Round 2 Preview - Adelaide Crows v Western Bulldogs

[Go_Dogs]

ROUND 2 - Adelaide Crows v Western Bulldogs
AAMI Stadium
7 April, 7.10pm

Well, our first away game for the year with a trip to AAMI Stadium, perhaps not the best place to be heading, up against a red-hot Crows side (although not such a bad thing for those of us in Adelaide).

Last time:
Round 13, 2011
Western Bulldogs 14.16.100 defeated Adelaide Crows 10.10.70 (Etihad).

A relatively comfortable win in a disappointing season against an opponent that had had it, at home (probably not a great indicator). Last time we played the Crows at AAMI was 2010 and we had a hard fought win in a low scoring game.

Teams:

Western Bulldogs

* B: Robert Murphy, Brian Lake, Dylan Addison
* HB: Ryan Hargrave, Lukas Markovic, Easton Wood
* C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Ryan Griffen
* HF: Luke Dahlhaus, Liam Jones, Adam Cooney
* F: Daniel Giansiracusa, William Minson, Shaun Higgins
* Foll: Jordan Roughead, Thomas Liberatore, Liam Picken
* I/C: Jarrad Grant, Nathan Djerrkura, Clay Smith, Tory Dickson
* Emg: Ayce Cordy, Patrick Veszpremi, Mitchell Wallis

* In: Ryan Griffen, Nathan Djerrkura
* Out: Christian Howard, Mitchell Wallis

Adelaide Crows

B: Doughty, Rutten, Talia
HB: Johncock, Otten, Reilly
C: Mackay, Dangerfield, Henderson
HF: Sloane, Lynch, Vince
F: Porplyzia, Tippett, Walker
R: Jacobs, S. Thompson, van Berlo
I/c: Callinan, Douglas, Petrenko, Smith
Emerg: Jaensch, Symes, Wright

No change

What happened last week?

The Crows have had a terrific pre-season, culminating in them winning the NAB Cup against West Coast. The Crows had an easy run in their first official hit out against the Gold Coast. A comfortable win which was fairly predictable - but again illustrated the Crows areas of improvement in contested ball, clearances and tackling/pressure acts. They also showed off an impressive tandem of tall forwards with Tippett and Walker who kicked 9 goals between them.

The Bulldogs on the other hand suffered a significant loss to West Coast. We played well and were in the game until some way into the 3rd before we fell away and couldn't compete. Our younger players were in the main impressive, and we'll need more of the same this week to get over the Crows. Our young players bring some dash and excitement, and our older players should continue to ease themselves in this week - I'm hopeful of an improved output from our senior core.


Key Match ups:

Tippett and Walker v Lake and Markovic

This looms as a crucial match up. Tippett and Walker both played strong games last week, and our backline showed how dysfunctional it may be without Morris and Williams to help steady the ship. Not sure who goes to who, Tippett will have both Lake and Markovic in the air, and Walker is probably too agile and quick for Markovic. Perhaps we cut out losses and play Markovic on Tippett and hope Lake can keep Walker quiet and help out against Tippett too?

Jones v Rutten

I presume this is what will happen. Jones should be able to work Rutten over with his speed on the lead (although this isn't really a strength of Jones' game yet) but the bomb on his head means he'll have to use his height and leap and not allow Rutten to apply body work and out position him. We need Jones to be our main target going forward and finish off the hard work by kicking goals. Going to be a challenge this week on an experienced opponent.

Picken v Sloane?

Another one I'm not sure about. No point tagging Scott Thompson for mine. Dangerfield perhaps another option for Picken, but I think Sloane, whilst a good player inside, finds a little bit more ball outside than Dangerfield does and has become a damaging player. We may also consider playing Picken on Vince or Mackay who can hurt with their run and carry.

Jacobs v Minson + Roughead

I concede Tippett will provide a chop out for Jacobs, but given Tippett is mentioned above, I'm sticking to Jacobs. He's blossomed since coming across to the Crows from Carlton, and had a very good year in 2011. That being said, he's a much friendlier proposition than West Coast were last week. I think the ruck battle this week will help us find some cleaner ball out of the clearance which hopefully means more goals for us.

