Crows down the Dees

Adelaide managed to pick up a hard fought win against Melbourne on Sunday. The game wasn't pretty and Melbourne really struggled to put some goals on the scoreboard. When the Demons did provide some scoreboard pressure, the Crows were resilient enough to regain control of the game.

As far as watching this game goes, it was one of the worst games I've ever seen. There wasn't much scoring and the skills weren't great from either side. When you see those sorts of games, the only thing that makes you happy is the 4 points at the end. So 4 points from an away game in terrible conditions is something you can't complain about too much.

Simon Goodwin didn't seem like he had a massive impact so I was amazed to see he had amassed 35 disposals and 10 marks. It's great to see that despite the fact he is an aging player that he can still be a strong contributor. 

It's worth noting that most of Adelaide's top disposal winners in this match were playing in the back line. A lot of the forward options were kept quiet due to poor delivery from midfield and a solid defence from Melbourne. There was however one exception...

Kurt Tippett played what I would consider to be his best game for the Adelaide Footy Club. He picked up 19 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 19 hit outs and managed to boot 2 crucial goals. Despite Griffin coming into the side this week as the No.1 ruck choice, I think Tippett really outclassed him. Tips showed he has a great 'never say die' attitude. When the ball was on the ground, Tippett was one of the first diving on the ball and this helped him create numerous opportunities for the Crows midfield. It's always pleasing to see young players with this sort of work ethic.

Bernie Vince has been another Crow who has stepped up his game this year. After having played only 36 AFL games, Vince has averaged 25 disposals during the first 5 rounds of 2009. This includes his 33 disposals (16 kicks and 17 handballs) against Melbourne. Bernie has been one of the unheralded stars for the Crows this season. With a lot of young players at the club, it's good to see a player like Vince who has taken his opportunity and ran with it. It also takes a bit of pressure off the more senior players. Hopefully the form of Vince will continue.

Unfortunately a couple of the clubs young guns could face scrutiny at this weeks selection table. Jared Petrenko and Taylor Walker combined for a total of 10 disposals against Melbourne. I expect Walker should be fine but Petrenko could be asked to spend a week in the SANFL. 

This weeks selection table

The Crows made a number of additions to the squad to face Melbourne on Sunday.

Brad Moran, Jonathan Griffin, Myke Cook, Jarrhan Jacky, and Scott Stevens all come into the 25 man squad. Of these names, expect Griffin and Stevens to be certain starters. 

Out of the line up are Brad Symes and Ivan Maric, both of whom were omitted. 

Maric was the recipient of a Neil Craig spray at three quarter time last weekend. Neil Craig has since apologised for reacting in this way, but clearly believes the message he was sending needed no apology. Maric looked as if he had solidified his spot in the side after strong performances both in preseason and in the first 3 rounds. This may have been the case at most AFL clubs, but at Adelaide there are the likes of Griffin and Moran waiting in the wings. 

It does look as if there may be one more possible change with Jacky replacing Shirley. An article on the Crows website today suggested both Shirley and Jacky were named for the Eagles this weekend. Jacky has proved he has a bit of spark, but has been very nervous in his first few AFL outings. Some time in the SANFL, coupled with a good preseason should give him the confidence to lift his game up a notch. 

Crows to take on Demons

This Sunday the Adelaide Crows are set to take on the Demons at the MCG. 

Melbourne won a grand total of 3 games in 2008. Their start to the 2009 season has picked up where '08 left off with losses in the first three rounds. Last week the Demons secured their first win against struggling Richmond. This will have provided the team with a much needed confidence boost ahead of their clash with Adelaide.

After looking at recent statistics, a key difference between the two teams is their preferred way of using the football. Melbourne prefer to kick the ball and Adelaide prefer to handball. This should play into the Crows hands if they are able to maintain pressure on the football. It would force Melbourne to either handball more than they would like, or bomb the ball forward causing turnovers. This will require the Crows to create the sort of implied pressure that helped them defeat Collingwood at the MCG in round 1.

The Crows will go into this game confident. They've already won at the MCG this year against Collingwood. In fact, the Crows are undefeated in their away games this season. After pushing Geelong for three quarters, Adelaide needs to assert itself with a strong four quarter performance against the Dees. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonathan Griffin included in this weeks squad after Neil Craig was frustrated on a number of occasions by Ivan Maric. Griffin had 20 disposals, 6 marks and 29 hit outs for Central Districts last weekend. Jarrhan Jacky and Brad Moran would also have to be considered for selection with strong SANFL form. Their inclusions would depend largely on the fitness of Scott Stevens and the selection of Robert Shirley. Given Shirley was brought into the team for a tagging role against Geelong, I would expect he will be out of this weeks line up. 

