not really. Poor game opinion of him i can live with (albeit i disagree). But dont question his integrity like you did he is the one geelong player you should never ever say that of. I get that we all post stupid stuff when we are drunk i have done it myself but if it wasn't that then you should really reassess.

I'll question what I want to question.

I watched the game.

 

[feelinfeline]

I think Scott thought his move with Dangerfield was a "finals coaching move". Me, I thought it was going to be white hot in the midfield tonite. Needed him there. The move looked good last week because Sydney played shit. Simple: play players to their strengths.

The problem is that we need two Dangerfields, one on the ball and one up forward.

This team is seriously lacking in class. We saw it all year, so it's hardly a surprise it was revealed in the finals.

 

[Donkey Magoo]

Lonergan and Mackie showed out like this. Disgraceful

You just didn't have the cattle, it wasn't any one persons fault mate.

 

[Partridge]

Bolded are contracted and other than GHS, aren't likely to go anywhere and if fit they will most likely be playing in our round 1 side next year.

Menegola & Parsons signed contract extentions earlier this year (maybe 3 years) - the club isn't going to turn and a couple of months later and ship them off

Last October, our captain said Josh Caddy was a required player on a Monday and three days later he was gone. It means nothing.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

It just wasn't our year. Crows far too good. We will be better next year. All year we were inconsistent. And if your inconsistent you get found out, especially in finals.

 

[caitsith01]

100% agree....but to be fair, he was...well...useless tonight.

He was as useless as I would have been with literally zero kicks to advantage for the whole night.

Both our forwards and defenders were made to look shithouse by the fact that our game plan in the middle and lack of basic skills was a disaster. Forwards can't mark shanked kicks to no one, and defenders can't defend against our players handing the ball to the opposition after breaking to the offensive side of them.

 

[And_ROOS]

I really don't know.
It generally works during the year I guess. Maybe it is our fall back on plan when we are getting beaten early.
Unfortunately finals, then prelims are different beasts.
We let them kick around 9 goals before we reacted.
I honestly feel we saturate the game with game plans and zones etc. but footy can be a simple game and if you play on good old instinct and execute it precisely, like Adelaide did tonight, then you rarely lose a final.

Weagles in the 90s. Brisbane in the early 2000s. Us in the late 2000s. Same game plan, super effective. Hawks flags an outlier in they won theirs with a unique brand.

Has any other AFL team performed as badly as we have in first quarters in key finals in recent times? From 2010 onwards;

2010: vs Collingwood: 44 to 7
2012: vs Fremantle: 37 to 1
2016: vs Sydney: 44 to 5
2017: vs Adelaide: 39 to 8

To be out of the game at quarter time in defining matches like these is hard to accept. At least 2010's poor performance was followed up by a premiership... The 2017 finals' series was an opportunity to redeem last year's Prelim.

Common theme there is Scott. But but muh home n away record.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Kolo wasn't good mate....he squibbed it...and I still have his performance in last years Prelim in the back of my mind....very poor...but he wasn't;t Robinson Crusoe...

No he wasn't but why did we go in so tall forcing him to play in a position that he is not suited to? That's my argument.

Scott stuffed his selections up, no doubt in my mind about that. Read my OP in the game day thread if you don't believe me.

 

[TEDDY24INC]

I'll question what I want to question.

I watched the game.

Selwood was massive in the second and third quarters, rusty in his disposal but you are well off the mark here

 

[caitsith01]

Crows scored 17.3 from turnovers. Unbelievable!!!

That is seriously awful.

 

[Cezz The Catter]

When Josh Jenkins is getting multiple goals you know something's wrong. He is the most uncontested big man in the game. The fact he got 3 tonight kills me, he's mud.

 

[The Casey Cat]

also opportunity to change the style of play

Bingo. Needs to change even more urgently than the personnel.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I'll question what I want to question.

I watched the game.

