Round 1 2008: Dogs v Crows - match-ups and tactics

[Dry Rot]

After almost 6 months, the waiting is over and we're back in action against our old foes the Crows in the season opener next Sunday.

While we've been patchy in the NAB Cup and practice games, the Crows have been pretty impressive - seem to be playing a far more open running game, and doing it well.

Also IIRC the Crows are in good nick with injuries. We are not, with a number of expected selections in doubt or out.

What will be the tactics of Eade and Craig?

Will Fantasia have some good inside for us? Ditto the Crows on Welsh and Hudson? Expecting some biff?

What are your expected match-ups?

[hujsh]

Bock will be very interesting. He could be thrown forward to stretch our defence of back get in the way of our midgets. If Cam Wight were playing i would suggest he take Bockout of the action while Minson keeps Rutten at FB giving Johnson, Welsh and Murph space to lead

[Go_Dogs]

Going to be an interesting game. It'll be interesting to see who plays through the Crows midfield and if they continue to go with the younger blokes and play Edwards/Goodwin/McLeod forward. I personally think we'll find McLeod in the back half being the general, and Edwards and Goodwin to have greater runs through the middle than they have thus far this year.

Burton and Tippett will be the forwards that I'm worried about, as I think both are pretty difficult match ups for us. Our backline is going to be really stretched and Tippett is very strong at the ball - if he's playing well early Lake may have to go to him instead of being on McGregor.

[LostDoggy]

BRING IT ON

4 day working week with drinking & footy on thursday night i cannot wait

its going to be a massive weekend and i cant wait to sit there on easter sunday watching the doggies commence 2008..and it's a must win, we should do it for johnno who has given the club so much :D

[Scorlibo]

Craig will try to abuse our lack of back line height which means that McGreggor will play predominantly forward, Tippet will probably play and Sellar is a possibility as well. I actually see Tippet and Sellar playing being a plus for us, even though they played well in the pre season they are greatly inexperienced and with any luck won't cause too much trouble meaning that we may be able to hurt them on the rebound. If Nick Gill plays it would be a different story, he is far more dangerous and we would not have the same attacking freedom we would with Tippet and Sellar.

Burton is the other one who will be tricky if his pre season is anything to go by, but Heggars and Dale should have the aerobic ability to go with him - Morris for mine while Heggars plays a more rebounding role up the ground.

The midfield is where we can grab the ascendancy. Whats that Adelaide? You gave us your first ruck option? Now that wasn't very smart was it. Hudson will give us an edge in the ruck and if Goodwin and Edwards play more of a role in the forward line then their only experienced campaigner left is Thompson. Without Goodwin and Edwards in there they don't have the shut down options in the midfield, meaning that Cooney, Cross and Boyd will really have a chance to step up.

[LostDoggy]

Our midfield will have to step up and stop the ball going down into the defensive 50. I we can get it into our forward line enough we have a chance, but I am not putting the house on a win by the doggies.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Their game style has troubled us like few others in recent times. We seem to have no ability to set the game up off half back against them, they zone off on the midfield and we just seem to end up kicking it to them for uncontested marks, and then they load up on a fast break style attack.

With Hudson we will be hoping to get more drive out of the centre square and generate more of our attack from there - we are all hoping that this will be part of the Hudson related improvement in season 08.

[Go_Dogs]

Moran has gone down with an injury yesterday at a trial game. Now the Crows are left with only Griffen and Maric to lead the ruck. I hadn't been convinced that Moran was going to play, but it certainly puts extra pressure on the other 2 young guys to really have to do well.

[bornadog]

Moran has gone down with an injury yesterday at a trial game. Now the Crows are left with only Griffen and Maric to lead the ruck. I hadn't been convinced that Moran was going to play, but it certainly puts extra pressure on the other 2 young guys to really have to do well.