Where the game will be won and lost

The midfield. Going to be an interesting game to watch given both teams strong focus on contested work over the summer. I expect the intensity to be fairly manic inside the contest and it will be another opportunity for our young tough nuts to strut their stuff. Having Griffen back will really assist us in winning more clean ball and spreading better from the clearance. Crows have some dangerous players who can win the ball and a number of guys that like to get on the end of it. Stopping the Crows from having time and space to put it where Tippet and Walker want is crucial if we are to win.

Verdict

Massive game for both clubs. Crows have to be favourites, but we do have some "recent" form at AAMI and while the Crows have been in good form I'm still not convinced they have made the significant improvement required to be classed as a genuine finals contender. Like us, they have a number of inexperienced players and an aging senior core. It should be a tightly fought game with a premium on winning the contested ball - I think we may have a slight advantage here.

Dogs by 3 points.

[bornadog]

Great Preview Griffen#16.

Last week we won the contested possessions and clearances except in the middle. The centre dominance was where we really lost the game as well as the number of frees we gave away in front of goal. I watched the replay again and we were right in the game mid way through the 3rd term but just couldn't sustain it.

Jones is playing like he has the whole forward line on his shoulders and I feel he is not handling the pressure with Hall gone. Hopefully he can gain some confidence this week.

Lake, Hargrave and Cooney will be better for the run but still have 11 players with less than 50 games, so they are going to have to show something. Boyd must lead the way and disposal effectiveness must be closer to 80% than 50%.

[jeemak]

Good stuff Griffen#16, enjoyable read.

Do you think Johncock requires a marker? Presuming he'll pick his man first up and we'll have to drag him deep to create the match up we want, who would it be if you thought it was the case?

I'd like to see Boyd play a negative role against Thompson. He has his match for strength and in the role might be forced to use the ball more often by hand rather than foot.

[LostDoggy]

Great write up Big Fella!! Will be there in full voice!! Griffen just such a huge in. Looking forward to us dishing it right up!!

[Ghost Dog]

Why would you not tag someone?, as long as it's an even footrace - breaking even is still a win of sorts. Don't get how certain opposition players in the midfield are given free reign, without a hard tag. Maybe someone can explain.
Can't remember the last time someone tried to work Swan over, although Ablett seems to cop it.

At least if their is some coordinated strategy to rotate men on to Thompson and tire him a bit with body contact, can't see why you wouldn't try and bring his effectiveness down a little.

Is it that we don't have someone as fast as him? Clay smith was one of the few last week who seemed determined to use the block as an offensive weapon.

[jeemak]

I think the OP was suggesting you cut out the disposal options of the most damaging inside midfielder.

For instance, you have a player like Boyd run with Thompson with a defensive mindset and do your best to either win the ball in one on one contests, or negate his ability to give it to a player like Sloane, who has Picken marking him closely, cleanly.

Not too many teams run with Ablett or Swan using a hard tag effectively. Tagging them won't necessarily stop them from getting the ball, though it might curb their ability to use it effectively. Cutting out their options and forcing them to be reckless with the ball due to limited options might prove just as effective as putting a hard tag on them. The elite midfielders are super fit, and they have excellent work done for them off the ball to free them up. It's bloody hard to stop them from getting it. So if you cut their options out you mitigate the risk of them being effective, rather than cutting their supply altogether.

[Ghost Dog]

I think the OP was suggesting you cut out the disposal options of the most damaging inside midfielder.

For instance, you have a player like Boyd run with Thompson with a defensive mindset and do your best to either win the ball in one on one contests, or negate his ability to give it to a player like Sloane, who has Picken marking him closely, cleanly.

Not too many teams run with Ablett or Swan using a hard tag effectively. Tagging them won't necessarily stop them from getting the ball, though it might curb their ability to use it effectively. Cutting out their options and forcing them to be reckless with the ball due to limited options might prove just as effective as putting a hard tag on them. The elite midfielders are super fit, and they have excellent work done for them off the ball to free them up. It's bloody hard to stop them from getting it. So if you cut their options out you mitigate the risk of them being effective, rather than cutting their supply altogether.

Dunno about that. Kerr got 7 touches last week. thanks to Picken.

