The Australian
Craig’s Crows mantra wears thin
By Stephen Reily
NEIL Craig denies that talent, specifically the absence of it, is the critical issue confronting the Crows and maintains that, for the most part, inexperience and immaturity can explain their 3-10 season to date. He stood by this assessment again yesterday, after losing to Geelong by 52 points at Skilled Stadium, by declaring his faith in the future of his squad to be strong. Unquestionably bullish, in fact. "My belief in this group doesn't change, it doesn't waver," he said. "We might finish down the bottom this year but personally, I don't believe we've got to bottom out for three or four years to get top-10 draft picks to refurbish. "We've got to build this side, no doubt about that, but in terms of having to rebuild and get new talent in, no." "I don't think we did very well today, apart from our effort, which is important because that's been under question. I don't think we ever looked like threatening today," he said.
The Age
Craig has drive to soldier on
By Guy Hand
ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig remains steadfast in his determination to see out the toughest period of his career, despite the Crows crumbling to a sixth successive defeat. Craig wants to coach well beyond his eighth and most challenging season. ''My drive's stronger than ever,'' Craig said after the defeat. ''We're building a side here. We're building something I believe's going to be very, very good. It's never going to be easy. ''My spirit, my endeavour, my enthusiasm has never been higher.'' Craig was pleased with his side's endeavour, especially late in the match as it booted five of the last six goals to reduce the margin to under 10 goals, but with little else in the performance. ''Next week against the Sydney Swans, that mentality [late in the game] needs to continue and be cemented in big-time, week after week,'' Craig said. ''Otherwise, we'll keep having great quarters of footy followed by unbelievably poor quarters of footy.''
The Sydney Morning Herald
Unbeaten Geelong a class above Crows
By AAP
DESPITE being without eight first-choice players, the Cats' unbeaten season continued as they belted Adelaide by 52 points at Skilled Stadium today. They led by 38 at quarter-time, 46 points by half-time and extended the margin beyond 10 goals by the final change. Geelong led by as much as 80 points in the final term before the Crows lifted with the game lost, booting five of the last six goals as the Cats appeared to put the cue in the rack. The Cats managed the win without Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood, Mathew Stokes, Josh Hunt, Darren Milburn, Nathan Vardy and late withdrawals James Kelly and Brad Ottens. Bernie Vince booted two goals, had 34 touches and was the best for the Crows, whose defeat will heap more pressure on coach Neil Craig.
Geelong Advertiser
New breed of Cats give Crows a lesson
By AAP
DESPITE being without eight first-choice players, the Cats' unbeaten AFL season continued as they belted Adelaide by 52 points at Skilled Stadium on Sunday. Without a group of injured and suspended stars which would decimate most sides, the Cats made light of it in a comfortable 19.11 (125) to 10.13 (73) victory - showcasing a depth the equal of any side in the competition. Adelaide fell to their sixth successive defeat, paying heavily for their failure to launch early in the match. Adelaide coach Neil Craig admitted he was no closer to bridging the gap between the Crows' best and their worst - the latter on show for large parts of Sunday's match. “Our best - I'm happy to say is very, very good. Our worst is sub-standard AFL, and that's a huge gap.'' Crows midfielder Bernie Vince booted two goals, had 34 touches and was his side's best.
ABC Online
Craig committed to Crows’ cause
By AAP
Adelaide coach Neil Craig remains steadfast in his determination to see out the toughest period of his career, despite the Crows crumbling to a sixth successive AFL defeat. The Crows were given a 52-point pummelling by understrength Geelong at Kardinia Park on Sunday - a match effectively over as a contest by quarter-time. Yet Neil Craig remains committed to building the current group of players into a force, although the gap between their best and worst is chasm-like. The Cats led by 46 by half-time and by as much as 80 midway through the final term. "Next week against the Sydney Swans, that mentality (late in the game) needs to continue and be cemented in big-time, week after week," Craig said. "Otherwise, we'll keep having great quarters of footy followed by unbelievably poor quarters of footy." The Crows' injury woes also continue. They lost Richard Tambling (illness) and Matthew Jaensch (back) before the match, and Ricky Henderson (concussion) and Chris Schmidt (hamstring) in the second half to lessen their ability to rotate through the interchange bench.
The Advertiser (SA)
Craig is building but can he fix it?
By Michelangelo Rucci
NEIL Craig is putting on his hard hat - the Crows coach has finally accepted he is "building" (but not rebuilding) the new Adelaide football team. And he is insisting he has the drive to complete the job that has no obvious end date. As Adelaide stumbled to its sixth consecutive loss - by 52 points to an unbeaten Geelong team filled with youth after seven changes to the line-up that beat St Kilda a week earlier - Craig was given a reality check on how his "most-exciting" Crows squad is also the most frustrating in the club's 20-year history. "We're building a side here - we're building something I think is going to be very, very good," said Craig last night as Adelaide's win-loss count became 3-10. "My drive is far stronger than ever," added Craig who has to hope the split among Crows fans still has the larger group in his favour. "We obviously need to build this side, but I don't believe we have to bottom out for three or four years to get top-10 draft picks to refurbish this side."
