Adelaide has gone down to Central District by 34 points at Elizabeth Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs proved too strong for the Crows, winning 6.6 (42) to 11.9 (76) in their Round 18 clash.
A poor start hurt the visitors as Adelaide only managed to boot one goal in the first term.
The Bulldogs capitalised on the Crows’ mistakes and took a 33-point lead into the main break.
There was no fault in the work rate of Adelaide’s young side as it finished the match with 64 tackles, compared to the Bulldogs’ 46.
Jay Boyle battled hard and finished with 25 disposals, while James Borlase (23), Lachlan Sholl (21) and Oliver Davis (20) were the Crows’ other major possession-getters.
Adelaide SANFL coach Michael Godden said he was pleased with Adelaide’s second-half and the workrate of his side.
“Clearly disappointed with the first half, I feel we came with the right attitude pre-game,” Godden said.
“The Doggies were good, so you’ve got to give them credit in that first half and we gave them too much room.
“We had a reasonable chat at half-time and I thought the guys’ response in the second half was the type of footy, even though we didn’t get the game flowing, the type we want to play.
“We won contested possession, we won ground ball and equalised the score so I think from a second half, we have to take some positives out of that.”
Godden was also impressed with Borlase in the ruck, as the youngster amassed 23 hit-outs, two clearances, four inside-50s and two defensive rebounds.
“Really happy with James, it’s two weeks in a row that he’s led the ruck for us,” Godden said.
“What he does around the ground, I think he had 10 marks, he took 10 marks last week, so he’s a young man doing the best he can.”
Tariek Newchurch’s class inside 50 was also a shining light for the Crows.
The young Crow ducked in and out of traffic, avoiding tackles inside 50 to slot Adelaide’s first major midway through the first term.
Adelaide fought back midway through the second quarter with goals to Clamp and McAsey before two quick majors from the Bulldogs pushed the margin back out to 33 points.
The Crows booted the final two majors of the match but the Bulldogs had done enough to prevail.
Round 19 is a split round and the Crows have a bye next week, before taking on Norwood on September 4 in their final SANFL match of 2021.
SCOREBOARD:
ADELAIDE 1.2 3.3 3.4 6.6 (42)
CENTRAL DISTRICT: 4.3 8.5 10.8 11.9 (75)
BEST: Borlase, Boyle, O Davis, Tharaldsen, Sholl, Worrell.
GOALS: Newchurch, Clamp, McAsey, Murray, Sholl, Kennedy.
