- Oct 3, 2003
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True, though only 6 disposals today.
Review Good / Bad / Ugly vs West Coast
- Thread starter Tadpole
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- May 14, 2017
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I agree with all of those.
1) add Laird to that, but I think Sloane is carrying injury. If so, needs a couple weeks off to recover.
2) I made a point of looking for Mrouch and see what he did, all game. Early in the first quarter, he got an easy handball receive from Brad just forward of the near wing and, under no pressure at all, kicked it long left, ootf.
Commentator: "Brad Crouch to Matt ... to the third row".
3) the change in game style after half time was a return to the garbage they've dished out over the last 4 weeks.
Did anybody spot any positional changes that led to that after half-time, please?
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- May 14, 2017
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Both have size/weight limitations but that was never a problem for Eddie, nor other very good small forwards.
Why is Stengle better than Murphy? I didn't see much in Stengle today and to be honest I prefer Murphy's aggro and defensive work.
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- May 14, 2017
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I can't see it.
Smith, our best player today.
Mrouch one of our worst. Brouch and Sloane utterly ineffective.
I didn't notice McAsey as much, but I thought Hamill was very good, and Jones to half-time.
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- May 14, 2017
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Looked unhappy when Crows called his name, I thought.
Ravenous Crow
Club Legend
To give a more optimistic take on the game -
We hit total rock bottom several weeks ago. It looked as bad as Gold Coast circa 2011, completely noncompetitive and unwatchable.
There has been improvement since. We're still too bad to capitalise on dominant periods in the game but at least there's signs of life. We're playing a lot of young/inexperienced players and some of them are showing a lot. Just have to persist and try to be as competitive as you can whilst developing these players. Get a full season of AFL into guys like Hamill and McAsey then also take the #1 pick in the draft and it can turn around very quickly.
At least now compared to last year you can see the direction. It was infinitely more frustrating to me when we were in denial of mediocrity mode all year yoyoing Gibbs, Jenkins, McKay in and out of the team whilst ignoring all youth. If we stuck with that you end up in 12th place AFL purgatory for years.
We hit total rock bottom several weeks ago. It looked as bad as Gold Coast circa 2011, completely noncompetitive and unwatchable.
There has been improvement since. We're still too bad to capitalise on dominant periods in the game but at least there's signs of life. We're playing a lot of young/inexperienced players and some of them are showing a lot. Just have to persist and try to be as competitive as you can whilst developing these players. Get a full season of AFL into guys like Hamill and McAsey then also take the #1 pick in the draft and it can turn around very quickly.
At least now compared to last year you can see the direction. It was infinitely more frustrating to me when we were in denial of mediocrity mode all year yoyoing Gibbs, Jenkins, McKay in and out of the team whilst ignoring all youth. If we stuck with that you end up in 12th place AFL purgatory for years.
Jack is Back
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- Apr 17, 2013
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A very workmanlike performance today. Not bad enough to suggest tanking but we are now effectively three games clear in the race to Number One. We would probably have to win at least four of our last 11 games to lose pick one.
I expect increasing pressure from Victorian teams and those teams that traded away this year’s draft picks like Poort Pear to pressure Gill for a special lottery style draft this year.
I expect increasing pressure from Victorian teams and those teams that traded away this year’s draft picks like Poort Pear to pressure Gill for a special lottery style draft this year.
Or the game style atm has no forwards. Too much emphasis on team defence. Crows playing to defensive atm.
- May 10, 2016
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Some of Jones tackles were elite. Once he gets stronger he will hurt some players.
Every game runs around madly achieving absolutely nothing and Crow Bloke you are right posters on here keep building him that played well or improving when hardly touches the ball and when does panics and turns ball over.... then kicked straight to WCE player
Dance step was beautiful, but all for nothing if he's gonna deliver like that.
If there is any chance Ned ever going to be close to achieving something close to draft selection needs to go back and see if his body and skills can grow. at a lower level.
The VFL media have already planted the seeds for us not to get pick 2 for Brad Crouch if he leaves. Look at Manure saying he was worth pick 15 all last trade period. All the other puppets in the media were regurgitating this over and over. We can't expect anything but the bare minimum.
AmericanCrow
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- Jun 17, 2015
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Herein lies the core of the issue going forward.
Only caveats I would make is asking which would sniff a game on a top 8 squad and which a top 4 club.
Why we are years away from relevancy at the moment and relying solely upon a #1 pick won’t turn anything around.
- May 10, 2016
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No one would have been happy under our current mismanagement. Draftees aren't stupid. I am somewhat concerned when we draft introverted players as they are generally more likely to leave but I'm hoping he sees the change going on and once we get our chairman, football director and CEO out we will start a new chapter truly. I also feel that once we move some seniors out he may become more comfortable around a younger group moving together in one direction and become more invested. Time will tell but if he doesnt sign an extension by early next season i will be concerned.
