A Preseason Preview - Part 5 of 16 - Adelaide

[pahoffm]

Adelaide - Are they really sure about what they are doing?

Considering that Adelaide's performance last season was a major downturn from previous years, a closer look reveals a very conservative approach to rectify the situation. Except for one area, which they seem to have taken a very strange course on, which I will cover later.
Firstly they have a new coach, Neil Craig. For those that don't know, Neil played over 300 games with 3 clubs in the SANFL. He is a sports psychologist. He started as fitness coach of AFC in 97. He was promoted to Asst Coach in 2001, and has worked with the Australian Olympic Athletics team, (this last fact does not necessarily impress me.) His South Australian background makes his appointment a politically acceptable decision. (But it does remind me a little bit of when Gieschen took over from Walls.) His assistants are Don Pyke, the Westcoast premiership midfielder; David Noble, ex-Bulldogs & Glenelg; and Paul Hamilton, ex-Don defender.

The Adelaide list is as follows:

Biglands 199 104 26
Hudson 199 90 26
Griffen 199 88 19 Rookie
Meesen 199 87 18 New
Clarke 198 100 31
Maric 198 96 18 New
Watts 197 86 19
Andrews 197 88 19 Rookie
McGregor 195 90 24
Krueger 195 91 21
Gibson 195 93 17 New
Stevens M 194 92 29
Stevens S 194 88 23
Smith 194 89 21
Bock 193 82 22
Hentschel 192 81 22
Hart 191 84 30
Perrie 191 96 25
Bassett 190 86 28
Welsh 190 88 26
Rutten 190 96 21
Begley 189 83 24
Jericho 189 82 20
Massie 188 87 24
Mattner 187 80 21
Torney 186 84 27
Hinge 186 82 19 Rookie
Thompson 185 84 22 New
Knights 185 81 18 New
Shirley 184 84 24
Burton 183 86 27
Van Berlo 183 73 18
Ricciuto 182 89 29
Goodwin 182 80 28
Doughty 182 80 25
Reilly 182 79 21
McLeod 181 84 28
Nye 181 79 19 Rookie
Edwards 180 77 28
Johncock 180 74 22
Ladhams 179 73 24
Bode 178 77 25
Schuback 178 77 21
Skipworth 175 70 21

They have 5 new players and 4 rookies. These are centered in 2 areas, talls and mediums.

The spread of their list, as compared to us, is as follows:

Twilight = 28+yo
Prime = 25-27yo
Development = 22-24yo
Junior = 18-21yo

Crows
<180 Small Runners
Twilight: 0
Prime: Bode 25
Development: Ladhams 24
Junior: Schuback 21, Skipworth 21

Tigers
<180 Small Runners
Twilight: 0
Prime: 0
Development: Krakouer 22,
Junior: Rodan 21, Foley 20,

Crows
180-184 Smaller Mediums
Twilight:  Ricciuto 29, Goodwin 28, McLeod 28, Edwards 28
Prime: Burton 27, Doughty 25
Development: Shirley 24, Johncock 22
Junior: Reilly 21 19, Nye 19, VanBerlo 18

Tigers
180-184 Smaller Mediums
Twilight: Chaffey 28
Prime: Brown 27,
Development: Pettifer 23, Newman 23, Hyde 22,
Junior: Hartigan 20, Gilmour 19, Roach 19, Meyer 18, Raines 18, Tambling 18,

Crows
185-189 Taller Mediums
Twilight: 0
Prime: Torney 27
Development: Begley 24, Massie 24, Thompson 22
Junior: Mattner 21, Jericho 20, Hinge 19, Knights 18

Tigers
185-189 Taller Mediums
Twilight: Campbell 32
Prime: Bowden 27, Johnson 27, Hilton 26, Tivendale 26,
Development: Tuck 23, Coughlan 23,
Junior: Jackson 19, Deledio 18, Polo 18,

Crows
190-194 Mobile Key Position
Twilight: Hart 30, MStevens 29, Bassett 28
Prime: Welsh 26, Perrie 25
Development: SStevens 23, Bock 22, Hentschel 22
Junior: Smith 21, Rutten 21

Tigers
190-194 Mobile Key Position
Twilight: Graham 32, Gaspar 29, Kellaway 29
Prime: 0
Development: Morrison 24,
Junior: Moore 21, Schulz 20, Archibald 19, Thursfield 19, McGuane 18, Limbach 17