Classy Cats win at AAMI

The final margin against the Cats was 48 points, but that definitely doesn't tell the story of the game. The Crows put in a solid effort for 3 quarters, but appeared to be unable to contain the Cats any longer. The game was quite similar to the Round 2 clash with St Kilda in that regard. The key difference in this game is that the Crows looked like they deserved to be close to the Cats. 

Geelong were clinical. If any team is able to play them at that level for four quarters and still come out with a win, they will win the Premiership this year.

When Mark Thompson took over as Geelong coach, he started rebuilding the team and was a firm believer in bringing through young talent. Neil Craig is doing something similar with Adelaide. You can see some of the rewards already with young players shining every week. It was particularly good to see the youngsters really contribute to keeping the Crows on par with Geelong.

It seems like every week on this blog you will see a mention of Otten, Dangerfield, Tippett, Walker or Petrenko playing well. It's great to see. It's also nice when you have the previous generation of Van Berlo, Knights, Mackay and Vince all racking up the disposals. It's a great position and something that makes the future look bright.

One issue that I do have with the Geelong game was that Adelaide allowed the Cats best players to have too much of the ball. Geelong had 5 players with 30+ disposals (including 46 for Gary Ablett Jr) while the Crows did not have one. This could just be due to the rolling zone that the Crows have been using this year. It is however not very accountable and a team like Geelong will punish you if you give them the football. So it will be interesting to see in the next few rounds if anything is done to counter this.

A couple of Milestones

This weekend is going to be a big one for the Adelaide Crows, and not just because they line up against Geelong. 

On Saturday night, Neil Craig is set to become the Adelaide Crows longest serving coach. He will have coached 108 AFL games, surpassing the previous record set by Gary Ayres. It's a great achievement by Craig. Despite the fact that he has largely been rebuilding an aging squad, he has an imposing win/loss record which is the best of all current AFL coaches. Not to mention having made the finals every year under his tenure. He's also never shyed away from giving the younger players an opportunity to shine. So a big thanks to 'Craigy' for the job he's done so far. Here's hoping he can add a premiership or two to his record in the next couple of years.

Another person celebrating a milestone this week is defender Graham Johncock. After only his second game, I had worked together with some mates to produce what became known as the Graham Johncock Supporters Group website. A few years down the track and Graham is now set to celebrate playing in his 150th AFL match. It's a fine achievement for a very talented player. After starting his career in attack, he was pushed back into defence by Neil Craig where his evasive skills have seen him dance past his opposition time after time. When you consider that Johncock is only 26, you'd have to be confident that if he can stay fit that there is a lot of football left in him. 

Let's hope that the Crows can win this one for Johncock and Craig, two great servants of the club.

Bock is back

Nathan Bock has been cleared to play in Saturday nights game against Geelong at AAMI Stadium. He returns after 1 week on the sideline with a club imposed suspension following an off field indiscretion. He could prove a key inclusion as the Crows defence was left a little short in the height department against Fremantle.

Rob Shirley also returns to the line up. It's not a suprising selection as Neil Craig has previously stated that Shirley might only be used in certain matches where multiple taggers are required. If there's one team that might require the use of multiple taggers, it would be Geelong.

Out of the team for this week are Nick Gill with a hamstring strain for 2-3 weeks and Scott Stevens who will be rested with a concussion suffered during the match against Fremantle.

The key to defeating Geelong this weekend will be accountability. If the Crows are not mindful of their opposition then the score could blow out. So the selection of Shirley is a step in the right direction. If the Crows can tackle hard and provide running options out of defence then they will definitely be a chance at an upset victory.

Crows fly past Dockers

On a warm day in Perth, Adelaide managed to run over the top of Fremantle. 

Nathan Bock was out of the line up due to an off field indiscretion and the Crows were also without the services of Knights and Hentschel due to injury. This gave some of the younger players a chance to shine once again. Andy Otten and Patrick Dangerfield were particularly impressive. 

The Crows played a similar brand of football to previous weeks, but unlike last week against St Kilda the game plan appeared to be executed a lot better. Adelaide got off to a slow start going against the breeze in the first quarter. After trailing by 14 points at quarter time, a strong second quarter effort provided the Crows with an 18 point lead. From there on, the usual ebb and flow ensued with both teams trading goals. Fremantle challenged Adelaide in the last quarter with some quick goals. The Crows responded well and finished off the game with a flurry of goals.

Dangerfield showed his class in midfield and ended up with 20 disposals and a goal. His willingness to take on his opponent often creates opportunities for his team mates. The television coverage even used his kicking smarts under pressure as an example of what the Freo youngsters should be doing. It seemed a curious decision at the start of this year when Dangerfield decided he wanted to wear No.32, possibly the most famous number within the Adelaide Football Club. After seeing him play in the first 3 rounds it makes a little more sense though. Some players thrive under pressure and it looks like Dangerfield might just be one of them. As a nice touch, he was also nominated as a NAB Rising Star for Round 3.

