Analysis Rebuild comparison (Crows, North & Hawks)

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Last week we could have played a defender instead of Murphy who could have stopped his opponent from running amok of half back.

Absolutely Nicks does not know how to prioritise young talent & most of the debuts have been forced through injury.

Staggering when we are bottom 4.
We're consistently the second youngest team in the league.
 
The key difference is having a coach who trusts his system (and ability to teach it) and not the individual talent.

Clarko and Mitchell have no issue playing younger guys because of this.


Nicks doesn't. His treatment of Curtin and comments around him as sub this week proves this.

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The Hawks are flying for sure but I also think they're a couple of key injuries away from having that momentum fall flat. They're only Blanck (up and comer) and Mitchell (always injured) away from their best team and they're hardly loaded with depth if you take a look at Box Hill's line up. They are of course, superbly coached, which helps a great deal but hugely reliant on Will Day and Sicily. If they lost both of those guys, think they lose most weeks. On the right path though, brought in some excellent players recently and a professional well run club that will never be down for too long.

North are more competitive now but I'm not convinced they can become a great team, despite all their early draft picks. I get you take best player early on but when you have that many picks at the pointy end, think it smart to be more targeted. Instead they keep drafting mids with questionable kicking - Sheezel aside - and their lack of talls is criminal for the amount of opportunity they've had to draft them. Their rebuild feels very haphazard. Should've been relocated to Tassie.

Ours is pretty easy. Miss after miss after miss of the important picks at the draft. The high draft picks from the past 10 years that should be the mainstays driving the club's success, instead are largely peripheral figures or gone. Our best players - recruits, rookies and later picks. Hit half of those top 30 picks instead of 1 in 10 and we're challenging for a flag. A coaching team that seems to have been assembled without thought doesn't help. We need someone who's actually played midfield at a high level, someone who's been a senior coach and someone who's only a couple of year's retired - and all of them need to have experienced premiership success in some way. Someone with an idea of strategy as we're getting out coached in the box regularly. If it was up to me, I'd sweep the broom this year - you can't finish bottom 4 this far into a rebuild and just keep on the same path.
 

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If you look at drafting since 2017 we have overall given more games to players drafted than the hawks. In total, 400 more. Where we fall down IMO is we are relying on our older players too much and they have brought in experienced AFL players and given them nearly double the games we have.

DraftedTrades (inc DFA)
HawksCrowsHawksCrows
2017​
282​
239​
116​
42​
2018​
100​
358​
203​
64​
2019​
137​
224​
93​
21​
2020​
154​
291​
48​
58​
2021​
161​
134​
8​
63​
2022​
78​
72​
71​
33​
Totals
912​
1318​
539​
281​

Some things to note of the team ratings - Our performance this year is similar to theirs (on an average basis) and we were far better last year, whilst we have copped plenty of injuries to best 23 players with questionable squad depth (as mentioned by Captain Furious above. The guys that didn't play on the weekend that were in our best team at round 1 :

PlayerGames PlayedGames Missed
Milera
99​
16​
Pedlar
30​
15​
Worrell
26​
10​
Crouch
154​
8​
Dawson
127​
1​
Rankine
81​
6​
Smith
262​
4​
Butts
75​
4​
Murray
51​
14​

The weekend was a terrible result, there are some mitigating factors to be considered (not accepted)

We should also welcome bringing in some role players that have a few years experience in the system, we should not see this as a threat to the young players & we should move on some of our older players (maybe even Tex)
 
This is the use of 1st round picks since 2017 :

1st round picksHakwsCrows
2017​
Didn't have one?Traded for Gibbs
2018​
Used to trade in WingardJones
2019​
DayMcAsey
2020​
DGBThilthorpe
2021​
WardRachele
2022​
MackenzieTraded for Rankine

We focus on Day over MCAsey which is a big win but they used pick 6 on DGB who can't get a game vs Thilthorpe & I don't watch them enough but Ward & Mackenzie are hardly elite are they?
 