You didnt watch it very well then but you can keep your opinion.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

Disappointing end to the season, to say the least. But don't agree with those saying ADE are 'average'. They whipped a lot of sides this year. There have been better Grand Finalists, but they are still a v/good outfit, esp. at home.

We blew our tickets saving face in the SYD game. The RICH game was the one that ended the campaign. Scott and co. have to take some blame for that, and they have.

But I took a lot of positives from this season. Some (but not all) of which include ----

we debuted 8 players and remained a top 4 side.
Duncan became elite.
Touhy was a great trade - he provides the drive of HB we have been missing.
Bews became a serious player.
Danger up forward is a real option, esp. if we can trade in one of Smith or Ablett.
S.Selwood and Blicavs are providing negating roles we've struggled to fill since Ling retired.
Scott twice responded quickly to bad defeats, radically changing our game plan - after the three losses in a row, and then after the QF. The players responded to that extremely well, and executed on short notice.
We played the whole season without a small forward, but still kicked winning scores.
Our best was an improvement on last year.

We will make the top 4 again next year. But if we are to make that next step with the key players we have now, then we need the next trade to work for us. I have some reservations about Stringer (he is being let go for attitude reasons, you would think) but he would add so much to our attack. One of Smith or Ablett would also be so useful, as we wouldn't sacrifice as much playing Dangerfield forward. Or Ablett and Dangerfield can rotate mid-forward.

A crappy loss, but eleven years after 07' the window is still open. Though it probably needs to happen next year, if it's going to happen.

 

[Carlton19956]

100% agree....but to be fair, he was...well...useless tonight.

All well and good in the regular season, nowhere to be seen in the finals. Rhys Stanley also has to go as well, the ball got walked out of our forward line tonight. These two plus Menzel seriously bring no defensive pressure to the table. Cockatoo, Parfitt and Motlop were the only ones that had some heart and chased.

 

[Zouz Kitty]

The big question: Do I stay up for Scott's press conference? Or will it be the same old, same old?

 

[frggr]

I really don't know.
It generally works during the year I guess. Maybe it is our fall back on plan when we are getting beaten early.
Unfortunately finals, then prelims are different beasts.
We let them kick around 9 goals before we reacted.
I honestly feel we saturate the game with game plans and zones etc. but footy can be a simple game and if you play on good old instinct and execute it precisely, like Adelaide did tonight, then you rarely lose a final.

Has the zone ever worked during the year? The losses I've seen always have us playing off 'the man' by a good 5 metres or so.
But maybe it's just a cognitive bias. I pay more attention to the way we play when we lose.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Last October, our captain said Josh Caddy was a required player on a Monday and three days later he was gone. It means nothing.

Josh caddy wasnt recontracted the same year he was traded. Menegola and Parsons arent going.

 

[Nest of Cats]

You just didn't have the cattle, it wasn't any one persons fault mate.

Nah. Have the cattle but not ambition. Crows too good.

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

People need to understand one thing, the boys had about 5 perfectly set up forward attacks and turned it over and it went straight up the other end for goals, this means
1: that's 60 points from eg: 5 errors , lost by 61
2: you can't defend turnovers from there, makes backline look like shit
3: we are extremely close to a premiership, list is fine

This. We were like a teenage boy tonight. We beat ourself.

 

[SkittleCats]

Don't tell me McGrath is expecting someone who's had 100+ games hammered into him to perform in finals is he?

Nah, the coaches all walked off the ground quickly at the end of the game. Scarlo had to call them back to clap off Lonergan and Mackie. Adelaide got to the guard of honour faster than our coaches (except for Scarlo and Enright) did. Bluey saw it and asked Blicavs about it. Poor guy didnt really know how to answer.

 

[dangerwood]

You just didn't have the cattle, it wasn't any one persons fault mate.

It was a little bit Charlie Camerons fault

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Are you kidding me
How can you tolerate this mate

I'm not tolerating the performance. Just the ignorance of some posters.

Perspective is the key here.