Analysis Have the Crows botched their rebuild?

[Sprout]

Some OTT reactions. They’re not miles away. Midfield needs some genuine game breakers. When your midfield is vanilla you’re always going to tread water.

What I find most perplexing is they’ve gone from one of the best kicking/ball movement teams to one of if not the worst. In the space of a couple of seasons. That more than anything is the strangest drop off.

 

[Joao]

I think the midfield can be straightened up with Soligo as a permanent and maybe 1 other genuine top tier mid.

The part I don't think they have an answer for is Tex. Fogarty looks like he can't be arsed and I don't think either of him or TT are as talented as Tex anyway. Plus he could be another year or two away from hitting his straps anyway.

Tex was amazing in the only season of Nick's tenure where they were any good.

 

[emuboy]

This year has been understandably very disappointing for the Adelaide Crows, but while I would be concerned if I was part of the club I wouldn't be hitting the panic button just yet. Sometimes rebuilding teams do have a stumble one season as part of this process before getting back on track the next year; perhaps this is also the case with Adelaide?

To draw a maritime comparison, I'd say the Adelaide Crows 2024 season is more like the time the White Star Liner Olympic hit a Navy cruiser the Hawke leaving Southhampton in 1911, resulting in the liner been towed back to Belfast and out of action a few months for repairs rather than her younger sister ship Titanic's collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic in April 1912.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

All steak and no sizzle..

Its the other way around.

 

[King Elvis]

Terrible drafting.

Terrible list management.

Inexperienced and generally crap coaching group.

Coach we employed due to him being a good bloke, to try and fix the disastrous state of the AFC (not that Roo would take accountability and move on), not because he's actually a good coach.

Extended him for 2 years after a R1 loss, with the only reason seeming to be 'we don't want him under pressure during the year,' - what kind of stupidity is that?

Board that isn't accountable, and is clearly driven by personal prestige, not building a powerful football Club.

Useless Footy Ops Manager.

We have a cultural malaise for the best part of 15 years now, with some short lived attempts to break out of it, before reverting to it.

We are a shit football Club.

 

[ramjet10]

Culture at the Crows isn’t right. I am jealous of what the Swans have built. They are a destination club. Our board needs to be spilled. Strange mix of skills/experience.

Our drafting and player development has been really poor. Footy department needs a revamp. Here are some questionable decisions: Rachelle, Thilthorpe, Jones, McAsey, Cook, Pedlar, Milera. All high draft picks with seemingly much better options going for a lesser price. Meantime, look at what the Swans drafted with very average draft hands. They didn’t bottom out and remain ultra competitive.

Renewing coach’s contract this year was not a smart decision. If we end up winning less than 5 games this year, is tenable for Nicks to remain as coach?

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Culture at the Crows isn’t right. I am jealous of what the Swans have built. They are a destination club. Our board needs to be spilled. Strange mix of skills/experience.

Our drafting and player development has been really poor. Footy department needs a revamp. Here are some questionable decisions: Rachelle, Thilthorpe, Jones, McAsey, Cook, Pedlar, Milera. All high draft picks with seemingly much better options going for a lesser price. Meantime, look at what the Swans drafted with very average draft hands. They didn’t bottom out and remain ultra competitive.

Renewing coach’s contract this year was not a smart decision. If we end up winning less than 5 games this year, is tenable for Nicks to remain as coach?

Wouldn’t think you’d have too many questions on the drafting of Thilthorpe, Rachele or Pedlar, but you probably should have grabbed a pure mid with one of those picks or the one you gave up for Rankine possibly, but that’s all in hindsight.

 

[Freomaniac]

I'm mainly interested to see how Thilthorpe and Fogarty go once Walker retires. Fogarty is just ok, Thilthorpe has underwhelmed. Can either/both become the 50-60 goal a year target once Walker retires?

Harsh on Tilthorpe.

Been worse players that have been taken in the top 5.

Even if Tilthorpe becomes a 40-50 goal a season KPF, I think thats a solid outcome. Fogarty has kicked 121 goals from 83 games in his career. He started slowly in 2018-20. He has been serviceable in 2021-23.

5 games and 4 goals isnt great in 2024 for a forward like Fogarty, but its only 5 games into the 2024 season

 

[Freomaniac]

Culture at the Crows isn’t right. I am jealous of what the Swans have built. They are a destination club. Our board needs to be spilled. Strange mix of skills/experience.

Our drafting and player development has been really poor. Footy department needs a revamp. Here are some questionable decisions: Rachelle, Thilthorpe, Jones, McAsey, Cook, Pedlar, Milera. All high draft picks with seemingly much better options going for a lesser price. Meantime, look at what the Swans drafted with very average draft hands. They didn’t bottom out and remain ultra competitive.

Renewing coach’s contract this year was not a smart decision. If we end up winning less than 5 games this year, is tenable for Nicks to remain as coach?

I think the quality of the crows recruiting has gone down hill when Matt Rendell was controversially gone at the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Interesting list of players you mentioned. But yeah your 1st round picks from 2016-19 were not good. I can tell you that much,

 

[Go the Guts]

It's botched. We've wasted too much draft currency on untalented players who would struggle to get a game in any other side. Meanwhile we give them gold passes because they're team players, have the right attitude, train well, etc. Being a good bloke isn't a substitute for being a good footballer in this racket.

Gallucci, Poholke, Murphy, Jones (taken 3 picks before Zak Butters), McAsey, McHenry, and a stack more......

 

[Freomaniac]

Ah, not this again.