The ruck is one area which we should dominate in this game and this will give our midfielders a big advatange. The backline of course is the interesting one and if Lake is out, its going to make it harder. Last year Lake was out suspended for the first two games, the second one was against Adelaide and we really missed him. Bock was hard to match up on and I am pretty sure Welsh and Mcgregor didn't play, however, they still beat us. I would think Doogs would be on McGregor however, I don't really know much about the Adelaide forward line, other than comments made by Craig that Goodwin and McClead will play up forward and I suppose burton will be there are as well. Burton will also be hard to match up on, maybe Morris would have to take him or Bock and Hargrave the other.

[bornadog]

BRING IT ON

4 day working week with drinking & footy on thursday night i cannot wait

its going to be a massive weekend and i cant wait to sit there on easter sunday watching the doggies commence 2008..and it's a must win, we should do it for johnno who has given the club so much :D

I don't miss many matches through the year, but unfortunatelty I will this week as my daughter is competing in the National U16 Kayak championships at Penrith.

[The Coon Dog]

I don't miss many matches through the year, but unfortunatelty I will this week as my daughter is competing in the National U16 Kayak championships at Penrith.
Good luck for your daughter bornadog, hope she does well, let us know how it all went when you get back.

[bornadog]

Good luck for your daughter bornadog, hope she does well, let us know how it all went when you get back.

Thanks TCD, she is just 14 and competing against older girls, so not expecting alot, but proud of her for competiting.

I will hopefully get progressive scores and I am expecting a win against Adelaide.

[Rocket Science]

Their mop-up and run out of defence through McLeod, Johncock and co. always gives us grief, and unless we go forward in reasonably measured fashion Ã*t'll be deja vu on that front...doubly so if our forwards aren't accountable for their opponents on the rebound.

[BulldogBelle]

Their mop-up and run out of defence through McLeod, Johncock and co. always gives us grief.

Very true, let's hope it will be a different scenario next Sunday...our guys have to be switched on from the get go.

[westdog54]

We have to put ridiculous amounts of pressure on their midfield, and shut down their run out of defence. If the two midfields break even I can see our defence getting smashed if they go tall.

We've got to get first use, and we've got to shut down their midfield coming back.

[BulldogBelle]

If the two midfields break even I can see our defence getting smashed if they go tall.

Not if we put up a cyclone fence in our defensive areas. ;)



We've got to get first use, and we've got to shut down their midfield coming back.

Yep, that is very important we just have to get to the ball first in every contest and put the pressure on them straight off. I am getting nervous thinking about it.

[Mantis]

We have to put ridiculous amounts of pressure on their midfield, and shut down their run out of defence. If the two midfields break even I can see our defence getting smashed if they go tall.

We've got to get first use, and we've got to shut down their midfield coming back.

For me this is one of the more intriguing points to offer for the coming season. Can our sometimes 'selfish' midfield learn to play more defensive roles. If we can't I think we will be in for a long year, but hope that quite a few of our players have learnt over the pre-season what roles they need to play for our team to become successful.

Oh well less than a week til we start finding out.

[LostDoggy]

For me this is one of the more intriguing points to offer for the coming season. Can our sometimes 'selfish' midfield learn to play more defensive roles. If we can't I think we will be in for a long year, but hope that quite a few of our players have learnt over the pre-season what roles they need to play for our team to become successful.

Oh well less than a week til we start finding out.

I tend to agree with your thoughts Mantis.

We have had trouble with their "wall" across our half forward line when we play the free wheeling style of the last couple of seasons
If we are going to play more accountable and pressure type football, the game shouldnt go the way it has in recent history.
Not saying we will definately win, but it will be interesting......

[Mofra]

Their mop-up and run out of defence through McLeod, Johncock and co. always gives us grief
McLeod may be playing forward, could sneak under the guard & kick a few as we will be pre-occupied with stopping their talls.

If Harbrow is fit I'd have him in the side, between him & Aker our defensive pressure from the F50 should improve markedly from last year so their run out of defence should be slowed. Hill can play forward when Harbrow rests & Aker goes into the middle so we will have that little bit of crumbing magic in the F50 at all times as well.

Would like to see one of Cooney & Higgo on the ball at all times, both genuine goal-kicking midfielders and we will need goals from our midfield group to post a competitive total.
Would be prepared to have Eagle play a little loose (ie his natural game, finding space through hard running) if we could have a Cross or Boyd playing genuine run-with roles in the centre or on the opposite wing which was a feature of rotations last year.

