When the Crows were the Crows, everything worked in unison.
They operated in what was made to look like effortless rhythm. Movement was in harmony, the players were connected and the ball was on a string. They had game-defining intercept markers in defence who would start the most beautiful chain in football – an Adelaide drive out of defence.
It always looked the same. Rory Laird or Brodie Smith kicks the ball deep to the wing. Tom Lynch or Rory Atkins marks it, and immediately wheels around, spearing a pass into the corridor to a leading Taylor Walker.
Walker, without looking or pausing to breathe, dishes a handball off to a streaming Eddie Betts, the handball a singular motion extension of the leading mark.
Betts loses his man and boots the ball forward into a near-vacant 50, over the head but still into the path of a running Josh Jenkins, who takes the mark, lets his momentum take him into a stroll into the goal-square, and then booms a pressure-free goal deep into the crowd.
It felt unstoppable and it felt natural. The Crows were a shooter you couldn’t guard. They might go cold for a stretch but eventually the threes would start raining and it would be over. Rhythm would win out.
Of course, rhythm and all that were bludgeoned to death by the Tigers on grand final day, in one of the most emphatic, uncomfortable beat-downs in recent memory. It was the type of loss where you, surely, must lose more than just the game and the season.
(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
The thought was perhaps that day had played its part in costing Adelaide their 2018, a lethargic season mired by poor form and a flood of injuries.
They finished relatively strong, though, and entered 2019 whole. With Richmond now far enough in the past and the list healthy, this would be the year they pick up where the best idea of this group was last seen, walking out onto the MCG turf in late September 2017, before it all went wrong.
That idea too, it appears, has been bludgeoned to death. What is so alarming about the Crows right now is not that they’re bad, it’s that they bear no resemblance whatsoever to their 2017 team, despite the names being almost entirely the same.
Jake Lever, Charlie Cameron and Mitch McGovern are gone, and while all good players, combined they shouldn’t make the difference between the premiership favourite and the team that registers 36 inside 50s against North Melbourne.
Everything looks harder than it once was. The midfield feels like it lacks force, speed and skill, the three things a midfield needs. The team misses Paul Seedsman more than it should.
The defence is shallow and has been exposed with Tom Doedee going down. Depth pieces like Kyle Hartigan and Andy Otten haven’t proven to be up to it, with no Lever or Doedee to cover ground for them (Alex Keath, though, has been a bright spot). A dashing half-back flanker who can use the ball precisely by foot is a treasure in the AFL, and in Rory Laird, Brodie Smith and Wayne Milera, Adelaide have three of them, which is, oddly, perhaps too many.
Great defences form a web, forever connected, but the Crows have holes springing everywhere. Even Daniel Talia, rock of all rocks, was regularly found out of position and flailing against North.
The forward line, once the envy of the entire competition, now looks expired. McGovern has always been more of an idea than a fully-fledged contributor, but the team is missing his elastic presence in the air. We’ve seen the best of Walker and Betts, Jenkins is completely lost, and there isn’t enough pace and tenacity around these three to lock the ball in attacking territory.
The three phases are not linking, with teams shutting off Adelaide’s access to the corridor and forcing them to be creative and precise. So far, and especially against Hawthorn in Round 1, they have looked devoid of ideas moving the ball.
It all adds up to 1-3 with an especially sharp glint of despair. Even Melbourne, our other pre-season contender now in relative crisis, as poor as they’ve been, have shown flashes in each game of what we consider to be ‘themselves’. There are no flashes of the Adelaide that we imagine or try to remember.
The pristine, razor-sharp foot skills are gone, replaced by indecision and turnovers. There is no sense of desperation in Adelaide’s play, no sense of a plan to turn the tide within a game. More than anything, there is no sense that when they get down they are going to will themselves back into the contest. There is no threat, no spectre that ‘the Crows are coming’.
We are, of course, working off four games here. The season has many turns to play out and Adelaide still has, outside of Doedee, the same names on the list that made them a pre-season fancy. Even on their current uninspired form, they will likely enter the next nine games no longer than two-goal underdogs in any of them, and they may well be favoured in their four games upcoming.
Bryce Gibbs and Hugh Greenwood are both important parts of Adelaide’s best team and will almost certainly come back into the side this week. Sam Jacobs, while not the player he was, is sorely missed, if only because of how severe the drop-off is to his replacement. He will be back, along with Seedsman and Richard Douglas.
