Adelaide Season Review

[BB67th]

Hey guys, as many of you know I am running an AFL Blog for this season and I am currently writing season reviews for all 18 AFL clubs. Today I have reviewed Adelaide. I thought I would post it here so everyone can get a look at it and you can also have your say on the Crows' season.

Adelaide Season Review

Season in a Snapshot

Ladder Position: 2nd - 17 wins, 5 losses (132.46%) - Knocked out in Preliminary Finals
Most Disposals: Scott Thompson (737)
Most Goals: Taylor Walker (63)
Played Every Game: Nathan van Berlo, Scott Thompson, Ben Rutten, Brent Reilly, Patrick Dangerfield
Debutants: Sam Kerridge (1 game), Tim McIntyre (1 game), Luke Brown (1 game), Jarryd Lyons (3 games), Josh Jenkins (11 games), Sam Shaw (14 games)

Stat Leaders:

Kicks: Scott Thompson (410)
Handballs: Scott Thompson (327)
Tackles: Nathan van Berlo (126)
Hit Outs: Sam Jacobs (743)
Clearances: Scott Thompson (170)
Contested Possessions: Patrick Dangerfield (403)
Uncontested Possessions: Scott Thompson (390)
Inside 50s: Patrick Dangerfield (138)
Rebound 50s: Brent Reilly (80)

Best & Fairest:

1. Scott Thompson (112)
2. Patrick Dangerfield (101)
3. Rory Sloane (89)
4. Sam Jacobs (78)
5. Taylor Walker (77)
6. Brent Reilly (76)
= Nathan van Berlo (76)
8. Michael Doughty (72)
9. Matthew Wright (68)
10. Daniel Talia (66)

NAB Rising Star Nominations:

Daniel Talia - Nominated for his round 12 performance against St Kilda. While he only picked up 7 possessions in that game, he kept St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt down to only 9 disposals and 2 goals. Talia went on to play many lock down roles during the season on some of the best key forwards, including a stunning display late in the season against Matthew Pavlich. Talia won the NAB Rising Star Award in stunning fashion with 43 out of a possible 45 votes.

Sam Shaw - Nominated for his round 21 performance against the Brisbane Lions. Shaw play an important role in defence, even though his team lost, and he picked up 22 possessions and 7 marks.

How did the Season go:

2012 was a great year for the Crows and one that was full of success. It started strongly with a new coach and new game style under Brenton Sanderson. The club had definitely been hurt by the introduction of GWS and Gold Coast, losing key defenders Nathan Bock and Phil Davis to the expansion clubs in the last two years. Still, the team looked full of potential with players like Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane widely tipped to break out and have good years. The Crows were also going to be helped by one of the easiest draws in the league and were thought by many to be a solid finals contender for 2012. They started strongly, winning 7 of their first 8, including strong wins against Geelong, Carlton and Sydney. Their only loss at the start came against Hawthorn in round 3, where they were soundly beaten. A bad loss to Collingwood was followed by a good win to the Dockers and the Crows went into their bye 8-2 and were looking good for finals and eyeing a top 4 position. While they won strongly against teams like the Saints, Tigers and Bombers, they looked shaky in losses to North Melbourne, Geelong and even Brisbane in the second half of the season. Still, they had done enough to finish in second place on the ladder and were full of confidence going into the finals series. They started with a bad loss to Sydney, where they had control of the ball, but just weren't able to finish inside 50 and actually kick goals. This was followed by a narrow 10 point win over the Dockers, where they played much the same until half time, when the started to capitalise and won the game. They then played in a nailbiting Preliminary Final against the Hawks, in which they just lost by 5 points. In the end they just ran out of time in that game and played some really good football in a game in which they were very heavy underdogs. Adelaide was a disappointed football club, that they had come so close, yet so far, but really their season was a great success.
This success can be put down to a few things. Firstly, a change of coach at the club allowed a new game plan and new opportunities for different players. The second is the massive improvement of all the players across the board that came together at exactly the right time. Patrick Dangerfield was finally released into the midfield, where he belongs, and carved it up with his exciting run and pace tearing up other midfields. Around him Rory Sloane also had a breakout year, while Scott Thompson was in career best form, where he won the club best and fairest and finished tied for fourth in the Brownlow Medal. Up forward, Taylor Walker was given another chance and grabbed it with both hands, as he has done with the football many times in the Crows forward 50 this season. He was a prolific goal kicker, with 63 for the season, and at times he drew comparisons with greats such as Wayne Carey. Down back, the Crows discovered a gem in Daniel Talia, who did excellent lock down job on some of the best key forwards in the game such as Nick Riewoldt and Matthew Pavlich. It has definitely been a great improvement for the club, which will be eagerly looking ahead to next year.