[jeemak]

Dunno about that. Kerr got 7 touches last week. thanks to Picken.

How many did Priddis get without a hard tag?

How many would Kerr have gotten without a hard tag, if it was put on Priddis instead? Priddis was very effective last week, and Boyd got 38 touches, of which 30% by foot were effective. If you put a player like Boyd in a role where he concentrates on stopping a player like Priddis and doing his best to curb his effectiveness, have Picken on Kerr you might have two players with limited impact rather than one. If Picken had have tagged Priddis, whould Kerr have been as ineffective as he was?

Ball accumulators are going to get it, irrespective of whether they get tagged or not. Though if you tag a primary reciever, whilst putting effort into curbing the disposal of the accumulator you're a fair chance of limiting their effectiveness IMO.

[LostDoggy]

Interesting no one seems to tag Boyd yet he is allowed to get a lot of possessions. Maybe there not afraid of what he does with the pill?

[Greystache]

Good work Griff.

It's going to be an interesting game, before the NAB cup it was perceived we'd both be around the same mark this year, it seems Adelaide have made more progress this year but this game should give us a better indication.

[AndrewP6]

Interesting no one seems to tag Boyd yet he is allowed to get a lot of possessions. Maybe there not afraid of what he does with the pill?

That's right. Put a tag on someone who is going to hurt you when they get it.

[Eastdog]

Good Preview there Griffen#16. Should be an interesting game. Adelaide will go in favourites as its on there home turf but I reckon if we played the Crows at Etihad we might of gone in slight favourites. Good to see Griffen coming back into the side. He is such an important player in our team and will add a lot to our midfield. Morris when he returns will be a big plus for us back in defence but will have to see how he goes from his injury. About tags - quite right Andrew there because they are best suited to playing on player that gets a lot of the ball but uses it very well. Boyd like Asylum Ward said gets a lots of possessions but is not necessarily efficient with they way he uses it. How do you see Brian Lake coming on this week?

[Ghost Dog]

How many did Priddis get without a hard tag?

How many would Kerr have gotten without a hard tag, if it was put on Priddis instead? Priddis was very effective last week, and Boyd got 38 touches, of which 30% by foot were effective. If you put a player like Boyd in a role where he concentrates on stopping a player like Priddis and doing his best to curb his effectiveness, have Picken on Kerr you might have two players with limited impact rather than one. If Picken had have tagged Priddis, whould Kerr have been as ineffective as he was?

Ball accumulators are going to get it, irrespective of whether they get tagged or not. Though if you tag a primary reciever, whilst putting effort into curbing the disposal of the accumulator you're a fair chance of limiting their effectiveness IMO.

Well they might get it, but they cannot be given space. We need another tagger type in our side. One Picken is not enough.

[LostDoggy]

Whoops my mistake

[Eastdog]

Well they might get it, but they cannot be given space. We need another tagger type in our side. One Picken is not enough.

Who do you think would be good as a second tagger. It needs to be someone who can run all day like Picken.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Who do you think would be good as a second tagger. It needs to be someone who can run all day like Picken.

With the team selected I would go for Addison as the second tagger. I'm not sure that many teams would ever take two negating players into a game this early in a season.

I like the idea of having a Boyd or Cross tagging except we need more pace and better disposal at this point of time, not another tagger. If Morris came back into the side you would drop Addison and use a Cross or Boyd if needed. With no Morris we need Cross and Boyd to get the ball and do something with it.

Dynamic's of football and how an injury or two can really upset the apple cart!

[Eastdog]

Dynamic's of football and how an injury or two can really upset the apple cart!

