- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
No Mark Ricciuto. No Ben Hudson, no Scott Welsh, no Jason Torney. And since January, no Rhett Biglands either. No Adelaide?
Such a conclusion would be easy to make while having a glance at the Crows’ AFL list for 2008.
Due a spring cleanout after holding the mantle of the league’s oldest playing roster, the cuts made by coach Neil Craig were overdue.
But the unplanned departures of Hudson and Welsh to the Western Bulldogs, plus the probable career-ending second knee reconstruction for Biglands, have given the club a decidedly callow look.
As seen in the pre-season cup there remains an outstanding core of senior talent, personified by skipper Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards, while the defence is settled and likely to be as stingy as ever.
Nevertheless, 2008 will see Adelaide lean more heavily on youth than at any other time since Craig took over from Gary Ayres towards the end of an unhappy 2004.
“The prediction from outside our football club is that 2008 won’t be better, it’ll be worse,” Craig said.
“We obviously don’t think that, our players have very high expectations of what they want to achieve, we’ve got pretty much a full squad to choose from and we’ve got some newness coming into our team, both positional and also new faces.
“Whether that improves the short term or will take a bit longer, time will tell.”
After a brilliant display in the pre-season cup final, tall forward/ruckman Kurt Tippett will be expected to make his mark this year, and midfielders Bernie Vince, Jason Porplyzia, Richard Douglas and David MacKay all appeared ready over pre-season to play decent roles in the serious stuff.
The biggest question mark surrounds Adelaide’s ruck division.
Ivan Maric, Jonathan Griffin, Tippett and Kangaroos recruit Brad Moran have played considerably less than 50 AFL games between them, and none seem entirely ready to provide a commanding presence around the ground.
Craig though refuses to build a team around the assumption that the ruck battle will be lost most weeks.
“If you said our season would be totally reliant on experienced ruckmen, it ain’t going to happen, we won’t have a season, so let’s not even discuss that,” Craig said.
“The only way they’ll get experience is if they’re good enough to play.
“A combination of those guys will play, and what I do like about them is their competitive attitude, I like the way they go about their footy.”
Aware that a slow start to the season will invariably cause questioning eyes to look towards the centre of the ground, Craig said the club’s midfield needed to be ready to scrap.
Much of Adelaide’s 2007 season was blighted by injuries that sidelined almost the whole of the forward line that had been among the league’s most potent in 2005 and 2006, and Craig said the lack of a settled side was the greatest single factor in their slide to midtable.
But there was also a drop off in the club’s home form, usually a cast iron component of the Adelaide set-up.
Too often it seemed the team that showed up for a home fixture was not all there, resulting in defeats by the likes of Essendon, Fremantle and Collingwood as well as perennial nemesis West Coast and premiers Geelong.
It seems Craig has learned from the example of now retired captain Ricciuto that it is best to take the initiative in grooming senior players for the autumn of their careers.
The move of McLeod, Goodwin and Edwards to more varied roles while they still appear capable of fulfilling their old ones will become a vexing decision if their younger counterparts are struggling in the “engine room”, and Craig has reserved the right to move them back.
“We have a responsibility to develop their skill sets somewhere else, so they can contribute, and play for as long as they possibly can, instead of being stifled by lack of flexibility,” he said.
“… It’s important they develop that so we don’t go down the path of having to play them off the bench because they’re not capable of being on the ground – that is an indication the game’s finished, if you can’t play a full game.
“You need the capacity if picked to play a full game, because otherwise you are doing the club a disservice.”
ADELAIDE
Coach: Neil CraigCaptain: Simon Goodwin
Last five years: 5-12-4-3-8
Premierships: 2 (1997-98)
Star five: Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod, Ben Rutten, Scott Thompson, Tyson Edwards
One to watch: Kurt Tippett – The search for the new Tony Modra has now stretched to a decade. Four goals in the NAB Cup grand final have ensured that Tippett is now the great white hope.
Ins: Tony Armstrong (Calder U18), Myke Cook (Sandringham U18), Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong U18), Greg Gallman (North Adelaide), Jarrhan Jacky (Subiaco), Aaron Kite (Calder U18), Brad Moran (Kangaroos), Andy Otten (Oakleigh U18), Brad Symes (Port Adelaide), Taylor Walker (NSW-ACT U18).
Outs: Matthew Bode (delisted), John Hinge (delisted), Ben Hudson (Western Bulldogs), Martin Mattner (Sydney), John Meesen (Melbourne), Ian Perrie (delisted), Darren Pfeiffer (Carlton), Mark Ricciuto (retired), Jason Torney (delisted), Scott Welsh (Western Bulldogs).
Best line-up:
B: Kris Massie, Ben Rutten, Scott Stevens
HB: Graham Johncock, Nathan Bock, Nathan Bassett
C: Nathan van Berlo, Scott Thompson, Tyson Edwards
HF: Andrew McLeod, Kurt Tippett, Jason Porplyzia
F: Brett Burton, Ken McGregor, Simon Goodwin
R: Ivan Maric, Brent Reilly, Chris Knights
I: Jonathon Griffin, Robert Shirley, Richard Douglas, Brad Moran
Don’t forget to sign-up to our AFL tipping comp. Starts soon!
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.