Crows 2016

[JK]

Benny where do you see Luke Brown as being at?

[bennymacca]

Does a pretty good job as a lockdown defender, but needs to improve the attacking side of his game and start to hurt the opposition on the rebound. With laird smith and jaensch he probably doesn't need to that often, but at least making your opponent accountable when we have the ball would be good.

Has a place in our best 22 though, none of our other small defenders are suited to locking down

[Booney]

Here is my first crack at our best 22. I also want to break down each area to have a look at that, ill do that soon

List Changes
In: Gore, Seedsman, Hampton, Menzel, Milera, Doedee, Keath (R), Greenwood (R), Hunter (R), Beech (R)
Out: Dangerfield, Kerridge, Wright, Podsiadly, Reilly, Siggins, Martin, Osborne, Wilson

F Betts Jenkins Cameron
HF Lynch Walker Knight
C Seedsman , M Crouch, Douglas
HB Smith Lever Laird
B Cheney Talia Brown
R Jacobs B Crouch Sloane
I Thompson Henderson Jaensch Ellis-Yolman
Emg From: Hampton Menzel Grigg Atkins Lyons Van Berlo MacKay Wigg Hartigan

That midfield does look like it's lacking some real pace. I reakon Smith will be in midfield rotations more than half back this year.

M Crouch, Douglas, Thompson are all plodders. You'll need to find a lot more run outside to make the most of the potent forward half.

[PatowalongaPirate]

Here is my first crack at our best 22. I also want to break down each area to have a look at that, ill do that soon

List Changes
In: Gore, Seedsman, Hampton, Menzel, Milera, Doedee, Keath (R), Greenwood (R), Hunter (R), Beech (R)
Out: Dangerfield, Kerridge, Wright, Podsiadly, Reilly, Siggins, Martin, Osborne, Wilson

F Betts Jenkins Cameron
HF Lynch Walker Knight
C Seedsman , M Crouch, Douglas
HB Smith Lever Laird
B Cheney Talia Brown
R Jacobs B Crouch Sloane
I Thompson Henderson Jaensch Ellis-Yolman
Emg From: Hampton Menzel Grigg Atkins Lyons Van Berlo MacKay Wigg Hartigan

That midfield does look like it's lacking some real pace. I reakon Smith will be in midfield rotations more than half back this year.

M Crouch, Douglas, Thompson are all plodders. You'll need to find a lot more run outside to make the most of the potent forward half.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Laird get rotated through the midfield a bit this season.

[bennymacca]

Yeah with Hampton and Seedsman coming in I also agree that laird might push into the mids. More than smith.

[Booney]

I think Laird has shown he reads the play in the back half too well to be moved up the ground. Smith is an outside ball user, not a intercept marking small defender.

[bennymacca]

Midfield

Ranked 12th Overall

Elite - Rory Sloane
Above Average - Douglas, B Crouch
Average - Thompson, Ellis-Yolman
Below Average - Van Berlo, MacKay, Seedsman, M Crouch, Grigg, Lyons
? - Atkins, Gore

Last year our midfield functioned really well. We were 3rd in Contested possessions, 3rd in Clearances, 2nd in Ground ball differential, and despite a kick rating of 11th in the comp, our ball movement in the defensive midfield and centre of the ground was 3rd best in the comp. Those are good numbers by anyone’s standards. The change this year is blindingly obvious - no Dangerfield. Taking one of the best midfielders in the comp out of any team is going to hurt, but I think it will hurt the crows more than some other teams. And it just isn’t his midfield drive, it is his ability to go forward and kick goals, and just generally give the team something out of the box and give us a lift, something that no other player on our list, or to be fair any player in the competition, could do.

Looking at players who champion data have rated Average or above, it looks VERY suspect. We will be relying heavily on the improvement of players like Seedsman, M Crouch, Grigg, and Lyons - they not only have to become regular AFL players, they need to start putting their stamp on the game in their own right. Sloane is going to get sat on every game now, and with the exception of a fit B Crouch, no other player looks capable of winning the game by themselves right at the moment.

Brodie smith is listed as a general defender but played a lot through the midfield last year too - he is one that gives us a point of difference, his penetration, ranking first in the AFL for metres gained last year. Whether he is forced to play higher up the ground will depend on the improvement of the previously mentioned players.

If you look at the midfields of the teams around us from last year - Richmond (13), Bulldogs (4th), North Melbourne(14th), Port Adelaide (7th), Geelong (3rd), GWS (9th), Collingwood (10th), we don’t compare favourably, and with the exception of maybe North Melbourne, all of those midfields I feel will improve.

That doesn’t bode well for us this year, and this is the main reason I think we will struggle a bit this year.

Best Case - Brad Crouch gets fit and emerges as one of the best midfielders in the league, significantly taking at the pressure off of Sloane. Matt Crouch takes over full time in the “scott thompson” role, and really starts to influence games on his own. Gore, Grigg, Lyons, Seedsman and CEY all become regular contributors.

Worst Case - Sloane and Crouch get injured and we get smashed around the contest. Teams with big bodied midfields monster our young midfield, and Thompson has to carry the load

[MW]

Charlie Cameron has had "minor surgery" on his knee and is out for 3-4 weeks. No detail but sounds the same as Dixon. They are reckoning he is ok for rd. 1 but if Milera or Menzel do well in the NAB challenge, he won't be playing rd. 1....

[bennymacca]

Hopefully it doesnt set him back too far. We need him to be working on his tank to potentially have a few stints in the midfield

[Granty83]

Read our Preview/Prediction of the Crows Best 22 for 2016: http://fantasyfootballnuts.net/afl-crow ... -for-2016/

[bennymacca]

Read our Preview/Prediction of the Crows Best 22 for 2016: http://fantasyfootballnuts.net/afl-crow ... -for-2016/

Not a bad article, but whoever wrote it needs to proof read it, the grammar is terrible!

[bennymacca]

Bloody hell Milera looks good. A single half of a preseason game and he already looks incredibly composed and classy with ball in hand.

Very exciting for a crows fan

[Robran]

Jetta for the eagles looks interested not.1 possession to 3/4 time.

[Magellan]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

[carey]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

Tomorrow at work they'll be premiership favorites for sure.

[bennymacca]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

M crouch, milera, Atkins, gore, and to a lesser extent dear all looked good. That's about it.

[Magellan]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

M crouch, milera, Atkins, gore, and to a lesser extent dear all looked good. That's about it.

Any injuries?

[bennymacca]

I don't think so. Though I can't remember the end of the game so I am pretty sure I napped most of the last quarter

[bennymacca]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

Tomorrow at work they'll be premiership favorites for sure.

Still in the pub Carey?

[cracka]

Eagles side looks like a second string outfit. Apart from experiencing match conditions, what can the Crows take away from this game?

Tomorrow at work they'll be premiership favorites for sure.

Bullish!t. We were that after we picked up Gore In the trade with Geelong.