There's nothing better than 'Rash' in the rain.
Travellers were welcomed to South Australia for this year's Gather Round with rain. Then more rain. And then some torrential rain. Then just more rain. Luckily, one man didn't really seem to mind. Josh Rachele.
Adelaide has relished the chance to make a statement in its Gather Round openers and Rachele wasn't about to let Thursday night's downpour ruin his chance of doing just that. When things were going wrong for the Crows, Rachele was the one to inspire. And when they needed to put the foot down, it was Rachele they turned to again.
His four first-half goals from the midfield, combined with the 26 disposals and six clearances that complemented that attacking brilliance, were decisive in Adelaide overcoming Carlton's early blitz on its way to a 17.12 (114) to 12.14 (86) win.
Rachele had willing contributors alongside him. Sam Berry (29 disposals, four clearances) and Jordan Dawson (26 disposals, one goal) did the brunt work through the middle, while Wayne Milera (25 disposals, eight intercepts) was the team's primary mover across half-back.
But it was the Crows superstar that led the way. While he danced in the rain, the Blues slowly became more downtrodden.
It had, initially, been following the season's script. Adelaide, notoriously slow starters, up against Carlton, infamously slow finishers. It meant that when the Blues kicked three of the game's first four goals, both sets of supporters would have been left with an unenviable feeling of 'here we go again'.
But, for the first time of the night, enter Rachele. Twice in a matter of minutes, he somehow managed to snap truly while wedged deep inside the forward pocket, helping to weather an early Blues storm where the visitors had burst out of the blocks to kick seven first-quarter goals and earn a decent buffer.
Carlton looked hot, with Patrick Cripps (29 disposals, seven clearances) and Sam Walsh (28 disposals, eight tackles) doing the bulk of their damage to quarter-time. But even they couldn't thwart Rachele's influence. A third goal, converted on the run from outside 50m, was delivered right on the stroke of quarter-time.
It reduced the deficit to just seven points at the first change, when in reality it could have been much larger. And when Rachele opened the second quarter with yet another opportunistic finish, his fourth in 40 minutes, suddenly the Adelaide Oval crowd was sensing the makings of a special night.
Adelaide, too, was sensing its moment to strike. Still trailing at that stage, Rachele's heroics then inspired another four goals in the next seven minutes to kickstart a charge that changed the complexion of the game. Ben Keays had three of them, hoping to mirror his teammate's burst, as the Crows opened a 24-point half-time lead.
Carlton, already in dire straits given the nature of its season to date, needed everything to go right if it was to respond. But when the next storm arrived, bringing with it yet another lashing of rain across the longer break, the weather instead started to reflect the gloomy feeling that continues to linger over the Blues.
While the conditions hardly favoured a comeback, Adelaide still made more of them. The Crows kicked two of the three goals in the third term, no longer even needing to rely on Rachele to ensure the points were sealed. In wet weather, with a 30-point lead heading into the last, it made the final term rather inconsequential.
Even if the hosts were made to sweat through a mini-Carlton comeback – spurred by three unanswered goals to begin the fourth quarter – the margin never dipped beneath 17 points. Adelaide had done enough and, by that point, its main man had already made his mark.
SCOREBOARD
ADELAIDE 6.3 12.6 14.8 17.12 (114)
CARLTON 7.4 8.6 9.8 12.14 (86)
GOALS
Adelaide: Rachele 4, Keays 3, Rankine 2, Neal-Bullen 2, Walker, Thilthorpe, Soligo, Maley, Dawson, Cumming
Carlton: McGovern 2, Ainsworth 2, Williams, McKay, O.Hollands, E.Hollands, Florent, Evans, Cerra, Carroll
BEST
Adelaide: Rachele, Milera, Berry, Dawson, Keays, Rankine, Neal-Bullen
Carlton: Walsh, Cripps, E.Hollands, Newman, Florent
INJURIES
Adelaide: Hinge (hamstring)
Carlton: Nil
