Preview Changes: R6 vs Hawthorn, Sunday April 23, 12.40pm ACST @ York Park (Tasmania)

[Jeffcrowe]

Tyler Brown as mid depth?

S-M defenders Hammill., McPherson


Although unproven

SF - Newchurch - though interestingly he seems to be having lengthy spurts on the wing this season and looking quite capable, certainly has the speed and skills that could suit, or maybe they're just trying to get him more involved in general play?

Dowling - Mid/forward

Bond - I half suspect we might be grooming Hugh Bond as the player we utilise to lock down on the dangerous small forwards

Parnell ahead of the others re small defenders too

 

[Jeffcrowe]

I kind of agree that they could be battling for the same role and they share some similarities, especially when it comes to tackling.

When I think about Laird's elite trait in would say it's his actual pace and reactions across 5 metres.

When the ball hits the ground he can beat almost every AFL player to it.

In the past he'd get the ball and try and go himself, which didn't always work out the best as his disposal wasn't very damaging. The new midfield has all the players moving the ball around till they find the appropriate player to break away or deliver it, such as Dawson.

This has made the midfield system far more effective and allows players to focus on their strengths.

If Berry comes back, it needs to be with this mindset. Get the ball and work in the system to get it to the right person. I feel he was playing a little like the Laird of old before he went off, trying to go himself at times when there were better options.

We need to continue to enhance and perfect the system and every player that goes into the midfield must have the same mentality.

Yep Laird is prob the best loose ball get player in comp

Ie any ground ball that squirts 3-5m from a pack he’s as good as any around in winning it

 

[Trigger13]

The most interesting/exciting thing about our current form is how much it relies on precision kicking. We are suddenly a very highly skilled team that picks the eyes out of it with short, often-central, kicks to open up the game and give our forwards great looks at the ball in dangerous spots. And unfortunately for guys like Berry and Shoenberg, their poor disposal doesn’t bode well. Are their futures suddenly cloudy with highly skilled guys like Taylor improving by the week? Berry I can see coming in as depth as a hard nosed mid when injuries are prevalent. Shoey in big trouble though I think.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Will be interested to see how Sicily and Jiath fare

Old Adelaide would allow them to generate 2-on-1s across half back and we'd spend the whole game bombing it into their hands.

We've been better this year at holding structure ahead of the ball, keeping defenders accountable, hitting up short passes, generating 1-on-1 opportunities for our forwards, mids using handball to get the ball to the outside of the contest rather than hack kicks etc.

Our ball movement has become less predictable (to the opposition).

However... I fear that if a team ramps up pressure around the ball we'll revert to type.

Maybe not this week but certainly next week we'll be tested in this regard. Interested to see how we go.

So true , normally any decent intercept marks have a field day against us but can’t recall it at all this year so far

 

[Numinous]

Will be interested to see how Sicily and Jiath fare

Old Adelaide would allow them to generate 2-on-1s across half back and we'd spend the whole game bombing it into their hands. out of bounds.

FTFY - given that it's Tasmania.

 

[El Doederino]

While we are playing well, I am concerned that when teams figure us out, will we be able to pivot and still win games?

This was the downfall of both Craig and Pyke.

No point having a bulletproof game plan when it is easily countered by oppositions and we have no other place to go.

I think this game against Hawthorn is huge. In many ways, I will be happier about winning this than I was the showdown and Carlton because it is the sort of game we wouldn't ordinarily get ourselves up for and traditionally would drop. Take last year's game against the Hawks. Take Round 1 this year. Take the GWS game last year.

This should be a "get the job done" victory if we are serious about being a finals team, and we haven't earned the right to have those yet. This is our first test.

Lose this, and the win over Carlton means nothing.

 

[AFC979810]

So true , normally any decent intercept marks have a field day against us but can’t recall it at all this year so far

Did you miss the Richmond game?

Noah Balta took 9 intercept marks against us - AFL record is 10.