Scorpus
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Center Clearances for the first half:
1 - Opening Bounce, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Free kick to Brad Crouch, in the back
2 - After Crows Goal, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Both rucks miss the ball, O'Brien goes to ground but Nic Nat stays up, takes a clean grab from the bounce and bangs it forward. O'Brien was in the perfect position to do something but completely bumbled it, Brad Crouch failed to pressure Nic Nat as the closest man
3 - After Eagles Goal, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Keays, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Mackay)
Nic Nat palms it attacking side easily over O'Brien, Sloane closely checking Yeo but Yeo manages to hack kick it under pressure to Kelly streaming forward. Kelly's man at the stoppage was Brad Crouch who isn't even in the frame. Smith also fails to apply pressure on the Yeo kick. This clearance would have been nullified with pressure on Kelly
4 - After Eagles Goal 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Sloane, Keays (Smith, Mackay)
Tap to space by Nic Nat/O'Brien, Sloane on Sheed with Sloane running away from the ball, David Mackay ball watching and doesn't enter the space to attack the contest and ultimately overruns the ball and player (Sheed) who eventually gets the clearance. Ball then goes out defensive side to free West Coast players that have run away from Matt Crouch. Mackay would have won or nullified the clearance had he attacked the man/ball instead of guarding space.
5 - Opening Bounce, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Nic Nat taps it directly to Brad Crouch, who hack kicks forward. West Coast, coming in from our F50, spoil this ball back towards the center. West Coast have already anticipated this move and really this is a structural mess for Adelaide. Jake Kelly, coming in from D50, has let Ryan get 20m away on the wing; simultaneously as soon as the spoil is in effect, Sheed has worked hard forward, getting miles off Brad Crouch. Jones has worked hardest defensively, but is now in a tough position between two players: he can either cover his man, Yeo, or Brad's man, Sheed and ultimately he chooses the corridor option (Sheed). But because Brad and Kelly haven't worked hard enough, this opens up some easy uncontested ball on the wing for Ryan and Yeo who ultimately get it inside 50. Brad Crouch is really slow to react here and work defensively, letting his team mates down and causing all sorts of flow on effects.
6 - After Eagles Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
O'Brien sharks Nic Nat's tap but is forced defensive side by Nic Nat. Smith eventually gets the ground ball but hospital handballs it to Sloane who is literally in the process of being tackled by Sheed. Smith had a free option (Jones) laterally with oodles of space. The ball bumbles around and is collected by Nelson who Sloane grabs around the neck and it's a free against. Had Brodie Smith handballed 1m to his right instead of hospital passing it to Sloane, this would have been a beautiful clearance to us.
7 - After Eagles Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Stengle, Keays (Sloane, Jones)
Allen monsters O'Brien in the ruck and almost gets the follow on clearance, but is foiled by Matt, who handballs to Stengle. Stengle misses the handball to Sloane, who taps backwards (towards D50) and that's easily picked up by Cripps coming in from WC's forward 50. Cripps works forward away from Hamill. Reilly O'Brien's ruck work here was pathetic
8 - After Crows Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, Keays, Matt (Smith, Mackay)
West Coast hold Matt Crouch and he gets a free. It was nearly a fail because Yeo had gotten massive separation from Brad Crouch
Summary
Clearance Wins:
Brad Crouch - free kick
Matt Crouch - free kick
Clearance Losses:
Reilly O'Brien - clean misses the ball in the ruck
Brad Crouch - lets his man run free for clearance
David Mackay - ball watching instead of attacking
Brad Crouch - doesn't work defensively
Brodie Smith - hospital handball
Reilly O'Brien - destroyed in the ruck by a second stringer
So for the entire first half, the only center clearances we won were to obvious free kicks. Our structure is a mess but a lot of it is players not working hard enough to get into the right positions
1 - Opening Bounce, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Free kick to Brad Crouch, in the back
2 - After Crows Goal, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Both rucks miss the ball, O'Brien goes to ground but Nic Nat stays up, takes a clean grab from the bounce and bangs it forward. O'Brien was in the perfect position to do something but completely bumbled it, Brad Crouch failed to pressure Nic Nat as the closest man
3 - After Eagles Goal, 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Keays, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Mackay)
Nic Nat palms it attacking side easily over O'Brien, Sloane closely checking Yeo but Yeo manages to hack kick it under pressure to Kelly streaming forward. Kelly's man at the stoppage was Brad Crouch who isn't even in the frame. Smith also fails to apply pressure on the Yeo kick. This clearance would have been nullified with pressure on Kelly
4 - After Eagles Goal 1st Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Sloane, Keays (Smith, Mackay)
Tap to space by Nic Nat/O'Brien, Sloane on Sheed with Sloane running away from the ball, David Mackay ball watching and doesn't enter the space to attack the contest and ultimately overruns the ball and player (Sheed) who eventually gets the clearance. Ball then goes out defensive side to free West Coast players that have run away from Matt Crouch. Mackay would have won or nullified the clearance had he attacked the man/ball instead of guarding space.
