Taylor Walker says Crows can turn corner: ‘We need to teach these young guys how to have a win’
They’re on the ropes with a new winless record, but former Crows captain Taylor Walker says it’s not the culture that is to blame for their predicament, they just need to learn how to win again.
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Former Adelaide captain Taylor Walkersays he is confident the good times can return for the Crows quicker than others believe but says his side needs to “play to win now”.
The Crows have gone 0-7 for the first time to start a season and clocked up 10 losses on the bounce — a new winless record.
Walker said despite the losses still coming, there were green shoots for the Crows.
“I think the pleasing thing for our footy club is that our culture is outstanding, if you were inside our four walls at the moment you wouldn’t know that we were 0-7,” he said.
“But now it is about getting better and we need to play to win now, because you don’t want it to roll on and roll on and not win because that’s not fair on us and our fans.
“Now we need to get some four points and teach these young guys how to have a win.”
Walker said putting themselves in a position to win its game against St Kilda on Monday night — before going down by 23-points — showed the Crows could taste victory at least once in 2020.
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“We put ourselves in a situation to win the game, and apart from Round 1 we haven’t done that,” he said.
“I think St Kilda are going to play finals footy. So for us to be able to play that way against a finals team should give us a lot of confidence.”
Walker said he and fellow Adelaide senior players understood the Crows needed to get the younger players at West Lakes games into them.
“We don’t like losing, but we understand where our footy club is at,” Walker said.
“We are in a rebuilding phase, we are regenerating our list and giving young blokes an opportunity.
Adelaide fans have been warned this rebuild could last for years to come, but Walker said he was confident the Crows could change their fortunes quickly.
“I’m very clear on where our footy club is at, and for me I want to leave a legacy here that we don’t stand for losing.
“We are a proud footy club, we always have been and since I have been here we have always wanted to play finals.
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“I’m confident we can turn this around quite quickly.”
Returning to the side after a week out to nurse a persistent knee injury, Walker kicked 3.2 and looked more mobile around the ground.
“I felt like I got on top of the ground and moved a lot better and I was jumping at the footy like I previously did but this year I have struggled doing that,” he said.
“So certainly pleasing.”
The Crows next play Essendon on Sunday at Adelaide Oval.
UMPIRING HAS RATTEN SHAKING HEAD
A shake of the head and a sigh was all St Kilda coach Brett Ratten could manage when asked about what had become of the holding the ball rule following St Kilda’s victory over Adelaide on Monday night.
“That’s not my job … there was a few (interesting decisions),” Ratten said.
SCROLL DOWN FOR SAINTS V CROWS MATCH REPORT
“Sometimes it would be pretty hard to be a ballplayer and put your hands on it.
“We have to be careful that we don’t have players just sitting there and ready to tackle players, that’s not the way that we want to play the game.
“There’s a fine line and you have to be given some sort of chance, but we will leave it to the umpires.”
Absence had not made the hearts of the Adelaide Oval crowd grow fonder for the umpires as the officials copped spray after spray from disgruntled fans.
From 109 tackles for the game, 48 free kicks were paid.
Hawthorn Premiership player Campbell Brown joked the umpiring was “going about as well as Kanye’s presidential rally”.
Umpiring going about as well as Kanye’s presidential rally today #AFLCrowsSaints
— Campbell brown (@Browndogg_30x) July 20, 2020
On the commentary, Eddie McGuire said one interpretation of holding the ball gave Hill “17 prior opportunities” when he was tackled by Jake Kelly.
Nicks said the slippery Adelaide Oval surface contributed, but said it was “probably best” he didn’t comment on the umpiring.
“The simple rule now these days is we don’t want the game slowed up,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone likes to watch a game of footy where it is hold the ball in, hold the ball in, hold the ball.
“So I understand what we are trying to do with the game, the issue is when it is a tough night, the ball is slippery and players are going to ground and fall over it makes it really hard to adjudicate that.”
Baffled by some of the umpiring decisions.
— Jude Bolton (@Jude_Bolton) July 20, 2020
Incredibly tough gig due to constant changing of rules & interpretations.