Had 7 rebound 50's, 4 contested marks, and 3rd most metres gained in the game and was one of Richmonds best.

Also was 2nd for coaches votes with 7.

 

[AFC979810]

While we are playing well, I am concerned that when teams figure us out, will we be able to pivot and still win games?

This was the downfall of both Craig and Pyke.

No point having a bulletproof game plan when it is easily countered by oppositions and we have no other place to go.

I think this game against Hawthorn is huge. In many ways, I will be happier about winning this than I was the showdown and Carlton because it is the sort of game we wouldn't ordinarily get ourselves up for and traditionally would drop. Take last year's game against the Hawks. Take Round 1 this year. Take the GWS game last year.

This should be a "get the job done" victory if we are serious about being a finals team, and we haven't earned the right to have those yet. This is our first test.

Lose this, and the win over Carlton means nothing.

Thats the exciting part. Seeing how we transition from the hunter to the hunted.

Very interested to see what happens with Dawson over the next few weeks. He has the spotlight on him like never before.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Did you miss the Richmond game?

Noah Balta took 9 intercept marks against us - AFL record is 10.

Had 7 rebound 50's, 4 contested marks, and 3rd most metres gained in the game and was one of Richmonds best.

Also was 2nd for coaches votes with 7.

Yep deliberately missed that game , thankfully I was busy that day

 

[Dangarman]

Our depth currently is McAdam, Berry, Worrell, Parnell, Gollant, Nankervis, Strachan, Taylor, Schoenberg, Himmelberg, Dowling?, Keane, Cook, McHenry.

Keane, Taylor. Nankervis, Dowling are the only ones who haven't played an afl game. This is the best depth we have had at the club for 4-5 years. McAdam, Berry, Worrell are all best 22 when fit.

Keane, Nankervis, Parnell are the most likely to be best 22 by the end of the year imo.

Keane played 5 games for Collingwood over 2 years - one in 2020 and four in 2021.

 

[Crow till I die]

The most interesting/exciting thing about our current form is how much it relies on precision kicking. We are suddenly a very highly skilled team that picks the eyes out of it with short, often-central, kicks to open up the game and give our forwards great looks at the ball in dangerous spots. And unfortunately for guys like Berry and Shoenberg, their poor disposal doesn’t bode well. Are their futures suddenly cloudy with highly skilled guys like Taylor improving by the week? Berry I can see coming in as depth as a hard nosed mid when injuries are prevalent. Shoey in big trouble though I think.

Its more than that re kicking. The side look fit to a man and when you are super fit, you can execute skills better. When you fatigue, efficiency drops off - its natural. So our game plan of a precision short kick on the 45 to open up space and then go again to another player short or to go fast and long needs us to be super fit.

 

[Gtowncrow]

So true , normally any decent intercept marks have a field day against us but can’t recall it at all this year so far

Tom Stewart says hi. He's looking forward to hosting us in a few weeks time .

Didn't he break some intercept AFL record of some sort last time we visited Kardinia Park?

Darcy Moore next week is also a good test.

I think we're smarter now. We'll find a way to dodge these guys... hopefully

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

FTFY - given that it's Tasmania.

I almost put that as our Plan B haha

 

[skam85]

I'd rather not see Berry again. I hope we can build and maintain a midfield of players good enough to keep him out. Same feeling about Schoenberg.

So if we need a midfielder I hope we try guys like Taylor

Horrifically bad take and we just had some clown suggest we have poor depth

 

[Stephen2]

Anyone of the Berry enthusiasts gonna suggest who we replaces in the current team?

 

[Scorpus]

While we are playing well, I am concerned that when teams figure us out, will we be able to pivot and still win games?

This was the downfall of both Craig and Pyke.

No point having a bulletproof game plan when it is easily countered by oppositions and we have no other place to go.

I think this game against Hawthorn is huge. In many ways, I will be happier about winning this than I was the showdown and Carlton because it is the sort of game we wouldn't ordinarily get ourselves up for and traditionally would drop. Take last year's game against the Hawks. Take Round 1 this year. Take the GWS game last year.