5 - Opening Bounce, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
Nic Nat taps it directly to Brad Crouch, who hack kicks forward. West Coast, coming in from our F50, spoil this ball back towards the center. West Coast have already anticipated this move and really this is a structural mess for Adelaide. Jake Kelly, coming in from D50, has let Ryan get 20m away on the wing; simultaneously as soon as the spoil is in effect, Sheed has worked hard forward, getting miles off Brad Crouch. Jones has worked hardest defensively, but is now in a tough position between two players: he can either cover his man, Yeo, or Brad's man, Sheed and ultimately he chooses the corridor option (Sheed). But because Brad and Kelly haven't worked hard enough, this opens up some easy uncontested ball on the wing for Ryan and Yeo who ultimately get it inside 50. Brad Crouch is really slow to react here and work defensively, letting his team mates down and causing all sorts of flow on effects.
6 - After Eagles Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Sloane, Brad (Smith, Keays)
O'Brien sharks Nic Nat's tap but is forced defensive side by Nic Nat. Smith eventually gets the ground ball but hospital handballs it to Sloane who is literally in the process of being tackled by Sheed. Smith had a free option (Jones) laterally with oodles of space. The ball bumbles around and is collected by Nelson who Sloane grabs around the neck and it's a free against. Had Brodie Smith handballed 1m to his right instead of hospital passing it to Sloane, this would have been a beautiful clearance to us.
7 - After Eagles Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Stengle, Keays (Sloane, Jones)
Allen monsters O'Brien in the ruck and almost gets the follow on clearance, but is foiled by Matt, who handballs to Stengle. Stengle misses the handball to Sloane, who taps backwards (towards D50) and that's easily picked up by Cripps coming in from WC's forward 50. Cripps works forward away from Hamill. Reilly O'Brien's ruck work here was pathetic
8 - After Crows Goal, 2nd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, Keays, Matt (Smith, Mackay)
West Coast hold Matt Crouch and he gets a free. It was nearly a fail because Yeo had gotten massive separation from Brad Crouch
Summary
Clearance Wins:
Brad Crouch - free kick
Matt Crouch - free kick
Clearance Losses:
Reilly O'Brien - clean misses the ball in the ruck
Brad Crouch - lets his man run free for clearance
David Mackay - ball watching instead of attacking
Brad Crouch - doesn't work defensively
Brodie Smith - hospital handball
Reilly O'Brien - destroyed in the ruck by a second stringer
So for the entire first half, the only center clearances we won were to obvious free kicks. Our structure is a mess but a lot of it is players not working hard enough to get into the right positions
- May 10, 2016
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There is a solution for us to improve. It's going to need a whole of club approach to be fixed though. Has our club got it in them to do what's necessary? We must otherwise we are essentially ****ed. The key appointments are Chairman, Football Director, CEO, Head of Fitness, Assistant coaches. Do we need more help for Ogilvie? Is Ogilvie the right man? Is Reid the right man? These are all questions that need to be asked. We dont have much time. This needs to be done now. Once this is sorted we need a brutally honest evaluation of list. Our goal should be 5 picks in the top 20. That is how you create change. We must nail every pick. Next we must trade in some experience to help the kids. I'm talking about decent players for once. This is the GWS strategy. We must get our players fitter and only bring in smart players that can think onfield not dumb lazy footballers we now have a plethora of. There is a way forward. We just need to get the right people at our club and remove the wrong ones from it.
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Scorpus
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Center Clearances for the second half:
1 - Opening Bounce, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Matt, Keays (Smith, Sloane)
Nic Nat gets a great tap to space but it's great because Sheed has worked off Matt Crouch into that space. Easy unpressured clearance. It looks like a set play. This is a complete misread of the stoppage by Matt, he's caught between ball watching and watching the man, and reacts too late to Sheed getting around the rear of the stoppage. Jones is also nearby but is very closely checking Yeo and didn't have enough time to get to the fall of the ball.
2 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Sloane)
O'Brien gets a great unexpected tap over his back, straight to Brad Crouch who has ran too far and misread the tap entirely. He goes to ground and this allows his direct opponent, Kelly, to take it uncontested without any pressure from Brad (he's half a meter away) and get it forward. Brad seemed to be anticipating a tap more to the defensive side, but it was a strange choice by Brad to do what he did, he was encroaching on Jones' space and if O'Brien did tap it there, Jones would have been in prime position.
