Port v Melbourne & Adelaide v GC

Yes, lots of encouraging signs yesterday from many of the youngers including Lyons. I though the Laird was great, and of course the 'Golden Fist' of Talia was everywhere.

Yesterday was also about some of the experienced stagers as well though. Defence looks far more settled with Rutten & Otten in there, and the forward line with Walker in it - well chalk and cheese really.

Still for all that, all Adelaide fans will be dreading this weekend and the prospect of the 'average' outfit turning up again against Freo.

Ginge, Charlie Cameron has had two single figure possesion count games in a row after his "exciting" debut. ( Which for mine was only average )

He might be back to the SANFL this week?

Gingernuts wrote:A few people have rubbished the standard of the game yesterday, but personally I found the whole game very entertaining.

Not sure if you're going by another forum but the numpties on there say that about Adelaide's games most weeks especially when we win. "Poor standard game by 2 sides that won't play finals". Gold Coast will play finals btw even though their draw does get slightly tougher now. Funny same wasn't said after the Collingwood game though. Most games on the weekend were average.

Nup, he'll stay in the lineup I reckon.

He might not have had much of it on the weekend, but he shows far more energy than anyone else in the magoos trying to get his spot (sorry Petrenko).

They won't be mucking around with that forward line this week IMO - it was the first time this year that it looked truly dangerous on every forward entry.

Would the Crows be wishing they'd been able to arrange Porplyzia to be the SANFL mature age player, and kept Callinan on the senior list? (Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and Porps might not have been amenable to the situation)

Fair question to pose there Scrunchy.

Porps looks cooked, and he's not the only one on Adelaide's list that looks that way unfortunately (McKernan looks like he doesn't give a stuff at all these days).

sapaul wrote:

Gingernuts wrote:A few people have rubbished the standard of the game yesterday, but personally I found the whole game very entertaining.

Not sure if you're going by another forum but the numpties on there say that about Adelaide's games most weeks especially when we win. "Poor standard game by 2 sides that won't play finals". Gold Coast will play finals btw even though their draw does get slightly tougher now. Funny same wasn't said after the Collingwood game though. Most games on the weekend were average.

That may have been what I was referring too.

There are certainly people around the place that have what I like to call the 'reverse one eye', meaning:

a) they are overly critical of Adelaide because of their hatred for them; and
b) they quite obviously watch most Adelaide games by bending over and viewing them through their sphincter. Consequently most of their post match feedback seems to eminate from there also.

Gingernuts wrote:Fair question to pose there Scrunchy.

Porps looks cooked, and he's not the only one on Adelaide's list that looks that way unfortunately (McKernan looks like he doesn't give a stuff at all these days).

I haven't seen much of the SANFL Crows, but the one match I saw in the flesh:

1. Callinan was OUTstanding
2. Poor old Porps look well and truly cooked.
3. McKernan threw his weight around, when he felt like it and that was about it - Angus Graham looked 10 times the better player.

Well just read through all these pages - got to here and forgot what I was going to post   
 
Lets see if I can remember...lol.
 
I felt so nervous walking through the gates on Sunday, I have never felt like that before was a weird feeling, anyone would think I was playing or something...lol.  I had no idea how this was going to end would it be delight or would it be tears... however I did say to my husband as we walked over the bridge - I expect Tex to really find his feet today, he more than found them thank goodness.
 
I found it quite 'funny' the Gary Ablett moments of getting the ball, on one occasion you could see he was going to get the ball and there was just this huge hush of 'oh no' - then another instance the leg race across the oval - Kerrige Ablett and someone else, the crowd going ballistic at the outcome of who was going to get there first... Then the moment Ablett was kicking for his first goal, well what can I say, you don't boo the champion of our game fellow Crows supporters.....
 
I also think Charlie will and should stay in the line-up - he posses an excitement and natural talent and I'm sure will 'hit his straps' soon enough.  He is enthusiastic and will chase all day, and the 'chase' is sometimes what lets Adelaide down, so if one of our young guns is going to do it then I guess I feel that this lifts the rest of the team as well.
 
As for Sloane - he's a champion and yes he has brain fades sometimes, but the work rate he puts in far out weighs those 1 or 2 brain fades if you ask me.  And everyone has a bad day every now and then, as long as they are not all at the same time...lol.
 
I read somewhere that if Adelaide had of won those 2 'should haves' that we'd be currently sitting second on the ladder - that breaks your heart.
 
Imagine having the 2 South Australian teams sitting first and second = awesome.
Any way, not to be.
 
So now we sit here and see what the Fremantle game brings us.
 
I love Adelaide Oval and as GN said it is like a real day/night out.  I very much look forward to every game.
 
Thanks for listening  

Great post A Mum.

