The days are shortening, the preseason trials are over and the grapes are being turned into wine, all signals that the AFL season proper, namely the home and away games, are about to begin. Both GWS under new coach Adam Kingsley and the Adelaide Crows have momentum going into the game to be played this Sunday.
GWS have only played the one preseason game so we only have a small sample size, but they were impressive in beating the Gold Coast Suns Saturday week ago. They moved the ball quickly and have some real pace. Their two Lachies at half back love to rebound and set up play. I am looking forward as to how we counter this. I suspect that Ben Keays may be asked to do to Lachlie Whitfield what he did to Adam Saad last year. This will be an absorbing duel. Whitfield will not be ambushed like Saad was. Can Keays lock down Whitfield while setting himself free to do some real damage as he did last week and against Saad? We will soon find out.
Adelaide will present not only the two Lachies, but the whole of the GWS defense with headaches of their own. The Crow's forward line pressure was replicated by the whole team in its game against the WCE Friday evening 3rd March in what was a very even and impressive display by the whole Crows team. If the GWS backs are too busy trying to make the play and take their focus off the Adelaide forwards even for a moment, they will be made to pay for it by the imense talent we now have assembled there. GWS 2022 All Australian and Best and Fairest winner by a long way, Sam Taylor, will have to mind either Walker or Fogarty. This will mean he is not minding the other. Once the ball hits the ground there is a deadly mosquito fleet waiting to capitalize that now includes explosive first round draft pick Luke Pedlar who has finally got his body right heading into this, his third season; McAdam who oozes x-factor; new recruit the classy Rankine and Rachele who, hopefully, will live up to his nickname 'the rash' and be all over the place, including occasional bursts in the center along with some of his other very quick forward mates.
Speaking of the midfield, this also looks like an intriguing battle. We know what Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelley can do. If we thought the departure of Hopper and Taranto were going to give us automatic ascendancy, we will be caught off guard. 2019 draft pick, the strong, big bodied, tall midfielder Tom Green, standing at 191cm and 92kg, has come of age. He was outstanding against the Suns, racking up 32 disposals. We have excellent tacklers in Laird and Berry to help counter their midfield, and our mid's have weapons of their own, including our accumulator Laird who would be justified in having ambitions to be an AA later this year in his sights, along with the various pinch hitters that we will bring through there. I am interested to see what tactic we use to counter Tom Green as we do not have a quality tall, big bodied, mid. Our midfield are fighters, as seen by Laird's and Berry's tackle numbers. I expect some negating by us and thrust through our pinch hitters. If we can break even here I believe it will go a long way to helping us win the game.
The wings have become a strength for us. Mitch Hinge and the remarkably well recovered, aerobic, Sloane gives us some real hardness there. They will not be easily brushed off. This will be needed as GWS have a young shark there in Finn Callaghan, the one who some Crows supporters think got away, being taken at pick 3 in the 2021 draft, just a couple ahead of Rachele. The reality is we never had the draft capital to get Callaghan and there are some initial signs that we may well have landed our own big fish in Rachele. Callaghan was another who was impressive against the Suns with 22 possessions and two long goals. However, he will have to watch our wings as they are both more than capable of not only keeping a leash on him, but doing damage the other way.
At the front line for GWS we have Hogan's Heroes, although Hogan isn't the official leader. Newly crowned captain in his own right, Toby Greene, is. The very smooth Hogan (Bob Crane) from the show, Toby is not. Both on and off the field he has had brain fades that may make him more akin to the bumbling Colonel Klink, or even worse, to the 'plank', Sergeant Schultz, but hey, what would I know? 'I know nothing'! Yet this I do know. Toby Greene is a very gifted footballer who can do damage the likes of which Hogan and his crew would be proud of.
What will the match ups be? Will Jordan Butts be fit and will he stand the dangerous 1.95m Jesse Hogan? Will the quickly improving Nick Murray stand the 1.95m Jake Riccardi? Then there is the 1.95m (future Crow?) Harry Himmelberg. Yet they will want to be on their guard and not too top heavy as we have the 1.92m kicking sensation Jordan Dawson and rebounding Smith who like to set up play and give drive from the back also, as well as the now fit interceptor, Tom Doedee. Will the Crows first draft pick from the recent 2022 draft, the very tight checking and athletic defender Max Michalanney, who can play on both talls and smalls, debut? Will he spend some time on Toby Greene as well as perhaps on the likes of James Peatling? I say yes, he will debut and yes, he will stand Toby for at least some of the time. (For the most likely line up see the last few pages of the thread on this, the Adelaide Board of Bigfooty.com, titled: Round 1 2023 - Pick your best team).
The Giant's have had the wood on the Crows in recent times. In round 7, 2021, they beat the Crows by 67 points. In the same round, round 7 last year, the margin was 59 points in what was another spanking. GWS have numerous quality players who also have plenty of experience, coupled with a good blend of emerging players, but so do the rebuilding Crows. GWS look rejuvenated under new coach Adam Kingsley. The Crows have looked very sharp and look like big improves in their two trial matches to date. Our talent, depth and minimal injuries are such that atm we are able to go past players like McHenry, Jones and Crouch, among others.
I am confident that the Crows will not be the pushovers we were in the past two encounters with the Giants. It may sound like I am bringing out the cliches, but this is how I see things. The game has all the hallmarks of being an epic arm wrestle between two fairly evenly matched sides who both see themselves on the up this year. GWS have the home town advantage. I am sure that both teams will really set themselves. GWS apparently have also got themselves super fit. In what could well be a classic, I am tipping the Crows to send a message to the competition as I do very much like the super quick and talented mosquito fleet we have assembled, along with our proven talls in Walker and Fogarty, the pressure we bring, our quick ball movement and the vastly improved skills by both hand and foot. Crows by 11-30!
