It will test supporters, too, as well as the players, who must endure the physical pain of injury as well as the emotional pain of games lost. But most of all it will test Craigy.
His bad luck looks set to continue. For years the Crows have made the finals and thus been denied early draft picks. This year, with the real possibility of finishing somewhere in the depths of the ladder, as well as the depths of despair, the top draft picks will all be taken by the new Gold Coast team.
Of course, the team that has benefited most in the draft from its own pathetic form is Melbourne, Adelaide’ nemesis on the weekend. The way they celebrated after the win you would think they had just won a premiership. They should have had more self-respect. The Crows had no one on the interchange bench; Patrick Dangerfield had been stretchered off with his neck in a brace after one of the most dangerous incidents I have ever seen on a football field. It was no time for over-the-top celebrations.
Injuries aside, there were other worrying signs for the Crows. Perhaps the biggest was their tackling, which was unacceptably weak. The tackle count was 72 to 43 in Melbourne’s favour, and many of the tackles that the Crows did apply were feeble. Melbourne players were able to either shrug them off or keep their arms free so they could dispense the ball to a teammate.
On the other hand the Crows were caught holding the ball an extraordinary number of times - it was probably an all-time record. The main reason for it - other than Melbourne’s impressive pressure - was a lack of options for the ball-carrier, who thus dithered until he was dumped.
Another problem was kicking for goal. If ever a team needed a good start to a game it was the Crows, yet they sprayed their first few shots. It would be nice to nail those for a change. To make matters worse, Melbourne was able to rebound quickly and goaled several times from kick-ins.
The debate is now raging about what is wrong with the Crows this year. Some bloke rang 5AA after the game to complain about three glaring deficiencies: “no rucks, no rucks, and no rucks”. He said it the week before, too, but saying a thing three or even six times doesn’t make it right. Maric was one of the Crows’ best against Melbourne.
While the Crows have been the incredible shrinking team this year it seems that Fremantle, Sydney and Melbourne have grown into monsters. Some commentators are saying that the Crows’ game plan has been unpicked, but I say that the Crows have never properly implemented their game plan this year. Injury is a massive factor. The Advertiser reported that there are 14 players on the injured list: that might also be some sort of record. The extreme pressure that is being exerted this year is exposing the Crows’ relative lack of fitness. The Crows’ midfielders are not making the space that they were last year, not providing the downfield options that would open up the game and change the dynamics. Too often they are unable to break the opposition zone. Too often there is a lack of hard running.
Against Melbourne the Crows’ forwards disappeared after half time. Burton, who was brilliant early, could not sustain the effort. Tippett is carrying an injury and Knights is underdone. Porplyzia, usually the Crows’ most skilled player, has the deft touch of a man playing in a space suit.
Amid the carnage there were some good things. Easily the best news to come out of the game was that the injury to Dangerfield appears to be less serious than first feared.
The second best thing was that the Crows were able to apply more pressure in this game than they did against either Fremantle or Sydney. The effort was clearly there, but it was insufficient.
The Crows’ injury curse means opportunities for unblooded kids. Schmidt was excellent in his first game, handling the stress better than some more-experienced players. The Crows could do worse than upgrade another couple of rookies, with Jaensch and Henderson the next in line. Jaensch - a good Hills’ boy - is speedy, but perhaps his biggest asset is his kicking, which is accurate and penetrative.
In the face of all the injuries there is, in fact, no point in panicking. It’s hard to see things getting better soon, but panic would be counter-productive. Craigy is, I think, a resilient man who does the best he can with the cards he is dealt. If he can weather this crisis and, by season’s end, restore hope to the club, he will have risen to a mighty challenge. He often says he likes to test himself: tests don’t come much tougher than this.
