Bigman’s Training Reports

[Pugsley]

Certainly half bank flankers - probably should have found a way to exit one, so we could get a developing tall.

How about those training reports?

 

[Carn The Texan]

Hope so.

His comeback was pretty remarkable. Looked completely gone before that run of games at the end of 2023 saved his career.

Think our midfield mix is perfectly suited to his skill set now. Surrounding him with Dawson, Rankine, Draper, Peatling and Rachele compliments him really well.

His skill set shouldn't be impacted by age and hopefully he can stay injury free this year.

Agree with you. Not having Sloane or Laird in the midfield works to the team's advantage massively. Crouch is now easily best 22 for us heading into 2025, a situation I could not have predicted 2 years ago.

 

[Cromulant]

Agree with you. Not having Sloane or Laird in the midfield works to the team's advantage massively. Crouch is now easily best 22 for us heading into 2025, a situation I could not have predicted 2 years ago.

I wouldnt say "easily" but he's absolutely earned the right to start there.

 

[AFC979810]

Agree with you. Not having Sloane or Laird in the midfield works to the team's advantage massively. Crouch is now easily best 22 for us heading into 2025, a situation I could not have predicted 2 years ago.

I gotta say - I was wrong and Nicks was right on that call.

He missed all of 2021, Played 11 games in 2022 and was dropped several times. He looked average in his first game in 2023 albeit as a sub - and then was dropped again. Many were pissed off when he came back in round 19, but since then he has been hard to fault.

 

[1990crow]

Agree with you. Not having Sloane or Laird in the midfield works to the team's advantage massively. Crouch is now easily best 22 for us heading into 2025, a situation I could not have predicted 2 years ago.

I did.

I don't know about everyone else but I am pumped by what Matty Crouch showed today. Play like that and we play finals IMO

 

[1970crow]

They had every right to commit to ROB long term after his 2020 season. Guy was just turned 25 and coming off a season where he won the clubs Best & Fairest and was just about to enter his prime.

Issue is that he completely stagnated.




We haven't tried to replace him / upgrade him and nor should we have.

From a list management position we are completely fine. We are in the same identical position as both Sydney / Brisbane.

That ladt sentence isn't correct if mutineer's list of rucks at other clubs is to be believed. We have 2, those 2 clubs have 4. Were the only club in the league without a 20 year old or younger **** on our list. So even if Bicks is wrong, our position isn't identical to Brisbane and Sydney.

 

[MrBarry]

Hope so.

His comeback was pretty remarkable. Looked completely gone before that run of games at the end of 2023 saved his career.

Think our midfield mix is perfectly suited to his skill set now. Surrounding him with Dawson, Rankine, Draper, Peatling and Rachele compliments him really well.

His skill set shouldn't be impacted by age and hopefully he can stay injury free this year.

I agree I still see a place for him in that midfield.

 

[cleanhands]

I did.

 

[Cromulant]

I agree I still see a place for him in that midfield.

In the short term yes, but at the same time I can see guys going past him this season

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Crouch winning the ball at the coal face and distributing it to guys on the outside can be lethal

Crouch receiving chip passes in the back half and we're in top four draft pick territory

 

[AFC979810]

That ladt sentence isn't correct if mutineer's list of rucks at other clubs is to be believed.

Well when Bick's list has a 196cm Defender who played 16 games in the VFL in 2024 as winger and half back with exactly zero hit outs - you know he is full of it.

We have 2, those 2 clubs have 4.

Well thats because Bicks counted all of the other teams Ruck/Fwds and not ours (Murray /TT)

Were the only club in the league without a 20 year old or younger **** on our list. So even if Bicks is wrong, our position isn't identical to Brisbane and Sydney.

Well it is identical to Brisbane and its very close to Sydney.

 

[Shifty Crow]

Hope so.

His comeback was pretty remarkable. Looked completely gone before that run of games at the end of 2023 saved his career.

Think our midfield mix is perfectly suited to his skill set now. Surrounding him with Dawson, Rankine, Draper, Peatling and Rachele compliments him really well.

His skill set shouldn't be impacted by age and hopefully he can stay injury free this year.

Doesn’t matter who you put around Crouch he still slows us down and reduces our flexibility as a team

Lacks leg speed, lacks any penetration in his kicking and his natural instinct is to look sideways - unlike our other mids, he can’t play any other role

He’s in his last year of his contract - time to transition him out


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[AFC979810]

Doesn’t matter who you put around Crouch he still slows us down and reduces our flexibility as a team

Lacks leg speed, lacks any penetration in his kicking and his natural instinct is to look sideways - unlike our other mids, he can’t play any other role

He’s in his last year of his contract - time to transition him out


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

I thought he was much more attacking in 2024.

But yes he has limitations, foot speed and kicking penetration in particular.

But he is still very useful in a midfield group if you have him and let him play to his strengths. He is an absolute clearance machine, reads the play really well, frees up other midfielders. Surround him with pace and attacking ball users (Dawson, Rankine, Rachele, Peatling) and he can be an important cog of a quality midfield group.

Many said the same things about Tom Mitchell at Collingwood.

 

[crows dude]

bigman
Crows train at Norwood this morning from 9am.

 

[Southerntakeover]

I thought he was much more attacking in 2024.

But yes he has limitations, foot speed and kicking penetration in particular.

But he is still very useful in a midfield group if you have him and let him play to his strengths. He is an absolute clearance machine, reads the play really well, frees up other midfielders. Surround him with pace and attacking ball users (Dawson, Rankine, Rachele, Peatling) and he can be an important cog of a quality midfield group.

Many said the same things about Tom Mitchell at Collingwood.

It all comes down to what mix they put him around. Playing with Laird in the middle drags him down.

Absent that, we don't really have a younger player as built for the win and distribute role right now as he is. Maybe it's Berry's best role, but he's not really showed the same quality at it.

 

[Floating Doughnut]

ESPN did a story with Champion Data on assisted meters gained which is a statistic supplied to clubs but
not reported otherwise, Matt has been in the top two or three in the league since his second year.
That is his game, getting the ball to teammates in a better position and then getting to the next stoppage that’s it.
His stats in 2024 were his third best on record, his TOG hasn’t changed in the last three years nor his 67% CBA’s, his disposal efficiency in that time has improved 18% compared to the previous 7 yr avge. He has done everything Nicks asked of him .
He doesn’t pick up cheap run arounds, he does the hard stuff and that won’t change this year.

 

[AFC979810]

It all comes down to what mix they put him around. Playing with Laird in the middle drags him down.

Absent that, we don't really have a younger player as built for the win and distribute role right now as he is. Maybe it's Berry's best role, but he's not really showed the same quality at it.

And I think part of the dislike from him was from when we surrounded him with players like Keys, Laird and Sloane through the middle. Made us so one paced and made players look worse than they actually were.