Among the other quality players were Otten who had a superb game in the absence of Bock. Brent Reilly played really well in the back line and provided a number of long kicks which split the defence. Walker was again classy up front with his poise and defensive pressure being rewarded with 3 goals. Tippett and Maric also did a quality job against Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands.

On a sour note, the Crows will be without the services of Nick Gill after he pulled his hamstring. Scott Stevens could also be out after copping a nasty knock to the face courtesy of Luke McPharlin.

This will leave room for one player to jump into the squad to face Geelong this weekend. Bock has declared himself ready to play and it will be hard for the Crows to resist putting him back into the team. I suspect the inclusion of Bock will be the only change this week. If however he is not cleared, it may be a good opportunity to test James Sellar in the back line. 

Geelong will be a good measuring stick for Adelaide. It will also be a good experience for some of the younger players to see how the Cats do things on the field. Could there be an upset on the cards at AAMI Stadium? It's tough to go against Geelong but I'd certainly like to think the Crows can at least make a tight contest. 

New look for Still Crowing

I thought it was about time this blog got a facelift. So I gave it one!

It should be a little more obvious what this blog is about now and I hope to be posting more regularly with my thoughts on the Adelaide Football Club.

It ain't all bad

Friday night football is always exciting. From a supporters point of view Friday night matches have that little extra spice. This could have something to do with the fact that if your team loses, you're reminded of this for the entire weekend.

Coming into the St Kilda match I have to say that I was rather confident. The Crows performed well under pressure against Collingwood. They also had the return of Graham Johncock and Scott Thompson to look forward to. So there was reason to believe that good things would happen.

It came as a surprise that St Kilda dominated as much as they did. The Saints nullified Adelaide's powerful run from defence by applying non-stop pressure. This meant the Crows kept turning over the football and often in precarious positions. The 5 goal final margin ended up being a fair representation of how the match was played. 

Adelaide did show a lot of promise though. Whilst being beaten clearly for most of the match, they maintained scoreboard pressure on the Saints. It's always a hallmark of a great team that despite not having the best game, they are in the contest. It was not until the final quarter, when Adelaide could only manage one goal to St Kilda's six, that the game was put beyond doubt.

The returns of Johncock and Thompson were welcomed with both players in the Crows best. Bock, Edwards and Goodwin also had very solid games. For me it was members of the younger brigade who shined the most though. Petrenko showcased his evasive skills once again. Dangerfield kept busting through tackles and working hard to create opportunities for his teammates. Tippett also had a strong game up forward kicking 4 goals.

The worst thing about the match, aside from losing the 4 points, is the loss of Hentschel to a quad injury. I'm sure everyone is wishing Trent a quick recovery. Another major loss will be Chris Knights who is out for a month with a fractured eye socket. These sorts of injuries hurt, but do provide opportunities for younger players to get into the team. If the young players can continue to pop up and make strong contributions then the Crows will still be in good shape.

The team now has their first loss, so it's time to get back to winning ways against Fremantle at Subiaco.

An exciting season ahead

It was only my second time visiting the MCG. The first visit was back in 1998 for the grand final, so you could say that my second MCG experience probably wasn’t going to be quite up to that standard. In fact, it was an entirely different sense of occasion with the young Adelaide Crows lining up against Collingwood.

Collingwood had shown some solid form in the NAB Cup. Betting agencies had them as clear favourites for this match as well. The Victorian media seemed to be quite confident of a win for the Magpies and perhaps even a big win.

Despite this, I came to Melbourne to see the Crows win. Granted, it’s not the same team of old but you can’t help being enthusiastic about the young players coming through. Some critics might suggest that it’s a worrying sign to have 3 players debuting in the same game. It is however a sign of emerging talent.

The game itself was challenging to watch (and that’s not just because of the sun cooking us all). It had the sort of ebb and flow that makes football so special. The Crows asserted their dominance early, to the surprise of the local fans, with a four goal lead heading into quarter time. Collingwood responded in the second quarter and from then on it proved to be a great contest. The end result was a hard fought four point win to Adelaide.

The key ingredient to this win seemed to be composure. Collingwood had numerous opportunities heading towards goal but would fumble under pressure. This pressure created many scoring chances for the Crows and hopefully this will continue in the future.

The debutants Cook, Petrenko and Walker showed promising signs and will be hopeful of retaining their spot in the side that will face St Kilda this week. It was also pleasing to see Bernie Vince start the season in fine form with 33 disposals and 11 marks.

Another positive to come from this game was the full return of Trent Hentschel. It was great to see him back in Crows colours after a prolonged absence. His performance showed he is still capable of being a strong marking forward. He also proved his versatility by spending time both up forward and down back.

It was a great start to the year and the Crows will be looking to build upon that heading into Round 2 against St Kilda at AAMI Stadium. If what I saw against Collingwood is a sign of things to come, then we can all be excited about the season ahead.