Neil Craig - respected?

[Bulldog Revolution]

The post that started talking about playing the crows in round 1 had me thinking, as I was when the murdered Collingwood in Dubai.

He has led Adelaide since halfway through 2004 - 81 Games - 51 Wins, 30 Losses. He has taken a tough line on ageing stars and on contract negotiations with older players. He's developed seemingly a whole rung of players He even recently commented last week that their club (the crows) was not for everyone

Does Neil Craig really get the coaching resepect he deserves?

Is he an underrated coach?

[wimberga]

Personally, I would place Craig in the top 5 coaches in the league. He has done a great job with the Crows, shows commitment when stating he doesnt want to coach another club and his Crows rarely seemed to get pumped. They always look at least competitive.

Its probably because he takes a slightly different approach in regards to sports science side etc that he is often overlooked a little bit.

It seems that you have the older traditional coaches such as Matthews, Eade, Ex-Sheedy etc
Then there are the younger, newere coaches like Clarkson, Worsfold, Harvey etc

Craig comes in with different approaches to both of those. Yes he is underrated and probably doesnt get the respect he deserves.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Personally, I would place Craig in the top 5 coaches in the league. He has done a great job with the Crows, shows commitment when stating he doesnt want to coach another club and his Crows rarely seemed to get pumped. They always look at least competitive.

Its probably because he takes a slightly different approach in regards to sports science side etc that he is often overlooked a little bit.

It seems that you have the older traditional coaches such as Matthews, Eade, Ex-Sheedy etc
Then there are the younger, newere coaches like Clarkson, Worsfold, Harvey etc

Craig comes in with different approaches to both of those. Yes he is underrated and probably doesnt get the respect he deserves.

Good post, and an interesting thread too.

I rate him pretty highly too - I think he does a wonderful job. The Crows list has been 'middle of the road' as far as talent is concerned for a number of years, but Craig appears to get the best out of them each and every week. They don't have a star studded list like West Coast had or like Geelong may have, but he has them playing a very team orientated style. He's proven he can adapt to the way the game changes too; we've seen The Crows play a quick attacking game to good effect over the last two weeks, and even in the Final last year against The Hawks they did really well - unlucky that Franklin was red hot. Their forward line is average, but they still manage to win games of football. It's a real credit to them.

I just wonder what Craig would be capable of if he had a Riewoldt/Franklin/Fevola at his disposal. If he had a couple of dead set gun forwards, The Crows probably would've come within inches of winning a Grand Final in 05/06. Personally I rate them higher than Sydney; both play similiar styles but Adelaide for mine are more versatile in that they have a few game plans they can revert back to. Sydney are hell bent on one way only, granted it works most times for them.

So as far as getting the best out of a list, Craig's right up there with the best. I question his decisions in regards to contracts though. They've let go of a few players over the years that still had something to offer. Hudson is the obvious one, and I think Torney was unlucky too. Mattner/Welsh aren't the worst players going around either, but I can understand the idea behind it - they need to blood a few more youngsters and it's highly unlikely those two would be around for the next Premiership. Nevertheless, IMHO Craig is a little too quick to press the button and a little too stubborn. In theory it sounds fantastic; nobody above the age of (26?) is given more then a two year contract. Sounds great, until you lose a quality player or two with 2+ years of good service left.

That's just my opinion, I think he needs to fix up that, and if he does they'll be better for it. As a coach though he's within the Top 5 and is extremely intelligent and inventive. Certainly underrated, but only because he lacks a couple star forwards.

[hujsh]

Craig was rated very highly untill the whole tapering thing happened in 06. people stopped hailing him at a supercoach and then they had an average year last year. Then losing several veterans has annoyed people so while he hasn't been perfect he has gotten the results to back him up (except for a premiership)

[GVGjr]

The post that started talking about playing the crows in round 1 had me thinking, as I was when the murdered Collingwood in Dubai.

He has led Adelaide since halfway through 2004 - 81 Games - 51 Wins, 30 Losses. He has taken a tough line on ageing stars and on contract negotiations with older players. He's developed seemingly a whole rung of players He even recently commented last week that their club (the crows) was not for everyone

Does Neil Craig really get the coaching resepect he deserves?

Is he an underrated coach?

I rate this guy just behind Mark Williams as the best coach in the AFL. Very professional, well regarded in all facets of the game (fitness, list management etc) and very astute in the box. On paper the Crows should not be a contender but I'm sure they will and its largely due to Craig.

[Go_Dogs]

I rate this guy just behind Mark Williams as the best coach in the AFL. Very professional, well regarded in all facets of the game (fitness, list management etc) and very astute in the box. On paper the Crows should not be a contender but I'm sure they will and its largely due to Craig.

