Rnd 4 Match Day Thread Adelaide Crows V Sydney Swans. 19.10pm (ACST) Adelaide Oval.

[gumby_bolts]

What a game, all our young players will be better for it, even Papley. I'm annoyed that McVeigh didn't do the team thing and get some fitness in the reserves before coming in.
I thought Kennedy was outstanding in the last quarter after having a quiet for him game.
Heeney - what a superstar.

[dimelb]

An exhausting game to watch - I can only imagine what it's like for the blokes on the ground.

Pluses include McVeigh and Benny getting quality game time; great work by Buddy, Isaac, Hanners and Tippo; valuable experience for people like Jake, Dan R, Callum the Less and Toby who had a decent game despite not being up to the standard of Callum the Large.

The umpiring was iffy at times but I am coming round to the view that the outcome of the game doesn't depend on the umpiring. If we had taken a couple of our chances - e.g. Tom Papley getting two goals instead of two behinds, and I'm not blaming him in the least - it would have got us over the line.

Still, it was a terrific game to watch and we will take some significant lessons from it. The main one for me was that the Crows were much tighter in defence, and I wish we were more like that at times.

[tasswan]

If you had said at the beginning of the year that we would be 3-1 after four games I would have taken it in a heartbeat. Especially with how many of our team are kids.
Effort was fantastic, just tended to bomb it in the last 1/4 rather than hitting shorter targets which made it easy for the Crows to rebound.

[WauchopeAnalyst]

Hannebery nearly 40 and Joey 30 odd.

I think Cunningham in back 50 has a ton of ton and handpasses to a player in worse position and turnover for a goal. Mills decides to thread the needle in back 50, 2 players between target, and goal for them. Never required but designed by us. Not umpires.

Dont mind losing but 12 year old rubbish will get us pumped by the gun teams every time.

We have nearly no composure when needed.

I have retired this year. We will play finals, but 5-10% off in skills and structures.

Teddy is gone and Reg is terrible once it hits the ground.

Slow dinosaurs are gone.????

Another million for Hurley not Hooker.

[Auntie.Gerald]

McGlynn not bad for second game !

I'm happy still after that loss

two or three random goals by Adelaide made the difference into leading with 10mins to go

[Luke Shannon]

McVeigh should not have played said it before the game should have played in the twos for a week or two and got some touch..

Ump did do a good job but the free kicks at centre bounce weren't there

Issac Heeney is going to be a gun and Mills played a great 4th game some of marking was excellent his disposal needs to improve but this game was played like a final so great effort

I hope Sinclair will be ok for next week because Toby was superb in the ruck but he was no where in forward 50

Next week might be a tough watch the Eagles are a much better side than the Crows and their inside 50s are low flat darts we need to tag Gaff

Toby probably played his best game. Follow up work was great and competed strongly. Very comfortable keeping him in if Sinclair is not right.

Rampe was incredible.

Was Richards injured during the game? I don't recall him being on the field in the last quarter and Rampe was playing on Walker who would usually get Richards.

[goswannies]

I think we missed the Sink

[robamiee]

how many goals from free kicks though to them and i think zero to us, not saying that cost us, but really and then the push on smith by eddie (i cant do no wrong) betts, clearly in the back....

good game though, a few passengers though... i think zac jones would ahve been handy in the backline tonight though... i wouldnt mind resting mills though...
paps had a quiet game but not worth dropping, we need speed next week...reg needs to watch the ball more not so much the man 2 goals he could have saved by watching the ball....

the last ball up though i think we made the mistake by having buddy in there and not our usual brigade we needed that clearance would ahve been having buddy run from the wing

[Levii3]

Pluses include McVeigh and Benny getting quality game time.

Theres and entire comp dedicated to getting game time McGlynn came through the reserves and even Adam Goodes played Reserves last year McVeigh just felt he was above it

[barry]

Lost at the selection table. Playing mcveigh instead of jones ans stuffing around with towers confidence last week.

[dejavoodoo44]

Some brilliant football played by both teams tonight. Hopefully we will get to play them in a final at the SCG later this year, where some of the decisions that went their way tonight will go our way.
In regards to a couple of people claiming that Mills is a poor decision maker, I disagree. In terms of a player that is only four games into his career, he is actually one of the best decision makers that I have ever seen. In my opinion, he has that ability that is present in many star players, where he seems to have a split second advantage in anticipation, which gives him just that little bit of extra time to take the right option.
And Heeney, what a star!

[barry]

I don't think I'm exaggerating when i say Heeney is likely to become the greatest player in the AFL..... ever.

[aardvark]

Happy for Nankervis, he didn't look out of place, super game from Heeney. I hope Papley gets a chance next week to redeem himself, he deserves it although i'm not sure we need him and Benny in the same team. Mills will learn a lot from tonights game and be better for the experience.

[Levii3]

Changes for next week

Ins
James Rose, Callum Sinclair, Zac Jones

Outs
Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers?

How Jacks head?

Just on Mills he had 8 Marks second highest on ground for a 4th gamer

[Doctor]

Well that was one hell of a game. I don't believe the umps cost us the game but they did make it hard for us. Walker's roost downfield late on was clearly deliberate under the new rule and Betts gave Smith a hugh shove in the back, but it was the 2 or 3 early on that annoyed me more. The soft one for the Lynch goal, the ridiculous one against Rampe (I think) for a push against Betts and the "not 15" HTB call early in the second. I also felt a few short passes on turnovers that led to Adelaide marks and shots weren't 15M either, but they were from turnovers, so we need to be better at not doing that.

Right, that aside, both teams were great. We played really well and we'll win more than we lose playing like that. Rampe was outstanding. Heeney was amazing. Franklin did superbly with limited opportunity and our rucks were good again. I was worried when Sinclair dropped out but Nanko did really well. Kennedy started quietly but was huge in the second half and Hanners was everywhere.

Down sides. I agree that McVeigh was short of a run and should have come back through the reserves. Papley was quiet but kept at it and bobbed up a bit more later in the game. he's young and raw and that doesn't worry me. Mills, likewise, is trying to play like a seasoned pro and is making a few mistakes with his kicking, but the upsides are enormous. Towers was a disappointment tonight and I wonder if his confidence was shaken by being left out last week. For me though, Richards was my biggest worry. I love him to death but I was concerned about what I saw tonight. Hopefully it was just a bad game.