Trading places

It’s the silly season, and in my case the only thing to look forward to after you’ve been knocked out of the finals. So what do we stand to gain and where will be lose out?

Recent news suggests that Ben Hudson is on his way to the Bulldogs after contract negotiations with the Crows broke down. Hudson would prefer a 3 year contract but the Crows will only offer him 2 years. It’s a tough decision. Hudson has proved when he is on the field that he is a fierce competitor and an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle. Without Rhett Biglands this season, Huddo was forced to do the lions share of ruck work, with Ivan Maric and Jonathon Griffin providing support. Without Hudson,the Crows are exposed by once again starting a season with their no.1ruck man returning from a major injury.

Fourth string ruck man John Meesen has added to this dilemma by requesting a move back to his home state of Victoria. Meesen has been on the fringes for a few years now and finally broke into the match squad in the latter rounds of the season. Unfortunately for Meesen, he failed to grab the bull by the horns. Rumour has it that Carlton are keen to secure his services which will most likely result in the Crows obtaining draft picks.

Ken McGregor appeared to put his hand up to move but soon backed down. A move away from Adelaide did not seem appetising enough for McGregor.

No other players seem to be up for discussion but expect that to change once the trade period starts next Monday. It would be nice to see the club invest more energy in the silly season. The attitude over past years seems to be ‘stick with what we already have’ which works in some ways and not so much in others. On one hand, a young player coming into the Crows knows that he has a few years to establish himself. On the other hand, there’s a few players who have been around the blocks for 5 years or more and still haven’t really stamped their name in the best 22.

In the past we have made some successful trades. Scott Thompson and Scott Stevens are the most recent success stories. It would be nice to add to them... and soon!

Rewind the clock

With the trade period coming up, it’s important to take a look at who has the goods and who should be sent packing to Guam.

In terms of performances this season, there were some clear stand outs. Andrew McLeod was in top notch form and has really found his feet at half back. The amount of run and drive he provides from the back line is a key element of any success Adelaide did have. Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards both had solid seasons which will do nothing to tarnish their reputation as being some of the AFLs finest midfielders. Scott Thompson took a big step up and had his best season to date.

Younger players like Nathan Van Berlo and Chris Knights stamped themselves on the competition. Both players have gone from being talented youngsters to essential elements in the team. I hope we hang onto those two for the rest of their careers.

Late in the season, mature age recruit Nick Gill found himself in the mix and really impressed with his tenacity and strong marking ability. His defensive pressure in the forward line really strengthed our attack.

Jason Porplyzia proved what an amazing player he is.Jason plays tall and seems to mark just about anything that comes his way. His goal scoring form took a dip towards season end but he was still a prominent figure in the Crows resurgence.

There’s been a lot of good performers this year. It’d take me a week to run through them all. I don’t think anyone in particular really had a shocker of a season. It will be interesting to see how things develop around trade time.

The end as we know it

The season came to a crashing halt against the Hawks. I didn’t bother to write about it for a long time because the pain still lingered quite some time after these tragic events occured.

Adelaide played well but poor decision making in the final few minutes cost us a chance to continue challenging for the premiership. In the end it proved to be a fair reflection of a very inconsistant season.

Club legend Mark Ricciuto played his last ever AFL match and managed to break Ben Hart’s games record for the club. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to put more of a stamp on the game against the Hawks but he bows out as one of the best ever Crows, if not the best. He was easily the best captain. The man put his heart and soul into the AFC guernsey. He bled the primary colours. One can only hope that in the coming years he will find himself in a coaching role at the club.No doubt that the Roo would be an impressive forward or midfield coach, and then perhaps somewhere down the line a premiership winning senior coach. Let’s hope the man has a couple of sons!

September begins

So today is the day we have waited for. The elimination final against Hawthorn is upon us. There has only been one change to last weeks line up, with Martin Mattner making way for Ken McGregor. If you're like me, then you'd be a little surprised by this inclusion. It seems that by looking at the article on the AFC website that McGregor is coming in as a forward. So who will move back to replace Mattner? I would imagine at best, the answer is to keep Bock down back and have McGregor up forward due to his accurate form in front of goal this season.

It should be an exciting game. The Hawks will be looking to fight back from their massive loss earlier in the season. The Telstra Dome will present a tough challenge for both teams, with perfect conditions leaving no room for excuses. 

