ADELAIDE CROWS
2020 FINISHED 18th – 3 WINS 14 LOSSES
THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR ADELAIDE???
It was as bad and probably as good as a wooden spoon gets in 2020. This club has had quite a remarkable fall from grace after they played off in the Grand Final in 2019. The fallout has been made very public, the camp was a disaster and the fallout took scalps. The only one left from the disastrous camp in a high ranking capacity is Football Director Mark Riccuitto, The club has moved on the other key pillars with a new Coach, Footy Department Head, High Performance Manager, Chairman and now a new CEO. You would think at some point in the near future the Footy Director might consider his future.
In the meantime the movement of off field staff matches that of the loss of valuable on field players in the last decade. NO team in the AFL has had more player movement out than Adelaide and this to us is the most damaging key fact.
Adelaide lost their first 13 games of the year in 2020. It was the worst ever start by a Crows team. They eventually got some semblance of form together winning 3 of their last 4 matches. Maybe this gives the slightest of glimmer to fans that this year may be better than last. As a rule we would agree with this but looking at pre season form find it hard to state that as a case.
That said there is no doubt Adelaide is planning for the longer term future. Their list management tells us that this year is not where the big improvement will come. Some more understanding of Matthew Nicks and his game plan and maybe an extra couple of wins for the season is more likely what is on the menu for Adelaide hierarchy.
The Crows lost Brad Crouch, Rory Atkins and Kyle Hartigan and they also delisted another 6 players who were on the fringe and Bryce Gibbs retired. The Crows recruited Jackson Hateley from the GWS Giants but he’s hardly going to be the dynamic improvement the Crows need. So more goes out than comes in once again.
The Crows top pick in the draft was Riley Tilthorpe as their highest ever pick (number 2). He is a key position player who take some time but lets hope he performs a little better than Adelaide’s former highest pick (pick 7) Laurence Angwin (disaster with capital D).
Whilst there still seem some concerns (off field behaviour) The slate does now look clean for Adelaide and the focus is to the future. Chairman Olsen is highly credentialed but that’s off field. On field there is some clear air to move into but if they don’t show signs they are making the right progression it wont take long for the Crows fans to voice their displeasure. We cannot possibly be bullish about 2021.
2021 PREDICTION-ADELAIDE 17th – 5 WINS
BRISBANE LIONS
2020 FINISHED 2nd 14 wins 3 loses (beaten in Prelim finals series)
“CAN THE LIONS ROAR ON THE BIG STAGE?”
This has to be the question on the Brisbane Lions and they will not get another opportunity like they had last year. It was the golden opportunity missed, a home Grand Final that will never happen again!
That said Brisbane backed up the great 2019 with another terrific season. They finished top 2 again but fell at the final hurdle. There is no doubt Brisbane had a lot in their favour in 2020, home games and finals in their back yard but they failed to get it done.
One of the biggest issues for Brisbane was set shot accuracy. They were the worst in the comp (42%) and bad kicking is bad footy as they say. This MUST be a big focus area for improvement.
The Lions have improved their list the recruiting of Joe Daniher is a massive plus for their forward structure and scoring ability. He will work well with Eric Hipwood and with the smalls Charlie Cameron and co they really get the opportunity to lift their offensive power-ominous for the AFL. They have a powerful big bodied midfield and this will see plenty of forward 50 entry to gain scoring advantage.
Another factor, and this is one of those off field ones that can affect on field is the loss of Head of Football David Noble. He headed to North Melbourne as Coach and whilst it’s a stretch to say it can affect on field stability is very important in team sport.
How Brisbane respond from their mauling in the Prelim will go a long way to determining their ability to perform when the heat is on. They took one step further after being bundled out in straight sets in 2019 and they may have as Port Adelaide were a victim of the pre finals bye. That said until they do it when it counts this question mark will sit over this Brisbane side. Two very good seasons may see them vulnerable to slight dip, we think they can slide out of the Top 4 but just.
2021 PREDICTION – 5th 14 WINS