Adelaide Crows must be on edge in AFL season 2019
ADELAIDE will look to build on a positive end to the 2018 season as the Crows looking for that winning edge again in 2019, writes two-time premiership mentor Malcolm Blight.
ADELAIDE will finish its AFL campaign at the weekend with a “winning record” at 12-10 - good enough to have had the Crows play finals in any of the past five seasons.
But not this one.
The fall from grand finalist to nothing should be soul wrenching for everyone at the Adelaide Football Club. It should burn. But careful with those matches ... It has been a disappointing season for the Crows - but just one season rather than a continual slide to mediocrity.
Reviewing Adelaide’s season - and prospects of returning to AFL finals action next year - leaves many questions to answer. Here is the snapshot of what has happened in the past 11 months, is happening today and needs to happen from the moment the grand final siren marks the start of Season 2019.
REVIEW
EVERYONE can make a mistake. The trick is not to repeat it. Adelaide reacted - actually, over-reacted - to one bad quarter in the grand final loss to Richmond. The Crows searched for that one per cent edge - and it went wrong.
Adelaide is not the first team to make this mistake. It will not be the last.
It is easy to be coaxed into this trap. At Geelong in 1989 the search for that extra goal to win a grand final - after the epic six-point loss to Hawthorn - prompted the fitness program to be ramped up. Unfortunately, some players returned to training not as fit as needed for such a program.
Our desire to stand by the 1989 line-up meant players were taking to the field when 85 per cent fit. This will not lead to consistent performances. Geelong tumbled from a grand final to 10th in 1990 with eight wins. Sound familiar?
Adelaide, by the admission of its chief executive Andrew Fagan, has made mistakes. Let’s see how the Crows learn from them.
COACH
DON Pyke has been tested far more this season than in his previous two as a senior coach.
Generally criticised for showing unwavering faith in his playbook and players by not making moves on match day, Pyke this season has reacted by swinging players into multiple roles - as noted on Sunday with Mitch McGovern moving to defence to thwart North Melbourne in the last quarter.
Contracted to 2021, Pyke will be better next season for the tests he has worked though this season than those of 2016-17.
CAPTAIN
HOW deafening is the call to remove Taylor Walker as captain? It is wrong.
Get a decent pre-season into “Tex”. And if the team loses games early in 2019 and Walker is still unfit, do not play him.
LIST
THANK heavens vice-captain Rory Sloane has signed a new contract. He epitomises what any football club wants from its players. And his absence with a foot injury this season removed a considerably important cog from the Adelaide midfield.
Adelaide’s midfield - actually, every AFL midfield - needs to find an extra classy player. This might already exist at West Lakes. To watch is whether Rory Atkins and Wayne Milera accept their chance to advance from being a “good player” to the next wave of midfielders who take the Crows to a grand final.
Eddie Betts has kicked 26 goals after 55 last season. Those who want to draw the curtain on Betts should reflect on Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck’s words on retiring (with a premiership) when he was 38. He said: “I did have a poor year at 33 ...” Champions recover. So will Betts.
The ones to watch to add scoring power next season are Darcy Fogarty, Myles Poholke, Jordan Gallucci and Lachlan Murphy. Adelaide has invested invaluable game time in these players - and this should pay off after a strong pre-season.
Adelaide’s defence has two All-Australian candidates in Rory Laird and Daniel Talia, a superb find in Rising Star nominee Tom Doedee and will benefit from having Brodie Smith on the field from the start of next season.
NEEDS
CLEARLY a way to protect lead ruckman Sam Jacobs, who has played 94 consecutive games - and appears to have suffered from a heavy workload while carrying a battered back. Do the Crows hand more ruck work to Josh Jenkins - or do they find a new back-up ruckman?
WILDCARD
BRAD Crouch. Every club has a player who has unquestionable talent, but has been unlucky with injury. Will Brad’s luck change next year?
FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT
HOLD fire. If Adelaide has a second bad season in 2019, then react. But for now, let’s see how Brett Burton and his crew adjust.
WHAT’S NEXT?
ADELAIDE’S motto for Season 2019 should be: “I am on edge”.
When the players have their end-of-season reviews, there should be a strong message that they gave up a grand opportunity this year. They threw away the chance to do something great that they would remember for the rest of their lives.
And no-one should do that twice. So they should return for pre-season training on edge. They are the only ones who can fix a bad season to make it great in 2019.