A goalkicking milestone, mid-season draftee’s debut, a veteran climbing the games list and stat standouts headline the key numbers and historical notes from Round 13.
Walker reaches 300 Adelaide Oval goals
Taylor Walker’s first goal of the game was his 300th at Adelaide Oval, in 135 games. He has kicked the most AFL goals at the venue - ahead of Eddie Betts (174) – and also holds the venue record for most goals in an AFL game (10 in 2023 v West Coast). Walker’s two goals against the Cats lifted his AFL career total to 693.
Crows secure third one-point home win
One point has been Adelaide’s winning margin in three nail-biting home games this season. Walker kicked the match-winner against St Kilda in Round Six and then Brayden Cook rescued the Showdown for the Crows, while Darcy Fogarty’s shot grazed the post for the winning point against Geelong. According to stats guru @sirswampthing the record for the most one-point wins in a VFL/AFL season is four, by Fitzroy in 1952. Four of Adelaide’s five losses this season have been by nine points or below.
Hall-Kahan makes AFL debut
Inaugural Crow Bruce Lindner was in the rooms to present mid-season rookie draftee Hugo Hall-Kahan with his jumper before his AFL debut. Lindner, who played at West Adelaide and Geelong before joining Adelaide when it entered the AFL in 1991, kicked four goals in the Club’s first game against Hawthorn. Hugo, player number 274, gathered 16 disposals on debut in 56 percent game time and had the footy in his hands when the final siren sounded, completing an amazing nine days since being drafted. He is the first Hugo to play for the Crows, and inherited the Number 40 jumper from Hugh Bond, who moved to the Number 21 locker this year.
Strong all-round performance across the ground
Half-forward Zac Taylor continues to make the most of his touches. After snapping Adelaide’s first goal of the night, Taylor went at 100 per cent efficiency for his 11 disposals, had four score involvements and also laid six tackles. He would also be pleased to have posted the fastest sprint on the night (32.4km/h). Dan Curtin collected an equal-career high 26 disposals, ruck Lachlan McAndrew had 51 hit-outs for the first time in his short career, and Alex Neal-Bullen led the pressure acts with a game-high 31. Ben Keays had two goal assists in the first quarter and then kicked two goals himself, Walker and Josh Rachele both had six score involvements and at the other end Josh Worrell and Luke Nankervis won nine intercepts each.
Laird moves into top six all-time
Rory Laird is now ranked sixth on the all-time Crows games list. The former rookie played his 279th AFL game on Thursday night, passing three-time All Australian Nigel Smart. He has also played the most AFL games at Adelaide Oval (144), three more than Port’s Ollie Wines.
Crows end Geelong winning run
Adelaide broke Geelong’s run of six consecutive wins stretching back to when the Crows caused an upset in the opening round of the 2021 season. Geelong’s record at Adelaide Oval (five wins from ten matches) against the Crows is far superior to its form at Football Park (AAMI Stadium), where it won only five times from 19 visits.
