So the girlfriend and I made the 9 hour drive to Adelaide on Friday. Although most couldn't understand why we would do such a thing, it was a great day/night with a great result.

In other threads people have mentioned the poor crowd. Indeed it was poor.

It was extremely quiet throughout both Demon's games. As one of the only people in the crowd wearing a Demon's scarf a few other Dees fans sat with us which was nice. A nice lady who was on her own was great company (sorry we forgot to say goodbye when we left), as well as the family of South Australian, Melbourne fans who sat behind us.

Connelly was on the P.A before the game and implored the Crows fans to cheer against Port when we played them and vice versa. It didn't really help as the crowd was pretty quiet whenever we kicked a goal etc.

Seeing the players close up I was impressed with their size and strength. You could see great definition in guys like Watts, Nicholson and even Jurrah. Bate also looked alot stronger throughout his body, which also impressed me.

On the new interchange rule, I cant see a way that we can only play Jamar plus a substitute ruckman. So many times he pushed hard deep into defense to created a contest and then had to push just as hard offensively. He will be worn out by quarter time.

Just to add a little pessimism to it all, although we won both games and looked exciting in doing so, we could have just as easily lost both had the opposition kicked straighter. We started slow in both games and will need to improve on that.

A quick player summary

Watts - Did very well, loved his contested mark. Too often calls for the ball running backwards with no idea what is behind him. Luckily they ignore him when he does this.

Bate - Stronger, fitter and took overhead/contested marks. Great second game in particular

Bennell - I'm not a fan, BUT his sticky hands and pace could be a great asset.

Trengove - Smart footballer. So often he was in the right place. Used the ball pretty well i thought too.

Maric - Got more game time than most in the first game and was impressive. Looks like there will be tough competition for a forward spot this year.

Garland - Was sensational. The opposition tall forwards sometimes got free but he was basically by himself back there.

Cook - Looked to have so much time and a quick thinker. Not the slowest either.

Moloney - Looked slow, missed a few targets. Not great.

Rivers - Like Garland, did well. Strong marker and was loud on the field.

Martin - Bloody quick and I wouldn't be upset if he rucked with Jamar.

Evans - Loved his first game. Quick and ball magnet.

Nicholson - Got cleaned up hard and wanted to stay down but he quickly jumped to his feet despite obviously hurting. Then attempted to take the game on and run through the Port defence. BIG +++

Howe - didn't do much but broke a few packs open. Liked this aspect of his game.

Dean Bailey is now my favourite ever Dees coach. Love how he speaks to and 'teaches' the players as they come off the field. And although it was only a NAB Cup game, his competitiveness was on show when after losing a centre clearance he smashed the interchange bench which resulted in a large thud. He did the twice which I loved.

On the centre clearances, did the tv show why we gave away so many free kicks here? I counted 3-4 of the first 5 resulting in Crows free kicks.

Oh, and Tom McNamara? He got absolutely pantsed at nearlly every contest. On this performance I am not happy he is on our rookie list again.

Thank you for the interesting first hand report. Much appreciated.

Thanks for a great report. On Stef Martin I noticed his ruck work effort in the intraclub game and he is quite quick. I noticed that before the intraclub his shots on goal results were pretty poor - without any pressure. This is not a great endorsement of his potential to be the other big ruckman to the russian but if his work rate in the ruck is good and he can go back or forward on opposition talls and with his athleticism and size - he might prosper.

Moloney - Looked slow, missed a few targets. Not great.

Evans - Loved his first game. Quick and ball magnet.

Oh, and Tom McNamara? He got absolutely pantsed at nearlly every contest. On this performance I am not happy he is on our rookie list again.

I have to agree with you on Tom and he was the cause of several scoring opportunities as a result.

He put in a shocker.

Evans on the other hand looked pretty good overall.

Moloney was out of sorts maybe he doesn't rate these games he looked like he was somewhere else.

But the positives were many and encouraging.

Robbo 24 - thanks for your thoughts.

as well as the family of South Australian, Melbourne fans who sat behind us.

you guys must have been good luck! When we came back to our seats you were gone!

you guys must have been good luck! When we came back to our seats you were gone!

Were you sitting behind us, behind the bench? Sorry we didn't say good bye. We went to the TAB and just decided to leave. Next AAMI game we go to I'll keep a look out for you.

On the centre clearances, did the tv show why we gave away so many free kicks here? I counted 3-4 of the first 5 resulting in Crows free kicks.

They were against Moloney for holding (3 of them anyway).

I'd appreciate your feedback on Bail too - thanks

They were against Moloney for holding (3 of them anyway).

I'd appreciate your feedback on Bail too - thanks

Bail was great. Covers so much ground which I don't think you can see on the TV. At one stage we had a break away and had numbers around Bail as he ran down the wing. It should have resulted in a goal, however Bail missed the leading forward target by about 30 metres. He came off the ground immediately and was pretty down on himself. I do see him as best 22 as he will still be running deep into the final quarter.

They were against Moloney for holding (3 of them anyway).

i thought jetta gave them away as he was playing on andy otten for a bit and i saw him give two off?

having said that moloney does tend to grapple with opponent due to lack of burst speed

Bail was great. Covers so much ground which I don't think you can see on the TV. At one stage we had a break away and had numbers around Bail as he ran down the wing. It should have resulted in a goal, however Bail missed the leading forward target by about 30 metres. He came off the ground immediately and was pretty down on himself. I do see him as best 22 as he will still be running deep into the final quarter.

counts for nought if you can't kick

I felt a bit sad for Tom Macnamara.. Getting "pansted" is a perfect description of his night and he lloked well out of his league.

Bail is a gun and he has a touch of aggro, but after watching a video of thr games his disposal has gotten worse over the summer. Has he been given a new kicking action like abrtram perhaps.

Moloney looked slow and more focused on body contact at every opportunity rather than getting the ball or spreading from a contest as we moved forward.

Martin lokoed good and is probably ahead of Spencer in the ruck department, at least after last weekend's game. Quick, agile, thinking on his feet but has no idea about ontested marking.

Any clear reason why we handballed to players under pressure so often? Green, Maric, Jetta, Ttrengove and others.

......Any clear reason why we handballed to players under pressure so often? Green, Maric, Jetta, Ttrengove and others.

probably just because it was the first real hitout for the year. I thought the kicking was disappointing (c.f. the Rich/Coll/Carl matches) but the ground was supposedly a little greasy after morning rain and there was a wind factor (c.f. Etihad).

A lot of it probably related to just getting re-adjusted to the increased speed in match conditions

Too early to read too much into these sort of games

Edited February 16, 201114 yr by daisycutter

Just curious - who is Nicholson? Am I a bad supporter?

Edited February 16, 201114 yr by calabreseboy