In a situation now, where we need the @AFL to unravel some of the changes brought in. Holding the ball needs an overhaul.#AFLCrowsSaints
Holding The Ball and Incorrect Disposal are All Over The Shop.
— Andy Maher (@AndyMaherDFA) July 20, 2020
This umpiring is putrid. Saints being crucified. #AFLCrowsSaints
— James Mottershead (@mottersjames) July 20, 2020
Not normally an umpire basher, but that game might just be the worst umpired AFL game I’ve ever seen. No advantage one way or the other, simply had no idea which way some of the decisions were going! #AFLCrowsSaints
— Rhys Contessa (@rcontessa21) July 20, 2020
Unbiased Supporter in this Game ... this is without a doubt the worst display of umpiring we've seen all Season - and considering how low the umpiring standard has been this Season, that's saying something! #AFLCrowsSaints
— ArghGodzirra (@ArghGodzirra) July 20, 2020
This has been the worst umpired game of football I have ever seen, at any level.
— Barrels (@Uncle_Barrels) July 20, 2020
I’m just glad it’s ending. Unwatchable. #AFLCrowsSaints
CROUCHING CROW, HIDDEN IMPACT
Matt Crouch had the equal most touches out of any player at Adelaide Oval on Monday night – how many of them actually influenced the game?
As he usually does Crouch got plenty off the ball in Adelaide’s 23-point loss to St Kilda, with his 26 disposals an equal game high with the Saints Jack Steele.
But again questions were raised about the influence of the 2017 Malcolm Blight Medallist on games as the Crows were again comprehensively beaten in the middle of the ground.
It was a performance torn apart by Jason Dunstall and Nick Riewoldt on Fox Footy following the game.
“Matt Crouch in particular had plenty of the ball but had zero impact on the game,” Dunstall said.
“He has to find a way to get possessions in better positions … too many times I thought he put teammates under pressure, he can’t keep getting that little one out the back and chip kick sideways that is just not helping the team.”
Of those 26 disposals amassed by Crouch in the loss, 18 were handballs and eight were kicks.
Six of these possessions were contested, he touched the ball just twice in the centre square with the vast majority of his touches in the Crows defensive half.
When former Crow Hugh Greenwood in his Twitter back-and-forth with Adelaide board member Mark Ricciuto last month suggested that midfielders at West Lakes were “more concerned about disposals than actual impact on the game” this was interpreted as a sly dig at Crouch and his brother Brad.
The questions about Crouch’s influence on games were again raised on Monday night as while he finished with the equal-game high 26 disposals, his metres gained was 133m compared to Steele’s 353m, Zak Jones’ 365m and Jack Billings’ 225m.
“It was stark, they were lacking some really damaging midfielders,” Riewoldt said of the Crows.
“We know the Crouch boys, they will win some big numbers and I will never profess to be able to get into a players’ head and understand their intentions.
“But from the outside it looked like Matt Crouch tonight has defined his game or the success on his game on how much of the footy he is able to win.”
Seven turnovers at a kicking efficiency of 25 per cent also had the microscope well and truly on him, while letting Steele run free for an easy goal late on in the second and taking an advantage when running backwards further drew the ire of Riewoldt.
“He is running away from goal at pace, taking (the) advantage to give a backwards handball. That just looks like a player who is trying to rack up the footy and I don’t think it is anything malicious but sometimes players can just fall into those habits.”
Matthew Nicks dropped his big name on-baller after a six kick, 16 handball effort against Gold Coast.
After the Saints game – and watching his side lose the centre clearances 7-14 – he said the whole midfield group needed to lift not just Crouch.
“He wasn’t as effective tonight as he would like to be, he’s not hiding from that,” Nicks said.
“Unfortunately their mids were able to get 300, 400 metres gained across the board which means they are moving the footy forward and unfortunately our mids are not having that same penetration out of the stoppage.
“So we will have a good look at that, what our mix is in there and what we can do to help us. It wasn’t just the way the ball was leaving the stoppage for us – we were beaten convincingly at the centre bounce … that’s not the first time that has happened to us.”