For sure one injury or two and it has an impact. Addison is that kind of player who tries hard and gives a lot of effort and will play most weeks in the first team. Do you think Bumper Bulldogs the team can function without a tagger?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Cheers Griff,

I've seen very little of the Crows preseason apart from a quarter of the NAB GF

Based on last season I'd think Wood might be a good matchup for Sloane

Presumably Boyd will go head to head with Thompson. Picken might be the option for Vince who is up and running or Dangerfield

We need Minson to get a hold of Jacobs

[LostDoggy]

If you move Djerrkura to the BP and use Addison as the Tagger on Vince there are some positives to rotating the two players through that role , Addison was the second player to have 100% disposal efficiency against the Eagles ( the other was the Howitzer ) , he also did,nt give away any free kicks . If Addison and DJ could make an effective tag rotation BP/ midfield you would have to include Higgins in the mix in that rotation as one player is going to be on the bench , so the tag rotation BP/ midfield with Addison, Djerrkura and Higgins would be targeted at Bernie Vince and Jared Petrenko

Now by taking Higgins out of the forward line mix you would have to have Clay Smith spending more time forward , looking at the overall tactical picture its a tactic that could work and it still fits within Macca,s structure for the midfield ( from what we have seen so far )

.

[azabob]

Well they might get it, but they cannot be given space. We need another tagger type in our side. One Picken is not enough.

I think one hard tag is enough. The other midfielders need to have a defensive mindset when the opposition have the ball.

What other clubs go in with two lock down players?

[Eastdog]

I think one hard tag is enough. The other midfielders need to have a defensive mindset when the opposition have the ball.

What other clubs go in with two lock down players?

I agree. I think one tag is all we need. Do you think some teams work well still without a hard tag?

[Ghost Dog]

If Picken gets injured, he will leave a massive hole and scratching my head to think who would fill it.
Who in here is from Adelaide and what's the vibe over there about this game?

[Throughandthrough]

The vibe here is that the Crows will easily win. There "best ever forward line in the history of the club" will badly over stretch us.

[azabob]

The vibe here is that the Crows will easily win. There "best ever forward line in the history of the club" will badly over stretch us.

Walker is more a lead up rather than pack type mark? If only Morris was available to take care of him, and surely Tippet can't have 2 good games in a row?!

[LostDoggy]

If Picken gets injured, he will leave a massive hole and scratching my head to think who would fill it.
Who in here is from Adelaide and what's the vibe over there about this game?

The way Adelaide have structured the forward line the basic game plan is to try to hit a leading target with a 20m to 30m flat pass , if they manage to get clean possession on either side of the square consistently there is no point dropping numbers back to block space or cut off the passes , we have to force them wider and delay the pass with good pressure so the kick into the Crows forward line becomes a 40m kick slightly higher on a 30 or more deg angle , this gives our defense a little more time to block, spoil or contest the mark , when we get possession we have to break quickly to the opposite side then cut back to the middle to players like Liberatore and Cooney who can then try to hit our own leading targets , Jones has to stay higher than the 30m arc and try to keep his leads as straight as possible , if Dickson can stay higher than the 40m arc but wider out and makes his leads on an angle towards the ball carrier in both cases it gives us better options than we had against the Eagles

Picken can tag Dangerfield and if he can keep him quiet and also if we try the double tag on Vince ( as I posted before ) http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showpost.php?p=262359&postcount=19 , I don,t believe its negative football its about closing up the space and denying them the time to move the ball quickly , its a hard balance trying to slow them down but at the same trying to break quickly ourselves to push forward , part of that is keeping players on their feet there is no point having three or four players on the ground contesting the ball as there is only a 20% chance you can clear the ball if you win the ball , Macca has made it the primary goal to get control of the ball no matter what and we are getting our hands on it but its what we do with the ball after that that counts , Boyd had a disposal efficiency of only 53% ,Higgins 67% ,Wood 57% ,Gia 57% and a total of 16 players with a
disposal efficiency below 75%

Against Adelaide the pass mark is getting our hands on the ball and using it as efficiently as possible while denying them the time and space to do the same


.

[Ghost Dog]

The way Adelaide have structured the forward line the basic game plan is to try to hit a leading target with a 20m to 30m flat pass , if they manage to get clean possession on either side of the square consistently there is no point dropping numbers back to block space or cut off the passes , we have to force them wider and delay the pass with good pressure so the kick into the Crows forward line becomes a 40m kick slightly higher on a 30 or more deg angle , this gives our defense a little more time to block, spoil or contest the mark , when we get possession we have to break quickly to the opposite side then cut back to the middle to players like Liberatore and Cooney who can then try to hit our own leading targets , Jones has to stay higher than the 30m arc and try to keep his leads as straight as possible , if Dickson can stay higher than the 40m arc but wider out and makes his leads on an angle towards the ball carrier in both cases it gives us better options than we had against the Eagles