3 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Sloane, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Jones)
Bounce should have been recalled, it heavily favored Allen who gets the tap outside the center circle. Allen hack kicks it but Sloane marks. Bit of a nill all draw, I believe Rory Sloane is credited for the clearance
4 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Matt)
O'Brien taps it straight to Chayce Jones who soccers it forward (had no option he was so closely checked) to Brad who soccers it forward, but at this point Redden has about 15m of separation on Matt Crouch who he was manned up on at the wing at the center bounce. Matt's lack of defensive running means there is no one anywhere near the Brad Crouch soccer, allowing Redden to mop up. Technically Jones gets the clearance (in my opinion, he's not credited with it, I believe the Eagles are) but Matt Crouch's pathetic defensive work costs us.
5 - After Crows Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Matt (Mackay, Smith)
O'Brien wins a tap to space in perfect position for Smith running in from the wing, however after he gets the ball he runs straight into Nic Nat. This was stupid from Brodie Smith, he should have attempted a pass to the free Jones or O'Brien nearby. With the repeat stoppage, Brad is pretty unlucky here, the tap misses him by half a meter but he is kinda caught between ball and man watching. Kelly runs off Brad and by chance is in the right spot, however he is able to handball to a free Sheed that's worked well off Sloane. Jones once again finds himself covering two men and between both. Unlucky but also defensive efforts cost us.
6 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Laird)
O'Brien taps it straight to Keays who fumbles it badly, the ball actually hits Ben Keays on the chest. David Mackay then epicly fumbles an easy uncontested ball and Ryan, flying in from our D50, slams through and eventually the ball scrubs towards the West Coast D50
7 - Opening Bounce, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Keays, Stengle (Smith, Jones)
Nic Nat gets a brilliant tap directly to Sheed, Stengle has run off Sheed here not expecting such a brilliant tap. The ruck work from O'Brien was poor but Tyson Stengle's lapse here was bad.
8 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Brad, Keays (Smith, Jones)
O'Brien taps it directly to Smith, who does trip but gets it to Matt who handballs to Brad in close proximity, Brad Crouch fumbles and ultimately stuffs the clearance
9 - After Eagles Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, McHenry)
Bounce massively favors Nic Nat and isn't recalled, anyway O'Brien taps it to our attacking side, Gaff gets a lot of separation off Keays here but ends up applying some pressure. However the big crime here is David Mackay is caught asleep at the wheel, his direct man at the center bounce on the wing has ran into the contest to provide assistance to Gaff. Macaky is literally running around on the wing doing nothing here and to top it all off, when the ball finally comes into his area, Kelly just brushes off Mackay's tackle like it's nothing.
9 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, McHenry, Keays (Mackay, Smith)
O'Brien taps it to Brad Crouch who hack kicks it out of the air. This is marked by Nelson under no pressure because Laird has decided to run away from him. Brad's decision to go the hack kick was poor but Rory Laird was putrid here.
10 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, Matt, Keays (Mackay, Smith)
Ben Keays concedes a holding free kick against Sheed
Summary
Clearance Wins:
Rory Sloane - marks a close range hack kick from a West Coast player
Brad Crouch - hack kicks it but it's marked by West Coast just outside our forward 50
(Chayce Jones - not credited but set us in motion only for Matt to let us down)
Clearance Losses:
Matt Crouch - doesn't apply defensive pressure on his man
Brad Crouch - misreads tap and doesn't apply pressure on his man
Matt Crouch - lets his man get 15m away on the wing
Brodie Smith - attempts to run through Nic Nat (follow up unlucky)
Ben Keays - fumbles a tap directly to his chest
Tyson Stengle - runs away from his man
Brad Crouch - fumbles a handball receive after a series of good work from other players
David Mackay - lets his man get 30m away on the wing and fails to apply a tackle
Ben Keays - concedes a free kick
(Rory Laird - runs away from his man which allows the Brad clearance to be marked by opposition)
1 - Opening Bounce, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Matt, Keays (Smith, Sloane)
Nic Nat gets a great tap to space but it's great because Sheed has worked off Matt Crouch into that space. Easy unpressured clearance. It looks like a set play. This is a complete misread of the stoppage by Matt, he's caught between ball watching and watching the man, and reacts too late to Sheed getting around the rear of the stoppage. Jones is also nearby but is very closely checking Yeo and didn't have enough time to get to the fall of the ball.
2 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Sloane)
O'Brien gets a great unexpected tap over his back, straight to Brad Crouch who has ran too far and misread the tap entirely. He goes to ground and this allows his direct opponent, Kelly, to take it uncontested without any pressure from Brad (he's half a meter away) and get it forward. Brad seemed to be anticipating a tap more to the defensive side, but it was a strange choice by Brad to do what he did, he was encroaching on Jones' space and if O'Brien did tap it there, Jones would have been in prime position.