I tend to agree with your assessment. I also think Williams is the best going around.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I tend to agree with your assessment. I also think Williams is the best going around.

Interesting that two think Mark Williams is the best going around?

He's quite an antogonistic sort of guy and its been rumoured he is not the best communicator, but clearly hes developed some super footballers.

What is about him that people rate? or what is it that he brings to the table?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

What is about him that people rate? or what is it that he brings to the table?

In short, it's his ability to turn over a list within such a short period of time without having to actually bottom out. Port Adelaide have been competitive for a long time, including from 2004-2006 when they didn't make the finals after their Premiership. It's quite an achievement to win one in '04 and then be back in '07 with an emerging list of extremely young talented footballers. They wern't gifted a Riewoldt or a Judd - they intelligently plucked and developed players in a professional manner.

Pearce & Rodan are two obvious examples; one was rookie listed and is a dead set gun midfielder. How Pearce slipped through the cracks is beyond me. He's got everything the modern day footballer requires; plenty of pace, intelligence on the field and precise skills. He's been and will be an amazing find for them. Rodan is a huge plus too; adds something different to a young side. He's fast and whilst he isn't as agile as Pearce, he still has various tricks up his sleeve. Not to mention, he can find a hard ball and deliver a footy too. Rodan went from nothing to a quality player - from Richmond, as a discard, to Port Adelaide as one of their most solid performers.

At the end of the day, nobody can do anything but congratulate Williams on his efforts to turn around a side within three years and have them back up at the top with several fresh faces. Not the best communicator? I don't buy it. He's probably the best football developer in the land, and I don't see how he can achieve the feats he has without having good communication between player and coach.

[Go_Dogs]

Great post above me TBB.

I think one area where Williams beats others is his ability to change himself to fit the situation. He wasn't the best communicator, and was often seen as uptight during his first few years, but he has really developed his skills in this area and become probably the best in the AFL at it.

His ability to nurture and show faith in young talent has also been exceptional the whole way through, and he continually gets rewarded by the kids for showing faith. He also seems to know which kids to hold back, which to throw in the deep end and has a good instinct about it.

[Dry Rot]

How many of Williams' assistant coaches have gone on to get coaching gigs? 2? 3?

He must be doing something right.

[GVGjr]

How many of Williams' assistant coaches have gone on to get coaching gigs? 2? 3?

He must be doing something right.


Its the club. They do just about everything right.

Williams actively assisted Clarkson and Bailey land the coaching gigs and then issued them their marching orders even with the finals on.

[Dry Rot]

Its the club. They do just about everything right.

Williams actively assisted Clarkson and Bailey land the coaching gigs and then issued them their marching orders even with the finals on.

Wasn't Knights one of his too?

Interesting point about club culture over there.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Wasn't Knights one of his too?

Interesting point about club culture over there.

Knights coached the Port Magpies - very badly. He got sacked after less than 1 season. The Port Magpies don't lose often and didn't like it when they lost a lot.

[bornadog]

Some more forward thinking by Craig:

The Age
Adelaide midfielders set for forward line
Ashley Porter | February 28, 2008



SIMON Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards, who together have torn apart the best midfields for more than a decade, are likely to line up alongside each other in the forward line in the opening home-and-away round, against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Easter Sunday.

Coach Neil Craig said he expected the switch to "create some concerns for the opposition".

Also entering the forward mix will be All-Australian defender Nathan Bassett, who has not played since round 14 last year when he broke an ankle against Hawthorn, while another midfielder, Scott Thompson, will also be tried forward.

The Crows' previously predictable structure will also be tossed out against Hawthorn in Saturday night's NAB Cup semi-final at AAMI Stadium, but there was no suggestion from Craig that he wasn't taking the competition seriously.

He cited the money ($300,000) and the need for success among the reasons to play in a pre-season grand final for the second time in three years.

But he left no doubt that the Easter Sunday contest was about further testing his new forward structure and seeing if his new tier of midfielders, including Nathan van Berlo, Chris Knights, Richard Douglas and Bernie Vince were capable of handling their new responsibility.

"The challenge for us is whether we can keep all three (Goodwin, McLeod, Edwards) in there, and that depends on performance all over the field," Craig said. "In a perfect world, that would be an ideal scenario. Having them play forward is refreshing for them towards the end of their careers, and refreshing for our team and supporters."

The dramatic change that has swept the Crows has not been confined to team placements, with Craig highlighting that the club has experienced its biggest shake-up in its history, with 14 new players on its list.

Adelaide's changes extend to its ruck set-up with Jonathon Griffin the most experienced ruckman with just 16 AFL games, supported by Ivan Maric, Brad Moran, and Kurt Tippett. At this stage, Craig has yet to finalise his ruck set-up for round one.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2008/02/27/1203788442859.html