In 2015, the Adelaide Crows will reach a crossroads in their future. Should they rise, they will dare to dream of the grand final berth that has eluded them through three top-four finishes and three preliminary final losses in the last decade.
If they get it right they will lock in Patrick Dangerfield and his supporting teammates Rory Sloane and Richard Douglas. If another failure in 2015 is their fate, it may be back to the drawing board.
The Crows, as shown at times throughout 2014, are a more than capable side, with wins over Port Adelaide in the Showdown (Round 15) and rampant performances against Collingwood (rounds 9 and 18) and North Melbourne (Round 13), not to mention their strong effort against Hawthorn (Round 17).
At their best they can control the centre clearances (first in the league for 2014) and contested ball (second), leading to the third highest points total. If Adelaide can put into place the team defence that Phil Walsh has been talking about to counteract the turnovers and high points against that cost the Crows harshly, then they could be a force to be reckoned with in 2015.
However Adelaide’s moments of brilliance during their 2014 campaign were easily overshadowed by their inconsistencies and wealth of incomplete performances. Despicable losses to Melbourne (Round 7), Carlton (Round 10) and Essendon (Round 14) and poor showings against Richmond (Round 21) and North Melbourne (Round 22) in games that were more than winnable showed that Adelaide were at best making up the numbers of the top eight during their brief stints in a finals position.
Should this trend continue into Phil Walsh’s tenure as coach, there is no doubt that Adelaide fans will have to endure a tough year and will probably suffer more exoduses of players, confirming their status as a club of sustained mediocrity. For Adelaide fans this is simply not an option, but unfortunately it is a very possible outcome.
If history is anything to go by, the future looks bright for the Adelaide Crows. The last time they missed the finals for two or more years in a row, a preliminary final followed. The only time they missed finals for more than two years in a row (three) they won back-to-back flags. The Adelaide Crows are use to success, with the sixth highest winning percentage of any club in the history of AFL.
2015 is a key year in their history. If it is successful the future is bright. If it all goes well an All Australian ruckman is giving first use to an elite midfield of Dangerfield, Sloane, Douglas and the young Crouch brothers, who provide elite supply to a forward line dominated by Taylor Walker, a future Coleman medalist, with the brilliant Eddie Betts at his feet.
The cherry on top is the defensive combination of Daniel Talia and run and carry of the rising Brodie Smith.
If it doesn’t go right a young and incomplete midfield missing the talent of Dangerfield is of major concern. The forward line relying on Walker, who is still recovering from a major knee injury, hampers offensive capabilities and the Crows are suddenly relying on a talented but thin back line to try and hold down the floodgates.
There is no middle ground for the Adelaide Crows. 2015 is success or failure – a make or break year. But with a new coach, good enough list and the pressure on, there are no excuses.
They must and will make it.
Prediction: fifth
John
Guest
You say that Rucci speaks the truth. Is he the voice of a select group, with their own agenda? You identify him, but I never mentioned him once in my post? Perhaps you being anti Rucci, might like the facebook page Time to Go -Rucci. It would be great to have you on board with the growing number of supporters. Rumor has it that Port has a commercial deal with the Advertiser, worth more than their loss last year. That is how they were able to have the Yes we Ken campaign and other promotions.
Ando
Guest
Ahh Adelaide. Such a fun place. Someone speaks the truth that upsets the status quo, and suddenly its a conspiracy. I'm a Port supporter, and I think I speak for most when I say Rucci is a tool. He is a from the Caroline Wilson school of unverifiable sources and outrageous statements, but the fact of the matter is he's pretty much correct regarding the SANFL and the stadium deal. And if you could see past your own clear biases you would see that they arent only screwing Port, but the Crows aswell. As for Rucci supporting Port, I find it funny that you completely ignore the several official Crows ambassadors who write for the Advertiser, including a former coach, a former captain, and the editor of the paper himself. But I'm sure they're all completely unbiased on the matter /endsarcasm
Tommo Willo
Roar Pro
Ahh, isn't michelangelo rucci a delight!!!
