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AFLW 2024 - Round 4 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Opinion Matthew Nicks: Adelaide's Coach
- Thread starter Thetrader15
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Youngest team in the comp plays inconsistent footy. Breaking news - they need to improve.
- Aug 30, 2021
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And the excuse for senior players playing inconsistent footy?
That's an excuse too. It's not inconsistent footy a lot of them are playing, a lot of them are playing consistently bad football. Look at guys like Berry and Soligo. There's inconsistencies, but you can see the growth in their play each week. It's the opposite for more than a few of our younger guys and especially for guys like Jones and McHenry who are way past the point of using inexperience as an excuse.
- Aug 30, 2021
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Bang. Send that to 5aa.
I wouldn't say Jones plays consistently bad football. Sure mchenry runs around like a goose but as we saw with Cook on the weekend we aren't flush with quick fixes in the 2s.
I agree there are players that shouldn't be playing.
Inconsistent players :
Berry
Soligo
Fog
RT
Hinge
Parnell
Hamill
Murray
Butts
Jones
Thats enough to dish up average performances. I think all those players should be playing 1s, do you?
I think players like Smith, Crouch, ROB have been terribly Inconsistent as well
Afcprophet
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- Jul 8, 2021
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Who do we want as next coach? Nick's is a poor man's Hinkley.
Someone that likes attacking footy that utilises talent and natural ability.
Not defensive-minded tryers.
- Aug 6, 2021
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ROB needs to learn to play forward quickly, I doubt that he can but it’s now a necessity. We’ve seen now that Thilthorpe is equally effective in the ruck as he is forward, and ideally he needs close to a 50/50 split as he develops IMO.
Sadly I think we’re seeing Smith decline, I think he’s still got AFL standard football in him but I just don’t think it’s for us. He’s not really giving us that much of a boost in the short term over someone like Worrell or Cook, and he’s obviously not a part of our long term plan so it no longer makes sense to keep picking him.
Crouch is not inconsistent, he’s been poor this year, simple as that. If you go back and compare his numbers from this year to 2017 it’s grim reading. His kick to handball ratio has dropped, as has his contested possession rate, clearances, tackling and pressure numbers and metres gained. What is he trying to be as a player? Laird and Keays cop a lot of heat for their disposal, but they are playing as inside, contested midfielders, and they’re numbers for contested possession, clearances and tackles reflect that. Crouch’s contested possession rate is average, his tackle numbers are average meaning he’s more focussed on playing on the outside, yet his metres gained is pathetic and he chooses to handball sideways far more often than he kicks. To me it stinks of one of two things, a) the game has gone past him and he doesn’t have a skill set to impact at AFL level anymore, or b) he’s playing for himself and pumping up the stat numbers.
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Can we bring Pyke back and get rid of the senior players who don't want him?
Our senior players suck.
The brand of footy we played in 2017 was very fun to watch.
Unfortunately he had a pack of mentally fragile senior players who let him down GF day.
Let's get Blighty back. Would be fun.
Tbh I would be happy with anyone other than Nicks.
Clarko and his 2IC Luke Hodge would be my dream team I think.
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Nicks might have been handy to have around as a 2IC to Pyke.
There was no question at all that Pyke has an astute tactical mind and could coach, it was more the culture and lack of communication that were his shortcomings. Someone like Nicks would have been the perfect middleman between the playing group and Pyke.
Once Nicks is eventually sacked I could easily see him slotting back into the assistant coach realm. I just think he's out of his depth as a head coach and I suspect those facepalms that he does on a weekly basis in the coaches box are the realisation that he's just not up to it.
Yes, Smith, Crouch and ROB are inconsistent as well and that's a massive mark on Nicks that he kept bringing Crouch back and refuses to give Strachan an extended run.
It's not a "quick fix" that people are looking for and it's not inconsistency people are against. What people want to see is growth from players, yet what we seem to be doing is ignoring the lack of growth in some while denying the chance of growth in others. Nicks is tolerant of guys stinking it up and just saying "it'll turn around for them" while not selecting others because "They're not consistent" or "well we can't fit them in" while refusing to shuffle things around to fit them in.