3 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Sloane, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Jones)
Bounce should have been recalled, it heavily favored Allen who gets the tap outside the center circle. Allen hack kicks it but Sloane marks. Bit of a nill all draw, I believe Rory Sloane is credited for the clearance
4 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Matt)
O'Brien taps it straight to Chayce Jones who soccers it forward (had no option he was so closely checked) to Brad who soccers it forward, but at this point Redden has about 15m of separation on Matt Crouch who he was manned up on at the wing at the center bounce. Matt's lack of defensive running means there is no one anywhere near the Brad Crouch soccer, allowing Redden to mop up. Technically Jones gets the clearance (in my opinion, he's not credited with it, I believe the Eagles are) but Matt Crouch's pathetic defensive work costs us.
5 - After Crows Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Matt (Mackay, Smith)
O'Brien wins a tap to space in perfect position for Smith running in from the wing, however after he gets the ball he runs straight into Nic Nat. This was stupid from Brodie Smith, he should have attempted a pass to the free Jones or O'Brien nearby. With the repeat stoppage, Brad is pretty unlucky here, the tap misses him by half a meter but he is kinda caught between ball and man watching. Kelly runs off Brad and by chance is in the right spot, however he is able to handball to a free Sheed that's worked well off Sloane. Jones once again finds himself covering two men and between both. Unlucky but also defensive efforts cost us.
6 - After Eagles Goal, 3rd Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, Laird)
O'Brien taps it straight to Keays who fumbles it badly, the ball actually hits Ben Keays on the chest. David Mackay then epicly fumbles an easy uncontested ball and Ryan, flying in from our D50, slams through and eventually the ball scrubs towards the West Coast D50
7 - Opening Bounce, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Keays, Stengle (Smith, Jones)
Nic Nat gets a brilliant tap directly to Sheed, Stengle has run off Sheed here not expecting such a brilliant tap. The ruck work from O'Brien was poor but Tyson Stengle's lapse here was bad.
8 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Matt, Brad, Keays (Smith, Jones)
O'Brien taps it directly to Smith, who does trip but gets it to Matt who handballs to Brad in close proximity, Brad Crouch fumbles and ultimately stuffs the clearance
9 - After Eagles Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Jones, Brad, Keays (Mackay, McHenry)
Bounce massively favors Nic Nat and isn't recalled, anyway O'Brien taps it to our attacking side, Gaff gets a lot of separation off Keays here but ends up applying some pressure. However the big crime here is David Mackay is caught asleep at the wheel, his direct man at the center bounce on the wing has ran into the contest to provide assistance to Gaff. Macaky is literally running around on the wing doing nothing here and to top it all off, when the ball finally comes into his area, Kelly just brushes off Mackay's tackle like it's nothing.
9 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, McHenry, Keays (Mackay, Smith)
O'Brien taps it to Brad Crouch who hack kicks it out of the air. This is marked by Nelson under no pressure because Laird has decided to run away from him. Brad's decision to go the hack kick was poor but Rory Laird was putrid here.
10 - After Crows Goal, 4th Quarter
Setup: O'Brien, Brad, Matt, Keays (Mackay, Smith)
Ben Keays concedes a holding free kick against Sheed
Summary
Clearance Wins:
Rory Sloane - marks a close range hack kick from a West Coast player
Brad Crouch - hack kicks it but it's marked by West Coast just outside our forward 50
(Chayce Jones - not credited but set us in motion only for Matt to let us down)
Clearance Losses:
Matt Crouch - doesn't apply defensive pressure on his man
Brad Crouch - misreads tap and doesn't apply pressure on his man
Matt Crouch - lets his man get 15m away on the wing
Brodie Smith - attempts to run through Nic Nat (follow up unlucky)
Ben Keays - fumbles a tap directly to his chest
Tyson Stengle - runs away from his man
Brad Crouch - fumbles a handball receive after a series of good work from other players
David Mackay - lets his man get 30m away on the wing and fails to apply a tackle
Ben Keays - concedes a free kick
(Rory Laird - runs away from his man which allows the Brad clearance to be marked by opposition)
Been a little disappointed in Frampton. Post trade, lot of talk seemed to be he had a bit of a c bomb in him. Was a bit of a prick at SANFL level and then you see him get into a blow up against Hartigan at training. Always think that's great in a big bodied FF yet I haven't seen him crash a pack yet. His one goal today came off the back of McHenry blatantly holding his man (while the other 3 WCE players watched). You'll take it for sure, but again, that was basically an uncontested mark at the end of it.
He had a ripping kick to Walker last week which was great to see yet our problem in the forward line is we really need a bash and crash FF. We've got a lot of guys who are great on the lead but we're without someone that can just knock a pack down and bring the ball to ground (on the rare occasions it makes it that far).
