Thursday night brought a Crows debut, a strong defensive showing and a career‑high performance from midfielder Josh Rachele. Here are the key numbers and historical notes from Round Three.
Debut moment for Maley, with a nod to family history
Finnbar Maley, presented his jumper before his first Adelaide AFL game on Thursday night by former Crows forward Josh Jenkins, was the club’s AFL player 272. There is a nod to family history with his guernsey number choice of 36. Finnbar’s dad Paul Maley starred in the NBL with the Adelaide 36ers from 1999-2001. Finnbar is the fifth Crow to play in 36, after Brenton Sanderson, two-time premiership player Simon Goodwin, Brodie Martin and Andrew McPherson. The last player to debut for the Crows at Geelong was Ben Davis, in 2019. He is currently featuring on reality TV show Survivor Australia.
Defence absorbs pressure and finds small wins
Adelaide’s defence was under the pump resisting Geelong’s forward half activity but it had some small wins. Max Michalanney was often matched against Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron and it was the first time the 2025 Coleman Medallist did not kick a goal against the Crows since joining Geelong from GWS in 2021. Cameron was best on ground in the 2024 clash at Kardinia Park, with six goals, and booted four at Adelaide Oval last year. Geelong had 67 inside 50 entries on Thursday night, including the first ten of the game. Tall defender Josh Worrell (30 disposals) had a game-high 11 intercepts and Nick Murray kicked the second goal of his career, 66 games since his first in his fourth game in 2021.
Rachele’s midfield evolution continues
Josh Rachele’s midfield game continues to grow and he recorded a career-high 31 disposals against Geelong. His previous best was 24 in the Round One win over Collingwood at the MCG earlier this month. Rachele attended 14 centre ball-ups, had seven clearances, seven inside 50s and six score involvements. Brayden Cook also had a career-high disposal count with 21. Twelve of his touches were collected in a busy third quarter.
GMHBA Stadium remains a tough assignment
Adelaide’s losing streak at Geelong’s home ground is now 15, extending back to the last win in 2003. Four of those losses have been by eight points or under with the closest being two points in 2009, when Geelong’s Paul Chapman kicked the last two goals of the game. The overall record for the venue is three wins from 25 visits. The only current Crows to have won at the ground are James Peatling and Isaac Cumming (both with GWS) and Alex Neal-Bullen (Melbourne).
