Adelaide v Hawthorn & Port v Richmond

Gingernuts wrote:I must admit I got to the game and saw the t shirts and the name plates on the old scoreboard and I thought "gee it's a pity Booney's not here, he would've really loved this."  

I too would have enjoyed being in among that on Friday night.   

Doubt I'd have made any life long friends, but I would have enjoyed it.

Booney wrote:

Gingernuts wrote:I must admit I got to the game and saw the t shirts and the name plates on the old scoreboard and I thought "gee it's a pity Booney's not here, he would've really loved this."  

I too would have enjoyed being in among that on Friday night.   

Doubt I'd have made any life long friends, but I would have enjoyed it.

A lot of Port fans getting huffy about it, gees. Just a bit of harmless fun for the blokes 200th IMO.

Apparently Port were the first sporting club in the history of the world to hand out promotional t-shirts as well, and have in fact patented the idea.

Booney wrote:

Jenkins was good, making the most of every opportunity while Betts, Walker, Lynch and Podsiadly had their supply blocked by a Hawthorn side who wouldn't let Adelaide get out of their D50.

 
I have stated before that I was not a Jenkins fan - but I have to say I eat my words.  Watching him live the last couple of games I can see he is now doing a lot of the 'off the ball' stuff, hard yards, chasing etc - as well as making the most of his scoring opportunities.  I think he's really improved.  I've moved him up a notch or two from my grrr pile.
 
Eddie looked most disappointed and dejected leaving the ground on Friday night - hopefully he bounces back after the week off.
 
I was disappointed with Friday nights loss, but keep being reminded that Hawthorn are a good outfit and that we played really well.  And to the Crows credit did not stop fighting once - played the game right out.
 
Bye next week - Borrrrrring    - well at least Patrick for one can rest up a bit and recuperate I guess!

Right, so, Friday night’s game.

Went along in much the same frame of mind as the Showdown a couple of weeks ago, hoping for a victory but knowing we were up against it.

As a fan Adelaide’s performance did not disappoint. There was plenty to like about the way they played.

The Good:

I thought the midfield overall was very good, and I think we’re starting to develop a good mix of different player types in there that will trouble opposition sides for many years to come. Dangerfield was superb but as most people have pointed out already, still tends to rush his disposal a bit. The midfield looks far more dangerous with Crouch in it too, gee that kid can play. As hard as Dangerfield but smarter IMO. His ball use even under pressure is very good, particularly considering the kid is only in his 2nd year. Sloane was also in excellent touch, plays with so much courage - not afraid to back into a pack to take a grab in particular. Loved his work.

In attack, Podsiadly & Jenkins were both excellent, and when supply forward was good they capitalised. Podsiadly worked up the ground as a link man also and his contested marking is a real feature.

In defence Talia was excellent, but I would say that the rest of the boys were a bit rusty.

The Bad:

In the midfield, I actually thought Thompson was okay until he was subbed off, however I think Sanderson would certainly have liked to take the decision to play him again. I still think it would’ve been better to pick young Crouch or possibly Grigg and thrown down the challenge to them. I reckon both would have relished the opportunity to test themselves against the Hawks midfield unit.

Up forward Eddie Betts had a shocker in his 200th unfortunately, which no doubt pleased you Booney as you continue your one man crusade to identify Betts as another Crows recruiting mistake. Apparently he’s not a bloke who likes the limelight, so perhaps the whole Eddie Betts pocket thing might not have been the way to go. Who knows, I liked it though personally. Lynch was another one who really had a night to forget. Clearly still very rusty from spending most of the season on the sidelines.

In defence (and speaking of rusty) Henderson is still quite obviously picking up the pace and feel of the game. Coughed up a couple of goals at the end of the 3rd when we had momentum that arguably cost us the game. Otten also had a night to forget, I hoped he thanked his teammates at the end of the game because his man Gunston nearly put the game beyond reach before quarter time. Clamped down well after that, but really the damage was done.


So overall I was pleased with Adelaide’s endeavour and the way they fought out the game, but disappointed we lacked the polish of the Hawks. Also disappointed that from about half way through the 3rd until half way through the 4th the early season ‘panic button’ made an appearance again, although they are now much better at regaining control than they were at the start of the year.

In general I’m much more optimistic about how things are progressing really. I think by the end of the season we will be playing some very good football – I just hope that it’s not too late to make finals. I think we’ll be looking back on the Melbourne & Carlton games in particular as opportunities missed unfortunately.

A general observation also – I think as the season has gone on Adelaide have also managed their ‘game day’ stuff a lot better. The DJ’s (which I was very sceptical about) have really amped up the atmosphere before the game and at half time, and I’ve always liked the big screen animations etc.. All makes for a fantastic day/night out whatever the result.

A Mum wrote:

Booney wrote:

Jenkins was good, making the most of every opportunity while Betts, Walker, Lynch and Podsiadly had their supply blocked by a Hawthorn side who wouldn't let Adelaide get out of their D50.

 
I have stated before that I was not a Jenkins fan - but I have to say I eat my words.  Watching him live the last couple of games I can see he is now doing a lot of the 'off the ball' stuff, hard yards, chasing etc - as well as making the most of his scoring opportunities.  I think he's really improved.  I've moved him up a notch or two from my grrr pile.
 
Eddie looked most disappointed and dejected leaving the ground on Friday night - hopefully he bounces back after the week off.
 
I was disappointed with Friday nights loss, but keep being reminded that Hawthorn are a good outfit and that we played really well.  And to the Crows credit did not stop fighting once - played the game right out.
 
Bye next week - Borrrrrring    - well at least Patrick for one can rest up a bit and recuperate I guess!

