Murray MiddletonNAB Cup - Week Two
February 25th 2008 10:22
Monday's column provides a round-up of the weekend's matches. They are as follows:
1. Who wants to win?
Four teams remain in the NAB Cup - Essendon, Hawthorn, St. Kilda and Adelaide. It remains to be seen whether all four sides want to win the competition. For Hawthorn, winning the pre-season premiership would only serve to heighten the expectations for the year ahead. Alastair Calrkson might want to stear clear of such publicity by suffering an honourable defeat to the Crows this week. Conversely, Essendon seems to be taking the competition quite seriously. A win over St. Kilda would mean a boost in membership and might provide its young list with the confidence required to have a tilt at the finals.
Adelaide are in great form. They are playing seasoned campaigners Goodwin, McLeaod and Edwards as forwards and allowing their youngsters to roam in the midfield. They are fit, well-drilled and seem to be the team to beat. The Crows ruck stocks are thin. Throughout the year they will have to rely on Maric, Griffin and Moran, none of whom are proven performers. Despite this hurdle, they are likely to beat the Hawks this week. St. Kilda have so far rested a number of big names. Their 5-point defeat of Geelong should not be held in high regard. Coach Ross Lyon has displayed a nonchalent attitude with the media so far and will lose Gehrig, Hudghton and probably Koschitzke this week. It is likely to be an Adelaide versus Essendon grand final.
The sizeable increase in prizemoney should provide every incentive for these two teams to go all the way.
2. What to make of Essendon's early season form?
On Friday night Essendon destroyed the Western Bulldogs. Scott Lucas was the architect up forward, kicking three super goals in his tally of five. With Lucas and Lloyd up forward and Michael and Fletcher in defence, the Bombers should have a good spine in 2008. What remains to be seen is how they are going to overcome their lack of pace in the midfield. Since the 2000 premiership the Bombers have struggled for pace in the midfield. The recent axings of Dean Soloman and Mark Johnson - both good players in their prime - are testament to the need for speed at Windy Hill.
Over the summer Matthew Knights has imposed a stringent fitness regime. He seems determined to transform the Bombers into a fit, running outfit in 2008. So far so good. Knights will want to exploit the pace of the likes of Lovett, Winderlecht, Dyson, Davey and Jetta. All five players seem destined to spend time in the midfield. The hope is that the harder bodies of Watson, J.Johnson and Stanton will provide adequate service to the Dons' running brigade. Many question marks still hang over Essendon's capacity to compete with the better midfields in the competition. Matthew Knights was given the job because of his insistence that the Bombers did not need to bottom out. He will be hoping that Essendon will be able to carry their pre-season form into the regular season. Otherwise it will be difficult to justify his appointment over the more fancied Damien Hardwick as coach.
3. The emergence of James Sellar
James Sellar was taken by the Adelaide Crows with pick 14 in the 2006 national draft. Many experts were surprised that Sellar lasted long enough to be captured by his home town club. Sellar has good sporting pedigree. He captained the South Australian Under 17 Volleyball team before turning his attention to Football. At 195 centimetres, he was drafted as a ruckmen, but seems likely to play more up forward. Sellar is still young - he turns 19 in March - but his two performances in the NAB cup will have Crows fans excited.
Sellar kicked three goals against Collingwood in the AFL's ill-fated Dubai experiment. He only bagged one on Sunday against the Dockers, but showed enough to suggest he will be a walk-up starter for round one. In the second quarter Sellar outmark the experienced Luke McPharline in the forward pocket before snapping truly from an acute angle. It showed a hint of class.
Sellar is a good athlete with a graet leap. His frame will eventually fill out and enable him to hold down a key forward or defensive role. With the ill-disciplined Scott Welsh's move to the Western Bulldogs and Trent Hentschel's return from a horrific knee injury, Sellar has a great opportunity to cement a place in the Crows team for the next ten years. Adelaide have been a strong team over the past three seasons under Neil Craig, but they have never possessed a key forward capable of breaking a game open. The Wayne Carey trade failed dismally for Gary Ayres, but finally Crows supporters have reason for optimism. Sellar is not ready yet, but he is definately a player of the future.