[Mantis]

McLeod may be playing forward, could sneak under the guard & kick a few as we will be pre-occupied with stopping their talls.

If Harbrow is fit I'd have him in the side, between him & Aker our defensive pressure from the F50 should improve markedly from last year so their run out of defence should be slowed. Hill can play forward when Harbrow rests & Aker goes into the middle so we will have that little bit of crumbing magic in the F50 at all times as well.

Would like to see one of Cooney & Higgo on the ball at all times, both genuine goal-kicking midfielders and we will need goals from our midfield group to post a competitive total.
Would be prepared to have Eagle play a little loose (ie his natural game, finding space through hard running) if we could have a Cross or Boyd playing genuine run-with roles in the centre or on the opposite wing which was a feature of rotations last year.

Yeah, but they wont.

Watch for Adelaide to man up pretty tightly on Eagleton and force him to kick on his non-preferred side. They do it extremely well.

[Ozza]

I, like a few others - am unfortunately missing the game. Booked a trip up to see friends in Wollongong and Sydney a while ago and didn't even think that I'd be missing Johnno's 300th. Shattered. Hopefully I can find it televised somewhere.

I think last year (round 2) they really closed down the space and stopped our run. If we can get it out of the middle it will make a huge difference as we didn't do that well last year. Hudson being on our side will help.

I'm not too worried about their tall forwards. If we use the ball well enough - and pressure their ball carriers enough- we'll win. Shutting down McLeod is paramount too.

[bornadog]

McLeod may be playing forward, could sneak under the guard & kick a few as we will be pre-occupied with stopping their talls.

If Harbrow is fit I'd have him in the side, between him & Aker our defensive pressure from the F50 should improve markedly from last year so their run out of defence should be slowed. Hill can play forward when Harbrow rests & Aker goes into the middle so we will have that little bit of crumbing magic in the F50 at all times as well.

Would like to see one of Cooney & Higgo on the ball at all times, both genuine goal-kicking midfielders and we will need goals from our midfield group to post a competitive total.
Would be prepared to have Eagle play a little loose (ie his natural game, finding space through hard running) if we could have a Cross or Boyd playing genuine run-with roles in the centre or on the opposite wing which was a feature of rotations last year.

I don't believe Harbrow will play, however, I am expecting Hill to play.

[dog town]

Looking forward to seeing how Rocket goes about this. It is unusual for a certain style of side to have such a grip over a side Eade coaches. When he was at Sydney he changed his style of play almost weekly to counter the opposition. With us he has been more circumspect and only changed things dramatically a couple of times.

On the other side of the coin Craig will be playing a few guessing games. He knows how to counter our usual style but we did play a slightly more direct type of game in the NAB cup and this will keep him guessing. Generally speaking the crows plan would be to push their half forwards into the midfield and block up any sort of space. They pretty much make a wall across the centre and make you either kick over them which denies you the penetration of a run and carry type game or they make you try and run through them which just plays into their hands unless you do it brilliantly. We have tried both and failed miserably at both on different occasions. If you try and run and draw your way through them then you can get murdered on the turnover as the crows score most of their goals running back into a vacant forward 50 after strangling an opposition rebound. I think we will go for a bit of a mixture but the way we played during the NAB cup would indicate we are going to play more of a kicking game at times this season.

As others have said the crows will almost certainly go tall deep inside 50. Mcgregor is a work horse with a huge appetite for presenting at the footy. I think we would be better off playing Harris deep on one of the younger players like a Sellar or Tippet and allowing him to still be an attacking option. Expect some of the crows older gun midfielders to play forward as well as they have done this all pre season.

For us Griffen and Gilbee are the absolute keys. You just have to be able to penetrate through that midfield strangle hold that they like to employ and these two are the most likely to do it. Guys like Cross and Eagleton who can gut run and get an overlap or link up will also be important. Murphy and Johnson willl be massively important and will probably find themselves pushing a long way up at times.

