Clipped Wing for the Crows

[DYSON#2]

In round 1, the ROO and Ken McGregor expected to miss.
Thats the start we wanted.

McGregor, Ricciuto to miss AFL start
1:21:00 PM Tue 13 March, 2007 | Back

Brought to you by AAP

News
Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto and key forward Ken McGregor will likely miss the start of the AFL season due to injury.

Ricciuto has been troubled by a back injury and hasn't trained fully for the past month.

McGregor won't train for the next four weeks as he struggles to overcome tendonitis in an achilles.

Adelaide's physical performance manager Steven Schwerdt said it was unknown when Ricciuto would return to full training.

"We will continue to take a cautious approach with Mark," Schwerdt said.

"There is no deadline for him to return but before he plays he will need to complete at least a week, probably two weeks, of full-on competitive training.

"Obviously the first game is now less than three weeks away, but we are not going to force him to get out on to the track for that if he is not ready."

McGregor, like Ricciuto, has not featured in any of Adelaide's pre-season games.

"We tried a couple of weeks of rest followed by some training but there was still some soreness, so we will back off for about a month and he can swim and ride the bike," Schwerdt said of McGregor.

Fellow key forward Ian Perrie has also been unsighted during Adelaide's pre-season matches but hopes to return from a hamstring tear this weekend.

Adelaide hosts Fremantle in a NAB Challenge match on Friday night and open their premiership season against Essendon on April 1.

[swoodley]

Such bad news

[F111]

Henschell out also.
Is that the guts of their forward line barring Welsh?

[DYSON#2]

Henschell out also.
Is that the guts of their forward line barring Welsh?

And i wouldnt think he is in good shape either? he missed most of last year i think.
also didnt one of there ruckman go down late last year? i could be wrong

[BenDoolan]

I'm not confident about playing Adelaide in Adelaide (recent seasons suggest a rout), however, the best time to play them there is in the first round. They have no form, no momentum and no real confidence to speak of. We both go into this match not knowing how the team will perform......

[jimmyc1985]

The problem is that Adelaide's second tier players all play well when it counts. They were stuffed with injury towards the end of last year and they still only missed out on making the Grand Final by 10 points because all their second stringers played above themselves as a team. In that regard, they're a bit like Sydney - they don't appear to have the best list of players going around, but they play bloody well as a team and they're very well coached.

Way too much to expect our boys to pull off a win. It'd be nice if it happened, but i'd be happy with an honourable loss.

[CameronClayton]

People who wish injuries on the opposition really miss the big picture. I like to play opposition teams at near full strength to give a clear indication of where we are really at. Remember being lulled into a false sense of security after last year's R1 win against an under-done Swans?

We should be playing young blokes like Davey, Jetta & Houli in this game as they are quick & don't poo their pants on interstate grounds like some of our so called seasoned players do. But you can bet your bottom dollar that probably only Davey will play (off the bench) as Sheeds has gone on record as saying interstate games are too intimidating to blood young blokes in their first game.

Crows to win unfortunately (people must think last year's flogging over there was a hallucination & never really happened).

[swoodley]

People who wish injuries on the opposition really miss the big picture. I like to play opposition teams at near full strength to give a clear indication of where we are really at. Remember being lulled into a false sense of security after last year's R1 win against an under-done Swans?
We should be playing young blokes like Davey, Jetta & Houli in this game as they are quick & don't poo their pants on interstate grounds like some of our so called seasoned players do. But you can bet your bottom dollar that probably only Davey will play (off the bench) as Sheeds has gone on record as saying interstate games are too intimidating to blood young blokes in their first game.

Crows to win unfortunately (people must think last year's flogging over there was a hallucination & never really happened).

I understand what you're saying but to me it's a matter of perspective.

At this time of year I'd much rather beat an understrength Crows than have an "honourable" loss or get thumped by a full strength team.

Winning breeds confidence and after last year, any win will be good for the confidence of the team overall.

Will we win?

Quite possibly not but if the crows missing key players helps us, then I don't have any problems with us taking advantage of it.

[Sismis]

The problem is that Adelaide's second tier players all play well when it counts. They were stuffed with injury towards the end of last year and they still only missed out on making the Grand Final by 10 points because all their second stringers played above themselves as a team. In that regard, they're a bit like Sydney - they don't appear to have the best list of players going around, but they play bloody well as a team and they're very well coached.

Way too much to expect our boys to pull off a win. It'd be nice if it happened, but i'd be happy with an honourable loss.

Spot on. Remember punters predictions for them at the start of last year? They are the most balanced team in terms of contribution around the ground. They have a lot of very versatile players who are as you said well coached and very disciplined.

Thoughts of last year's game bring a cold sweat to even the most blinkered of supporters.

BUT we are a very different team to one that was so completely humiliated last year. The one major difference is a massive lump of a captain who is starting find his feet again. Remember round 1 last year? I think this is the key. The Crows defence is very good, but if Lloydy can bust them up a bit (with the help of his collosal wingman) we could get very close.

[j-mac31]

OK so we'll only lose by 75 instead of 138.

[CameronClayton]

People who wish injuries on the opposition really miss the big picture. I like to play opposition teams at near full strength to give a clear indication of where we are really at. Remember being lulled into a false sense of security after last year's R1 win against an under-done Swans?
We should be playing young blokes like Davey, Jetta & Houli in this game as they are quick & don't poo their pants on interstate grounds like some of our so called seasoned players do. But you can bet your bottom dollar that probably only Davey will play (off the bench) as Sheeds has gone on record as saying interstate games are too intimidating to blood young blokes in their first game.

Crows to win unfortunately (people must think last year's flogging over there was a hallucination & never really happened).

I understand what you're saying but to me it's a matter of perspective.

At this time of year I'd much rather beat an understrength Crows than have an "honourable" loss or get thumped by a full strength team.

Winning breeds confidence and after last year, any win will be good for the confidence of the team overall.

Will we win?

Quite possibly not but if the crows missing key players helps us, then I don't have any problems with us taking advantage of it.

In all honesty I would like to beat a full strength Crows team in Adelaide. The other side of the argument is how will our confidence be if we get thumped by a 2nd rate Crows team? Always 2 sides to each argument.

[swoodley]

People who wish injuries on the opposition really miss the big picture. I like to play opposition teams at near full strength to give a clear indication of where we are really at. Remember being lulled into a false sense of security after last year's R1 win against an under-done Swans?
We should be playing young blokes like Davey, Jetta & Houli in this game as they are quick & don't poo their pants on interstate grounds like some of our so called seasoned players do. But you can bet your bottom dollar that probably only Davey will play (off the bench) as Sheeds has gone on record as saying interstate games are too intimidating to blood young blokes in their first game.

Crows to win unfortunately (people must think last year's flogging over there was a hallucination & never really happened).

I understand what you're saying but to me it's a matter of perspective.

At this time of year I'd much rather beat an understrength Crows than have an "honourable" loss or get thumped by a full strength team.

Winning breeds confidence and after last year, any win will be good for the confidence of the team overall.

Will we win?

Quite possibly not but if the crows missing key players helps us, then I don't have any problems with us taking advantage of it.

In all honesty I would like to beat a full strength Crows team in Adelaide. The other side of the argument is how will our confidence be if we get thumped by a 2nd rate Crows team? Always 2 sides to each argument.

I'll agree with you on that point

[Rossoneri]

I think we may be in with half a chance. They will start the year slowly as they have faded the last two years.

If we do win, we shouldnt get to excited, but a win is a win.