Round 15 – Carlton v Adelaide: Crows not a Simon but a win is a win
CARLTON 1.0 5.1 8.2 12.5 (77)
ADELAIDE 4.0 6.1 9.7 13.11 (89)
GOALS
Carlton: Gibbs 2, Casboult 2, Cuningham, Cripps, Silvagni, Kerridge, Sumner, Curnow, Wright, Thomas
Adelaide: Jenkins 3, Betts 2, Knight 2, Smith, McGovern, Sloane, Walker, Jacobs, M.Crouch
BEST
Carlton: Gibbs, Cripps, Jones, Kreuzer, Kerridge,Murphy,Curnow
Adelaide: M.Crouch, Smith, B.Crouch, Jenkins, Laird, Douglas, Lever
Umpires: Dalgleish, Harris, Pannell
Official crowd: 33,433 at the MCG
Malarkey Medal Votes
3. Matt Crouch (Ad), 2. Gibbs (Carl), 1. B. Smith (Ad)
Points from the game
1. Well the Crows finally won ugly as Paul Keating would say. It was the win we had to have. The game started like the Crows were going to blow the Blues away. Carlton turned the game into a defensive scrap and to the Crows’ credit, they responded when headed in the last quarter to at least find a win.
2. The Crouch brothers. With all the attention Rory Sloane cops, Matt continues to be the quiet accumulator. His touches Saturday also hurt the opposition a bit more probably with Rory Laird the Crows most consistent players in 2017. Brad was the best story of the game, he has always showed potential but injury plagued. He has seemed to allow the media and many supporters’ utter stupidity that he was the replacement for you know who to get to him. Hopefully Saturday is a significant step forward and he can build on this. The Crows desperately need him to become a very good AFL footballer.
3. Hugh Greenwood being moved onto Patty Cripps was an important influence in the end result. He managed to quell Cripps and still get some very important touches. His basketball reflexes in close have been a revelation; a real feel good story so far.
4. Josh Jenkins, so often the frustration of all of us, finally at least showed some desperation. His tackling was a breath of fresh air; he MUST do that every game. Heaven help us he may even burst a pack going for a mark one day! To be fair easily his best and most influential game of the year.
5. Brodie Smith rebounded from an ineffective display against the Hawks. He is a vital player and while not back to his brilliant best pre concussion issues he was important in the end; another player we need to back up.
6. Kyle Hartigan is an important injury. While he, along with D Mac, is the ire of many supporters, his ability to play on talls and smalls will be missed. A lot of people don’t notice his closing speed on an opponent. It will be interesting to see how the Crows cover his loss with a number of players in Andy Otten, Alex Keath, Tom Doedee and Kyle Cheney competing for his spot. Training would be fun to watch this week.
7. An improved effort from the coaches box. Yes, while both sides had numbers behind the ball, at least the Crows didn’t allow Sam Docherty or Kade Simpson to run around like an unregistered dog like they did with Luke Hodge last week (grrr still pissed off).
While both Docherty and Simpson got plenty of the ball, they were put under a tad more pressure than Hodge. Mind you, neither seem to have have the organisation or leadership ability of Hodge so that was part of the reason they were not as noticeable.
The Crows’ plus one in Smith at times and Rory Laird were better this week as well.
8. The Connector Tom Lynch was hugely missed. We wish him a speedy recovery from viral meningitis which can be a very serious illness; at least he has the fitness base of a elite athlete to recover. Again a reminder that there are things more important than footy.
9. The game was also a brutal reminder of the step up in pace from SANFL level with unfortunately Jono Beech just not looking like he is going to make it at AFL level. We all love his story to get on an AFL list but both Beech and Wayne Milera struggled big time. Yes, Wayne had a difficult week personally but he must become more physical if he wishes to become a good AFL player.
10. Bryce Gibbs. Yes, as a Crows supporter it is hard watching him dominate and while there is a feeling of what if he was wearing a Crows jumper, it must be remembered at first Carlton’s demands were ridiculous we would have been selling the whole bloody farm to get him. The AFL did a backflip on another trade allowing it to go through. The domino effect in the last few minutes of trade week cost us Gibbs; without that backflip we all may we’ll have been hailing Justin Reid as the master negotiator.
11. From a Carlton perspective, Liam Jones has been remarkable – it is a bigger comeback than Lazarus to go from the footy scrap heap to one of the inform defenders in the game has been remarkable and a tribute to his resilience and self belief.