[LostDoggy]

Their bad news = our good news
http://news.theage.com.au/crows-knights-out-of-bulldogs-clash/20080317-1zy4.html

[The Underdog]

I, like a few others - am unfortunately missing the game. Booked a trip up to see friends in Wollongong and Sydney a while ago and didn't even think that I'd be missing Johnno's 300th. Shattered. Hopefully I can find it televised somewhere.

I think last year (round 2) they really closed down the space and stopped our run. If we can get it out of the middle it will make a huge difference as we didn't do that well last year. Hudson being on our side will help.

I'm not too worried about their tall forwards. If we use the ball well enough - and pressure their ball carriers enough- we'll win. Shutting down McLeod is paramount too.

I'm having 4 wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Some of the local "medical staff" reckon I won't get up for round one, but I'll be there. Wouldn't miss Johnno's 300th. I may have to go without beer, but I should have some medication to make up for it, and hey if it all goes bad I can just take a little more and go into that painless place where I'll be oblivious to the score:).

On a serious note we should have it all over them in the ruck, and as long as Lake plays I'm not too concerned about them playing a tall forward line. It's really going to come down to our workrate. I can't see them changing the way they played against us from last year so we should be prepared for what they wil throw at us. We have to be intelligent about how we use the ball going into our forward line, and patient coming out of the backline. Just lobbing it to 10 Crows players sitting along half back won't work.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Sunday is my birthday so my wife arranged for all of my family to come around for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

I told her I won't be there.

[The Underdog]

Sunday is my birthday so my wife arranged for all of my family to come around for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

I told her I won't be there.

Guess you won't be hanging out for your present then?

[GVGjr]

Sunday is my birthday so my wife arranged for all of my family to come around for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

I told her I won't be there.

How did that go over? :D

[Mantis]

On a serious note we should have it all over them in the ruck, and as long as Lake plays I'm not too concerned about them playing a tall forward line. It's really going to come down to our workrate. I can't see them changing the way they played against us from last year so we should be prepared for what they wil throw at us. We have to be intelligent about how we use the ball going into our forward line, and patient coming out of the backline. Just lobbing it to 10 Crows players sitting along half back won't work.

The bolded parts have me worried.

Will we work hard enough when the opposition have the ball?

Do we have enough intelligent players?

[The Underdog]

The bolded parts have me worried.

Will we work hard enough when the opposition have the ball?

Do we have enough intelligent players?

Going on our efforts last year, no, but hopefully better structure in the forward line and more options will help. You would hope they've done some work on this in the off-season.
Workrate is something that we've been inconsistent with. Supposedly our off-season was brilliant and most of the mids are super fit:rolleyes:. We'll find out how bad they want it pretty soon I guess. They've got some making up to do.

[Sockeye Salmon]

How did that go over? :D

She knows the rules.

15 years ago I told her if she made any arrangements that clashed with a Bulldogs game I wouldn't front. She tried it on a couple of times, I didn't front and she got embarassed. Now she carries a fixture in her purse.

I think the plan is for it to be a late afternoon egg hunt and an early dinner after the footy.

See, to make a marriage work you just have to compromise. :D

[westdog54]

I, like a few others - am unfortunately missing the game. Booked a trip up to see friends in Wollongong and Sydney a while ago and didn't even think that I'd be missing Johnno's 300th. Shattered. Hopefully I can find it televised somewhere.

I think last year (round 2) they really closed down the space and stopped our run. If we can get it out of the middle it will make a huge difference as we didn't do that well last year. Hudson being on our side will help.

I'm not too worried about their tall forwards. If we use the ball well enough - and pressure their ball carriers enough- we'll win. Shutting down McLeod is paramount too.

I will be working unfortunately, but will have the radio on at work as the shop will be closed, won't miss a thing.

[The Underdog]

I will be working unfortunately, but will have the radio on at work as the shop will be closed, won't miss a thing.

Unless Rex hunt's calling in which case you'll miss everything.

[aker39]

Unless Rex hunt's calling in which case you'll miss everything.



