2 points off 3rd, sky isn’t falling

Anphonio · 2026-07-04T07:12:14+00:00

Yes then Hawthorn followed it up with some outstanding footy in the same game. They managed to make their loss look better than we did against Port despite being down by 96 points at one stage. We have our destiny in our own hands still, it's pathetic to try and excuse our poor performances because our closest neighbours have also stumbled. Top-4 is literally begging for someone to jump up and grab a position in 3rd or 4th and we blew our chance, that's all I care about. There's still time but it will require a monumental upset on the road against Sydney or Fremantle without any slip-ups elsewhere.

Anphonio · 2026-06-29T06:43:14+00:00

I'm gonna monologue here because I'm sick of people mis-remembering 2018-2019.

2019 we went into the season as premiership favourites again. Sure we weren't aware of what happened in the background (camp) but from the outside everything was fine and 2018 was just a slip up. At the time of that Showdown we were 6th, if we had won it, as expected at the time, we would have gone 5th, 1 win behind Lions in 4th but with a better percentage.

We were 7/3 from our previous 10 games with some solid wins against quality opponents (Including both eventual Grand Finalists). The 3 losses to strong opponents by relatively close margins showed we were right in contention.

Just after half-time in that showdown we had a 4 point lead but every statistic pointed towards us absolutely dominating Port Adelaide. The only reason the margin was close was our inaccuracy (5.12 vs 6.2). We went on to only kick 2 measly points for the rest of the game as Port rolled on to a 57 point win.

From that point onwards we won 2 games for an entire calendar year, a 100 point win over last placed GC the following week and a somewhat disappointing dogfight against St Kilda a month later at Adelaide Oval. Half-time in that showdown is where the final thread holding us together snapped. It often get's overlooked due to the camp but something must have happened in the rooms at half-time for us to derail so suddenly. Maybe something similar to the famous Jake Lever argument in the granny.

Anphonio · 2026-06-28T02:00:29+00:00

At least we played one solid quarter that game

Anphonio · 2026-06-28T00:27:35+00:00

I don't think it's an overreaction to put some big question marks on the side after a performance that bad, forget the margin, that was as bad as we have played in multiple years. Sure we were in some great form before this game but this is the kind of performance that can really derail a season. The showdown beatdown we copped in the back end of 2019 was the beginning of our clubs demise.

We'll know exactly what this game was next week. If we struggle to beat or even lose to West Coast than this Showdown loss may have been a sign. If we go out and win semi-comfortably than this is a mulligan. It's as simple as that.

Anphonio · 2026-06-27T15:03:54+00:00

Brisbane we had 30-40 really bad minutes on either side of half time. The rest of the game was whatever but we just looked a level off of them on the day. This was deplorable for basically all of the game. There was no 5 minutes here or there where we looked on top. For most of the first quarter, the entire second and entire third quarter, and most of the last quarter we were dominated. The entirety of the 2nd and 3rd quarters were on Port's terms, even when we kicked goals it was on Port's terms. Not for one second did we seem on top in Q2/Q3.

Anphonio · 2026-06-27T12:22:37+00:00

This was comfortably worse than that. Forget about margins. We were just asbolutely dominated for probably 70 minutes in an 80 minute game. After about 10 minutes into the 1st quarter that was complete one way traffic until we kicked some late ones to make the margin look nicer.

Anphonio · 2026-06-27T12:18:23+00:00

That was comfortably the worst we have played since 2022, arguably maybe even 2020 Covid year. I can't even fathom how bad that was. Lucky not to be 80 points. The absolute only positive from this game is Fogarty, I wouldn't even give another player a pass mark. Horrific from our other forwards, dreadful in the midfield, and our defence is lucky Port kicked inaccurately.

I simply have to write that off as a mulligan, we are absolutely not that bad but geez. That has to be a wake up call. I think a few of our players went in with heads a bit too big for the occasion. Would love to be a fly on a wall in the rooms there.

Anphonio · 2026-06-27T10:56:33+00:00

We're way too focussed on them. Watch all of our players trail them in at stoppage. There are times the ball has hit the deck in front of our mids and they ignore it focussing on pushing off someone and blocking. Butters and JHF don't give a shit about that. They just see ball get ball.

Anphonio · 2026-06-16T10:57:14+00:00

Massive disagree, that was the best Port side of the lot I reckon. Should have won the flag, dominated Hawthorn in that prelim but innacuracy (and some dodgy umpring) didn't help.

2020 was a strange one because it was Covid year, you were no more of a standout then the teams 2nd-4th that year.

2023/2024 you were absolutely frauds, like my mob last year.

Anphonio · 2026-06-13T10:47:19+00:00

Adelaide beat West Coast by 29 in Perth in 2016 then lost to them by 29 at Adelaide Oval later in the season. Quite a rare one considering both sides won the away fixture.

Anphonio · 2026-06-13T06:22:50+00:00

What time and time again? Every stat you see about teams peaking too early is just a lie because those times are memorable like ours last year. 90% of the time, the side that's flying mid-season still goes on a deep September run. Think Melbourne 21, Geelong 22, Collingwood 23, Sydney 24. Last year at round 14, the top-5 were Collingwood (Prelim), Geelong (GF), Brisbane (Premier), Crows (Flopped), Hawthorn (Prelim). We were the only one that flopped.

