Adelaide’s SANFL side has moved into the top five on the ladder after putting together a strong performance to defeat South Adelaide by 44 points at Noarlunga Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Following a slow start, the Crows forced their way back into the game in the second term kicking seven goals and continued the momentum into the third and fourth quarter to claim a 17.8 (110) to 10.6 (66) victory.

Senior Coach Matthew Wright gave the following five key takeaways from the match.

Keane returns

Key defender Mark Keane played his first game of the year against the Panthers, after recovering from a leg and ankle injury sustained in the pre-season.

Keane was solid down back, taking multiple intercept marks and coming across to spoil on numerous occasions.

“He was so deliberate with his recovery and then with his craft, so when he came back he would be a better player than when he went down, credit to the work he put in,” Wright said.

“He built his way into the game well, and it probably helps when we have the game on our terms, but he had some really important team moments where he put a fist through the ball.”

Keane finished with 17 disposals, six marks and four rebound-50s.

Ludowyke boots bag of five

First-year Crow Archie Ludowyke played arguably his best game of the SANFL season so far, booting a game-high five goals against the Panthers.

Ludowyke competed hard from the opening bounce, with the reward on the scoreboard a testament to the work he had put in since joining the Club, according to Wright.

“He is fun to watch, ever since he got to the footy club, he’s done everything right,” he said.

“He wants to get better, he is a competitor, he loves learning, he has been putting the work in for a long period of time now and building towards a game like this.”

Ludowyke finished with 12 disposals and six marks – four contested.

 Hinge leaves his mark 

Defender Mitch Hinge continued to build his match fitness, with another strong State League performance.

Hinge was Adelaide’s main distributor out of the back half, was effective with his possessions, and had a good balance of when to attack and defend.

“He is one that is building and we want to build him right so when he gets back into that AFL level we don’t see him again at SANFL level,” Wright said.

“I thought he played at a high-level and had some really important roles and impactful moments, albeit when we were able to get the game on our terms.”

Hinge finished with 21 disposals, three marks, three inside-50s and four rebound-50s.

Pedlar brings the pressure

Luke Pedlar returned to action having missed Adelaide’s Round 11 AFL match against Hawthorn with knee soreness and had an immediate effect.

Pedlar proved a handful when forward, impacting at ground level with his trademark burst and tackling pressure, as well as in the air, taking a hanger in the fourth term to round off a strong afternoon.

“He is so explosive, we know what he can do and how he can impact the game,” Wright said.

“His forward fifty tackles and his pressure, he must have had four or five forward tackles today, so I loved his well-rounded game today.”

Pedlar amassed 12 possessions, laid five tackles and kicked three goals.

O'Brien makes aerial presence felt

Ruckman Reilly O’Brien put together another impressive SANFL performance, dominating the hit-outs and giving Adelaide’s onballers first-use.

O’Brien’s presence was felt around the ground, taking intercept marks down the line or linking up with his teammates by providing a target forward of the ball, highlighted by recording a game-high 10 marks.

“Reilly gave our mids first look today and there were some aerial contests where he was able to win it in the air and feed it off to our runners,” Wright said.

“He has been able to stand up and play a really dominate brand of football, he ticked that box again today.”

O’Brien collected 24 touches, 43 hit-outs, four clearances, three inside 50s and booted one major.

Adelaide’s SANFL will now prepare for a match against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday at 2:10pm.

SCOREBOARD

ADELAIDE: 2.2  9.5  13.6  17.8  (110)
SOUTH ADELAIDE: 4.3  7.4  8.4  10.6  (66)

GOALS:

Adelaide: Ludowyke 5, Maley, Pedlar, Drury 3, O’Brien, Taheny, Edwards.
South: Gander 4, Shillabeer, Delean 2, Emile-Brennan, Sparks.

BEST:
Ludowyke, O’Brien, Edwards, Cotton, Sholl, Keane.