AFL Round 9 Adelaide v Brisbane: Crows coach Matthew Nicks defends decision to sub Daniel Curtin out at half-time
Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks had his head in his hands when Josh Worrell went down, just minutes after he’d made a tactical sub. Will it happen again?
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Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks defended the decision to make a tactical substitute at halftime of Sunday’s thrilling draw against Brisbane after the Crows lost emerging defender Josh Worrell to a suspected broken wrist early in the second half.
Coming off back-to-back wins, Adelaide desperately needed another victory to edge closer to the top eight, but had to settle for two premiership points instead.
Prized first-round pick Daniel Curtin was subbed out of the game at the main break after a difficult first half, with Luke Nankervis taking his place.
The move backfired just minutes into the third quarter when Worrell was injured in a heavy Cam Rayner tackle.
“We’ll continue to use the sub role as an impact player, we will take some risks around it, there’s always a risk involved when you make that change,” Nicks said.
“I thought Nank came on and had an impact on the game.
“In hindsight, which is really easy, it might have been great to still have that up our sleeve, but we’ll continue to work the same way with that sub role.
“If that’s at halftime then we’ll take that risk.”
Fox Footy cameras showed Nicks with head in hands after the incident, but the coach said that wasn’t out of frustration at his substitute decision.
“The hands on the head was more so disappointment for a guy who has just taken his game to another level,” he said.
“He’s gone there because he works so hard and he’s a professional.
“It’s taken him a little bit of time to get there, so as a coach you’re just over the moon about what he’s been able to do with his game.
“He’s going to be really exciting and important for our footy club.
“In that moment, I see the replay and think ‘Oh, wow … I feel for him’.
“You just feel for the individual and then you start to think about the team and the decision we made.
“But that’s insignificant compared to what poor Josh has got to work through now.”
The result left Adelaide in 12th spot on the ladder with a 3-5-1 record, with a difficult assignment against reigning premier Collingwood at the MCG up next.
Nicks is confident his charges will take some positives from the performance against the Lions, despite failing to get the win.
“It’s an empty, hollow feeling … an unusual one,” he said.
“It was a battle.
“There was a period of time in the last quarter where it looked like maybe we were done, so it’s an unusual feeling.
“To be able to fight back like we did and have our noses in front when we needed to was a positive, but then we weren’t able to hang onto it.”
Despite his mixed feelings after the match, Nicks isn’t an advocate for playing extra time to get a result.
“Standing on the ground with Fages (Chris Fagan) afterwards … both of us could’ve done with a win at the moment,” Nicks said.
“They’re a great football side, who’ve had some bad luck this year, and they really wanted this win and so did we.
“Is it a positive that we end up with two points each? It would be an exciting thing to watch if it went to extra time or a golden goal.
“But it’s a good game, we don’t need to change the rules, we change too many rules.”
Crows, Lions left in no man’s land after deflating draw
Adelaide and Brisbane played out a stunning Mother’s Day draw on Sunday, sharing the points when both sides desperately needed a win to inject themselves right back into the finals mix.
With both teams on three wins and five losses going in, the high stakes clash was played with the pulsating intensity of an elimination final.
Brisbane trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter, but reeled off five unanswered goals to lead by 18 with just over 12 minutes to play.
The Crows managed to wrest back the momentum with a four-goal salvo of their own, two to four-goal star Darcy Fogarty, and led by a goal with just over four minutes remaining.
But four-goal hero Callum Ah Chee levelled the scores with just over three minutes left.
Harry Sharp soccered through an important point as the crowd reached fever pitch, Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson missing to the right with 94 seconds remaining to level the scores for good.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks was left to rue the decision to sub a fit Daniel Curtin in a tactical move at halftime, with luckless defender Josh Worrell leaving the game with a wrist injury shortly after halftime.
FLASHY FOGARTY
Fogarty’s decision to take the advantage after Josh Rachele had his arm held close to goal in the first quarter looked a high-risk strategy at first glance.
Instead of Rachele settling and taking a set shot free kick, Fogarty was running hard toward the boundary line deep in a pocket.
But the powerful forward salvaged the situation in fine style, slamming the ball on his right boot for a superb goal that sliced Brisbane’s lead to three points at the first break.
The Lions had led by as much as 11 points in the first half in an engrossing battle of different tactics.
The visitors, keen to limit Adelaide’s ability to slingshot with speed off half-back, controlled the tempo of the game with a ‘kick-mark’ approach that saw them more than double (26-11) the Crows’ marks in the first quarter.
Star defender Harris Andrews led the charge, dropping off direct opponent Elliott Himmelberg to cut off attacking forays with five marks in the first quarter.
WORRELL WORRY
“It’s a big call to make at halftime,” Richmond premiership star Jack Riewoldt said on Fox Footy after second-gamer Daniel Curtin was subbed out of the game in a tactical move during the main break.
“If you cop an injury now … it’s a big call to make.”
As if on cue, Worrell was left clutching his left wrist in agony after it was caught underneath him in a Cam Rayner tackle just minutes into the second half.
Adelaide’s club doctor immediately pointed to the changerooms after arriving on the scene, with the unlucky defender leaving the ground with his arm cradled in his guernsey.
“This is why making the sub at halftime is really risky when a player isn’t injured,” Riewoldt continued.
“It’s high risk.
“You can’t predict a wrist injury but I would think that … wait 5-10 minutes and see.
“(Curtin) wasn’t having a great game but just give him a chance to maybe find his way back, fight back and show something in the second half.”
DOUBLE BANGER!
Despite the loss of Worrell, Adelaide gained the upper hand in a pulsating third quarter.
The home side led by 12 points after Izak Rankine booted his second after a brilliant chase down tackle by Ben Keays on Andrews.
But a double blow by Brisbane set up a grandstand finish.
With just over a minute left in the third term, Hugh McCluggage converted a long set shot and, less than 30 seconds later, Joe Daniher shrugged a Mark Keane tackle to bounce through a spectacular goal from 45m out.
SCOREBOARD
CROWS 3.5 6.9 9.11 13.12 (90)
LIONS 4.2 6.7 9.10 13.12 (90)
PHELAN’S BEST CROWS: Dawson, O’Brien, Rankine, Fogarty, Laird, Soligo, Crouch. LIONS: Zorko, Andrews, Dunkley, Ah Chee, Berry, McInerney, Payne.
GOALS CROWS: Fogarty 4, Rankine 3, Walker 2, Himmelberg 2, Sholl, Rachele. LIONS: Ah Chee 4, Morris 2, McCluggage, Lohmann, Hipwood, Dunkley, Daniher, Berry.
INJURIES CROWS: Worrell (wrist). LIONS: Nil.
UMPIRES Hausen, Fleer, Dore, McGinness.
40,278 at ADELAIDE OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Dawson (Adel)
2 Zorko (Bris)
1 O’Brien (Adel)
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Originally published as AFL Round 9 Adelaide v Brisbane: Crows coach Matthew Nicks defends decision to sub Daniel Curtin out at half-time
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