On the basis that we aren’t really losing that much by playing:
Hartley/Brown over Ambrose
Dea over Gleeson
Langford over Myers
And that the Crows are both hindered personnel wise but also have a lot of new faces in who werent in their best team last year & are not as good. Whereas our new faces are guns.
Traditionally start the season well.
Home deck.
Crows coming off a later start to pre season.
Crows missing 5 from their GF side inc their best tall forward, their best pressure forward (Betts doesn’t apply pressure), their best running half back, their best intercept defender.
We’re missing 1 of our best 12, 2 of our best 18.
We’ve added 3 walk up best 22 players.
If we have improved at all over last year and think we’re any chance of contending for a home final and god willing even winning one, this is absolutely a game we should be a chance of winning.
Raz hurts but if we can’t cover a guy who struggled to make any impact last year and Ambrose who is slightly ahead of Hart’s and Brown then it’s going to be a long year.
The DJR said: 37 Clarke — not sure I saw him have more than one kick (it was OK, with the wind) but was really good inside. His handballs out of packs were influential.
He is a smoky to play and probably will be listed as an emergency. IMO.
more a case of having nothing down field to kick to as we’d set up so well behind the ball. The club did an analysis piece on it after the match, highlighting the work our defenders and mids had done to prevent the quick kick out. It meant Selwood had to hang onto the ball much longer than he’d have like and gave Walla the time to pounce.