If you look at drafting since 2017 we have overall given more games to players drafted than the hawks. In total, 400 more. Where we fall down IMO is we are relying on our older players too much and they have brought in experienced AFL players and given them nearly double the games we have.

DraftedTrades (inc DFA)
HawksCrowsHawksCrows
2017​
282​
239​
116​
42​
2018​
100​
358​
203​
64​
2019​
137​
224​
93​
21​
2020​
154​
291​
48​
58​
2021​
161​
134​
8​
63​
2022​
78​
72​
71​
33​
Totals
912​
1318​
539​
281​

Some things to note of the team ratings - Our performance this year is similar to theirs (on an average basis) and we were far better last year, whilst we have copped plenty of injuries to best 23 players with questionable squad depth (as mentioned by Captain Furious above. The guys that didn't play on the weekend that were in our best team at round 1 :

PlayerGames PlayedGames Missed
Milera
99​
16​
Pedlar
30​
15​
Worrell
26​
10​
Crouch
154​
8​
Dawson
127​
1​
Rankine
81​
6​
Smith
262​
4​
Butts
75​
4​
Murray
51​
14​

The weekend was a terrible result, there are some mitigating factors to be considered (not accepted)

We should also welcome bringing in some role players that have a few years experience in the system, we should not see this as a threat to the young players & we should move on some of our older players (maybe even Tex)

Most of this discrepancy comes down to these factors

1) We "drafted" Ben Keays in 2019 who has played 102 games, but he was effectively a DFA

2) We had five top 50 picks in 2018, whereas Hawthorn had 0 because they weren't rebuilding and traded their picks for Wingard

3) We took twice as many top 30 picks in 2020, because we started our rebuild a year before Hawthorn

By my count, for new to AFL drafted players that weren't already established in the side and were top 30 picks

Nicks - 27% of all allocated AFL games across 16 players
Mitchell - 23% across 11 players

And for later draft picks

Nicks - 20% across 24 players
Mitchell - 19% across 28 players
 
Most of this discrepancy comes down to these factors

1) We "drafted" Ben Keays in 2019 who has played 102 games, but he was effectively a DFA

2) We had five top 50 picks in 2018, whereas Hawthorn had 0 because they weren't rebuilding and traded their picks for Wingard

3) We took twice as many top 30 picks in 2020, because we started our rebuild a year before Hawthorn

By my count, for new to AFL drafted players that weren't already established in the side and were top 30 picks

Nicks - 27% of all allocated AFL games across 16 players
Mitchell - 23% across 11 players

And for later draft picks

Nicks - 20% across 24 players
Mitchell - 19% across 28 players
I did consider dividing total games by players picked but decided not to because it shows that we are playing the kids despite what everyone seems to think (Keays is an exception).

Fwiw you can mitigate any stats, you're just explaining the reasons why they are different. I'm trying to show that we are giving games to kids we draft despite popular opnion
 
By my count, for new to AFL drafted players that weren't already established in the side and were top 30 picks

Nicks - 27% of all allocated AFL games across 16 players
Mitchell - 23% across 11 players

And for later draft picks

Nicks - 20% across 24 players
Mitchell - 19% across 28 plplayers
Not sure I understand this stat? What does it show and what is the criteria?
 
Not sure I understand this stat? What does it show and what is the criteria?

It's the percentage of all AFL games Nicks and Mitchell can hand out to players. For example Nicks has to award 2352* games to players across his career, and 1472 for Mitchell

If he gives 635 games to top 30 picks who played less than 20 prior games, that's 27% of the total amount of games allocated to those players

So it shows how often each coach is choosing to use his resource (giving out games) to that group of players. Both coaches have used around 45% of that resource on developing draftees (Nicks slightly more than Mitchell, while also having more top drafted players in the squad).