This should be a "get the job done" victory if we are serious about being a finals team, and we haven't earned the right to have those yet. This is our first test.

Lose this, and the win over Carlton means nothing.

The big difference IMO between the Nicks era and Pyke ere is going to be player versatility

Pyke didn't have many options to shuffle things up. Most of the players he had could only be played in one position. Crouch brothers, Brown, Atkins, Kelly, Mackay, Jenkins, Lynch. Others we tried in multiple positions and their second position was a dismal failure (Douglas, Knight as some examples)

Our current team is extremely versatile. Dawson can be played anywhere on the field. Laird is an AA defender. Thilthorpe can play forward, ruck and midfield. All our small forwards can pinch hit in the middle. Our defensive unit are extremely versatile and most can play a number of roles.

If our fast ball movement gets shut down, we should be able to lock the game down into a scrap. Shift Dawson to defense, bring Jones and Murphy up to pressure. Or we could switch to an outside game by sending Rankine to the midfield, pushing Hinge and Milera up the ground and playing through Sholl more.

Pyke didn't have that at his disposal. His team was very rigid in its roles, to the point where if one player was shut down our system fell apart. Remember the amount of times a team like Geelong would tag Lynch and Smith and we'd turn to shit?

 

[Bearded Clam]

Horrifically bad take and we just had some clown suggest we have poor depth

Whilst I agree it was a bit harsh..

I dont know that it was a “horrifically bad take”.

We have all seen how our midfield has performed over the past three weeks since Berry dropped out of it halfway through that R3 game against Port..

Its now a midfield made up of Laird and Dawson and a mix of..

Rankine
Rachele
Soligo (occasionally)
Sloane

Berry out and Dawson in has changed the entire dynamic and the results have been astounding.

Why would anyone want to go backwards?.

I’m not going as far as saying that means that we dont want to see Berry again like stephen2 is… but…

I think we need to re-evaluate how we use Berry moving forward and I think the most sensible plan of attack at this point is to not pick him in the 22 again until;

1) he finds some consistent form (in the SANFL)
And
2) if he can do that then he still only comes back in if its to replace one of Laird, Sloane or Keays due to one of those three becoming injured or losing form.

The is no need for so many crash and bash type mids in the one team. Have 1 or 2 of them and suuround them with class and talent.

If we need to inject a bit more bash and crash in there at points in games another option would be to throw chayce jones in there for squirts here and there.

Hell, I’d love to see them give young michaleney a run in there too. See if his skill and poise translates. He’s very calm when under pressure in traffic.

 

[AFC979810]

We have a lot of depth. We don't have a strong enough best 22 at this point where that depth means anything - after all, we go from a mid-table side to a mid-table side, yippee. Outside of that we should probably look to trade out a few guys.

I think 100% opposite. Put our best 22 on the park playing with the confidence we are playing with and I think it can match anyone if our top 6 fire.

Where we will find out how good our depth is is if we start to lose players. Not one player where a player 8 game Gollant comes in for a 11 game Pedlar, but injuries like Collingwood/Essedndon/Melbourne/Sydney have and are dealing with.

Where this forum is laughable is everyone spruiking our amazing depth. Gollant, Worrell, Keane, Cook, Nankervis, Taylor, Parnell, Strawnie have a combined 53 games of AFL experience. The most consecutive games any of them have played in a row is 11 (Parnell). We simply haven't seen enough of them at AFL level to know. I am sure our resident experts think they will all be 200 gamers, but that just isn't the case.

Sure it isn't a problem if our 7th best forward Murphy goes out and Mchenry comes in to fill his 'non goal scoring role', but the flown affect of losing a player like Dawson, Rankine, or Murray would let us find out about our depth.

 

[George Kramer]

Did you miss the Richmond game?

Noah Balta took 9 intercept marks against us - AFL record is 10.