Excitement of the Season:

My first excitement of the season is a man impossible to go past, Patrick Dangerfield. For years, people had been screaming for Neil Craig to put him in the midfield, but he spent the past few seasons in a half forward role, where he didn't get too much possession. Heading into his fifth season, many said he was the player that would never break out, but this year turned out to be his year. He was put into the guts by new coach Brenton Sanderson and he tore it up. He used his lightning pace to stream away from opposition players and take the ball through a corridor in a flash. He would then use his accurate kicking skills to put the ball inside 50 with pinpoint accuracy as he combined with the Crows midfield to make the number 1 contested ball midfield in the game. He finished a close second to Scott Thompson in the club's Best & Fairest, 7th in the Brownlow Medal with a career high 23 votes, second in the league for contested possessions and 8th for clearances. He is also now a part of the Crows leadership group.

There are so many that have impressed at the Crows this season, but Taylor Walker has really stood out as someone that has improved immensely. Only last year, when injured, he was seen drinking beers at a local club match and was reprimanded for it by the club. He developed a bit of a bad boy attitude in the media and he was definitely a fringe player at the Crows. But, in the off season he grew a mullet, and it gave him super powers for this season. He was immense up forward, a regular goalkicker every week and a huge presence that demanded attention from opposition defences. He did spend some time out of the game, being suspended for several incidents. But he managed to kick 63 goals from only 19 games, with a best of 6 against Port Adelaide in round 5. In my opinion, his best game came in the Semi Final against Fremantle. His side was trailing going into the main break, and after goaling on the half time siren, they rallied to come back and win by 10 points as "Tex" kicked 5 goals. He drew comparisons with Wayne Carey after that game and some of them are given rightly so.

Disappointment of the Season:

It was hard to find a disappointment for the Crows this year, but Chris Knights has had no impact on the team whatsoever this year. After playing 90 games with the Crows before this year, Knights had long battled injury and form issues to cement his place in the Crows' best 22. After managing 21 games in 2011, it looked as though he could have a good year ahead of him, but he again had injury and form issues. He failed to break into the side until round 12, and only played 5 games this season. His best return was 19 touches and 2 goals against St Kilda and couldn't keep his place ahead of other players. He seemed to have fallen out of Adelaide's plans by the end of the season. Knights has now moved on however, through the help of the new Free Agency system. He has moved to Richmond as an unrestricted free agent, which will see the Crows receive some compensation. Hopefully it will be a good move for Knights, who can start fresh and have a new lease on life at Tigerland and put this disappointing season behind him.

Where is the club heading next year:

Things are looking quite promising for Adelaide next year, and I would think that nothing less than a top 4 position would be what the club is again aiming for. The structure of the team is going to be changed a bit though, with Kurt Tippett requesting a trade at the end of the season after months of speculation over his future at the Crows. At first it was thought he wanted to return home to Queensland, but he has now nominated Sydney as his club of choice. It is likely that a third club is going to need to be involved to get this trade done, as Adelaide will ask quite a bit for one of their star forwards. It is a good chance for the Crows to pick up another big forward to replace Tippett, or another big defender to help with their personnel shortage down back. 200 gamer Michael Doughty has also announced he is hanging up the boots, so there is a hole in the defensive half that needs to be filled there as well. Besides that, the Crows will not be looking to make any big list changes, after such a successful first season under new coach Brenton Sanderson. They will look for more development from their players and improvement to come from the lower half of the list. I believe that 2013 could be a good season for the Crows, if they keep up their good form and if they come back after their pre-season, a team that is hungry after coming so far in 2012. I think they would be looking at around 15-17 wins next year and a definite position in the top 4 next year as a pass mark.

Final Say:

Great season from the Crows, coming from the depths of the ladder, to second and being a strong contender in finals. You could say it was luck that robbed them of a Grand Final spot in their Preliminary Final, but in the end they just fell short. The development of players such as Dangerfield, Walker and Talia has been amazing and the club looks in good steads for quite a few years with a young bunch of leaders now coming through the system. I give the Crows an A for 2012.

If you guys like it please get on to my blog which is inside50.wordpress.com and give it a rating and leave a comment. Thanks guys your support is appreciated.

[tbagrocks]

Knocked out in prelim by 5 points to Hawthorn dude! Great stuff though, will keep an eye on year blogs

[BB67th]

Thanks Tbag. And where did I say the margin wasn't 5 points?

[CrowsFan]

Thanks Tbag. And where did I say the margin wasn't 5 points?

Good question...

[tbagrocks]

Thanks Tbag. And where did I say the margin wasn't 5 points?

Good question...

you didn't, but at the top after the Ladder position says Semi knockout  :D

[Ziplock]

Thanks Tbag. And where did I say the margin wasn't 5 points?

Good question...

you didn't, but at the top after the Ladder position says Semi knockout  :D

it happens, I grew up playing soccer, and I sometimes refer to it as the semi :P

[BB67th]

Thanks Tbag. And where did I say the margin wasn't 5 points?

Good question...

you didn't, but at the top after the Ladder position says Semi knockout  :D

Ah thanks mate, fixed now

[Tominator]

Legendary mate, love your blog I check it a lot.. Great stuff keep it up

[BB67th]

Thanks guys, the reason I do it is so someone will read and hopefully like it, so thanks everyone for checking it out.

[Antsey]

Awesome.