Adelaide’s SANFL side fell short to a determined North Adelaide outfit by one-point at Prospect Oval on Saturday afternoon.

It was a closely fought affair, with neither side able to get on top for long periods.

Trailing by eight points heading into the fourth term, the Crows stole back the lead early, before two quick goals from North gave them a two-score advantage.

Despite a late goal from Finnbar Maley, Adelaide ultimately ran out of time, going down 12.8 (80) to 12.7 (79).

Here are SANFL Coach Matthew Wright's five key takeaways from the match.  

Draper doesn’t miss a beat 

Midfielder Sid Draper returned against the Roosters, after being sidelined for the past month with a broken jaw, and had some key moments that impressed the Crows coaches. 

Draper was able to win the ball at stoppage, and was not afraid to put his head over the footy to get the ball moving forward. 

“It’s an injury where you can come back hesitant, but we had no doubts that once Sid was cleared we wanted to get him back amongst it and I thought he put his head over the footy today,” Wright said.

“He was one that helped us get the game on our terms for periods and was a contributor, so great to see him back out there.” 

Draper finished with 17 disposals, two tackles and six clearances. 

Keane continues to build

Defender Mark Keane played his second game of the season, putting together another solid performance down back. 

Keane had some important wins one-on-one, either intercept marking, coming across to spoil or laying tackles to force a stoppage. 

“There were some moments where we got breached and he was able to wrap someone up in a tackle and force a stoppage,” Wright said.

“He has been building really nicely off a very interrupted preseason, he has a couple of games under his belt now.”

Keane finished with 19 disposals, four marks and six rebound 50s.

Bond’s lockdown role

Defender Hugh Bond played through the midfield for the second consecutive week, being deployed in a defensive role on North Adelaide’s Angus Schumacher in the second half. 

Bond was effective as a tagger, limiting his opponent to only five touches for the half, while winning the ball himself. 

“He has been working hard on his game, we have seen what he can do as a lock down back, so he is generating strings to his bow,” Wright said.

“That ability to go on the ball and win enough footy himself, but also be really accountable for one of the opposition's best mids, I thought Bondy got it done.” 

Bond amassed 16 disposals, three marks, six tackles and four clearances. 

Marsh makes most of opportunities

First-year Crow Mitchell Marsh had one of his best games in the tri-colours, playing across the wing, where he covered the ground well, provided a target and used the ball effectively. 

Marsh had a well-rounded game, with Wright impressed with how he is growing week-after-week.

“He is one that his game is continuing to grow week-after-week and he puts himself in positions to impact, and I thought he was one who did that with those opportunities today,” he said. 

“He is a beautiful user, he is clean, he puts his head over the footy and I thought he was able to find enough ball today to impact the game.” 

Marsh finished with 15 disposals, six marks, five tackles, three inside 50s and three rebound 50s. 

Sholl in a new role 

Lachlan Sholl spent the afternoon playing off half back, where he gave his side plenty of drive. 

Sholl showed a strong balance between when to defend and push forward, kicked a major, and linked up with forward Finnbar Maley on several occasions to set him up for shots at goal. 

“We loved what he was doing on the wing and his ability to impact across that area, but we needed to generate some more run and carry off half back, with (Mitch) Hinge coming out of the team,” Wright said.  

“I thought he had some really important moments, defended well at times and picked his moments when to attack, his balance was good.”

Sholl collected 17 disposals, three marks, four inside 50s and four rebound 50s.

Adelaide’s SANFL side will next play Norwood at Norwood Oval on Sunday with the first bounce at 2:10pm.

ADELAIDE: 4.1  8.2  9.4  12.7  (79)

NORTH: 4.1  7.5  10.6  12.8  (80)

GOALS:

Adelaide: Drury 4, Maley 3, Ludowyke, Sholl, Richards, O’Brien, Atkinson

North: Caputo 6, Van Huisstede 3, Szekely, Dignan, Wilsdon