Agreed on Jenkins. His goal kicking in particular has improved out of sight.

Up forward Eddie Betts had a shocker in his 200th unfortunately, which no doubt pleased you Booney as you continue your one man crusade to identify Betts as another Crows recruiting mistake. Apparently he’s not a bloke who likes the limelight, so perhaps the whole Eddie Betts pocket thing might not have been the way to go.

Please me? Not really,takes more than that. Surprise me? Not at all.

re Betts, I've seen others on another forum having a go at him more than Booney has. One user in particular but he has a hatred of anything AFC related so it's taken with a grain of salt.

re the game, I'm never happy with any loss. Need a new TV this week after the remote went through it.

Booney wrote:Up forward Eddie Betts had a shocker in his 200th unfortunately, which no doubt pleased you Booney as you continue your one man crusade to identify Betts as another Crows recruiting mistake. Apparently he’s not a bloke who likes the limelight, so perhaps the whole Eddie Betts pocket thing might not have been the way to go.

Please me? Not really,takes more than that. Surprise me? Not at all.

Here's a question for you mate (God knows why I'm opening this can again, but here goes....) - in "Booney's world of high expectations" what would be considered break even for Betts at his purported $500k a season?

We all know you don't think he's worth the money .... so just exactly what output would you consider to be worth that kind of money?

It's not a can of worms, it's a talking point.

Difficult to put an actual figure or statistic on it, as saying 50 goals is too simplistic, asking for 7 pressure acts a game is too complicated.

I'm not going to judge what he is or isn't worth, the free agency market has dictated that.

What I can judge, or pass comment on, is that I think Adelaide made a mistake taking Betts. I know you couldn't grab top quality kids with the draft restrictions in place, I understand that.

If Adelaide were on the cusp of the top 4 and looking for the final piece in the puzzle, Betts might have just been the man. If he was 22/23, he might have been the man.

IMHO, Adelaide aren't close enough to a flag with the current squad to spend up big on a small / opportunist forward. These guys aren't easy to find I know.

Perhaps the emergence of Hartigan and return to form of Luke Thompson might alleviate some concern over the key defenders in the squad, but that's where I think Adelaide should have been investing any spare cash they had, on key defenders that you build a premiership side around. Let's face it, without seeing Hartigan at times this year look solid, Shaw appear a capable third tall and Luke Thompson pop his head up ( although I think he might have just had a real crack in the Showdown as he knew it was about last chance saloon ) Adelaide look light on behind Talia and without Rutten.

With a forward half boasting Walker, Jenkins, Lynch and Pods short term as keys and having the likes of Dangerfield, Sloane,Crouch x2, Martin, Smith, Lyons, Laird, MacKay, Grigg and Douglas through there I think Adelaide have enough scoring options. They have plenty of smalls to develop forward.

So while I knock Betts, he's a very capable player. I just think Adelaide spent too much on a bloke who isn't going to be a corner stone of your next premiership tilt.

Then again, he might be just what you needed. Time will tell.

All good points Booney, thanks for that. I just haven't been asking the right questions obviously.   

I can definitely understand what you're saying - but I don't think it's as clear cut as that for several reasons:

- I don't think free agency is the place you are going to find a player to build a premiership side around. You will only find 'icing' on what needs to be an already established cake. Perhaps Adelaide have done the wrong thing by sorting the icing before the cake is finished - but they had no choice in the matter without draft picks.
- The market also dictates what you can secure. I don't recall a quality key defender being on the market last year. Frawley is being shopped about this year, but to hold that kind of cash in the bank and operate a long way under the cap by choice is a risk in itself I think.
- You would have to argue that Adelaide just doesn't have the pulling power to jag a 'Buddy Franklin' calibre of player via free agency anyway. It seems that any club west of Geelong or north of Sydney is not an attractive prospect, unless they are a native of that area and even then it's still hard work.
- You have to factor in what Betts brings to the Club off the field too, something that we as spectators can't really get a gauge on. By all reports he is a brilliant mentor to the younger players, and very 'fan friendly'.

In my opinion he is what you would call a solid investment at the moment. He hasn't been a poor investment, he hasn't been a stellar investment, but he's earning his money with the added bonus of getting people through the turnstiles.

GWS and Gold Coast will have a heap of quality kids looking for more opportunity in the next 2-3 years. Many of which would have been high draft picks but somehow got hidden away in the whole Northern/Sydney development dream Andy D had.

So with Adelaide ( rightly so ) about to load up on Dangerfield, Sloane, Crouch (x2), Talia and several kids I would think keeping some coin free for the group that the whole competition is going to be looking at would have been more beneficial.

It might also give me the eeby geebys to think the Adelaide chiefs do in fact think they are close enough to a top 4 berth to see Betts as the cream on an already rising pie.

They might be in the next 2 years, they're best is good enough. I don't think the squad depth is there at this point though.

One Eddie Betts might equal two stellar 19 year olds from the GWS factory........that's all.

All fair points Booney, some of which I hadn't thought of to be honest.

As you said, time will tell I guess.

Given that we wouldn't be paying top coin for 19 year olds who are just not getting an opportunity elsewhere I think Eddie's spot on the list is safe and we could get rid of a few players on the list who aren't nearly as good as Eddie to make way for them. All teams pay over the odds for one or two players because they hit form just before their contract's due to be renegotiated (and then never again) or because the administration think that they're closer to their premiership window than they actually are. I don't actually think we're paying too much for Eddie at $500k per year if that's what he's getting. He's shown the ability to win a game for us and he loves being at the club. His inconsistency was revealed form before we got him and would be helped by more consistent delivery from his teammates who have (at times) popped the ball into him as though he's the same size as Josh Jenkins.