Crows
195-199 Key Position/ Ruck
Twilight: Clarke 31
Prime: Biglands 26, Hudson 26
Development: McGregor 24
Junior: Krueger 21, Griffen 19, Watts 19, Andrews 19, Meesen 18, Maric 18, Gibson 17

Tigers
195-199 Key Position/ Ruck
Twilight: Richardson 30
Prime: Simmonds 27,
Development: Hall 24,
Junior: Pattison 19

Crows
200+ Ruck
Twilight: 0
Prime: 0
Development: 0
Junior: 0

Tigers
200+ Ruck
Twilight: Stafford 30
Prime: Knobel 25,
Development: 0
Junior: 0

Analysing the spread there are some observations.
1) A large chunk of the Adelaide list has now joined the twilight zone, 9 players of a list of 44, that's  20%.
2) In the prime zone they are very short of small or medium runners. They are short of runners in their development area, and have now hurriedly recruited runners in their junior area.
3) They have 7 players in their junior kp/ruck area, they have by far overcompensated for previous injuries. Yet none of these ruckman, and these 7 are all ruckman, are 200cm or above.
That's why during the draft I made the point of expecting Adelaide to pick up Meyer, yet they picked up Meesen. This side needs junior runners more than it needs so many junior ruckmen.

Adelaide's ability to cover the positions on the field are as follows:

B: Goodwin 28 Bassett 28 Hart 30
  Doughty 25 Hentschel 22 Stevens S 23
  Ladhams 24 Smith 21

HB: Torney 27 McGregor 24 Massie 24
    Shirley 24 Krueger 21 Mattner 21
    Nye 21

C: Thompson 22 McLeod 28 Begley 24
       Reilly 21 Knights 18 Van Berlo 18

HF: Jericho 20 Stevens M 29 Burton 27
                   Perrie 25 Hinge 19
                   Rutten 21
                   Gibson 17

F: Watts 19 Welsh 26 Bode 25
      Maric 18 Bock 22 Schuback 21

R: Clarke 31 Ricciuto 29 Edwards 28
   Biglands 26         Johncock 22                                                                                          Hudson 26               Skipworth 21
   Griffen 19
   Andrews 19
   Meesen 18

Clearly they look OK for KPPS. They look very thin on the flanks. And they lack genuine developed & junior midfielders. They have 6 ruckman, plus 2 that I've fitted into a FP.

Conclusion:
I'm going way out on this one. I think the Adelaide recruiting staff should be sacked on the spot. To me they have gone in the wrong direction. They lack enough prime & development inside & outside midfielders to get enough run up the ground. Their experienced midfielders, who let them down last season, are one year older. And now other AFL clubs can look at the development of these junior ruckmen, knowing that the Crows cant hold onto them all, and are now licking there lips at the prospect of poaching them in the future.
Yep, the Crows are a year older with not enough of the right types coming through early enough.
Crows for near woodenspooners in 2005.
I know it's a big call, but I can live with it.

 

[TOT70]

I couldn't agree more, Phantom. I couldn't believe it when they took Meeson on draft day, letting Monfries slide. When I read they had Gibson and Maric as well, I started to wonder if the papers had confused their draft picks with another team.

I would have thought that midfielders were the most important thing for them, even given Clarke being near the end.

Watts will be at St Kilda after next season and Meeson and Maric probably won't be far behind.

Who will replace Macleod and Ricciuto in two years time?

Interesting team, Adelaide, all the money in the world, great facilities, thousands of well-off members but still falling away.

Money isn't everything. Unless, of course, they are expecting Cooney, Griffin and Monfries to be homing pigeons at about the same time. I have several acquaintances who are Crows fans and this is what they think.

 

[johnson2richo2003]

Great work again phanto.
I doubt they will finish on the bottom only due to their home ground advantage which will "buy them some games" but clearly they are on a downward spiral.
I actually feel sorry for Ricciutne Player along with Voss who i respect highly from an opposition club.Granted Roo has a brownlow and a few premiership medallions to compensate to look back on but hardly fitting for a bloke who,s in his twighlight years in which maybe a very dark period in the crows short history.

 

[dmx]

The legacy of the guru Ayres has set them back years.
He might have been the go to guy to drive through thick traffic, problem is he was good at it, since he had plenty of practice at it navigating through his head.

 

[DragicevicFan]

Is Burton 32??

I wouldnt think he'd be that old, but even so, the replacements for the Riccuitos, McLeods and Goodwins dont seem to be there.