GWS have only played the one preseason game so we only have a small sample size, but they were impressive in beating the Gold Coast Suns Saturday week ago. They moved the ball quickly and have some real pace. Their two Lachies at half back love to rebound and set up play. I am looking forward as to how we counter this. I suspect that Ben Keays may be asked to do to Lachlie Whitfield what he did to Adam Saad last year. This will be an absorbing duel. Whitfield will not be ambushed like Saad was. Can Keays lock down Whitfield while setting himself free to do some real damage as he did last week and against Saad? We will soon find out.
Adelaide will present not only the two Lachies, but the whole of the GWS defense with headaches of their own. The Crow's forward line pressure was replicated by the whole team in its game against the WCE Friday evening 3rd March in what was a very even and impressive display by the whole Crows team. If the GWS backs are too busy trying to make the play and take their focus off the Adelaide forwards even for a moment, they will be made to pay for it by the imense talent we now have assembled there. GWS 2022 All Australian and Best and Fairest winner by a long way, Sam Taylor, will have to mind either Walker or Fogarty. This will mean he is not minding the other. Once the ball hits the ground there is a deadly mosquito fleet waiting to capitalize that now includes explosive first round draft pick Luke Pedlar who has finally got his body right heading into this, his third season; McAdam who oozes x-factor; new recruit the classy Rankine and Rachele who, hopefully, will live up to his nickname 'the rash' and be all over the place, including occasional bursts in the center along with some of his other very quick forward mates.
Speaking of the midfield, this also looks like an intriguing battle. We know what Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelley can do. If we thought the departure of Hopper and Taranto were going to give us automatic ascendancy, we will be caught off guard. 2019 draft pick, the strong, big bodied, tall midfielder Tom Green, standing at 191cm and 92kg, has come of age. He was outstanding against the Suns, racking up 32 disposals. We have excellent tacklers in Laird and Berry to help counter their midfield, and our mid's have weapons of their own, including our accumulator Laird who would be justified in having ambitions to be an AA later this year in his sights, along with the various pinch hitters that we will bring through there. I am interested to see what tactic we use to counter Tom Green as we do not have a quality tall, big bodied, mid. Our midfield are fighters, as seen by Laird's and Berry's tackle numbers. I expect some negating by us and thrust through our pinch hitters. If we can break even here I believe it will go a long way to helping us win the game.
The wings have become a strength for us. Mitch Hinge and the remarkably well recovered, aerobic, Sloane gives us some real hardness there. They will not be easily brushed off. This will be needed as GWS have a young shark there in Finn Callaghan, the one who some Crows supporters think got away, being taken at pick 3 in the 2021 draft, just a couple ahead of Rachele. The reality is we never had the draft capital to get Callaghan and there are some initial signs that we may well have landed our own big fish in Rachele. Callaghan was another who was impressive against the Suns with 22 possessions and two long goals. However, he will have to watch our wings as they are both more than capable of not only keeping a leash on him, but doing damage the other way.
At the front line for GWS we have Hogan's Heroes, although Hogan isn't the official leader. Newly crowned captain in his own right, Toby Greene, is. The very smooth Hogan (Bob Crane) from the show, Toby is not. Both on and off the field he has had brain fades that may make him more akin to the bumbling Colonel Klink, or even worse, to the 'plank', Sergeant Schultz, but hey, what would I know? 'I know nothing'! Yet this I do know. Toby Greene is a very gifted footballer who can do damage the likes of which Hogan and his crew would be proud of.
What will the match ups be? Will Jordan Butts be fit and will he stand the dangerous 1.95m Jesse Hogan? Will the quickly improving Nick Murray stand the 1.95m Jake Riccardi? Then there is the 1.95m (future Crow?) Harry Himmelberg. Yet they will want to be on their guard and not too top heavy as we have the 1.92m kicking sensation Jordan Dawson and rebounding Smith who like to set up play and give drive from the back also, as well as the now fit interceptor, Tom Doedee. Will the Crows first draft pick from the recent 2022 draft, the very tight checking and athletic defender Max Michalanney, who can play on both talls and smalls, debut? Will he spend some time on Toby Greene as well as perhaps on the likes of James Peatling? I say yes, he will debut and yes, he will stand Toby for at least some of the time. (For the most likely line up see the last few pages of the thread on this, the Adelaide Board of Bigfooty.com, titled: Round 1 2023 - Pick your best team).
The Giant's have had the wood on the Crows in recent times. In round 7, 2021, they beat the Crows by 67 points. In the same round, round 7 last year, the margin was 59 points in what was another spanking. GWS have numerous quality players who also have plenty of experience, coupled with a good blend of emerging players, but so do the rebuilding Crows. GWS look rejuvenated under new coach Adam Kingsley. The Crows have looked very sharp and look like big improves in their two trial matches to date. Our talent, depth and minimal injuries are such that atm we are able to go past players like McHenry, Jones and Crouch, among others.
I am confident that the Crows will not be the pushovers we were in the past two encounters with the Giants. It may sound like I am bringing out the cliches, but this is how I see things. The game has all the hallmarks of being an epic arm wrestle between two fairly evenly matched sides who both see themselves on the up this year. GWS have the home town advantage. I am sure that both teams will really set themselves. GWS apparently have also got themselves super fit. In what could well be a classic, I am tipping the Crows to send a message to the competition as I do very much like the super quick and talented mosquito fleet we have assembled, along with our proven talls in Walker and Fogarty, the pressure we bring, our quick ball movement and the vastly improved skills by both hand and foot. Crows by 11-30!
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