12. Matty Kreuzer won the battle in ruck against Sam Jacobs he has had his most consistent year obviously avoiding serious injuries a huge part he must be a huge chance re. All-Australian.
13. Charlie Curnow has huge potential. His battle against Jake Lever was enthralling; they are two names who are going to light up the game for years to come. (desperately hope Lever is doing it in a Crows jumper).
Other thoughts
14. The player you have to admire most is Alex Rance. It emerged after the game that he had been kidnapped by Troy Chaplin and Chaplin had played the first half wearing a Rance mask he escaped the police were called and Chaplin was arrested. (not a bad Chaplin sledge if I say so myself).
15. What an amazing open season. The flag is still well and truly the dream of many clubs and wasn’t it upsetting seeing Port fall away again heh heh.
A huge Friday night game against the reigning premiers who are on the canvas. Can the Crows lift and deliver the knockout punch?
Rule – how did Sam Kerridge go? I thought he played a great game for a “not-wanted player”?
Citrus.
PS. Jarryd Lyons played a ripper for the Suns by the way.
Citrus.
Rulebook, in a side with a lot of great kids I reckon Curnow might emerge to be the best of the lot of ’em.
Nice summary. Although don’t really agree with the DMac and Hartigan part, but that’s my opinion. Interested to understand what the backflip was in trade week? I thought Gibbs was ok on the weekend but definitely not dominant and the price Carlton wanted was ridiculous and would have been upset if we gave that up. Although I was critical of Reid during the trade period I now give him credit for telling Sos to go jump. #weflyasone
While we clearly need another established midfielder, I still agree with the decision not to hand over 2 first rounders for Gibbs. The price was just too high (particularly with some big names up for free agency at the end of this season).
Chaplin is doing great things in the Melb coaching box I believe. Surely its time to get Thommo back for some grunt in the back half of the season.
good comments…i liked the efforts of JJ its not that easy for a guy his size to lay 13 tackles so his work rate was superb..easily our best tall against Carlton, but to my dismay he still got slagged of by some on the forums,are these people really crow supporters?..FFS i dont like every crow player d-mac, hartigan in particular but once they put that crows guernsey on i am supporting them 100% and will willingly praise them if they play well.Nice to see the crouch boys stepping up and realising their potential, should be good midfield next yr with Rocky in there plus some more improvement from our young mids…enjoyed your comments on port,its always good to see them lose.
Shhh don`t talk about Matt Crouch while the other teams haven`t noticed him, let them continue to tag Rory because we know we have another who will win for us!
It wasn`t a good game to watch but it was a good win. The Crows haven`t had to tough it out much this year because when they have won its usually been by a lot. This should do them all goo.
Another great write up mate thank you.
Wow, Rulebook. Rance was outsmarted in the first half – but was he so bad as to be Chaplinesque ??
Good to see them win after losing the lead in the last quarter. In the current even comp any away win is a good win. Tom Lynch was clearly missed. Hopefully not for too long. It would be good to see Jenkins, Betts, McGovern, Walker and Lynch all in the forward line together at some stage this season.
Good observation, makes me laugh how some supporters said JJ was bad again, but he wasnt he stood up ,the same with Smith and B CrouchT hink the coaches should manage the younger ones, as long season, they could put Milera and Kelly back in SAFL for a couple of weeks ,dont want them letting us down in finals.Get well soon Tom,Hope our boys build on this win.
Only caught snippets, Rulebook. Of what I saw McGovern’s hands made a welcome return. JJ and Hartigan will never be good enough for some fans – they’ve decided they’re no good and confirmation bias will see them out. And while all the attention has been on Sloane the Crouches have been building a very impressive season. But that doesn’t fit nicely into the ‘what the Crows need to rule the world is just one gun midfielder’ narrative. Crows were quite reasonable not to pay Carlton’s asking price and Carlton were quite reasonable to ask for a lot. The idea that trades should always be made is the one I find odd. Hope to see Doedee get a game soon – the Crows are certainly building a narrative to suggest he’ll get a look in in the next couple of weeks.
G’day Malcolm another good article, this time covering a game that didn’t really live up to any great expectations.
Thought the team was doing well in the first quarter until Carlton went really defensive to minimise the bleeding.
I thought we coped ok with Carlton using the plus 1, I thought our plus 1 in either Smith or Laird were more effective. (The decision to make them more accountable seems to have been a lesson learned from last week.)
Something we didn’t cope that well with, and Melbourne did this too, was the extra 2 to 4 players coming off the back of the square at centre bounces.