Opportunity is still there and so is the talent to grasp it. But the ceiling is undeniably lower on this team now than it was a month ago.
The 2017 team is gone, with its unfortunate end the only memory enlivened by today’s Crows.
Danny
Guest
watching them play last week I was practically begging them not to go short and sideways in the backline but they just kept doing it and turning it over. they lack passion their tackling and pressure is weak they are slow they have almost no one who can win a contested mark their goal kicking is poor the new rule seem to have hurt them in centre clearances where they lack speed they have not in my view replaced the talent they have lost in recent years and I still have questions whether we eded to lose Dangerfiled (could he have been captain and stayed) Cameron Lever and McGovern...I still feel we don't know the real reason for all of these departures and whether they could have been prevented they have not given enough opportunity to youth and too many free passes to established players and on op of this I have to agree with the communes about Pyke...can anyone remember a game where at the end you thought wow Pyke coached that one well...I can't for all of these reasons although I started the season with optimism as an Adelaide fan I'm resigned to not making the 8 and I feel a rebuild is needed from top to bottom and a proper review of how the club is being managed. It seems a bit of internal honesty goes a long way as evidenced by Richmond and Collingwood in the last couple of years.
Seymorebutts
Roar Rookie
If you remove Tom Barras, Jack Darling and Willie Rioli from West Coast how do they fare? You could do something similar for the Pies. Richmond have already dropped a couple of games without their big 4 so no suprise the Crows are struggling. You cant lose 3 guys like that and expect it not to have an impact. Maybe we didnt expect it to be as dramatic as what it has been, but none of us should have been completely suprised should we?? Ditto Melbourne, I wasn't sure why all the hype given they were not going to have Hogan,who was good for 60 goals a year.
Timbo's rules
Guest
The lack of run and carry is a symptom, not the cause of the Crows malaise. In 2017 the pressure that the players put on the ball carrier, the ball receiver and anyone likely to receive the ball was as intense as you will see. This pressure caused many turnovers and allowed the game to open up for them. They are not doing that anywhere near as well now and as a consequence they have to find other ways to score, which they clearly are not.
48points
Roar Rookie
What the fuck.
If I could make one change at the AFC it would be remove burton from his spoon fed job immediately. Too and the other king makers at the club have a lot to answer for - in particular how the decision to appoint one b Burton to his current role. Despicable and doesn’t exactly fit in to Fagan’s “best football department” promise at his acceptance of CEO speech!
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
The Crows need a bare-metal respray. The apology was minced and weak & Brett 'Icarus' Burton flew too close to the Sun . Fixing up a few dents is not a restoration. ---- Adelaide's total is less than the sum of it's parts. They are not gelling because there is unrecognised disharmony in the group. Adelaide's issues are group-psychology based.
Jonte
Guest
The Crows have lost their way across the ground. In 2017, there was run and carry across all the lines and the forwards lead up to the ground to the wings to create space behind them. This year the Crows have loaded up with Milera, Smith and Laird in the back half, but there is no connection through to the forward line. Across the middle Seedsman is missing, and Atkins looks good when the Crows are winning, but struggles to win the footy, or make good decisions under pressure. The Crouch boys find the ball, but they are one paced, and their kicking lacks penetration to hurt the opposition. They need runners around them. However McKay as a wingman struggles to find the ball enough to contribute, ditto Riley Knight, who is really a defensive player. The forward line in 2017 contained a younger Betts and Charlie Cameron. Their ability, along with Lynch, to get up the ground to create options or space and then double back is missing. The 2019 Betts is slower, jumps for too many unrealistic marks, and applies less forward pressure than the 2017 version, and while Murphy tries hard, he lacks either the experience or the ability to impact the contest when the ball is on the ground, and is not as effective over head as Cameron. So when it all gets stagnant, the other glaring omission is the ability to take a contested mark down the line. Jacobs has not been able to add it his game and is the major reason he regarded as a tier two ruckman. Taking a contested mark was something that McGovern was able to do, and if he didn't mark it, he brought it to ground. Unlike McGovern, who just jumped at the ball, Tex and Jenkins are focused on their opponent, and trying to muscle a mark. With defensive zone increasingly employed, by engaging their opponent it means that the third defender jumps over or around them to take the mark. It is a relief when every now and then Tex leads up at the kicker, takes a mark, and then wheels around on either foot, and kicks towards goal, to a lead up, or over the back. Worryingly for Jenkins, unless he is on the goal line, he has little idea of where to position himself, or when to lead up to the ball. He will often stand three quarters of a kick away with his hand up, and his feet stationary, when you really want him to be a kick and half away pointing to a place in front of him where he is about to crash a pack at full speed. Until he learns to do that his football will never match is physical attributes. It is easy to be critical, and the game is easier to play in the stands, but if the Crows can find a better balance of personnel across the ground, and execute some basic skills and leading patterns, I am sure the game can open up for them again.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Speed seems to be the glaring issue. Plenty out of the backline and none through the middle of the ground or the forward line, especially now that Eddie is slowing down. As a left field suggestion, maybe Laird could move into the middle. He has the pace and precision that most of the Crows' clearance mids lack and could be the linkup player they need. Smith and Milera combined still gives enough zip down back.