Last night Port Power defeated West Coast and they will now move to Adelaide's side of the draw. Should the Crows make the preliminary final, they will play Port at AAMI Stadium. Now all we need is the boys to get there.

Downing the 'Pies

First off, let me say what a game this was for the Adelaide footy club. Three weeks ago we were faced with the awkward task of winning our last three matches. The Collingwood game was billed as the hardest of these tasks, yet proved in reality to be another chance for the boys to showcase what they are made of. Some hard fought contested football was won and then the match soon after. 

Looking at the statistics you could be forgiven for thinking the game should have been a little closer than it ended up being. This is largely due to the vast amount of uncontested possessions Collingwood gained in their back line. Adelaide's choking defence was formidable and would not allow the Magpies to get their using free flowing play going. 

A person highlight was when Anthony Rocca came charging in to spoil a hospital ball kicked to Nathan van Berlo. Van Berlo who is hardly a massive unit like Rocca looked as if he barely felt the collision, but left Rocca clenching his shoulder in pain. It had a touch of David and Goliath about it, but perhaps in a more humourous way than the original tale.

With Collingwood now behind them, the Crows were looking to other matches to find out what their finals path might be. Hawthorn suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Swans and will now play the Crows on Saturday afternoon at the Telstra Dome. 

The last time the Crows met Hawthorn was in Round 14 at AAMI Stadium. Adelaide were resounding victors with Tyson Edwards racking up a massive 41 disposals. Captain Mark Ricciuto also slotted through 4 goals, a feat he'll be looking to accomplish again this weekend. The true key to Adelaide's success was Ben Rutten's role on Hawks key forward Lance Franklin. Buddy Franklin was restricted to a mere five disposals and could only contribute 1 goal to his teams tally. A repeat of this should see the Crows go through to the next round of the AFL Finals Series. 

The winner of the Crows vs Hawthorn will play the loser of Geelong and the Kangaroos. 

Round 22

Tonight Adelaide takes on Collingwood in a clash that is all-important to the Crows finals hopes. A win tonight can secure a place in the finals, with a loss giving us all a nervous wait to see what happens from there.

The Crows can finish the minor rounds as high as 7th provided they defeat the Pies and Hawthorn wins their tough match against the Swans on Sunday at the SCG. A league position as low as 12th is still mathematically attainable, but highly unlikely due to Adelaide's high percentage of 109. 

Chris Knights is a welcome inclusion into this weeks line up after missing the previous game against Brisbane. Knights has the 4th highest disposal count for the season and has established himself as one of the clubs prime young midfielders. Michael Doughty has been omitted despite a strong performance against Brisbane to make way for Knights.

A surprise addition is Jonathon Griffin who replaces the omitted John Meesen. Griffin has not played since Adelaide's loss to Geelong. He'll be looking to produce some good form heading into the finals to solidify his spot in the team.

In other news, the Crows will join the rest of the leagues players in giving Channel Seven the silent treatment. Seven has refused to apologise for leaking information about unnamed drug users in the competition. The information was obtained in a somewhat questionable manner and the AFL Players Association has taken a hardline stance by asking all players not to answer any questions from Seven.

With the season on the line and the possibility of this being Mark Ricciutos last game, the Crows should be fired up and get over the line. Let's hope they can do it for Roo.

Yeah G'day

Hi folks.

Welcome to my blog. It's all about the Adelaide Football Club. 

The Adelaide Crows have been a pretty special part of my life. I've supported them since their inception into the AFL. I went to pretty much every home game from the mid-nineties up until the end of season 2006. Twice I travelled to away games, including an amazing Grand Final win back in '98. 

This year I left the fine city of Adelaide and moved over to Sydney. Many of my friends and family asked if I would trade my beloved Crows in support of the Sydney Swans. For me it's an obvious no. I'm not the type of person who has a second team. Nor do I watch the Grand Final if the Crows aren't in it. Don't get me wrong, I love football but AFC comes first and foremost. So it should not come as a surprise that in my exile I find solace in watching the Crows thrash it out every weekend. 

The blog title itself relates to my journey across the country. I may no longer be in SA but I still share the pride, and I'm definitely Still Crowing. 

That's enough self indulgent crap. Let's talk footy.