A number of times Carlton won the ball in close then gave it to a runner coming through at pace, or chipped out wide to a guy on his own.
This didn’t seem to be addressed at all with our players either manning them up, or having our wingers stay wide to provide pressure should the ball get out wide being 2 options that I’d use to counter this (apart from just winning the centre clearance of course.)
The game was turned into a real scrap and when Carlton hit the front in the last quarter, with plenty of momentum, I thought we were in trouble. Fortunately we hung tough and managed to grind out the win.
(Something that seems to have been forgotten in the result is that we had 24 scoring shots to 17 and I’d we’d kicked straighter, the margin would’ve been different.)
It was great to see Shooter back on the park, he adds so much to our forward line.
Matt Crouch using the ball more effectively was good, especially hitting the scoreboard at a crucial stage. Brad getting plenty of the ball too and starting to show some good signs.
Interesting that Sloane started forward at each quarter to try and shake a tag was a sign that maybe the coaches realise that Rory needed to get some space and confidence again.
JJ played his best game for the year and finally started throwing his weight around and using his size to his advantage. Crash some packs and we’ll all be happy lol.
Not a great win but we’ll bank the 4 points and look forward to the dogs this Friday night. I expect Charlie to come in, maybe Otten and possibly Keath or Doedee. Milera looks like he needs a rest and Beech to maybe get some confidence back. Kelly may need a stint in the 2’s and maybe Seedsman comes in.
Cheers, Steve.
Sorry to sound like an echo chamber, but I find myself agreeing with all of the points in your article Rulebook. One point I can add is that I was impressive with the Crows’ attack and determination last Saturday, even if their decision making and skills sometimes is to be desired. The fact that the Crows were desperate and matched it with a young and energetic side which did beat GWS in Melbourne around a month ago is noteworthy. Their run home is a constant challenge from here, so if they do stay in the Top Four for the finals, they will have earned it. PS. Nice job with the Chaplin sledge.
big fan of hugh greenwood, and despite the criticism of josh getting joe the goose goals, nobody seems to notice the gut running he does to get back to that position
Thanks rulebook. I thought we’d miss Charlie’s run on the wide expanses, but it was much more of a man-on-man, contested battle than I expected. Credit to the Bros. Crouch for turning up the heat in the last.
It was good to see Sloane have some licence to roam this week – starting up forward, and moving all over the place. The fact that he took a trademark Sloane pack mark in our forward line, and finished the game with a fantastic spoil in the defensive goalsquare is getting close to Rory at his best.
Jenkins still had a few of his less-hard efforts, but if he brings that game consistently a few equations change. Mitch McGovern ran our of steam but started like he’d never missed a game.
Just add Cameron, Lynch, Otten and confidence (read 1 grab & straight kicking), stir for 30 minutes and you have a real contender. kiun and & Ottens
You’ve covered the bases well, Malcolm. I was particularly pleased with Jenkins’ game. He looked as if he was fully committed. Perhaps he has recovered completely from his rib injury earlier this season. DMac’s inclusion seemed to add some speed to the ball movement by the Crows. Perhaps Cameron for Milera on Friday night?
Jenkins played his best game all season
With the competition as close as it is and full of upsets any win is a good win so have to be happy with it. 12 points or 120 didn’t matter.
Crows should beat the Dogs, a team yet to win outside Melbourne this year. Might be a % boosting win as the remaining Crows home games are no certainties.
Someone loves Troy Chaplin ;) lol
Fair summary of a hugely frustrating game to watch. I’m sure my TV fears for it’s saftey when the crows play.
– DMac has great pace but surely his appalling efficiency is not acceptable in the best 22.
– Great to see JJ laying tackles.
– is Tex carrying a back injury? I’ve noticed over the last few weeks his ability with the ground ball has been well off. Sauce and JJ are cleaner and more efficient with the ground ball.
– winning ugly is preferable to losing uglier.
– on current form we are extremely lucky to be a top 4 side and I worry about the team finishing 5th and going out in straight sets.
