Adelaide defender Max Michalanney has likened fellow backman Mark Keane’s match-saving mark to one taken by a former Sydney star during the 2005 Grand Final.

The Crows found themselves 16 points down late in the final quarter against Carlton on Saturday afternoon, before rallying to kick the final three goals of the game to win by two points.

Although Sam Berry, who was the substitute, snapped through the winning goal with just little more than a minute remaining, it was Keane who took a strong mark deep in defence with just seconds remaining, icing the game.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Michalanney said Keane’s grab reminded him of highlights he had seen of Swans Premiership star Leo Barry’s mark, which secured the Swans their 2005 Grand final win.

“It (Keane’s mark) was Leo-Barry like, really,” Michalanney said.

“All the boys are so happy for him.

“The way he had been training over the pre-season, we’ve all seen him put in the hard work and he’s developing really nicely (and) he’s really well respected in the backline.”

Adelaide’s victory against Carlton was its first for the 2024 campaign and Michalanney said it meant a lot to the side and the coaches who had worked hard to turn the fortunes around.

“It’s unreal, a bit of a monkey off the back in a way,” Michalanney said.

“Starting the year 0-4 is not ideal, it’s not what we come here to do, so to finally get a good win over an undefeated side in Carlton, we’re over the moon with it.

“It’s really exciting for a team like ourselves and coming off the back of last year where we weren’t able to win games on the road and close games.

“To finally tick both those boxes on the weekend was great.”

The Crows will turn their attention to a blockbuster against Essendon at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

Essendon would also enter the match coming off a win and Michalanney expected it to be another tough challenge.

“We can take a lot of confidence out of how we performed on the weekend,” Michalanney said. 

“We all got our roles done and performed in big moments, so we can take that into Friday night against another massive Club in Essendon.

“It was great to see the form from last year come back through when we were one of the better offences in the competition.”