LOL

But he's safe, we are on SEN and MMM

[The Underdog]

LOL

But he's safe, we are on SEN and MMM

Guess I'll have to listen to Saturday arvo's game to get my Gerard Whateley fix.

[Mantis]

Alright you radio tosser's back to the footy.

Goodwin, Burton and McLeod all go forward at the first bounce. Who goes to them?

[aker39]

Alright you radio tosser's back to the footy.

Goodwin, Burton and McLeod all go forward at the first bounce. Who goes to them?

Boyd, Hargrave, Morris

[Mofra]

Alright you radio tosser's back to the footy.

Goodwin, Burton and McLeod all go forward at the first bounce. Who goes to them?

That depends if Porplyzia is forward or centre -I'd guess centre because in this scenario you'd expect K-Mac, Tippett & Seller to play forward (I'm expecting Bock to go forward as well, but I'll leave him out to match-up on Minson at this stage leaving Rutten on Johnno & Bassett on Welsh).

So we'd have Doogs on K-Mac (mobilty issues for Lake) Lake on Tippett as FB, Hargrave on Seller, and Morris on Burton (need someone with good concentration, as Burton can do nothing for 99% of the game and then kick 3 quick ones).

I'd have Gilbs & Griff on the last two - Goodwin & McLeod are genuine play makers & we need to have good, attacking players on them to keep the Crows accountable. This will allow both Hargrave & Lake to provide re-bound in the likely event that the Crows stifle the rebound from Gilbs & Griff.

Plan B (in the event Mcleod goes nuts) will be Murphy playing back (preferably on Seller, he can be our re-bound player), switch Hargrave to Burton & put Morris (pull the trigger!) on McLeod, Gilbee to Goodwin (or Porplyzia as the case may be) and Griff can have a run through the middle as part of our midfield rotation.

I'm hesitant to put Tiller back as Porplyzia is the only real match-up I can see for him there, perhaps some time on Burton however Burton may lose him in traffic too easily.

[Mantis]

A lot depends upon if Lake and Wight/ Tiller play, but my 1st prefernce would be.

McLeod - Morris - Crows most important player so demands our best stopper. I wouldn't be upset if Morris followed McLeod everywhere.

Burton - Griffen - athletic enough and may hurt him on the rebound.

Goodwin - Hargrave - I think we need to play Shaggy on shorter opponents this year.

[The Underdog]

A lot depends upon if Lake and Wight/ Tiller play, but my 1st prefernce would be.

McLeod - Morris - Crows most important player so demands our best stopper. I wouldn't be upset if Morris followed McLeod everywhere.

Burton - Griffen - athletic enough and may hurt him on the rebound.

Goodwin - Hargrave - I think we need to play Shaggy on shorter opponents this year.

I was going to say the same 3 but with Griff and Shaggy swapped. Burton's height won't be a huge issue for Shaggy and I think Burton might be a bit too wiley and strong in the air for Griff, which Goodwin may be too but I think he has a better chance of going with him.

[Mantis]

I was going to say the same 3 but with Griff and Shaggy swapped. Burton's height won't be a huge issue for Shaggy and I think Burton might be a bit too wiley and strong in the air for Griff, which Goodwin may be too but I think he has a better chance of going with him.

Griffen is deceptively strong over head, especially spoiling. Hargrave tends to give away free kicks to players he feels inferior to either in the air or in size so I would prefer him stay away from 'dangerous' forwards.

[Go_Dogs]

Griffen is deceptively strong over head, especially spoiling. Hargrave tends to give away free kicks to players he feels inferior to either in the air or in size so I would prefer him stay away from 'dangerous' forwards.

I tend to agree, and also I'd say Goodwin will have better defensive efforts than Burton as a general rule, therefore if Griff goes to Burton, the Crows will have to be very wary that he doesn't run off and hurt them going the other way.

[aker39]

Griffen is deceptively strong over head, especially spoiling. Hargrave tends to give away free kicks to players he feels inferior to either in the air or in size so I would prefer him stay away from 'dangerous' forwards.

I dont know the stats, but I'd reckon that Shaggy gives more free kicks away than anyone else in our team.