I haven't seen Frampton play prior to the Crows soo I'm not sure if that's just not in his game or if it just hasn't come yet. Hoping for the latter of the two and for it to come soon as it would be super handy to have in our forward line.
He had a ripping kick to Walker last week which was great to see yet our problem in the forward line is we really need a bash and crash FF. We've got a lot of guys who are great on the lead but we're without someone that can just knock a pack down and bring the ball to ground (on the rare occasions it makes it that far).
I haven't seen Frampton play prior to the Crows soo I'm not sure if that's just not in his game or if it just hasn't come yet. Hoping for the latter of the two and for it to come soon as it would be super handy to have in our forward line.
Well put. Hopefully he can work into that role. At the moment the best contested pack mark we’ve got is ROB, but his kicking is suspect. But we need someone like him who the defenders respect enough that they all fly with him and leave a few of our blokes free on the ground.
Then we just need to remember how to do a front and centre crumb
Our midfield setup is so far from AFL standard its embarrassing.
Mrouch chasing after Yeo was laughable. Let alone his no pressure kicks that nearly missed his boot.
On the positives.
Hamill looks the sort. Absolutely sold on him. Has the poise to make smart decisions under pressure. Great dash and leg. And despite the light frame at his age he uses his body so well with tackles and 1 on 1s. Have no issues with him taking the game on.
McAsey took a clunk or two. There are some signs. Think playing on McGovern sets the gold standard for playing on a top defender. I think that's nothing but a positive for a young kid with the right mindset a desire to improve.
Great game from Smithers.
Doedee as well.
Mrouch chasing after Yeo was laughable. Let alone his no pressure kicks that nearly missed his boot.
On the positives.
Hamill looks the sort. Absolutely sold on him. Has the poise to make smart decisions under pressure. Great dash and leg. And despite the light frame at his age he uses his body so well with tackles and 1 on 1s. Have no issues with him taking the game on.
McAsey took a clunk or two. There are some signs. Think playing on McGovern sets the gold standard for playing on a top defender. I think that's nothing but a positive for a young kid with the right mindset a desire to improve.
Great game from Smithers.
Doedee as well.
Scorpus
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- Apr 16, 2014
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Overall Center Clearance Work Analysis
Result: Lost center clearances 4-13, absolute demolition job
Real cluster**** to be honest. We did not win a single clean center clearance for the entire match, just 4 center clearances of any kind total. Two were free kicks, another was won via a mark from a West Coast player that won the ball first, and the other we won the ball only to cough it straight back up.
Nic Nat is a dominant ruckman but I'd say there was only one occasion where he got a beautiful tap directly to his team mate. The rest of the time, the taps were regulation stuff to contests. O'Brien's work was the least concerning aspect.
Worst offenders for letting West Coast win center clearances:
Brad Crouch - on three occasions Brad's lack of defensive work allowed his direct opponent to win the clearance, and on another occasion he fumbled a handball receive. Cost us more clearances than he won.
Matt Crouch - on two occasions Matt applied an egregious lack of defensive pressure, letting his direct opponent win the clearance. Given Matt had one center clearance himself for the entire match (which was a free kick) this is simply not good enough
David Mackay - had absolutely zero impact playing wing the entire match at center stoppages and on two occasions his direct opponent got involved because David was caught ball watching or manning space rather than attacking the contest.
Brodie Smith - on two occasions Brodie misses a disposal opportunity to a free team mate and either makes the wrong decision or gets caught
Ben Keays - generally did a great job negating Gaff noticeably at stoppages but offered nothing offensively, when the ball was tapped to him he either fumbled or conceded free kicks
Reilly O'Brien - his ruck work in the center wasn't nearly as bad as it might have seemed and often he was able to nullify the ruck to an extent that our midfielders had a chance, were they playing with any semblance of form. However on multiple occasions he got badly towelled up
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Other thoughts:
Sloane was reasonable at stopping his man at the stoppages but made little attempt at actually winning it himself. I think this is why he was moved out of the center work after the first 6 bounces. Didn't seem as interested in hunting the ball as he has in the past, this timid approach is very unlike Sloane and I suspect his continual injuries is impacting his work here.
Our entire tap setup is geared towards working the ball through Brad or Matt, who often get the "prime" stoppage locations and are positioned near O'Brien's usual tap zone. However, both Crouches are actually pretty poor at reading the tap and routinely let their man win the clearance instead through either running out of position/under the ball or lack of defensive work. West Coast paid no respect defensively to either player, whoever was on a Crouch was purely focused on winning the clearance and it worked to perfection. It also seemed like West Coast tried to play through the Crouches as much as possible at stoppage.
