Preview The ultimate test: Round 5 Adelaide @ Hawthorn - MCG

[Big Gazoongas]

VB seriously? Why does the club feel the need to not hurt his feelings?

He is no chance to replace Milera.

Agree. Only realistic change is Cameron or Knight.

I cant see CEY coming in either.

 

[Kickin Goals]

afc.com.au/news/2016-04-21/crows-wont-risk-crouch

Crouch definitely not playing no surprise there.

 

[spexau]

Thinker has already stated it will be Cameron for Milera with Knight as travelling emergency.

 

[billy fragos]

If Cameron can find his from from late last year he is a pretty big improvement on Milera.

 

[GROTTO]

afc.com.au/news/2016-04-21/crows-wont-risk-crouch

Crouch definitely not playing no surprise there.

Hopefully Brouch plays a few minutes in the SANFL.

I like all the talk about Betts being goalless last time against the Hawks, good motivation imo. Cue in Betts for FGS.

 

[GROTTO]

If Cameron can find his from from late last year he is a pretty big improvement on Milera.

I was just thinking this, our side against Sydney has definitely improved in overall personal with CC in for Milera.

Hopefully the week after, Brouch comes in as well and maybe Menzel is a shot.

 

[earlsta]

I was just thinking this, our side against Sydney has definitely improved in overall personal with CC in for Milera.

Hopefully the week after, Brouch comes in as well and maybe Menzel is a shot.

Imagine the loose ball in our forward line with a Hawks defender approaching it, he'd have JJ, Eddie, Charlie & McGovern on his tail...all super QUICK players. They'd struggle to get the ball out effectively under that much heat.

I'd be shocked if Charlie is faster than McGovern over 20m, I saw McGovern close down a Richmond player at the G couple weeks ago, amazingly quick with raw power.

 

[Tex200]

Thinker has already stated it will be Cameron for Milera with Knight as travelling emergency.

Missed that post - well that's good enough for me

Welcome back Charlie!!

 

[GROTTO]

Imagine the loose ball in our forward line with a Hawks defender approaching it, he'd have JJ, Eddie, Charlie & McGovern on his tail...all super QUICK players. They'd struggle to get the ball out effectively under that much heat.

I'd be shocked if Charlie is faster than McGovern over 20m, I saw McGovern close down a Richmond player at the G couple weeks ago, amazingly quick with raw power.

Not just McGoverns speed but his size as well. When someone that big is chasing you down, you are very acutely aware of the sudden impact he can impose.

 

[earlsta]

Not just McGoverns speed but his size as well. When someone that big is chasing you down, you are very acutely aware of the sudden impact he can impose.

I'm hoping he tackles Gibson quite hard, Gibson has a sore calf doesn't he? Or is it a knee? Either way...I hope he gets hit HARD. They've targeted our players in the past, now is the time to target them.
Teach them a lesson.

 

[VKCrow]

I'm hoping he tackles Gibson quite hard, Gibson has a sore calf doesn't he? Or is it a knee? Either way...I hope he gets hit HARD. They've targeted our players in the past, now is the time to target them.
Teach them a lesson.

We can't get intimidated by them this time round. I suspect we won't....

 

[ad victoriam]

You know I think a few have missed the biggest improvement Pyke brought to the the Crows game plan, One that we did not have and to be Honest not many team did Last year.
He is developing a solid strong Game plane base on the Team defence WestCoast used with a few variants, He plays it tight close and the 2nd line further back, It change slightly in the 2nd Quarter against Sydney he move the 2nd line on the defensive side back further and ensured we had 2-3 play back.
But that not the biggest impact What he has done is Improved the skill level, While maintaining a good fitness base,
He is off the belief that the best game plans fail with poor skills, And when players are buggered there skill levels drops,
Can see why the were so many closed sessions as they used Fitness sessions to improve the skills,

Add the skill improvements and a few adds, we now have the Outside game to run with Hawks for the first time in a lot of years, And we have the skill level to Attack the Hawks and keep the pressure up for the first time in Clarkson rein.
The only Question I have is can we sustain it against a team that play with Skill for 4 Quarters.

I will say Crows in a Close one - 1-10
BOG Eddie (finally pulls one out against the Hawks) with Thommo and Sloane a close 2nd
Surprise packet -McGovern if he plays well Hawks don't have a match for him
Jacobs to get 10 plus tap to advantage. and win 40 plus taps

 

[displacedaussie]

 

[Bacon8]

VB seriously? Why does the club feel the need to not hurt his feelings?

He is no chance to replace Milera.

Listened to Campo say respond to the question of along the lines "Knight & Cameron the two candidates to replace Milera?"..

"Yeah well they are the obvious ones, and Cam Ellis Yolmen was out there as well. So those 3 guys, obviously VB was out there as well."

I don't think that suggests he's in their plans.

 

[Banshee23]

Doesn't surprise me to see Lever wearing that head gear at such a young age haha.

 

[beartoo]

Doesn't surprise me to see Lever wearing that head gear at such a young age haha.

He is also 1st to the ball. Good omen.

 

[displacedaussie]

He is also 1st to the ball. Good omen.

And has always looked good in blue*, red and yellow.

 

[Hawkboy62]

It's not permanent, but Hawthorn have been the best team in the competition - by a wide margin - for the last 3 years. There are no indications that things will be any different in 2016. They started 2015 with a 2-2 record, 4-4 after 8 rounds. We all know what happened at the end of the season.