[LostDoggy]

Sunday is my birthday so my wife arranged for all of my family to come around for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

I told her I won't be there.

:)
Sounds like you'll get a divorce for a present.

[Mantis]

I dont know the stats, but I'd reckon that Shaggy gives more free kicks away than anyone else in our team.

He does.

There was a thread on BF recently that proved it. He is something like -50 for and against over the past 3 years. For a guy who spends most of his time inside the opposition F50 it doesn't read to well.

[Sockeye Salmon]

:)
Sounds like you'll get a divorce for a present.

Finally. She's been promising me one of those for ages!

Can I get the model where I don't have to give her the house and most of my pay every week?

[aker39]

Finally. She's been promising me one of those for ages!

Can I get the model where I don't have to give her the house and most of my pay every week?

And you keep the kid that barracks for the dogs

[LostDoggy]

Finally. She's been promising me one of those for ages!

Can I get the model where I don't have to give her the house and most of my pay every week?

We could party every night of the week like me and twodogs do.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I think McGregor, Tippett, Stevens and Burton will play forward. If they're joined by Goodwin and McLeod, I'd go with:

McGregor - Mcdougall
Tippett - Lake
Stevens - Hargrave
Burton - Griffen
McLeod - Morris
Goodwin - Boyd

That would leave Gilbee as our 7th defender. There is no chance they'll let him stay loose so I'd imagine either Porplyzia would go to him or one of the others (Burton?) would try to force a 2-on-1.

Shaggy is playing above his height again but I'm not that scared of Stevens hurting us. Shaggy should be able to work off him as well.

Griffen will be giving away a bit of height to Burton but if Burton stands on his head, c'est le vie.

[Mantis]

I think McGregor, Tippett, Stevens and Burton will play forward. If they're joined by Goodwin and McLeod, I'd go with:

McGregor - Mcdougall
Tippett - Lake
Stevens - Hargrave
Burton - Griffen
McLeod - Morris
Goodwin - Boyd

That would leave Gilbee as our 7th defender. There is no chance they'll let him stay loose so I'd imagine either Porplyzia would go to him or one of the others (Burton?) would try to force a 2-on-1.

Shaggy is playing above his height again but I'm not that scared of Stevens hurting us. Shaggy should be able to work off him as well.

Griffen will be giving away a bit of height to Burton but if Burton stands on his head, c'est le vie.

Sounds pretty good, except:

Burton - 185cm - 83kg
Griffen - 188cm - 86 kg

[aker39]

Sounds pretty good, except:

Burton - 185cm - 83kg
Griffen - 188cm - 86 kg


I know that's what the bio's say, but I find it hard to believe that Burton is only 185cm.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I know that's what the bio's say, but I find it hard to believe that Burton is only 185cm.

I'd never have thought that either. I'd have guessed 190-191.

[LostDoggy]

I'd never have thought that either. I'd have guessed 190-191.


You've included the length of his nose

[westdog54]

I'd never have thought that either. I'd have guessed 190-191.

Considering he's generally standing on some poor sod's shoulders its an easy mistake to make.

[Go_Dogs]

I think McGregor, Tippett, Stevens and Burton will play forward. If they're joined by Goodwin and McLeod, I'd go with:

McGregor - Mcdougall
Tippett - Lake
Stevens - Hargrave
Burton - Griffen
McLeod - Morris
Goodwin - Boyd

That would leave Gilbee as our 7th defender. There is no chance they'll let him stay loose so I'd imagine either Porplyzia would go to him or one of the others (Burton?) would try to force a 2-on-1.

Shaggy is playing above his height again but I'm not that scared of Stevens hurting us. Shaggy should be able to work off him as well.

Griffen will be giving away a bit of height to Burton but if Burton stands on his head, c'est le vie.