Some teams simply refuse to accept that they have stuffed up their rebuild, or rebuilt too harshly. Or just aren't very good at recruiting and trading.

Since 2015, St Kilda, Carlton and Melbourne have rebuilt. The fact that the only Victorian team that hasn't is North Melbourne has nothing to do with how unfair and unjust the competition is.

dockers had a rebuild from 2016-21

 

[Daka]

Gallucci, Poholke, Murphy, Jones (taken 3 picks before Zak Butters), McAsey, McHenry, and a stack more......

Those are bad in hindsight, but maybe poor development has to be the blame as well, because some of those guys were drafted around the same time as the Adelaide camp not a fun environment hard to improve when it's not a happy place to be.

How many of those guys were high up in phantom drafts by the experts if they were around the mark maybe it's not so much about poor recruiting.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Yeah you are clueless. 2020 was a full rebuild year.

The rebuild just failed. Poor recruiting from Hamish and co partnered with our absolutely s**t coaching group meant that the talent we did possess hasn't kicked on.

Dawson and Rankine have become infected with the virus that is the AFC off-field team and voila, you have a team facing another full rebuild.

2020 wasn't the rebuild

Your revisionist history makes me think you're a port supporter.

That was the 'oh f*ck. We wernt meant to be that bad' Year
That forced us into the 2021-22 rebuild

 

[Rotayjay]

Every team has draft misses and draft picks that didn't develop well, but we sure have had a lot since 2017.

 

[Daka]

Another bad loss tonight against the Bombers on their home deck, beaten for most of the night by an average team.

So many wasted mistakes by some of their players even there good players like Rachele scared of his own shadow sometimes.

 

[PP34]

They really seem to lack talent so yes.

We butchered heap of picks but got lucky with the 2015 draft plus Cripps being there and Walsh being pick 1 so with some recruiting we have been able to plug some gaps.

The problem with the Crows is they’re relying on Taylor Walker

13

Taylor Walker

Age

34

Ht

194cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

5.7

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.3

5star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

6.4

3star

HB

1.6

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.6

5star

who doesn’t have much left forward. In the middle they’ve got some really good players like Laird and Dawson but where is that genuine superstar like talent? Dawson on his day is close but they need more.

Think it can still be saved but they’re going to have to be really good with signings and draft picks and somehow find a way to learn to play without Tex.

 

[Altum Volantes]

They definitely pissed off someone in the umpiring fraternity that’s for sure.

 

[Cleansweep17]

Yeah you are clueless. 2020 was a full rebuild year.

The rebuild just failed. Poor recruiting from Hamish and co partnered with our absolutely s**t coaching group meant that the talent we did possess hasn't kicked on.

Dawson and Rankine have become infected with the virus that is the AFC off-field team and voila, you have a team facing another full rebuild.

Do you reckon it’s a coach problem? I think you’ve got talented youth but you keep playing Tex who I think needs to go. Fogarty should be the main man now.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Walker(7) and Fogarty(3) are probably going to kick 10 between them and get their mojo back this week against the Roos.

 

[WillHayward]

Do you reckon it’s a coach problem? I think you’ve got talented youth but you keep playing Tex who I think needs to go. Fogarty should be the main man now.

Fogarty just isn't good enough to be a number one. He's not that tall and not that fast. Yes he's strong and has a nice kick. He would dominate country footy but he won't dominate against AFL standard defenders who are usually taller faster and just as strong.

He's a good third banana at AFL level.

 

[SSSSSS]

Fogarty just isn't good enough to be a number one. He's not that tall and not that fast. Yes he's strong and has a nice kick. He would dominate country footy but he won't dominate against AFL standard defenders who are usually taller faster and just as strong.

He's a good third banana at AFL level.

Fogarty strikes me as a bloke who would have kicked 600-800 goals in the 70s and 80s and have a HoF worthy career.

Just doesn't have the skillset to translate to modern footy.

 

[WillHayward]

Fogarty strikes me as a bloke who would have kicked 600-800 goals in the 70s and 80s and have a HoF worthy career.

Just doesn't have the skillset to translate to modern footy.

He's like Daniel Bradshaw. But not as good. A poor man's Daniel Bradshaw.

I feel like Fogarty never gets any separation. Always marks with his opponent glued to him. No easy goals.

 

[SSSSSS]

He's like Daniel Bradshaw. But not as good. A poor man's Daniel Bradshaw.

I feel like Fogarty never gets any separation. Always marks with his opponent glued to him. No easy goals.

He's like 2013 post-retirement playing at Wodonga Bradshaw.

 

[Blue1980]

Certainly wouldn’t be calling it a botched rebuild, might be a case of one step back to go two steps forward.

They have a fair few pieces in place.

 

[Freomaniac]

Every team has draft misses and draft picks that didn't develop well, but we sure have had a lot since 2017.

Lets be Brutally honest here...

Looking back at your teams history.... You crows fans were spoilt in in the 1990s, 2000s and even the 2010s. Take away 1994-6, crows never had a full rebuild, more like 2 year periods out of finals, plug and play mini rebuilds.

1993, crows made a prelim. 1997-8 were flag years. 2001-3 finals under gary ayres. Once 2004 was done and Gary Ayres was sacked, a lot of predictions were crows had to spend 2 or 3 full seasons.

Neil Craig gave your side that 2005-9 finals run. Then Sanderson gets your team to a prelim in 2012, Then crows had a 2015-7 sustained finals run again.

Crows historically have been a well run club. It was easy. Go look at all those finals the crows played from 1993-2017. You cant complain one bit. I sure as hell wont if freo did the same thing the crows did from 1993-2017.