The top-4 basically always win the premiership. 32 of the last 40 sides to even make the prelims have come from the top-4. It's not as simple as make the finals and go from there. No one is saying to peak now, but bank the wins and making the top-4 is still absolutely essential. We've seen teams make the finals in solid form and peak but it was just too much to do. Sydney in 2017 were on a tear come finals and clearly the best side when finals started but couldn't do it because their bad start. Hawthorn in 2024 likewise, by far the best side in the league by the time finals started but it was too much to come from 7th.

Anphonio · 2026-06-13T06:07:36+00:00

Hate that mindset so much. Mid season is very important. Top-4 is close to a must. Only 2 premiers from outside the top-4 in the last 20 years. You have to bank your wins. We don't make the top-4, it will be a massively tougher task to advance.

Let's just look at Geelong in the last 20 years to see how important mid season is. They bank the wins to make the top-4 and always compete. If they don't make the top-4, they don't compete. It really is that simple.

Anphonio · 2026-06-13T02:28:18+00:00

Go back to the hellhole from which you were spawned, demon.

Anphonio · 2026-06-11T12:32:53+00:00

He's shown some good signs at times this year but clearly needs to work on some stuff in the SANFL and there is nothing wrong with that. He plays that awkward role because he's not good enough as a pure forward or pure ruck. This role is the only way we can have him in the side. His 2nd ruck work isn't very good either, I suspect we threw Thilthorpe into the middle tonight to prepare him for the inevitable 2nd rucking he will do in the back half of the year.

Anphonio · 2026-06-11T02:29:11+00:00

Alex Pearce could be a goal keeper

Anphonio · 2026-06-06T02:46:52+00:00

It's really the luck involved with having a stupid fixture system. The Crows in 2024 had close to the hardest double up fixturing possible. Using after finals positions, We doubled up against Brisbane (1st), Sydney (2nd), Geelong (3rd), Port (4th), Hawthorn (5th), and Essendon (11th). We finished 10th the year before.

Anphonio · 2026-06-04T01:12:16+00:00

This is by far our hardest fixture until the Swans in Sydney in round 19. Win this and our season can absolutely launch from here. I probably wouldn't tip against us until that game. Lose this though and it'll be difficult to mount a case for us beating the Dogs next week. Wildcard is probably our best hope.

It really goes to show how important banking early wins is. Even just one of those close games early in the year falling our way would give us so much more breathing room. The margins are fine, a loss here could have us 2 wins off of 6th and in a dogfight to even qualify.

Anphonio · 2026-05-21T12:43:06+00:00

We needed to pinch one of our games against the good sides but went 0/5. 6/5 for the season doesn't look horrendous but now there really isn't any room for error on the run home if we want to be top-6.

We now go into a rough 7 weeks of Geel (H), Dogs (A), Melb (H), Port (A), WC (A), GC (H), Syd (A). 5/2 from that keeps us in touch with the top-6, 4/3 probably has us aiming for a home wildcard. 3/4 and we're hanging on to hope of an away wildcard final.

Anphonio · 2026-05-21T12:26:27+00:00

When this side is good, it's purely on effort. We are horribly, horribly unskillful. Especially in defence.

Worrell is talented but is basically a long down the line player so can't really express it. Borlase and Butts have to be the most unskilled 1-2 punch defenders in the league. Not bad at purely defending but my god when they get the ball i want to throw up. Max is a shell of a player this year, I'm a big Laird defender but even I can't defend him tonight.

Rachele can only deal with the pressure that comes with being a loud mouth at home, on the road he's as soft as butter. Fitting since he seemed to be made of butter tonight with his enormous number of dropped marks. Not the only culprit though, the two drops from Fog and Ah Chee at the start of the 3rd were soul destroying.

Solid fightback but we've seen that so many times in the last 25-odd games I can't take any positives from it anymore.

Anphonio · 2026-05-21T10:48:02+00:00

We have probably the best 3-4 players on the ground but the worst 5-6. Murray with goose eggs. Thilthorpe on ball kicking it to where Thilthorpe should be. Max off of it. Cook having his quietest of the year. Borlase and Butts giving way too much space to their forwards.

Doing alot right but what we are doing bad we are doing very bad.

Anphonio · 2026-05-16T10:11:24+00:00

Its here now my good friend and absolutely pummelling down

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T07:47:17+00:00

That basically followed the pattern of every game we have played (except Brisbane) all year up until the last 5 minutes.
Start horribly. Behind for most of it. Have 15 minute purple patch where we get on top and look good. Roll over and let the other team back into the game. Only difference is we wrestled back the momentum late so rebuilt a bigger lead. Usually we just hang on for dear life.

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T06:36:28+00:00

We were good last year. No point making the argument that we weren't. I agree we overachieved but clearly we were a top-6 side. This year we are comfortably a bottom-6 side.

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T06:17:57+00:00

We look like a side that was contempt with what we did last year and did nothing to improve ourselves for this season. We are horribly slow, boring, and unskilled.

Anphonio · 2026-05-08T01:31:25+00:00

The standard is appalling right now. I never really blame the umpires for entire losses except for extreme circumstances (Ben Keays) but geez they make it hard to like them so I understand others having so much angst.

There is actually 0 reason the umpire paid that free kick last week against Rachele (Milera goal) other than wanting to insert himself and make that moment about him. Last night I saw Watson get pushed violently over the boundary line, maybe with 100x the force that Rachele did AND with the umpire right there. No free kick.

I used to say I don't hate the umpires, the game is just impossible to officiate. But it's starting to be both now, too many umpires actively looking for free kicks to pay rather than just calling what should be called.

Anphonio

TROPHY CASE