Nicks said the game plan for the Crows was to “take the tackler on and test the tackler out”, so why was Crouch so handball heavy on Monday night?
“He’s probably looking for an option, but that’s something we will work on with the whole group,” Nicks said.
“It’s not just Matty you can single out at this point, our clearance and stoppage work needs to get better.”
ATTACKING HILL
Nicks isn’t the only coach who has to work out a solution for a big-named midfielder.
Two ordinary weeks from Brad Hill had the big off-season recruit come under some serious heat.
Sensing the confidence was down the Crows sent young speedster Will Hamill to the former Fremantle and Hawthorn running machine, limiting his output in the first quarter.
But Brett Ratten shifted the marquee recruit out of his usual wing spot and into a more attacking position in the Saints line-up.
“(It was) just an opportunity to get him into the game a bit differently,” he said.
“Sometimes if you are on the wing and the ball is out the other side the quarters are so quick you can actually not be in the play and everyone says “oh you are not playing too good”.
“But he played his role perfectly and got a bit more of the footy which is great because when he has the ball we are a better team.”
Hill’s numbers for the night, 12 disposals and just 137m gained, will mean the scrutiny will not ease up but Ratten said it wasn’t about the numbers.
“It’s about him doing what we ask of him,” he said.
“When you come from another club it can take you a while to settle in.
“And what he brings off the field has been great to our football club and his leadership and the other things he does for others is really important.
“Whether he has 10 possessions or 30 he is doing a good job for us.”
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WINGS CLIPPED
The Crows are the AFL’s lowest scorers in 2020 and this seriously hurt them in the third quarter, when Ratten acknowledged they were running over the top of St Kilda.
With the pressure gauge considered “elite” for the first time this season, the Crows went inside 50 11 times to St Kilda’s three in the third quarter.
But four missed shots in a row by the Crows was punished well and truly by the dangerous Dan Butler.
“In the third quarter we had better field position and I think we had about 70 per cent time in the forward half,” Crows veteran David Mackay said.
“But we couldn’t put enough scoreboard pressure on and they were able to go down with limited entries, able to kick a couple of goals and that really hurt us.”
Nicks said the Crows didn’t have “that polish”.
“When you have three or four real opportunities to slot goals and put some scoreboard pressure on them and unfortunately we are not putting them away,” he said.
TEX TIME
Opposition fans have delighted at Taylor Walker’s struggles this season, but after a week off to rest a persistent knee injury the former captain had the Crows faithful on their feet.
His first goal was perhaps a lucky decision, but his second was all class when he sent Hunter Clark one way before a dribble kick between the posts just seconds after the first break of the night.
He finished with 3.2, and at one point looked like he might put the Crows on his shoulders and lead them to a first win not only of 2020 but in almost a year when he started to crash some packs.
“We saw an energised (Walker),” Nicks said.
“He was excited like a young kid, he was a bit stiff on occasions – I thought he could have had a couple of marks but we were really pleased with how he played.”
Mackay said a freshened up Walker was a big boost to the Crows.
“I think that’s helped his body and he looked really sharp and just that presence in our forward half,” he said.
“We are extremely young and inexperienced ahead of the ball in that forward half, so his presence and experience were really important.”
SAINTS BANISH CROWS TO HISTORIC NEW LOW
The Crows were brave, but there it is — the club record no Adelaide fan wanted.
As the home side went down by 23 points to St Kilda at Adelaide Oval – albeit with their heads held high – the club suffered its 10th consecutive loss, breaking the record for their worst-ever run of defeats.
Adelaide hasn’t won a game since August 3, 2019 (ironically, against the Saints), and St Kilda has beaten the Crows for the first time since 2011 and their first ever win at Adelaide Oval.
It was timely with the Saints set to fly back to their hub in Noosa then return to the same venue next Saturday night to face ladder leader Port Adelaide.
The boot of Dan Butler had the Saints on the board with an impressive snap in the first minute of the game and from there, St Kilda never looked likely to lose, despite Taylor Walker’s third goal for the night kicking the Crows within nine points late in the game.