*Feature articles to follow on Wednesday and Friday.
Thankyou for reading.
-MM
1. Who wants to win?
Four teams remain in the NAB Cup - Essendon, Hawthorn, St. Kilda and Adelaide. It remains to be seen whether all four sides want to win the competition. For Hawthorn, winning the pre-season premiership would only serve to heighten the expectations for the year ahead. Alastair Calrkson might want to stear clear of such publicity by suffering an honourable defeat to the Crows this week. Conversely, Essendon seems to be taking the competition quite seriously. A win over St. Kilda would mean a boost in membership and might provide its young list with the confidence required to have a tilt at the finals.
Adelaide are in great form. They are playing seasoned campaigners Goodwin, McLeaod and Edwards as forwards and allowing their youngsters to roam in the midfield. They are fit, well-drilled and seem to be the team to beat. The Crows ruck stocks are thin. Throughout the year they will have to rely on Maric, Griffin and Moran, none of whom are proven performers. Despite this hurdle, they are likely to beat the Hawks this week. St. Kilda have so far rested a number of big names. Their 5-point defeat of Geelong should not be held in high regard. Coach Ross Lyon has displayed a nonchalent attitude with the media so far and will lose Gehrig, Hudghton and probably Koschitzke this week. It is likely to be an Adelaide versus Essendon grand final.
The sizeable increase in prizemoney should provide every incentive for these two teams to go all the way.
2. What to make of Essendon's early season form?
On Friday night Essendon destroyed the Western Bulldogs. Scott Lucas was the architect up forward, kicking three super goals in his tally of five. With Lucas and Lloyd up forward and Michael and Fletcher in defence, the Bombers should have a good spine in 2008. What remains to be seen is how they are going to overcome their lack of pace in the midfield. Since the 2000 premiership the Bombers have struggled for pace in the midfield. The recent axings of Dean Soloman and Mark Johnson - both good players in their prime - are testament to the need for speed at Windy Hill.
Over the summer Matthew Knights has imposed a stringent fitness regime. He seems determined to transform the Bombers into a fit, running outfit in 2008. So far so good. Knights will want to exploit the pace of the likes of Lovett, Winderlecht, Dyson, Davey and Jetta. All five players seem destined to spend time in the midfield. The hope is that the harder bodies of Watson, J.Johnson and Stanton will provide adequate service to the Dons' running brigade. Many question marks still hang over Essendon's capacity to compete with the better midfields in the competition. Matthew Knights was given the job because of his insistence that the Bombers did not need to bottom out. He will be hoping that Essendon will be able to carry their pre-season form into the regular season. Otherwise it will be difficult to justify his appointment over the more fancied Damien Hardwick as coach.
3. The emergence of James Sellar
James Sellar was taken by the Adelaide Crows with pick 14 in the 2006 national draft. Many experts were surprised that Sellar lasted long enough to be captured by his home town club. Sellar has good sporting pedigree. He captained the South Australian Under 17 Volleyball team before turning his attention to Football. At 195 centimetres, he was drafted as a ruckmen, but seems likely to play more up forward. Sellar is still young - he turns 19 in March - but his two performances in the NAB cup will have Crows fans excited.
Sellar kicked three goals against Collingwood in the AFL's ill-fated Dubai experiment. He only bagged one on Sunday against the Dockers, but showed enough to suggest he will be a walk-up starter for round one. In the second quarter Sellar outmark the experienced Luke McPharline in the forward pocket before snapping truly from an acute angle. It showed a hint of class.
Sellar is a good athlete with a graet leap. His frame will eventually fill out and enable him to hold down a key forward or defensive role. With the ill-disciplined Scott Welsh's move to the Western Bulldogs and Trent Hentschel's return from a horrific knee injury, Sellar has a great opportunity to cement a place in the Crows team for the next ten years. Adelaide have been a strong team over the past three seasons under Neil Craig, but they have never possessed a key forward capable of breaking a game open. The Wayne Carey trade failed dismally for Gary Ayres, but finally Crows supporters have reason for optimism. Sellar is not ready yet, but he is definately a player of the future.
*Feature articles to follow on Wednesday and Friday.
Thankyou for reading.
-MM
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