Of the 7 junior ruckman on the list, other than Meeson who was a high choice and should develop into a handy type - who would you expect to turn out to be quality ruckman in coming years??

Is Watts more of a KPP than a ruckman??

 

[Chiang Mai Tiger]

Money isn't everything.  Unless, of course, they are expecting Cooney, Griffin and Monfries to be homing pigeons at about the same time.  I have several acquaintances who are Crows fans and this is what they think.

Interesting angle TOT and what a hornets nest if true. Unfortunately from all reports it looks like Cooney is one

 

[Bentleigh]

Most Crows fans are very happy with this years dratess, more so than in recent years.

Roo is surpisingly young. He stated AFL football very young

 

[The Mighty Wozman]

Another fine effort Phantom - I am really enjoying these assessments. Cheers ;D

 

[jb03]

My thoughts on Crows have been stated before, they will perform better than expected without the anchor Ayres around. Underrated juniors, outstanding on ball division when firing.

Coach unknown.

 

[pahoffm]

Sorry, it appears that I have made an error with Burton. He will be 27yo in 2005. I will adjust my records accordingly.

Ricciuto is 29. He will be 30 in June 2005.

 

[Tiger in a Tube]

bloody hell, there's going to be nuthin' but Giants at the Crows in a few years!

 

[mb64]

My thoughts on Crows have been stated before, they will perform better than expected without the anchor Ayres around. Underrated juniors, outstanding on ball division when firing.

Coach unknown.

Agree,When Craig tookover I felt they had a reasonable draw to finish with thus a few wins were  posted.The game in Brisbane was a shocker.

 

[evo]

My thoughts on Crows have been stated before, they will perform better than expected without the anchor Ayres around. Underrated juniors, outstanding on ball division when firing.

Coach unknown.

Agree,When Craig tookover I felt they had a reasonable draw to finish with thus a few wins were  posted.The game in Brisbane was a shocker.

Sure was.And what about the follow up against North.

Quite happy to state that the Crows will not make the 8 in 2005.Their forward line is attrocious.Riccioutto is an absolute class act and my favourite player but apart from he and Goodwin they are hurting badly.Macleod looks to me that he is losing interest in footy.Strange claim,but you watch him this season.They do have a few youngsters but i haven't seen anything to reccomend them as yet.Stiffy is a good player but will always be a HFF.

Bottom 4,but as J2r says home ground advantage will ensure no spoon.

 

[pahoffm]

Sorry, it appears that I have made an error with Burton. He will be 27yo in 2005. I will adjust my records accordingly.

Ricciuto is 29. He will be 30 in June 2005.

Yes, found my mistake when I got home. When reading a list from 2004 I accidentally misread Ronnie Burns' age, 31, and added a year for 2005.

Sorry again. I don't like making mistakes.

 

[momentai]

Good report again Phanto.
If we were in a position at the end of the year to go after Watts or say Salopek (P Ad) who would you chase? Suspect both are coming out of contract and therefore may become available?

 

[chislop]

Johnson2richo2005 - are the mammaries on that woman in your avatar for real or have they been digitally enhanced? And if they are real, who in the name of God would want 2 watermelons stuck to their chest. As a woman I can tell you, I couldn't think of anything worse than having half my body weight located just below my chin,

 

[Stu]

Good report again Phanto.
If we were in a position at the end of the year to go after Watts or say Salopek (P Ad) who would you chase? Suspect both are coming out of contract and therefore may become available? 

Not directed at me, but I'd go for Reilly myself
He'll be out of contract at the end of the year too

And if they are real, who in the name of God would want 2 watermelons stuck to their chest.

Dunno, but lets thank God for making her

 

[momentai]

Good report again Phanto.
If we were in a position at the end of the year to go after Watts or say Salopek (P Ad) who would you chase? Suspect both are coming out of contract and therefore may become available? 

Not directed at me, but I'd go for Reilly myself
He'll be out of contract at the end of the year too

Wouldn't mind him either Stu.
I think Phanto is right about Adelaides talls/kpp's being ripe for picking.For similar reasons although he is part of an older group of talls at North,I hope Greg/Terry keep an eye on BIG Mcintosh?

 

[johnson2richo2003]

Wouldn't mind him either Stu.
I hope Greg/Terry keep an eye on BIG Mcintosh?

I think Mcintosh has resigned for another 2yrs at North

 

[an_oxford_man]

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