Saints midfielder Jack Steele was electric with 26 touches and an incredible 13 clearances, while Paddy Ryder returned to the side and had 22 hit-outs, and Butler finished with a bag of three goals.
QUESTION ANSWERED
After the Saints’ soul-destroying, six-point loss to Fremantle last weekend, coach Brett Ratten laid down the gauntlet to his players: “Who do we want to be?” he demanded to know from them.
If this performance is anything to go by, the answer is: gritty, pressured and fierce.
When Crow Walker kicked the home side within nine points and momentum looked in Adelaide’s favour, Tim Membrey, Dean Kent and Jack Lonie kicked three goals in four minutes to put the result beyond doubt. Zak Jones (20 disposals) and Ben Paton (257 metres gained) really held their heads high.
YOUNG CROWS SHINE
Adelaide’s youngsters shone in the first term: from Will Hamill spending time on Saints gun Bradley Hill to Andrew McPherson taking a strong contested mark on the wing creating a turnover that led to a Taylor Walker goal, and moments later Tyson Stengle chasing down his opponent to earn himself a free kick.
But it was the youngest on the ground – 19-year-old Fischer McAsey (sent forward from the backline in the past fortnight) who had the crowd on their feet when he flew without fear into a pack from the pocket and took an absolute screamer. It was just a shame he shanked his kick on goal.
MILESTONE MEN
There were a couple of celebrations for Adelaide: veteran Rory Laird played his 150th, while 23-year-old Tom Doedee – playing only his 27th game of AFL – debuted as stand-in captain and both stood up to the Saints run and pressure.
Laird rotated through the wing and into the forward line and finished with 15 disposals, and his goal in the second term was the cherry on top.
Doedee did a job on Membrey early, who was held to only seven disposals (three for the entire first half), while he had 18 touches of his own as well as 10 marks and laid two tackles.
RATTEN: SAINTS RESPONDED AFTER BEING ‘OWNED’ IN THIRD TERM
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten says his side found a way to win by not playing “perfect footy” after surviving a third-quarter onslaught from Adelaide.
After a huge collapse against Fremantle last time out the Saints coach unleashed on his side, describing them as “selfish” and others as “passengers”.
Against the cellar-dweller Crows on a ground that they had never won at, the Saints took a 20-point lead into half time but came under intense pressure from the home side in the third.
After giving up a similarly big lead against North Melbourne in Round 1 to go with their Fremantle fade out, Ratten said his Saints showed him something at Adelaide Oval.
“The games that we have sort of let slip we have made errors and mistakes,” he said.
“It wasn’t perfect but it was very pleasing.
“To win by four goals and the things we talked about this week as a team, we tried to make sure everyone was on the same page when we tried to slow things down.
“In that third quarter Adelaide owned us, they got the ball in there and then to build in the last and for the guys to take their chances … and really straight us up was fantastic.”
Ratten said it was a step in the right direction for the Saints, who have played exciting footy in 2020, ahead of a return to Adelaide Oval to take on the ladder-leading Port Adelaide on Saturday.
“We want to play exciting footy but sometimes you can’t,” he said.
“Sometimes the opposition doesn’t allow you so we have to find other ways to win and I thought today, it was the first sort of crowd that we have faced and to hear our supporters at the end of the game hearing our song … it’s a great result for our team.”
SCOREBOARD
St Kilda: 3.2 7.4 8.4 12.6 (78)
def
Adelaide: 1.2 4.2 5.8 8.7 (55)
BEST
Saints: Steele, Howard, Butler, Carlisle, Gresham, Jones
Crows: Doedee, O’Brien, Keays, Laird, Seedsman
GOALS
Saints: Butler 3, King, Kent 2, Howard, Gresham, Steele, Membrey, Lonie
Crows: Walker 3, McAdam 2, Laird, Lynch, Keays
VOTES
3 – Jack Steele (St Kilda)
2 – Tom Doedee (Adelaide)
1 – Dougal Howard (St Kilda)
INJURIES
Saints: Battle (concussion)
Crows: Nil
Crowd: 13,354
Umpires: Donlon, Meredith, Dore
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