Review Good/Bad vs Brisbane, R22 2023

[Southerntakeover]

It's a pattern, for sure. Frustrating/confusing as all hell.

I think it's heavily reliant on the "expectation of a win".
The Crows have two game styles (based on attitude/expectation and who they're playing).
1) when playing against a mid-tier or lower-level team either before, or during a game when they get up to 4 or 5 goals up, they think "We're going to win this" or "We've got this". Along those lines.
I'm not a mind-reader, I'm guessing, and it happens often enough to be a thing.

That thought or expectation is the killer, because it causes mental relaxation. When all but the hopeless teams (NM and WCE this year) inevitably fight back, the Crows get found out. They stop doing what they've been doing to get ahead and several teams have piled on 5 up to nine goals against them, which is enough for them to lose, or struggle to win.
The Rounds 1 and 2 losses are good examples of mental relaxation (compounded in R1 by the heat and in R2 by residual tiredness).
2) When playing against teams in the Top 4 to 6, they get themselves up mentally for a 4-quarter fight/effort and play consistently harder. They lift their KPI levels, their effort, their pressure/tackling, everything. The 2 Showdown wins and games vs Collingwood (twice), Geelong, Brisbane and Melbourne are proof of that, and lately with depleted squads.

The Crows need to play that SECOND style, every game, every week.
The mindset is "This is a must-win game. We have to win this game", regardless of opposition, regardless of venue, regardless of conditions, regardless of the opponent's ladder position etc.
Leigh Matthews/ Neil Kerley/ Clarko/ Chris Scott/ Hardwick and others had that mindset, week after week, and all had multiple successes from it.

It's the Coaches' job to get the players to focus on winning the game ahead, on the day --- after that, Ladder position/contending for the Flag takes care of itself.
It's one of their biggest challenges.
I agree with posters who say we need another strong mid with very good to elite skills, retire Sloane, get more games into the kids, better goalkicking/conversion etc, but we could've played finals this year with the cattle we've got with a clearly-focussed win-this-game mindset.
Imagine if the Crows played every game like it was a Showdown!!

He posted two sentences. Stop it.

 

[MsTopG]

How quickly the end comes especially at this age particularly straight after a year out with an ACL.

Some second half sporadic important acts veiled the overall liability. I thought there was hope earlier in the season, seeing those, but how more obvious does it have to become before the club accepts Sloane is no longer a viable option?

It's painful watching a Crow hero cling on like this. It's also painful watching the club applaud that.

He is the crows though.

 

[MsTopG]

That would be a disaster.

Sloane is a liability and Crouch has shown over the last month he is actually just as good if not slightly better in the middle as Laird. Laird"a kicking and loopy handballs were quite poor against the Lions

I am actually in favour of Laird going back to HB as we need a small defender

Yeah we lack a quick small defender. We should try Laird or Murphy back there.

 

[MsTopG]

On a positive note- how exciting is it that Ken looks like getting another contract today. Boy oh boy, wowee. It sure is going to be fun on the port board after a straight sets exit!!

I predict Ken will last 1 year. I reckon powaa will drop off missing the 8 next year.

 

[MarcusP2]

Its the same old thing, we look a million dollars in games where we are the underdog.

As soon as there is expectation of a win that is when the old clacker tightens up.

Been that way for a long long time.

Tell that to West Coast.

 

[CrowBloke]

It's painful watching a Crow hero cling on like this. It's also painful watching the club applaud that.

Yes, painful and sad.
People praise Tex's resurgence so highly because it's so rare for a player of his age to have pretty much career-best form in such a stunning resurgence.
A Tex-like form-reversal would be the only thing that could possibly justify Sloane's staying on in 2024. I can't see it happening but we'll see, I suppose.

I thought there was hope earlier in the season, seeing those, but how more obvious does it have to become before the club accepts Sloane is no longer a viable option?

That question's been answered by the one-year extension, unfortunately. The Club must see value in Sloane's 2023 that we have not. It's unfathomable.
I used to think Sloane was a Club-and-team-first kind of man, but his decision to sign-on has clearly defined his priorities, both of which smack of selfishness:
--- another year on a six-figure paypacket
--- clinging on by his fingernails to the hope of his playing in Finals and maybe even a Flag.

Ironically, the latter might be self-defeated by his playing on .

 

[FR0GGY]

A Tex-like form-reversal would be the only thing that could possibly justify Sloane's staying on in 2024. I can't see it happening but we'll see, I suppose.

Even if he reversed his form, it’s not anything that we couldn’t find in someone else if they had more opportunity.
Tex’s form is not something that could have been replicated by anyone we have at this stage of their careers.

 

[Mattrox]

This is correct

This review changes nothing of the contract in front of him. He already had the contract in front of him before this game

Its disingenuous to link the 2

Not really, he was subbed off twice and made sub twice in addition to the lower game time he has been getting. It's clear to everyone, including himself, that he isn't up to a full game time and hasn't been all year. His form in the 3rd term is just another example.

I wasn't saying there was a cause and effect relationship off the back of the one game. Correlation vs causation.

 

[MsTopG]

Yes, painful and sad.
People praise Tex's resurgence so highly because it's so rare for a player of his age to have pretty much career-best form in such a stunning resurgence.
A Tex-like form-reversal would be the only thing that could possibly justify Sloane's staying on in 2024. I can't see it happening but we'll see, I suppose.

That question's been answered by the one-year extension, unfortunately. The Club must see value in Sloane's 2023 that we have not. It's unfathomable.
I used to think Sloane was a Club-and-team-first kind of man, but his decision to sign-on has clearly defined his priorities, both of which smack of selfishness:
--- another year on a six-figure paypacket
--- clinging on by his fingernails to the hope of his playing in Finals and maybe even a Flag.

Ironically, the latter might be self-defeated by his playing on .

I tend to think that if Tex didn't have a resurgence Sloane would be retiring or retired already. I think he is letting his ego get in the way here and he has this romantic notion in his head of himself and tex walking off the ground arm in arm retiring. The problem is that he isn't a patch of the player Walker is. The club is bloody weak and never fails to disappoint.