I suspect they were lacking a bit of motivation against St Kilda, a team who nobody expects to make the finals. They did enough to get over the line, albeit with significant help from the umpires. Don't read too much into that.

Of far more significance is their performance against the Weagles, where they smashed them like a bug on a windscreen. The Weagles are one of the best teams in the competition and a genuine contender for the title of 2nd best team in the AFL. Hawthorn were properly motivated for that game, and the result was inevitable. This is significant for 2 reasons. Firstly, it shows what Hawthorn are capable of when motivated (and they will be motivated against us). Secondly, the Weagles play a very similar game style to Adelaide, so it demonstrated Hawthorn's ability to take this game plan to pieces (something Sydney were unable to do).

Expecting Hawthorn to fall, based on the first 4 games of the season... that's one of the dumbest things I've heard of in a long time.

This game is hard to predict and the sample size of games is too small to say if the Hawks are on the slide or not. Their form so far has been patchy.

I think the Eagles game is an anomaly. For some reason the Eagles didn't turn up to play and the MCG doesn't suit their game plan. Additionally because of Rioli's GF they had plus one in defence leaving us with Gibson as a spare. So many Eagles had shocking games that it's hard to say how good the Hawks were. Our forwards weren't very efficient.

Unsure how the preseason training has affected the players but there are many senior players who still seem quite out of touch. Breust, Duryea, Schoenmakers and Lewis are 4,but there are others flashing in and out of play. Hoping that they will be up and about for Solk's 300th and playing at the G is an advantage.

 

[Carmo]

Have a look at what they did to the Weagles. West Coast's scores this season:
R1 (vs Brisbane): 166
R2 (vs Hawthorn): 53
R3 (vs Fremantle): 92
R4 (vs Richmond): 125

Adelaide and West Coast have both played Richmond, kicking similar scores (Adelaide 128, West Coast 125). It's difficult to make valid comparisons, given that we haven't faced the same opponents, but it's not unreasonable to say that the Weagles have a forward line that's only marginally less potent than Adelaide's.

Its good that you are trying to find like for like comparisons to try and find a formline. With this one though, Adelaide played Richmond away while Richmond were still pretty confident. WC played Richmond at home after we'd destroyed their confidence. Adelaide's form is a level above WC at the moment.

 

[Emperoar]

#wewagerasone

First game at the 'G for me in years, so effing pumped!
... Except I'm there with a Hawks supporter.

Over the past five years we've had a carton on every match... Bloody expensive friendship for me, although I get my own back by refusing to buy him anything but Coopers; the the only win I've been able to scrounge for SA so far...

Please, please, PLEASE boys, get the job done!! I know he'll buy me some shitty Melbourne Bitter and I DON'T EVEN CARE!!! #weflyasone

 

[Elder van Berlo]

Thinker has already stated it will be Cameron for Milera with Knight as travelling emergency.

All we need is confirmation from
TheMetr... oh.

 

[spexau]

All we need is confirmation from
TheMetr... oh.

Never forget

 

[Bovo]

This is going to be harder than last week. Hawthorn will pounce on any team who is remotely off their game. It is 100% or it is tail between your legs for the Crows.

 

[Jack is Back]

I think the Eagles game is an anomaly. For some reason the Eagles didn't turn up to play and the MCG doesn't suit their game plan. Additionally because of Rioli's GF they had plus one in defence leaving us with Gibson as a spare.

I was surprised that Simpson went with a spare man in defence. Teams are using an extra man in defence less and less compared to a couple of years ago.
The Don has started with a 6/6/6 in every game and it has been the opposition that have gone to a plus one when we have gained a handy lead (we did go with a 11 man defence for the last 30 seconds on Saturday night ).

The lack of an extra man in the D50 means our defence is more vulnerable but our forward line is more potent. Our three key problems will be

1) Winning our share of the clearances. Whilst we have won our share of clearances in the past games against the Hawks they have often been quick kicks to the Hawks' extra man and started their forward thrusts. The Hawk inside midfielders have been much better at transferring the ball to their outside runners.

2) Controlling their outside players (Hill, Smith, Rioli etc). They slaughtered us on the outside in the semifinal. Our three main outside midfielders (the Seed, the Rat and Bran Nue Mackae) have been solid but not getting a great deal of the ball. However they also play an important role in our Team Defence. During the week the Seed said he was adjusting to the new game plan but on one occasion last Saturday night lined up like he used to do when he was playing for Collingwood. I have checked out the position of our wingers during the first four games (one advantage of seeing the game live) and it isn't anything dramatic. They are very disciplined at staying on the outside of the stoppage which may explain the high number of pressure acts. Hopefully the new system will stand up against Hawthorn but we have to accept it is a work in progress.

3) Restricting their run from defence. The first part of the equation is to limit turnovers which is an area where we have improved this year (hello vB, hello Patty). The second part of the equation is for the forwards to apply pressure when the ball is turned over. Eddie is always great at this and so is McLovern, Charlie will increase the heat (although Wayne has also been quite good). We need a similar contribution from our talls and resting mids.

The bookies give us little hope ($2.90) but I did "almost" get a nice payout when we were $6.50 against the Hawks in a preliminary final.

Crows by a point?

 

[Emperoar]

Most things that are trivial I have password of " incorrect"
Then if I enter it wrong it says your "your password is incorrect "

Try Taco23