Citrus Bob yep I should have given Kerridge a mention did a reasonable job on Sloane and kicked a huge goal I have been surprised that he hasn’t played more games this season.The Crows seemingly not wanting,Lyons was puzzling certainly should have got a higher draft pick for him than 44 he has had a great year for GC.Litza geez,Curnow looks a beauty you nee Harry McKay to come thru as well plenty to look forward to re the blue baggers.George and Ben the Afl did a backflip and approved the Hawks being able to use future draft picks this also involved,Carlton and other clubs a real domino effect the Crows had been extremely confident of getting,Gibbs in the last few minutes of the draft with out having to sell the farm.Raj considering the old line average players are destined to become good coaches,Chaplin could well be the greatest coach in footy history.Dave Jenkins was a hell of a lot better just wish he had some mongrel in him and crash some packs.Rockliff will be interesting as the Crows were not interested in him what so ever for 2017.how Port managed to lose that game after dominating was almost a achievement. thank you
Astute observations Malcolm. It bemuses me that the Crows are second, have won their last four at the MCG, and yet there’s pessimism bucketing down. In a year when any of six or eight sides could go top I don’t get it. Friday night will be gripping. I can’t believe it’ll be the first time we’ve hosted the Dogs at Adelaide Oval.
Jill Matt Crouch is the bo of the Crows the quiet achiever hopefully the win builds confidence.Smokie Rance had a stinker of a 1st half but yes it was still better than Chaplin Port fell away and stopped kicking the ball to Trengove ironically Rance 1 weakness as a defender is actually being forced to defend.
Milts Lynch is a huge out sounds like he is a fair way away from resuming ,McGovern a v imp in he has X factor agree it would be great to see that forward line.Lynda def time for Milera to go back hand see some physical development having a real crack
Steve far better re plus 1 this week ( wouldn’t have been hard ) totally agree re the 4 running thru the square it was vital against the dees agree with nearly every word except re Seedsman he needs more conditioning yet.Paul thank you re yes considering the blues recent form it probably is a win deserving slightly greater credit and yes a v c hard run home.Anne Greenwood has been a revelation I do not have a problem with JJ Jo the goose goals what so ever it is using his aerobic capacity to his and our best advantage just need him to smash some packs.Steve L agreed it did become man on man hope,Charlie is back this fri night.At least some more imagination re Sloane the run will benefit,Shooter McGovern.Chris J like your work.Martin I felt the Crows supporters wipping boy,D Mac run and carry was important.Mark agreed.Cameron I am no where near as confident as you are re this week it is a huge huge game for both clubs.Troy the gift which keeps giving.Adrian agree re Tex a back injury does not seem to be bending properly I agree our form overall is a worry as we all know how much sport is played above the ears hopefully this win is a major confidence booster.Mickey yes it is a open season whether the Crows can regain the form of the opening 6 games is the million dollar question see the forecast for the game fri night might mean it is a good old fashioned wet weather slog thanks folks
Matt Crouch has been fantastic for us, while all the attention from opposition players is on Sloane, Crouch gets to shine.
Rance definitely showed signs early in the game of becoming the Chaplin type defender every kid dreams of being!
Love your work Book.
Yep ‘Book, especially point 8.
McGovern will be cherry ripe in a week or so and is a very hard match-up. I love that Greenwood could have a quiet one but still kept going in the last.
Tex isn’t right and JJ needs to turn it on every week. Our bottom six are looking a bit shaky.
But there are no dead-set certs so we’ve got to take our chances.
My trip over better be worth it. At least I’ll get to see the SANFL History exhibition. And some fritz.
The Gibbs debate is likely to go on forever. YES, he has had his best season to date, no doubt, one of the form players of the comp this year….. BUT… there have been a few other seasons where he has been average, and sometimes below average. Now 28, he still has several good years ahead of him, but you wouldn’t sell the farm to get him across. What Adelaide DOES need to do is get those next couple of 1st round picks RIGHT, as well as TRADE sensibly to bolster that midfield. Hindsight is a great thing, but the 2014 draft had Caleb Daniel available still at pick 44, we had already grabbed H. Wigg at pick 35 ( zero AFL games to date) & back in 2011 local lad Lachie Neale was available until pick 58!! We had already grabbed Nick Joyce at around pick 46, one of the most ridiculous selections in Crows’ history. Those missed opportunities can haunt you down the track. 2016 Round 1 pick Jordan Gallucci has talent, no doubt, but is similar in build to Richard Douglas, not really the big-bodied midfielder Adelaide needed this year IMO. I wonder whether Scotty Thompson IN THE SIDE on Saturday would have made a difference & generated a more comfortable win. ANYWAY, it’s a win & we bank the points.
Well written Book.
Hartigan is a difficult one to replace. I’d almost give Keath a go. Great to see JJ perform. B Crouch played very well and improving each week as he gets some consistent game time.
