Adelaide Crows brutally trolled as rival club’s song played
The Adelaide Crows were stung even before the ball bounced in their AFLW preliminary final as an act of “s***housery” unfolded.
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The Adelaide Crows were stung even before the first ball up in Saturday night’s preliminary final with players forced to walk out to the club’s most hated song.
The Crows were unable to stop the Brisbane Lions from progressing to a third-consecutive AFLW grand final at Brighton Homes Arena, but the biggest talking point came as the teams ran onto the field.
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While Channel 7 and Fox Footy did not broadcast the Crows’ entry onto the ground, it did not go unnoticed that Port Adelaide’s club song was played over the loud speakers — instead of their own.
Channel 7 reported the song was played in full as the Crows completed their final warm up before huddling for the national anthem and welcome to country.
The embarrassing scene had fans chortling away on Saturday night.
AFL reporter Michael Whiting posted on Twitter: “Oh dear. The entire Port Adelaide team song played as Adelaide ran on to Brighton Homes Arena. Then the Crows song followed. Oops”.
Channel 7’s Late McCarthy wrote: “Mind games already at Brighton Homes Arena. Port Adelaide theme song played as the Crows make their way out onto the field”.
Former Queensland senator Andrew Bartlett shared grimacing face emojis as he wrote: “When the teams ran on to the ground for the Brisbane Lions vs Adelaide Crows prelim final, the sound people at the ground played the team song for … Port Power”.
The Crows’ social media team did post a video of the team running onto the ground on its Twitter and Instagram pages, but the clip appeared to be edited in the middle.
Some fans were much more scathing of the blunder.
“Lions playing the port song for adelaide is either top tier s***housery or someone’s getting fired,” one Twitter user wrote.
One posted: “BHA playing the port adelaide song LOL”.
Worse was still to come for the Crows.
The Lions’ 18-point win sets up a sequel to the enthralling 2023 grand final against North Melbourne.
The big win comes 12 months after the Lions marched into Adelaide Oval and shocked the Crows on their home deck in the finals.
The game turned dramatically in the third quarter as the Lions banged in four goals and then held their nerve to win 7.8-50 to 4.8-32.
It was the Lions’ sixth consecutive win over the Crows – a curiously lopsided recent head-to-head given the two clubs’ history dating back to the inaugural grand final in 2017.
The previous three meetings between the two teams had all been decided by less than a goal.
It marked the Crows’ third-consecutive preliminary final defeat.
Brisbane will head to Ikon Park next Saturday for a repeat grand final date with minor premiers North Melbourne, whose last defeat came in the 2023 decider.
SCOREBOARD
LIONS 0.3, 2.4, 6.5, 7.8 (50)
CROWS 1.3, 3.5, 3.7, 4.8 (32)
BEST Lions: Anderson, Grider, Davidson, Hodder, O’Dwyer Crows: Randall, Marinoff, Hatchard, Biddell, Kelly
GOALS Lions: Davidson 2, Hodder, Ellenger, C. Svarc, Dawes Hampson Crows: Randall 2, Gould, Kustermann
INJURIES Lions: Nil Crows: Nil
CROWD 4519 at Brighton Homes Arena
CONTENTIOUS CALL COSTS CROWS
Is it the call that cost the Crows a chance at a fourth AFLW premiership?
Chelsea Biddell could only shake her head in confusion after she was called to play-on inside Brisbane’s goalsquare having taken what she thought was a goal-saving contested mark midway through the third quarter.
The Crows defender barely took half a step off her line but that was enough for the controlling umpire to call play-on, forcing Biddell to hurriedly handball into the path of Jade Ellenger who goaled to give the Lions a nine-point advantage.
That quickly became 15 points when Dakota Davidson goaled off the deck for her second major of the night.
A game previously in the balance quickly became one-way traffic as the hosts roared to life with a vocal home crowd at their backs.
RAMPANT RANDALL
If the AFLW had a Player of the Finals award it would undoubtedly have gone to Chelsea Randall.
Adelaide’s talismanic jack-of-all-trades threatened to break Brisbane hearts with an imperious first-half display as the Crows shot out of the blocks.
Randall was the difference at quarter-time after out-marking Poppy Boltz to kick the opening goal of the game – but it was her second major that will make highlight reels this week.
The Crows needed a reset after Brisbane booted two quick goals to draw within a point in the shadows of halftime and Randall delivered.
A quick kick inside 50 caught the Crows’ livewire off-guard but with incredible athleticism, contorted her body to take a stunning one-handed grab with Lions defender Nat Grider hanging off of her.
Randall went back and kicked truly to send the Crows into halftime with a seven-point lead.
But as Brisbane got on top in the middle of the ground Randall’s opportunities inside 50 dried up and not even the Crows’ maestro was able to magic a second-half comeback in the face of the Lions’ onslaught.
The 33-year-old averaged 18 disposals and booted five goals in her three finals appearances – unfortunately not enough to deliver the Crows to another grand final.
— with NCA NewsWire
Originally published as Adelaide Crows brutally trolled as rival club’s song played
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