The Crows are like - 3rd on the ladder? Really??

[Grantysghost]

Dawson, Curtin and Rankine hopefully do not say hi.

Hehe ... Yeah they go ok hey

[soupman]

Interesting watching Adelaide's forwards this week.

As always there seemed to be much more space they operated in, and having 3 dangerous talls is a luxury (if only we had 3 quality tall forwards on our list). Thought they were such a contrast to how we setup. There was space for them to lead, they were rarely going for pack marks, and Walker in particular would have multiple ocassions where he would be facing away from the kicker, they would kick it to space to his advantage and we would turn and meet it, showing great anticipation.

We never do this. Our kicks forward are almost always to us in congestion/packs, we very rately kicl it to space, and even in svenarios where thatbwoudl be appropriate (take for example the one in the 2nd or 4th where we caused a turnover about 60m out, had Naughton running in and two Adelaide guys waiting and just popped it up to the goals demanding Naughton sprint 30m and take a pack mark instead of doing what Afelaid wouldve done and kicking it to the fat side for Naughton to peel off into.

I understand this is a function of our gameplan...ie dominate territory, move it around until you can kick long to numbers about 25m out where we use our excellent talla to take a pack mark or we manufacture something out of congestion or force a dump kick to our waiting zone that has pushed up real high gambling on winning repeat chances at the cost of them being lower quality or exposed out the back if they get through the press.

Aside form our not amazing one on one defenders is there anything stopping us pivoting to a more Crows like setup?

Our forwards are not dissimilar, 3 talls similiar to theirs (Khamis is a poor mans Fog in this scenario), West is hard working medium forward who wins moments in Keays, we don't have a Rankine (Weightman) but we aren't far off the mix. Defence obviously not as strong in the contest but if we setup in a manner that doesn't leave them as exposed when we stuff up then maybe their numbers improve?

Im not advocating for a huge change, and maybe our gameplan is all or nothing, but could we change to a more nuanced version of it that accentuates some of what Adelaide have as strengths?

[DOG GOD]

One thing that stood out to me about Adelaide is their approach to utilizing their key forwards. They give them ample opportunities to score, often positioning them in prime goal-kicking positions rather than on the boundary. For instance, Naughton tends to lead into the pocket on his wrong side. Why?

Players like Walker, Thilthorpe, and Fogarty are team-oriented and sometimes act as decoys to create opportunities for others.

The Crows' forwards are also accurate kickers, which adds to their effectiveness. Inside 40 meters straight in front, you'd feel confident with players like Walker, Thilthorpe, and Fogarty taking set shots. Other players like Rankine, Keays, and Neal-Bullen provide additional running power and support.

In contrast, our own forward structure seems lacking. Naughton and Darcy often converge on the same ball, and when we bring in players like Weightman or Marra, everyone seems to want to be the primary target. Other teams seem to have a better division of labor up forward, with players like McKay and Curnow or Neale and Cameron knowing when to lead and how to outposition their opponents.

Having a forward coach with expertise in the forward line could potentially address some of these issues. Additionally, our defense could benefit from more consistent kicking, as players like Dale and Lobb stand out in this regard. The inconsistency from players like JJ, Bramble, JOD, and Coffield can be costly.

[Mantis]

Our forwards are not dissimilar, 3 talls similiar to theirs (Khamis is a poor mans Fog in this scenario), West is hard working medium forward who wins moments in Keays, we don't have a Rankine (Weightman) but we aren't far off the mix. Defence obviously not as strong in the contest but if we setup in a manner that doesn't leave them as exposed when we stuff up then maybe their numbers improve?

I feel that's being hugely disrespectful to Keays who is an absolute workhorse... West was extremely disappointing in our game against Adel, as he was in our loss against Hawthorn.

The jury is still out on him for me.

[Sedat]

I feel that's being hugely disrespectful to Keays who is an absolute workhorse... West was extremely disappointing in our game against Adel, as he was in our loss against Hawthorn.

The jury is still out on him for me.

West needs to bridge the gap between his best and worst. When he goes missing, he is horrible (same with VDM). Keays never drops his game to that level (nor does Neal-Bullen for that matter).

Their high half forwards smashed ours for impact on Saturday, and when we can't pressure the opposition rebounders, you get slick ball movement and good looks inside 50 like we all saw on the weekend from the Crows.

[soupman]

I feel that's being hugely disrespectful to Keays who is an absolute workhorse... West was extremely disappointing in our game against Adel, as he was in our loss against Hawthorn.

The jury is still out on him for me.

I was more trying to highlight that West and Keays are both hard working forwards that are good marks for their size but contribute elsewhere, and both seem to win/kick goals in important moments/ways. I don't think their player archetypes are too dissimilar, which isn't me saying that they are the same ability and contribution to their sides.