I thought Atkins 1st half was good.
Selection will be interesting.
Carlton. Love what Liam Jones is doing.
Nice, accurate summary of the game Malcolm – I enjoy reading it and most of the comments are good and mostly sensible, unlike those on the Crows Forum. Agree with the Gibbs trade issue- He’s still worth going for with great skills. Best game from JJ – I’m glad I’m not the only one on his back. With his size and stamina, he should be breaking packs, taking more marks and kicking more goals. I liked Dmac’s game too.
All SA Footy supporters should go to the SANFL Footy History Exhibition @ Institute Building/State Library-some really good old stuff and well put together, with weekly talks and interesting speakers including Keith Conlon & Stephen Rowe.
The Troy Chaplin sledges are always a highlight!
Campbell yep re Matt Crouch and love your,Rance-Chaplin line.Thanks TC.Swish yep point 8 is the key one after all agree totally re McGovern a wet one predicted Fri night ( I will check with BD re amount of rain during the game ) not sure who that favours.Greenwood showed some character yes our bottom six look shaky and flaky.Tony yep drAfting s just so important and arguably the most imp factor there were enough v v well respected junior coaches saying,Caleb Daniel was the one I was disappointed at the time we didn’t pick him and that has proven to be spot on could not disagree more strongly re Thommo can’t play both Crouches and Thommo unless it is absolutely pissing down with rain or unless he is allowed to use a motor bike he is gone re Afl level.Theo yes Crows forums are bizarre in so many ways re Hodge last week a couple proved you could fit there knowledge of footy on the back of a postage stamp with plenty of room to spare to say the least and thank you re mentioning the sa footy history exhibition.
Eric bit of fun I do my best not easy to come up with new ones ! Thank you
Keep em coming book always enjoy your football observations.I laughed re the Crows forum last week re the guy trying to claim you had no idea re footy it was hilarious
Hi Rulebook
Nice summary of the game once again. I thought Richie Douglas did a lot of good things but wasn’t mentioned by anyone as he always seems to fly under the radar. Would love to see what his game end stats were.
Tex is a huge worry for me. He looks really slow and isn’t impacting the game to anywhere near the degree a captain of a team should. If he’s injured then he should be rested since it’s generally accepted that the Crows should make the finals but if we don’t have Tex in tip top shape for them, our chances of winning to get through to the Grand Final are next to zero.
Superb analysis Rulebook. And brilliant Chaplin!
Would like to see you use Smokie’s word “Chaplinesque” in one of your articles!!
Always a good, insightful read – and that is from a Blues Supporter!
Always enjoys your thoughts Malcolm. Can tell your a serious student of the game.
Troy Chaplin was a very average player. But what is your vendetta against him all about?
Thanks Blackie yes more than a tad bizarre being honest some on that forum just have nfi.Big Jim I thought,Dougy was ok not outstanding agree re Tex just doesn’t seem to be bending and we need him harder at the ball and crash some packs it is the area where him and JJ are not a good mix in general.
Thanks Luke yes love,Smokie’s term can see it being used well and truly.Thanks Shane greatly appreciated.Thanks Barry and it goes back to the emails,Chaplin sent about,Port and the players also comments a past Port player has said privately about him ( makes my thoughts on him look complimentary) terrible player who rated himself I better leave it at that thank you
Sorry, time has got away from me this week,
My personal overview of the Crows vs Carlton game, is it was very ugly and frustrating to watch, but I’m really hopi g that win gave our boys their hunger back for more wins. The Crouch brother, its beyond me why some of our supporters dont rate these brothers, i dont believe we could do without them, pretty much always up there with the numbers for touches. The hanballing still driving me crazy…so many mistakes and turnovers… Doggies this week is going to be a tough test and we will need to accurate when disposing of the ball.
1. Just move on from t. Chaplin average player in an average team.
2. Sam Jacobs getting beaten too often. Carlton geelong eyc
3. Douglas was crucial at crucial times
4. Taylor Walker 3 year contract extension was a bit premature Lever + mcgovetn r keys
KDE hopefully it is the break thru game for Brad Crouch whether his spot was on the line is debatable,Matt has been our most consistent player so far this season huge game this week.Pole people wait for the Chaplin line,Jacobs huge concern re falling away as a season goes on has been a consistent occurrence over the last few seasons he needs to lift ( O Brien being inj doesn’t help) Douglas was reasonable,no re Walker not at all strategic so they can offer,Lever and McGovern more thank you