I'd be pretty surprised if Stevens went forward. If I were the Crows, I would certainly be leaning more towards Bock than Stevens. Stevens has come a long way over the last few years from being very much a joke to being quite a serviceable player, but up forward he gets lost easily and doesn't offer much other than helping to stretch our backline. Bock on the other hand is quicker, stronger on the lead and better at ground level. If he plays forward, we'll struggle.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I'd be pretty surprised if Stevens went forward. If I were the Crows, I would certainly be leaning more towards Bock than Stevens. Stevens has come a long way over the last few years from being very much a joke to being quite a serviceable player, but up forward he gets lost easily and doesn't offer much other than helping to stretch our backline. Bock on the other hand is quicker, stronger on the lead and better at ground level. If he plays forward, we'll struggle.

Bock is a much better player than Stevens, I agree, but there's not really a suitable matchup for him (Stevens) in our forward line.

Bock is mobile enough to go with Murphy (maybe), if Stevens tried he would never be within 10 metres of him.

Rutten will take Minson and Craig will have to decide on whether Bassett takes Welsh or Johnson (I think he'll get Welsh) with perhaps Massie getting Johnson.

[Go_Dogs]

If I were Craig, I'd have Rutten on Minson, for sure. Bassett on Welsh, agreed. I'd play Johncock on Johnno though - make him work hard going backwards. Johncock will be out marked in a one on one v Johnno, but when is Johnno and his opponent in a one on one contest? Not very often. Johncock would expose Johnson going to other way, and could really hurt us. That would leave Massie to go to Murph, which I think could be a reasonable duel as well. Stevens could play loose man, drop into the hole and fill gaps at either end, etc. I'm not sure Bock would be a good match up for Murph, but perhaps Craig will go that way.

[Sockeye Salmon]

If I were Craig, I'd have Rutten on Minson, for sure. Bassett on Welsh, agreed. I'd play Johncock on Johnno though - make him work hard going backwards. Johncock will be out marked in a one on one v Johnno, but when is Johnno and his opponent in a one on one contest? Not very often. Johncock would expose Johnson going to other way, and could really hurt us. That would leave Massie to go to Murph, which I think could be a reasonable duel as well. Stevens could play loose man, drop into the hole and fill gaps at either end, etc. I'm not sure Bock would be a good match up for Murph, but perhaps Craig will go that way.

Play Johncock on Johnson and Johnno will go straight to the goal line and Minson and Welsh will be standing on the boundary line 50 metres out.

[Go_Dogs]

Play Johncock on Johnson and Johnno will go straight to the goal line and Minson and Welsh will be standing on the boundary line 50 metres out.

Then the Crows will have numbers back, create the contest, run the ball out with numbers and Johncock will be generating a whole heap of run on the way forwards without any pressure from Johnno. I just don't think we'll see too many contests where Johnno is actually one out with his man, especially against the Crows, unless our ball movement has improved dramatically over the off season...which is yet to be seen.

[mjp]

Is prayer a tactic?

[Mantis]

Is prayer a tactic?

Hope is. Well I hope it is.

[westdog54]

Is prayer a tactic?

Can't remember if it was Gerard Healy or Paul Couch, but church before a Sunday game was an unmissable part of the routine.

[Rocket Science]

CH 10 news just listed Welsh, Hudson and Stack as our Round One 'Ã*ns'.

Surely 'Stack' should have read: 'Hill' ?

[hujsh]

CH 10 news just listed Welsh, Hudson and Stack as our Round One 'Ã*ns'.

Surely 'Stack' should have read: 'Hill' ?

wAS ON THE FOOTY SHOW AS WELL (soz caps)

[Rocket Science]

missed the Moron Show.

hmmm, not discounting Rocket's gamesmanship, must be legit.

Stack eh?...fancy that...unless he's picked up a niggle, Hill would be justifiably miffed.

[LostDoggy]

Stack AND Hill are both in the team. Tim Callan and Andrew Mac have not been picked.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Stack has shown absolutely nothing so far. Very surprised.

Now when Adelaide throw another big guy forward what are we going to do about it? I'm astonished Mcdougall's not playing.

Lake is our only defender over 190cm. In fact he is the only player in the side over 190 bar the three ruckmen.

We will get smashed.




Edit: Just found out Wight was selected (thought he had a hammy) and Tiller has been named on the extended bench but I don't think he'll play.

