Round 19 v Essendon, Adelaide Oval
Adelaide secured a valuable percentage boost with a thumping 82-point win over Essendon at Adelaide Oval in Round 19.
The Crows were never troubled by the Bombers and dominated the game after an evenly-matched opening term.
Essendon won the clearances and inside 50ms in the first quarter before the more Crows took control of the contest to lead by 45 points at the main break.
The Crows kicked seven majors to the Bombers’ one in the third quarter as maestro Eddie Betts (five goals) and apprentice Charlie Cameron (four) ran rampant.
Rory Sloane (33 touches, nine inside 50ms) continued his brilliant season and Brad Crouch (31 touches) produced one of his best performances of the season.
Defender Kyle Hartigan even got in on the act, booting his first AFL goal.
The only downside was an ankle injury to Sam Jacobs, who landed awkwardly in a marking contest.
ADELAIDE 5.2 11.7 18.10 21.11 (143)
ESSENDON 2.3 4.4 5.6 9.7 (61)
BEST: Laird, Sloane, Betts, B.Crouch, McGovern, Thompson
GOALS: Betts 5, Cameron, McGovern 4, Seedsman, Jenkins, Douglas 2, Lyons, Sloane, Hartigan
Season Review: Rounds 1-6
Round 20 v Brisbane, Adelaide Oval
Adelaide flexed its muscles against an inexperienced Brisbane, recording a devastating 138-point victory at Adelaide Oval.
The win provided another vital percentage boost for the Crows who vaulted into third place on the AFL ladder.
Adelaide dominated across every line and extended its lead at every change, and even looked like cracking the 200-point barrier for the first time in the Club’s history.
The Crows fell just short of that mark but still equalled their second-biggest win, just one point shy of a 139-point victory over Richmond in 1993.
Tom Lynch and Taylor Walker took 27 marks between them and received terrific supply from the Crouch brothers, Rory Sloane, Rory Atkins, Charlie Cameron and Jarryd Lyons, while Kyle Hartigan, Rory Laird and Daniel Talia all dominated in defence.
Debutant Reilly O’Brien (29 hit-outs, 16 disposals, one goal) impressed in the absence of Sam Jacobs and Cam Ellis-Yolmen (18 disposals, two goals) played his first senior game of the season.
Walker, Lynch and Eddie Betts all finished with four majors as the Crows had 14 individual goal kickers.
ADELAIDE 7.4 14.10 22.13 27.15 (177)
BRISBANE 3.0 5.0 6.1 6.3 (39)
BEST: Laird, Sloane, Walker, Lynch, Talia, Jenkins, Betts, B.Crouch
GOALS: Walker, Lynch, Betts 4, Jenkins 3, Ellis-Yolmen, Sloane 2, Smith, Seedsman, O’Brien, Lyons, B.Crouch, M.Crouch, Brown, Cameron
Reilly O'Brien is swarmed by teammates after kicking his first AFL goal
Round 21 v Fremantle, Domain Stadium
Adelaide cruised to its third consecutive crushing win, demolishing Fremantle by 72 points at Domain Stadium in Round 21.
The result marked the first time in Adelaide’s history that the Club has registered two wins at Domain Stadium in the same season following the Crows’ Round 12 win over West Coast at the venue.
Adelaide punished Fremantle’s skill errors with 16 of their 21 goals coming from Dockers turnovers.
Eddie Betts (six goals) and Josh Jenkins (five) were Adelaide’s major beneficiaries, with the former taking his season tally to 60 and bringing him into Coleman Medal calculations.
The Crows had a huge number of contributors across the park with Rory Laird, Rory Atkins and Richard Douglas all notching more than 30 disposals at better than 83 per cent efficiency.
ADELAIDE 4.4 10.9 16.10 21.16 (142)
FREMANTLE 2.1 6.2 7.3 11.4 (70)
BEST: Betts, Jenkins, B.Crouch, Laird, Douglas, Lyons, Atkins
GOALS: Betts 6, Jenkins 5, Lynch 2, Atkins, Lever, Thompson, Brown, Sloane, Walker, Cameron, McGovern
Round 22 v Port Adelaide
After three comfortable victories, the Crows received the perfect test heading into finals in Showdown XLI and emerged victorious by 15 points over Port Adelaide.
Form went out the window and the typically fiery affair lived up to its billing as the Power pushed the Crows to the brink.
Despite coming into the clash as the biggest underdogs in the Showdown’s 20-year history, Port Adelaide started strongly and refused to lie down in the seesawing affair.
But five goals to the mercurial Eddie Betts in his 250th game helped the Crows secure the win in front of a sold-out crowd of 49,451 at Adelaide Oval.
Matt Crouch had one of the best games of his young career and his 33 possessions helped him earn his first Showdown Medal, while Betts, Taylor Walker, Mitch McGovern and Josh Jenkins shared 14 goals between them.
ADELAIDE 4.2 7.11 11.14 15.19 (109)
PORT ADELAIDE 4.3 6.4 12.7 14.10 (94)
BEST: M.Crouch, Lyons, Sloane, Betts, Atkins, Thompson
GOALS: Betts 5, McGovern 3, Lynch, Jenkins, Walker 2, Brown
Eddie Betts leads the Crows out for his 250th game in Showdown XLI
Round 23 v West Coast
Adelaide was bundled out of the top four after a disappointing 29-point loss against West Coast in the final round of the home and away season.
The Crows were unable to stand up to West Coast’s finals-like pressure coming off consecutive six-day breaks and were beaten to the ball all night.
Josh Kennedy (five goals) and Andrew Gaff (41 possessions) proved the difference for the Eagles as Adelaide rued the absence of suspended star Rory Sloane.
Adelaide trailed at every break and the Eagles stretched their lead from 11 points at the main break to a match-winning 37 points by three-quarter time.
Matt Crouch (29 possessions, 10 tackles) was again Adelaide’s best while Rory Laird (28 possessions, six marks) saw plenty of the ball off half-back.
ADELAIDE 2.3 6.4 6.11 10.11 (71)
WEST COAST 2.4 7.9 12.12 14.16 (100)
BEST: M.Crouch, Laird, Henderson
GOALS: Ellis-Yolmen, Douglas 2, McGovern, Atkins, B.Crouch, Betts, Jacobs