Raimond
Roar Guru
This team has been overrated by many. A six-win streak at the beginning of 2017, but they’ve only been a slightly-above-average team since then.
Marc
Guest
Rumours around the place have had Pyke wanting both Justin Longmuir (now doing a great job with Collingwood's defence) and Peter Sumich in his coaching panel, both requests which were denied so the Crows could bring in Ben Hart and not upset Campo who has to be the Senior Assistant (which Sumich wanted if he was to come over) . Pyke needed an experienced coach to put into that senior assistant/game day strategy role, Campo was not the answer at all. And going down to the ground to coach, stuff like that is Pyke's weakness. I don't know if he actually believes in game day coaching at all to be honest, he's huge on his systems and structures, in that regard he'd be a very good 2IC to design all that stuff for the head coach, but on the day he wants everything to be able to adjust and shift itself without having to interfere too much.
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Seriously how many times are you going to reel out that line?
sammy
Guest
No, it is Michael Godden former Woodville West Torrens Eagles coach
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Explain Walkers ego for me please?
User
Roar Rookie
Is that Tony Godden coaching at the crowd Sammy?
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
One for AD in the Freo news starved state of SA. In a interview between Pavlich and Bell it was revealed Sandilands has possibly played his last game for Freo still suffering the calf injury he sustained last year. I was attacked last year for suggesting he and Ballantyne should not be given another contract. Waste of money and space on the list. Bennell also went for more scans yesterday.
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
Great call about Fyfe, Mundy should be still the Captain. Lachie Neale would have been good, probably another one of his reasons for walking out even though he was under contract. He is the face of Brisbane now with another media interview yesterday. Very rarely did he do that at Freo. The Dockers need a complete change in leadership, especially the coaching staff. I am stunned Webber has survived his job as well.
sammy
Guest
I saw the disconnect first hand on Saturday night as the coaches sat on their hands when North got their run on in the 3rd quarter. Instead of Pyke heading to the bench to ensure his instructions were being carried out as players came on and off the ground (and tearing them a new one for the lack of effort), they just sat in the box with fingers on their chins and just watched it happen. Yes there are some super players at the club and they have some great youth coming through but the coaching panel is made up of Camporeale, Hart, Godden and Mattner. Without being too disparaging, none of those guys are excellent line coaches (with the qualifier that I think Mattner has all the tools to end up being a very good coach). Hart was sacked from his previous position, Camporeale has been there forever and imo has never excelled at being a line coach. Godden and Mattner have both come straight out of the SANFL and are inexperienced at AFL level as coaches. Pyke is also a first time coach albeit now with a couple of years under his belt but is still a guy that should have a strong support cast around him. Maybe the club needs to take leaf out of collingwoods book if they are going to back Pyke in and bring in more successful line coaches. I think losing the forward line coach - Teague was a big loss. The club now is nowhere near as good as what the club thinks it is and until the coaches buck up and get the players playing as a team with some real energy, this team will roll through mediocrity for this season and beyond
Gary
Roar Rookie
Fyfe is a great player, but I am still not convinced he is/can be a great captain. So often you see the cream of the crop players just don't have that special leadership quality e.g. ablett, judd, fyfe, walker.... although, I think some star players are a bit more ambivalent towards a captaincy role, and others desire the prestige and require it as an enticement to a contract extension.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
You've used that 'collective minds' quip like four times this week, my dude. But I can't really argue. because the Crows are in a bad place at the moment. At least they should win this week. Should.
anon
Roar Pro
Don Pyke and his assistants need to call an emergency meeting so that they can put their collective minds together and sort this out.