Had 7 rebound 50's, 4 contested marks, and 3rd most metres gained in the game and was one of Richmonds best.

Also was 2nd for coaches votes with 7.

Dawson wasn’t playing midfield

 

[AFC979810]

Horrifically bad take and we just had some clown suggest we have poor depth

Settle down slugger.

This clown actually said "we don't know" about the quality of our depth. Because we have had an absolute dream run of injuries over the past 18 months and it hasn't been tested.

Thats all it took for the cheerleaders to come swarming in.

 

[El Doederino]

The big difference IMO between the Nicks era and Pyke ere is going to be player versatility

Pyke didn't have many options to shuffle things up. Most of the players he had could only be played in one position. Crouch brothers, Brown, Atkins, Kelly, Mackay, Jenkins, Lynch. Others we tried in multiple positions and their second position was a dismal failure (Douglas, Knight as some examples)

Our current team is extremely versatile. Dawson can be played anywhere on the field. Laird is an AA defender. Thilthorpe can play forward, ruck and midfield. All our small forwards can pinch hit in the middle. Our defensive unit are extremely versatile and most can play a number of roles.

If our fast ball movement gets shut down, we should be able to lock the game down into a scrap. Shift Dawson to defense, bring Jones and Murphy up to pressure. Or we could switch to an outside game by sending Rankine to the midfield, pushing Hinge and Milera up the ground and playing through Sholl more.

Pyke didn't have that at his disposal. His team was very rigid in its roles, to the point where if one player was shut down our system fell apart. Remember the amount of times a team like Geelong would tag Lynch and Smith and we'd turn to s**t?

Need to be convinced we can do this effectively. We should have been able to lock the game down into a scrap when GWS were running over the top of us in the second half. We should have been able to do that once we hit the front in the last quarter against Richmond. Instead we stood there naked with no options and got hosed.

I do expect we've learned from those games though.

I don't think we'll beat Hawthorn in Tassie with precision kicking and run. So hope we can find another way to win.

 

[spexau]

Need to be convinced we can do this effectively. We should have been able to lock the game down into a scrap when GWS were running over the top of us in the second half. We should have been able to do that once we hit the front in the last quarter against Richmond. Instead we stood there naked with no options and got hosed.

I do expect we've learned from those games though.

I don't think we'll beat Hawthorn in Tassie with precision kicking and run. So hope we can find another way to win.

Since those 2 games we've become the best transition D team in the comp

 

[Freomaniac]

This is a smart use of rotating the sub & keeping players fresh.

The only changes I would be making this week is to freshen players up who need a rest, particularly with travel needed to Tasmania.

I have seen your team's changes .

In: Hately, Elliot himmelberg and Luke Nankervis.

I also noticed your team's forward line...

HF: Rankine, Chayce Jones, Rachele


FF: Walker , Fogarty, Murphy

Was Riley Tilthorpe injured last week or was he rested?

It seems like if Riley Tilthorpe isn't in, Himmelberg has to get in as a backup ruck and forward.

Crows are $1.30 favourites and rightfully so.

I do expect the crows to belt hawthorn this weekend just like they have done to Fremantle and Carlton in the last 2 games.

Starting 18 looks good.

 

[Gtowncrow]

Big game for Chayce.
Home state!!!
Coming off a great game last week.

Hope he has a cracking game!!!

 

[jackster83]

I have seen your team's changes .

In: Hately, Elliot himmelberg and Luke Nankervis.

I also noticed your team's forward line...

HF: Rankine, Chayce Jones, Rachele


FF: Walker , Fogarty, Murphy

Was Riley Tilthorpe injured last week or was he rested?

It seems like if Riley Tilthorpe isn't in, Himmelberg has to get in as a backup ruck and forward.

Crows are $1.30 favourites and rightfully so.

I do expect the crows to belt hawthorn this weekend just like they have done to Fremantle and Carlton in the last 2 games.

Starting 18 looks good.

Thilthorpe played last week.