Picken can tag Dangerfield and if he can keep him quiet and also if we try the double tag on Vince ( as I posted before ) http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showpost.php?p=262359&postcount=19 , I don,t believe its negative football its about closing up the space and denying them the time to move the ball quickly , its a hard balance trying to slow them down but at the same trying to break quickly ourselves to push forward , part of that is keeping players on their feet there is no point having three or four players on the ground contesting the ball as there is only a 20% chance you can clear the ball if you win the ball , Macca has made it the primary goal to get control of the ball no matter what and we are getting our hands on it but its what we do with the ball after that that counts , Boyd had a disposal efficiency of only 53% ,Higgins 67% ,Wood 57% ,Gia 57% and a total of 16 players with a
disposal efficiency below 75%

Against Adelaide the pass mark is getting our hands on the ball and using it as efficiently as possible while denying them the time and space to do the same


.
Pray for rain.

Wow you've really thought about all this.
Tippet on Murphy....good god. 202cm V 186cm

Minson has to have a massive one today. Coach has shown his faith in him.

[bornadog]

Tippet on Murphy....good god. 202cm V 186cm .

That would be the worst match up of all time. Tippet is a monster.

[LostDoggy]

Wow you've really thought about all this.
Tippet on Murphy....good god. 202cm V 186cm


Where exactly did I say that , its Picken on Dangerfield and Addison, Djerrkura and Higgins in tag rotation through BP and Midfield on Petrenko and Vince , no mention at all anywhere on Murphy on Tippett , read it again carefully

.

[Ghost Dog]

Where exactly did I say that , its Picken on Dangerfield and Addison, Djerrkura and Higgins in tag rotation through BP and Midfield on Petrenko and Vince , no mention at all anywhere on Murphy on Tippett , read it again carefully

.

wasn't being sarcastic.yours was a pretty detailed analysis - nice one.

Re-Murph, Wasn't quoting your post, just a general comment after seeing the match ups in the paper with Murph's name under Tippet ( theage ) gave me goosebumps. If they get as much 50 entry as the Weagles did last week, going to be a long trip home on the team bus.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

For sure one injury or two and it has an impact. Addison is that kind of player who tries hard and gives a lot of effort and will play most weeks in the first team. Do you think Bumper Bulldogs the team can function without a tagger?

Good teams can get by, but i really think that the better teams have a tagger that is always doing a Job and doing it well, look at the way Ballentine got under the Geelong team, Ling, Baker & Sewell are a couple more.

I also think back to the days we had Libba, Smith, Romero & Garlic. Sides knew they were in for a bad day at the office.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Macca has made it the primary goal to get control of the ball no matter what and we are getting our hands on it but its what we do with the ball after that that counts , Boyd had a disposal efficiency of only 53% ,Higgins 67% ,Wood 57% ,Gia 57% and a total of 16 players with a disposal efficiency below 75%

Don't worry I have a good feeling that the Gia of old will be back, Lake will also be far better which will help the confidence of the back line.

I expect that Higgins, Gia, Wood, Hargrave, Cooney and Lake all to get the efficiency upto 75% plus this week.

Also I would expect Grant and Dickson to have far better games also.

And with Boyd well good luck!

[Ghost Dog]

Don't worry I have a good feeling that the Gia of old will be back, Lake will also be far better which will help the confidence of the back line.

I expect that Higgins, Gia, Wood, Hargrave, Cooney and Lake all to get the efficiency upto 75% plus this week.

Also I would expect Grant and Dickson to have far better games also.

And with Boyd well good luck!

After the grilling he got in the press, expect he'll be a bit more circumspect this week.
Possessions are no good if you hand off in such a way as to totally negate any kind of advantage.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

After the grilling he got in the press, expect he'll be a bit more circumspect this week.
Possessions are no good if you hand off in such a way as to totally negate any kind of advantage.

I think they might give him a run with role this week to remove the pressure of his kicking. I would think Boyd would be the first to say it was below a standard he accepts but it has not been an area of strength for him.