John
Guest
Very accurate article. AFC also has to deal with a particular media person. He has a private agenda to damage the SANFL, and the Adelaide Crows. He abuses his position. South Australians find some content offensive and damaging. He is the voice of a select group, with their own agenda. He supports Port Power.
Tommo Willo
Roar Pro
I certainly agree that if Adelaide had this season in 2-3 years time when players like Hartigan, Shaw and Laird would be more developed, the team would have been exponentially better and probably would have come 5th-6th
Vocans
Guest
It was not only the fact of injuries and the effect of unsettling the side, but also the particular players injured and the context of team development in which they occured. The backs had a young gun in Talia as a tall but no other stable tall. The backs and much of the team were relatively new and that is what had to replace the injured. The young guys are talented but were not at the level they're bound for, and not fully gelled in the team or gameplan. While Tex was uninjured he was really in the process of finding his AFL feet again; Danger was definitely under a cloud for most of the year, and it was a cloud that would have much more severely affected lesser players. The team never really settled. In some ways they did well to produce what they did, and the woeful games merely reflected the other side of the curve.
Adam
Roar Rookie
Given a reasonable run with injuries, finals are the minimum requirement, but as with all teams, there are a lot of ifs and buts. Looking for improvement in most players, development of an effective/recognisable game plan - in particular cutting turnovers as you mentioned and getting the defence into the top 6 in the league.
Vocans
Guest
Therein lies a danger - extreme intensity only works in small doses. It's the sprint energy and is depleted over the the long journey. It also tends to follow the law of diminishing returns when it is misapplied. I hope Walsh knows this.
Tommo Willo
Roar Pro
They certainly had their fair share of hardships and that is why I think that this year with a fresh start there are no excuses, they have to make it
Tommo Willo
Roar Pro
I feel like the first few games are critical. In 2014 Adelaide had a very rough start against 3 top 5 would be's, so it is vital that they win at least a 1 of the first 2 (North and Collingwood) I think that Adelaide are a confidence team and if they are able to get off to a good start they could be very good. Plenty of promise.
Olivia Watts
Roar Guru
I agree that there is no middle ground for the Crows. With the very talented list they have at their disposal, new coach Phillip Walsh should rightly be aiming for top six as a very minimum. The inconsistencies of the Crows seem to be primarily mental; if they can cultivate self belief and play every minute of games wit,host going missing at times, they could be this years' big improvers. Time will tell.
Adam
Roar Rookie
If half the very disconcerting reports about Brenton Sanderson emanating from 2014 are true, there is little doubt the Crows will be a different team in 2015. Take the death of Dean Bailey and the obvious game day intel that went with him, Brad Crouch breaking his leg in pre season, Tex Walker having to comeback mid season from an ACL, losing the captain for the season to achilles injury (who was expected to release B Smith into the midfield - goals from 60?) and things looked problematic before round one. Tom Lynch also had a wretched season of injury when good things were expected. Lack of significant recruits is a concern, but the list is in pretty good shape, maybe a quality key defender & forward short? Back office doesn't alway have direct influence on game day, but settled management may well add to a more focussed and relaxed playing group with Fagan replacing Trigg and of course the introduction of a coach widely recognised as one of the best strategists in the game. He helped turn Port's back line from joke to brilliant - let's see what happens here.
Tommo Willo
Roar Pro
I agree, most accounts are that he is extremely intense. Hopefully Phil Walsh has an impact because if he doesn't it may be another few years of no finals.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Hearing a lot of good things about Phil Walsh as coach - I guess it remains to be seen what sort of matchday coach he is, but from all accounts Adelaide have landed one of the best assistant coaches in the land, so he's got every chance of success. He strikes me as being a bit more businesslike than Sanderson - Sanderson presented as an MBA in management, Walsh seems more the school of hard knocks with a ferocious dose of football intelligence to boot. That's just looking from the outside though. As you say, Adelaide have got plenty of cattle and there's no reason why they can't make the 8 this year. They need to, that's for sure.