I chose a threshold of "not established" because it means both Nicks and Mitchell have had to specifically choose to bring those players into the 22, changing up the previous best 22, as opposed to continuing to use the side already provided to them

*103 matches x 22 or 23 players depending on the year
 
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What's blatantly obvious though comparing Hawthorn to Adelaide is that:
  1. Adelaide have taken more top draft picks than Hawthorn
  2. Adelaide have traded in better top tier players
  3. Adelaide have spent a similar amount of games on draftees as Hawthorn
  4. Matthew Nicks has had more time to rebuild than Sam Mitchell
And despite all of that, Hawthorn are currently outperforming us. Is the reason...
  1. Hawthorn more aggressively cut senior players to give development opportunities to draftees in key roles?
  2. Hawthorn drafted better players from fewer attempts?
  3. Hawthorn managed their list better cutting duds and adding useful role players?
  4. The senior players Hawthorn had access to before rebuilding were better?
  5. Sam Mitchell is a much better coach than Matthew Nicks?
  6. Hawthorn are a better run club off the field?
Probably some combination of all of those factors
 
The weekend showed us the difference between Mitchell and Nicks.

Mitchell came and said I’m building a premiership list. And this list when he took over was not pretty. Tom Mitchell, Omerea, I’m going to find you guys a new home myself, we are playing no one over 24 this midfield.

Now at West Lakes, we were in year 6 of not playing finals and who was our 3rd player most used in the midfield? 33 yo cooked Sloane. And yeah **** it, sign him for next year too. Kids if you want to play for us, wait for injuries and retirements.

So now these kids are behind on development and we are too slow to learn about whose good and whose not, so the list cloggers clog for that extra year or two (or 5, we know who these guys are).

If Muphry isn’t dropped from that game he never will be. Look at their half forwards - Speed, line breaking, skilled goal kickers. Murphy has none of this.
Imagine for one minute that we drafted Harley Reid (or Butters / Rozee for that matter).

Can anyone honestly say that if we did draft them, would they be players they are now under Nick's coaching?

I don't think so.
 
We took a big step backward this year because of what Nicks did in the first 4 weeks where he eventually even admitted was a mistake and then double down with his selection. We've been competitive in a majority of games since then despite carrying these 4-5 players and then replacement of them with young players but too little too late.

I'm expecting a smashing in the last 4 games as the young players tire (provide Nicks doesn't bring in the senior players which I think he would do) with probably the exception of the Showdown as there's something to play.
 
What's blatantly obvious though comparing Hawthorn to Adelaide is that:
  1. Adelaide have taken more top draft picks than Hawthorn
  2. Adelaide have traded in better top tier players
  3. Adelaide have spent a similar amount of games on draftees as Hawthorn
  4. Matthew Nicks has had more time to rebuild than Sam Mitchell
And despite all of that, Hawthorn are currently outperforming us. Is the reason...
  1. Hawthorn more aggressively cut senior players to give development opportunities to draftees in key roles?
  2. Hawthorn drafted better players from fewer attempts?
  3. Hawthorn managed their list better cutting duds and adding useful role players?
  4. The senior players Hawthorn had access to before rebuilding were better?
  5. Sam Mitchell is a much better coach than Matthew Nicks?
  6. Hawthorn are a better run club off the field?
Probably some combination of all of those factors

Their list build is better as they have more players in the 100+ range than us and have surrounded their youth with experience & maturity well.

Definitely 1,3 & 6 as well

Mitchell is definitely a better coach than Nicks, not sure many will argue that fact
 

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The reason we're so young is partly because Nicks has backed in players who weren't good enough and have since been delisted (or now in reserves) or weren't going to be part of our next contending team and have since retired.

Each time realisation dawns we have to start over with a rookie.

And years later the young-ish guys have fewer games than they should because of the above.

We're stuck in a perennial rebuild. We'll be very young/inexperienced again next season. Potentially have Smith, Walker finish up.
Laird?
ROB replaced by a traded in young ruckman?
 
Over the last five rounds - teams by age

Collingwood 27.5 years
Geelong 27
AFL average 25.6
Freo 25.1
Hawks 25.1
GWS 25
AFC 24.5
GC 24.4
 

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Analysis Rebuild comparison (Crows, North & Hawks)

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