Great point about Cameron, he might not have had a hell of a lot of the footy yesterday but he chased all day, and that's so important as you can put a lot of 'perceived' pressure on a player and force and error without actually catching him in a tackle - a lot of players give up too easily these days.

Your point re feeling nervous is interesting as well. My younger brothers have been using our tickets over the last couple of weeks and one of them texted me after the Carlton game saying he was finding himself much more emotionally involved in them and their results now that he has been regularly watching them live.

I have to agree, and it seems like you are finding that too!

I definitely am finding that too, yes.

And yes in those crappy games we played you could just see 'no effort, no pressure' - I did think we fell into that a bit in the second half of first quarter yesterday, but luckily we pulled ourselves back into line. The pressure and chase is just so, so important.

I also wanted to say re Walker - he's such a character off the field, but on the field he certainly has white-line fever... he 'dishes it out' to the opposition players constantly - even Ablett yesterday !!

Gingernuts wrote:Fair question to pose there Scrunchy.

Porps looks cooked, and he's not the only one on Adelaide's list that looks that way unfortunately (McKernan looks like he doesn't give a stuff at all these days).

Well he wanted out at seasons end, nobody in Melbourne even offered a slight bit of interest and then after a couple of admirable pre-season efforts he stunk it up at AFL level and has been bag to the SANFL while Jenkins made "his" spot, his.

He'd be mentally shot I would think.

On Ports game, Melbourne showed how to stop us, don't give us the ball,but.....I think after the month we've had of Fremantle, GWS, Geelong and Hawthorn the defensive effort the boys gave over that month was outstanding and little Traeger Park in Alice Springs was hardly the place to inspire the boys to pull out another herculean effort. ( How picturesque was it with the MacDonnell Ranges in the background of some shots? Schulz' effort from the boundary sure highlighted that. )

If sides wish to play keepy's off against us, they are taking a huge risk. One turnover and we will punish you but Melbourne did very well at keeping the ball from us and out of our forward 50.

Boak was outstanding on one leg, Wines worked his way into it and Westhoff hit the scoreboard late as he's failed to do in recent other wins.

One of those workman like wins that good sides have, St Kilda this week at AO then off to Sydney for a big one.

Our injury list is starting to grow, more our depth players than our stars, but a big man or two goes down and it will ber very interesting who comes in.

Melbourne have vastly improved and are taking on Roo's defensive game plan beautifully. I very much doubt we will see them lose by another big margin (ie 10+ goals) this year.

The scenery was superb Booney, makes me want to holiday up there!

Took my Port man father in law to the footy yesterday and was chatting with him - he was saying that while he's pumped at the way they're playing he can't help but feel that the bubble will burst at some point.

If it does happen it will be because of injury - and the big men are the ones that you don't want to see go down (Sauce's substitution yesterday caused a few heart pulpitations amongst Crows fans no doubt, luckily it just looks like a cork).

I'd like to think our "bubble" will be a down fortnight against Melbourne and St.Kilda as opposed to a capitulation either late in the year or in September.

After Sydney we have the Bulldogs, Adelaide and Essendon all in Adelaide. That should give us a nice little period with no travel before a big finish which includes Richmond, Collingwood, Gold Coast and Fremantle away on the last 7 weeks.

I'd not have an issue dropping one or two between now and the end of the year. We've got Sydney twice in 6 weeks with Collingwood and Adelaide in there too. ( And GC and Freo )

Two games clear on top, we could drop 3-4 and still finish top 4 with some gas in the tank.

Would have to be a disasterous second half for you to not finish top 4 from here.

From there, anything can happen.

One things for sure, this season is the most wide open in many years IMO.

Agreed, which in some twisted way makes it more predictable....LOL.

Sydney,Hawthorn and Geelong are still clearly the teams to beat when push comes to shove.

Those outside the top 4, probably Collingwood, Fremantle, North and one other of Gold Coast,Adelaide or West Coast will have too much work to do in the last half of the year to be in any position to challenge come September. They'll be cooked by the time they get there.

Big month for Adelaide coming up.

Some quality due to return off the injury list with Brad Crouch looking likely to return to the SANFL this week, and both Lynch & Henderson now only a fortnight away.

Quietly confident that we might surprise a few in the next few weeks.

I don't think beating teams will surprise anyone, losing as you have has been the surprise.

Lynch in ? Out
Henderson in ? Out
Crouch in ? Out

Is it me, or is Brown seemingly at a stand still development wise?

I share your opinion on Brown Booney

Not just you on Brown - however he played his best game for the year on the weekend.

Not sure about who would fill your question marks above just yet - but it's about the applying some pressure to those in the team to play at the best. The pressure from the Adelaide SANFL side has been next to nil so far this season, meaning there has been no real consequence for poor form in the AFL side so far.