[LostDoggy]

I've heard a number of people speak about the deficancies in our backline and our midfield pressure when the ball is coming out of the oppostions half back.

My biggest fear is our half forward line. We simply don't have one.....

Whenever we struggle to play our pin point passing game, we have no focal point at half forward to create a contest, hence we consistantly turn it over on the half forward line.

It's been a problem for such a long time, our half forward line is like a trampoline and we need to get that part of the ground sorted.

Murphy is not a CHF nor is Hahn...

Time and time again we storm out from half back looking good and we just have no one to kick to.... Murphy leads up the ground to get the ball and then all is left is our mosquito fleet up forward.

We need to get our half forward line sorted and our backline will take care of itself.

[Go_Dogs]

Wow, I'd be very surprised if McDougall didn't play. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Stack has shown absolutely nothing so far. Very surprised.



Stack's only selected on an extended bench - no chance of playing for my money

Hills been very promising, still has significant room for improvement but as a rangy wingman type covers good ground and seems to get shots on goal

[mjp]

Stack's only selected on an extended bench - no chance of playing for my money

Hills been very promising, still has significant room for improvement but as a rangy wingman type covers good ground and seems to get shots on goal

I played a lot of footy against Hilly's old man. Only just found this out. I feel very old.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I played a lot of footy against Hilly's old man. Only just found this out. I feel very old.

We all have to face this eventually mjp, whether we like it or not, time marches on

Was his old man a similar build and type of player?

[mjp]

We all have to face this eventually mjp, whether we like it or not, time marches on

Was his old man a similar build and type of player?

Fast moving wingman/half-forward. Very skilful. He actually had a similar footy career to me - a few WAFL games at a couple of clubs and nearly a decade playing in the same suburban league thereafter.

I must have played on him 20 times or more at both levels.

[Mofra]

Interesting that Maric has been named as an emergency for the Crows, that leaves Griffen to do the bulk of the ruckwork, who was barely no 2 last year to Hudson.

That also means Tippett (who I believe also played a forward and ruck at SANFL level) may have to relieve Griffen for 4-5 minutes a quarter unless the Crows throw someone like Bock into the centre.

Will this make Eade's decision to "go short" a masterstroke?

I assume Addison will be a midfield tagging option?

[LostDoggy]

Just wanted to let everyone know, if you see anyone selling scratchies at the ground, buy one if you can. Half the $$$ goes to the cheersquad and half goes to the club, ONLY FOR THIS WEEK. Every other week half the $$$ goes to the backpackers or whoever theyare that sells the tickets and half goes to the club.

This week only all the money goes to the club(half directly to the club and half to the cheersquad.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Fast moving wingman/half-forward. Very skilful. He actually had a similar footy career to me - a few WAFL games at a couple of clubs and nearly a decade playing in the same suburban league thereafter.

I must have played on him 20 times or more at both levels.

20 times is quite a few games against him, sounds like you both had long careers

Sounds similar to his boy - 20 times, sounds like you both had long careers

[Bulldog Revolution]

Interesting that Maric has been named as an emergency for the Crows, that leaves Griffen to do the bulk of the ruckwork, who was barely no 2 last year to Hudson.

That also means Tippett (who I believe also played a forward and ruck at SANFL level) may have to relieve Griffen for 4-5 minutes a quarter unless the Crows throw someone like Bock into the centre.


I think you are selling Griffin short here, from what I saw last year he is a terrific ruck prospect, and Tippett has obviously had some good form in the pre season

[Mofra]

I think you are selling Griffin short here, from what I saw last year he is a terrific ruck prospect, and Tippett has obviously had some good form in the pre season
Not at all - Griffen was in my DT last year, and close to emergency this year.

He may be quick around the ground, but should still be out-muscled at the bounces - this should help our clearance rate which has been poor against Adelaide in the past few seasons.

[Go_Dogs]

I agree that we hold the advantage in the ruck. However both Tippett and Griffin can go forward and stick a mark - something that our rucks will have to be mindful of today. Let's hope Hudson can really get on top early and put some pressure on the young Crows rucks and midfielders.