Jones is our most dynamic player at stoppages, he actually tries to break free and did so successfully in the first quarter. However with Brad/Matt sucking up a lot of work at the stoppages and being ineffective, Jones didn't get many chances and was often positioned defensive side or away from the main tap zone. West Coast paid far more defensive attention to Jones after he started running around at stoppages, especially in the second half, where at times he was very closely checked.
In my opinion, while Keays is undoubtedly a solid tagger, our use of him is actively harming our center clearance work. Because Keays is unable to do anything offensively or impact the center bounce, we are removing a potential avenue for our own clearances. Yes, we are negating the opposition, but rather than getting a win here we're getting a draw, which hurts when we are badly smashed in the center. A better option here would be a midfielder that can work hard defensively on an opponent but know when to try getting involved as well.
We also aren't utilizing a very attacking structure in general. Our midfielders at the center bounce (aside from the Crouches) are very defensive minded, and often it looked like we had two midfielders purely focused on stopping the opposition. This would be more effective if our primary attacking option had a single defensive bone in his body because it just allowed West Coast to work through that player (usually Brad) and circumvent our tags. Alternatively our attacking clearance player needs to be much smarter and more focused on reading taps and winning the ball.
We need to spend a lot more time on dynamic stoppage drills to get our players moving, to better understand where team mates are for outlets and to get laser focused on positioning while being unpredictable. Jones is very promising in this regard, the Crouches need a re-wire. Some of our players seem clueless as to where the tap is likely to go, and where team mates are for assistance, and where they should be positioned for maximum effectiveness both offensively and defensively. In particular we need to work on lateral vision and involving our wings more, rather than straight down the line stuff. We're poor at spreading too, that needs work and more training.
Smith looks decent on the wing but needs to tidy up his decision making, some of the stuff he attempted was stupid even though his ball winning was very strong. Mackay is useless there, having him on the wing is like playing one down, he literally never impacted the stoppage. That position needs to be given to a young player immediately.
What I'd like to see structure and personnel wise for center bounce:
Jones - Primary attacking midfielder, replacing Brad Crouch (position wise, in the O'Brien hot zone). The most dynamic mid we have and needs to be given license.
Brad Crouch - secondary attacking midfielder, replacing Jones. Needs to focus on defensive work and bringing others into the game, can do so from a secondary role.
Sloane - defensive midfielder, either tagging if necessary or playing defense first (replacing Keays). Still given a license to attack and work off his man. If he's not up for the fight he should be rested for Poholke who slots into this exact role.
Smith - primary wing, needs to continue running through stoppages for an option but tidy up his decision making
???? - secondary wing, but not Matt or Mackay who are both ineffective. I also think Sloane is too slow for this role, should be a quicker player (maybe Hamill/Sholl) or a nuggety defensive pressure beast (McHenry). I see a spot for Milera here on return
We'd also need additional second rotation players, this is where Keays would get involved, McHenry, Poholke if he plays, etc. It'd also be great if that secondary wing could rotate inside at times
Matt Crouch dropped from the side entirely
Result: Lost center clearances 4-13, absolute demolition job
Real cluster**** to be honest. We did not win a single clean center clearance for the entire match, just 4 center clearances of any kind total. Two were free kicks, another was won via a mark from a West Coast player that won the ball first, and the other we won the ball only to cough it straight back up.
Nic Nat is a dominant ruckman but I'd say there was only one occasion where he got a beautiful tap directly to his team mate. The rest of the time, the taps were regulation stuff to contests. O'Brien's work was the least concerning aspect.
Worst offenders for letting West Coast win center clearances:
Brad Crouch - on three occasions Brad's lack of defensive work allowed his direct opponent to win the clearance, and on another occasion he fumbled a handball receive. Cost us more clearances than he won.
Matt Crouch - on two occasions Matt applied an egregious lack of defensive pressure, letting his direct opponent win the clearance. Given Matt had one center clearance himself for the entire match (which was a free kick) this is simply not good enough
David Mackay - had absolutely zero impact playing wing the entire match at center stoppages and on two occasions his direct opponent got involved because David was caught ball watching or manning space rather than attacking the contest.
Brodie Smith - on two occasions Brodie misses a disposal opportunity to a free team mate and either makes the wrong decision or gets caught
Ben Keays - generally did a great job negating Gaff noticeably at stoppages but offered nothing offensively, when the ball was tapped to him he either fumbled or conceded free kicks
Reilly O'Brien - his ruck work in the center wasn't nearly as bad as it might have seemed and often he was able to nullify the ruck to an extent that our midfielders had a chance, were they playing with any semblance of form. However on multiple occasions he got badly towelled up
---
Other thoughts:
Sloane was reasonable at stopping his man at the stoppages but made little attempt at actually winning it himself. I think this is why he was moved out of the center work after the first 6 bounces. Didn't seem as interested in hunting the ball as he has in the past, this timid approach is very unlike Sloane and I suspect his continual injuries is impacting his work here.
