Adelaide - 2016 Finals Campaign

Thought I'd just start a thread to discuss Adelaide's finals campaign, however long it may go.

Going into the finals series in blistering form.

i'll say this, perhaps they had their 'bad game' at the right time & it could prove beneficial in the next few weeks, however i doubt it

Should take care of North but it will get trickier after that.

Friday nights game was shocking - it's the first time ever that I have been tempted to get up and leave... but.. stayed, groaned, watched the husband turn red with steam coming out of his ears!!

BUT moving forward hoping that yes that was 'the bad game they had to have' - this morning 'lined up' online for finals tickets today - couldn't get through - thought I was going to miss out - panic set in - argghhh .... but all good ended up getting tickets

Can't wait !!!!

My daughter is turning 5 that day and it will be too much to run a 5 year old party and then deal with the aftermath before a footy game unfortunately!

Fingers crossed they appropriately dispatch of North Melbourne and get some confidence back for the tougher assignments ahead.

Oh Damn - well a big happy birthday to little miss 5 - here's hoping they can do it for her !! I know she's a keen (maybe slightly brainwashed) Crows supporter in her own right

Still have a vague fantasy of arranging a bit of a road trip if Adelaide make it past Nth Melbourne.

Not sure I'll be able to engineer it with little kids but! Probably living in fantasy land to be honest!

I just pre-emptively booked flights/accommodation to Sydney in the event that we win (rather pay $250 now that $1250 after the Crows win).

If we lose against North Melbourne, it's a shopping trip

If only there was a H&M at Parramatta

Brucetiki wrote:I just pre-emptively booked flights/accommodation to Sydney in the event that we win (rather pay $250 now that $1250 after the Crows win).

If we lose against North Melbourne, it's a shopping trip

If only there was a H&M at Parramatta

Yes I got as far as looking up flights yesterday. Jetstar still doing ridiculously cheap flights to Sydney, crazy really as I would've thought lots of Adelaide fans would be jumping on given that a trip to Sydney is guaranteed provided we can get past North.

Again though, kids just make it too hard and just don't have the $$$. If they get further than that I may have to reassess again.....

feed 'em ''bread & dripping'' & you'll be right

bayman wrote:feed 'em ''bread & dripping'' & you'll be right

Great win by Adelaide on Saturday night.

It was always on the cards against a North outfit that have been pretty average post round 9, but it was important that Adelaide came out and did what needed to be done ruthlessly and efficiently.

Really what I was looking for was for them to exhibit an appetite for the finals contest and they did that in spades. Everyone of them to a man looked like they wanted the ball in their hands, and were desperate to make an impact on the game.

The right blokes got their hands on it too, very happy in particular with Brodie Smith in particular who is crucial to Adelaide's ability to break through the opposition zone defences.

Big game this week with a game that will be as tough as they come - Sydney at the SCG who will be smarting after the touch up they received. I think Adelaide have the weapons to give this match up a real shake. Tippett and Mills being out will definitely help the cause, Tippett a massive out.

The first half on Saturday night was a good start.  The Crows were controlling the game, but North were still within striking distance.

The second half was a scoring masterclass as Adelaide broke North in the third quarter and piled on 95 points in the second half (which was on par with our first half against the Brisbane Lions in terms of scoring).

Was also great to see so many Crows fans stay back and farewell the 4 retiring North players (in particular, Boomer).

Now it looks like those pre-emptive flights are paying off big time.  My $157 flight there is now $459, and my $106 flight back is now $409!  Though with the game now at the SCG I might go shopping at Bondi Junction now (which does have a H&M )

Have fun and cheer loud mate.

Tell you what, will be quite the "I was there" story for you if they manage to get up!

Oh definitely. Should be a good weekend regardless of the result (though Sydney and I don't normally get along very well).

Also, the AFL have cut back massively the SCG Members allocation (in addition to the Members/Ladies stand they normally get the majority of the Noble/Bradman stands, but for the final they're only getting the middle tier of the Noble Stand on top of the Members/Ladies stand), so for pretty much the first time ever at the SCG the opposition cheer squad (ie the Crows Supporter Group) will occupy the bay behind the northern goals at the SCG.

Brucetiki wrote:Oh definitely.  Should be a good weekend regardless of the result (though Sydney and I don't normally get along very well).

Also, the AFL have cut back massively the SCG Members allocation (in addition to the Members/Ladies stand they normally get the majority of the Noble/Bradman stands, but for the final they're only getting the middle tier of the Noble Stand on top of the Members/Ladies stand), so for pretty much the first time ever at the SCG the opposition cheer squad (ie the Crows Supporter Group) will occupy the bay behind the northern goals at the SCG.

Good stuff. Hopefully there will be a good contingent of Adelaide fans who can make it!

Not confident but Tippett and Mills out helps

Paul wrote:Not confident but Tippett and Mills out helps

I wouldn't say I'm confident of victory - but I am confident that the lads will be very, very competitive.

The main concern for me is probably still our midfield.

My opinion is the Crows will win this week but fall short the week after

Getting tickets this morning was a painful process after a Ticketek crash. Got my ticket after 45 minutes. Ticketek have now proactively advised they will be refunding their service fee.

Strangely enough, the closer this game gets the more confident I am that Adelaide might just come home with the chocolates.

It seems that all the pressure is on Sydney going into the game.

When you look at both teams on paper it shapes up as a really interesting contest.

If Adelaide are to win it then:
a) The midfield needs to at least break even;
b) The runners off half back need to be at their best.

Bottom line is I reckon Sydney's backline looks inexperienced and vulnerable. If Adelaide can get enough supply into their forward line, then they will win and win well.

Still not sure where my confidence is coming from TBH, but I reckon your efforts to get over there Brucetiki will be very worth while.

What consistently worries me about Adelaide is their centre clearance work. It's generally pretty ordinary and if Sydney win the centre clearances, it will be a long day for Adelaide.

Lee wrote:What consistently worries me about Adelaide is their centre clearance work.  It's generally pretty ordinary and if Sydney win the centre clearances, it will be a long day for Adelaide.

Agreed. I've been hearing stats which indicate that Adelaide is one of the best clearance sides in the comp - but during the last few games I feel like we've gone for extended periods without winning a clearance. Certainly against Port & West Coast we got smashed. Even last week against NM there was a 5 - 10 min period there in the 2nd quarter where they got on top of us out of the middle.

Sloane is clearly A grade and M Crouch is turning into a beast, Lyons has also been pretty good this year. After that it falls away a bit though IMO with B Crouch still having a bit of work to do, and Thompson on the decline.

Beyond this season I do think Thompson needs to retire and they need to bring in some fresh blood to replace him. That may well be someone already on the list, but I'm getting a vibe they might have a reasonable recruit lined up.

Found the stats - Adelaide #1 in the AFL for clearances from centre bounces, and #4 clearances overall, just behind Sydney.

Gingernuts wrote:Found the stats - Adelaide #1 in the AFL for clearances from centre bounces, and #4 clearances overall, just behind Sydney.

So much for my theory

Bit like you, though, recent weeks seem to have dropped off.