Strachan ain't the answer mate. He got absolutely destroyed against the saints. He is 26 so no younger than ROB. I don't rate Rob but he is a better option than Strachan.
Crouch has obviously been told to work on a part of his game and he did so he got back in. The fact he has been dropped multiple times shows we don't accept underperforming senior players (not perfect here but a start), Luke Brown can't get back in is another sign of playing the younger kids. Ultimately despite what people may think we need to have some level of experienced AFL bodies so we don't get blown away in games which is no help to anyone's development. Admittedly that's a delicate line to balance.
Mchenry, Murphy & rowe revolving door is frustrating for sure. Would be great to see one come out for rachelle when he comes back (hopefully after a dominant sanfl game)
Ultimately I agree with your frustration on some things but our list is crap, nicks inherited an absolute dumbsterfire of a list and we have gradually moved on older guys and got in some elite talent. I'm not saying he is the messiah but it's too early to tell if he is not as well
- Oct 13, 2017
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ROB in the forward line makes me wanna spew.
He’s like an unco giraffe at the moment..
Cant mark, cant kick and spends most his time spoiling and knocking over his own team mates.
They shouldnt be looking to hide him up forward ffs.. They should be getting him out of the team altogether.
He’s shit.
ROB is in the leadership group, was given a long term contract and has stunk it up ever since. His performances are not acceptable, even if Strachan isn't the answer you just don't accept performances like that from someone in ROB's position. Either ROB is stinking or Nicks isn't getting the best out of him. Both are a poor reflection on Nicks at this point, either he's accepting mediocrity or he's not coaching well.
And he didn't really make Crouch accountable. He found every excuse to bring him back 3 times, despite being smacked in the face on multiple occasions that he wasn't a fit and then came up with the "he replaced McAdam" stuff as a last ditch effort to justify him coming in. I'd have to massively question what the hell Nicks is thinking with that move, even more so when he'd dropped Crouch twice before and had forced Hately onto a wing for some bizarre reason. Brown stunk it up plenty too before they dropped him and he's been injured twice in the SANFL now.
We know McHenry and Murphy and a few are crap, yet they get a game every week. We don't know if Worrell or Newchurch or Turner or Taylor are crap, but we won't play them.
Afcprophet
All Australian
- Jul 8, 2021
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What about Ross Lyon? Shown he's willing to work outside of Vic, and was successful at both the Saints and Freo. Not really attacking footy though.
At the moment? He always has been and always will be unco. We should move him this year before his trade value really tanks.
No thanks, would be the worst possible option for us. Will stuff the culture and gameplan is dour.
Agree on this. Lyon not suitable for us.
Nicks is no Hinkley
He's more like................
Does anyone have a comparison between Primus and Nicks?
Primus had an older squad though that had fallen off a off, very little club support from memory...
One could certainly argue we're worse off than where Primus was at given he had a list who didn't give a shit, players who had zero standards when it came to training and were generally understaffed through the football department.
We've got players who try, are fully staffed, we're just not very good.
Rabish Binney
Left out overnight
I'll puke if we ever got Ross Lyon. Kicking 6 goals a game whilst trying to limit the oppo to 5 is shite football.
Watched Craig McCrae on Fox the other night. Hughley impressive, spoke sense and no BS. You can see a clear game plan and the players know exactly what their roles are - and yes I know there are many experienced players in that side but he has them playing excellent football
Has defiantly revitalised the squad after the Buckley era (don't forget that many pundits were predicting a bottom 4 finish for the Woods this season).
Now my question - just suppose we had McCrae as coach (or even Sam Mitchell or that matter). Does anyone think we would be sitting 16th?
My point is that a new (decent) coach can do wonders with a squad that he inherits. Is Nicks that coach?
- Jul 19, 2010
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What about his voice. That’s the worst part
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