Our entire tap setup is geared towards working the ball through Brad or Matt, who often get the "prime" stoppage locations and are positioned near O'Brien's usual tap zone. However, both Crouches are actually pretty poor at reading the tap and routinely let their man win the clearance instead through either running out of position/under the ball or lack of defensive work. West Coast paid no respect defensively to either player, whoever was on a Crouch was purely focused on winning the clearance and it worked to perfection. It also seemed like West Coast tried to play through the Crouches as much as possible at stoppage.
Jones is our most dynamic player at stoppages, he actually tries to break free and did so successfully in the first quarter. However with Brad/Matt sucking up a lot of work at the stoppages and being ineffective, Jones didn't get many chances and was often positioned defensive side or away from the main tap zone. West Coast paid far more defensive attention to Jones after he started running around at stoppages, especially in the second half, where at times he was very closely checked.
In my opinion, while Keays is undoubtedly a solid tagger, our use of him is actively harming our center clearance work. Because Keays is unable to do anything offensively or impact the center bounce, we are removing a potential avenue for our own clearances. Yes, we are negating the opposition, but rather than getting a win here we're getting a draw, which hurts when we are badly smashed in the center. A better option here would be a midfielder that can work hard defensively on an opponent but know when to try getting involved as well.
We also aren't utilizing a very attacking structure in general. Our midfielders at the center bounce (aside from the Crouches) are very defensive minded, and often it looked like we had two midfielders purely focused on stopping the opposition. This would be more effective if our primary attacking option had a single defensive bone in his body because it just allowed West Coast to work through that player (usually Brad) and circumvent our tags. Alternatively our attacking clearance player needs to be much smarter and more focused on reading taps and winning the ball.
We need to spend a lot more time on dynamic stoppage drills to get our players moving, to better understand where team mates are for outlets and to get laser focused on positioning while being unpredictable. Jones is very promising in this regard, the Crouches need a re-wire. Some of our players seem clueless as to where the tap is likely to go, and where team mates are for assistance, and where they should be positioned for maximum effectiveness both offensively and defensively. In particular we need to work on lateral vision and involving our wings more, rather than straight down the line stuff. We're poor at spreading too, that needs work and more training.
Smith looks decent on the wing but needs to tidy up his decision making, some of the stuff he attempted was stupid even though his ball winning was very strong. Mackay is useless there, having him on the wing is like playing one down, he literally never impacted the stoppage. That position needs to be given to a young player immediately.
What I'd like to see structure and personnel wise for center bounce:
Jones - Primary attacking midfielder, replacing Brad Crouch (position wise, in the O'Brien hot zone). The most dynamic mid we have and needs to be given license.
Brad Crouch - secondary attacking midfielder, replacing Jones. Needs to focus on defensive work and bringing others into the game, can do so from a secondary role.
Sloane - defensive midfielder, either tagging if necessary or playing defense first (replacing Keays). Still given a license to attack and work off his man. If he's not up for the fight he should be rested for Poholke who slots into this exact role.
Smith - primary wing, needs to continue running through stoppages for an option but tidy up his decision making
???? - secondary wing, but not Matt or Mackay who are both ineffective. I also think Sloane is too slow for this role, should be a quicker player (maybe Hamill/Sholl) or a nuggety defensive pressure beast (McHenry). I see a spot for Milera here on return
We'd also need additional second rotation players, this is where Keays would get involved, McHenry, Poholke if he plays, etc. It'd also be great if that secondary wing could rotate inside at times
Matt Crouch dropped from the side entirely
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This is where we probably disagree on the value of a ruck tap. I've always been off the opinion that unless you are Nic Nat or Grundy, ruck taps have very little value. To me a ruck contest is similar to throwing an odd shaped ball up and letting it fall onto a raised octagon. On most occasions where there isn't a completely dominant player, the ball will fall by chance and it is up to your midfielders' nous individually and as a collective unit to then win the battle.
If ROB can be better at it or at least be less likely to be dominated by the big guns, then that's great. I think there are more important facets though such as providing a marking contest out of defence or taking marks in defence.
Golumless
A bigger deal out west.
OK, sorry, I must be thinking about another turnover where the Crows player did a nifty evasive sidestep then passed straight to the oppo.
P.S. Golumless Edit: Found what I described on the AFC page, video on "Hamill puts on the moves":
Great side-step, poor kick.
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Hamill's was more flashy, but it was a good bit of class from both.
Can't drop Dmac after 16 worthless touches. 5 kicks 11 handballs, can't expect much more from an inside grunt. Seriously, what is the point. He's not turning the loss into a win or even reducing the degree of the certain loss. He provides no current or future benefit. But to the decision makers at our club, it's important that he plays.
