Central District’s fighting spirit topples Adelaide in a thriller

CROWS youngster Brad Crouch’s comeback from injury could be stalled after being reported for allegedly striking in the loss to Central District on Saturday.

Central District’s Ryan Williams gets a kick away under pressure from Adelaide’s Jason Po

ADELAIDE Crows youngster Brad Crouch’s comeback from a broken leg could be stalled after being reported for allegedly striking in the loss to Central District at Elizabeth on Saturday.

The talented onballer had his number taken by the umpires after an incident late in the second quarter before being swamped by Bulldogs as the two teams left the field for half-time.

It was only the second game for Crouch since returning from his leg injury.

The report added to the Crows’ misery of a six-point loss to the lowly-placed Bulldogs, who claimed just their third win for the season from 10 rounds.

Producing a fighting spirit and desperate will to win which has been missing for much of the season, the Bulldogs held off a late charge from the Crows in an entertaining contest to secure a confidence-boosting triumph.

The victory also gained the home side some revenge for their 52-point defeat to the Crows in round three.

“Defensively we were really good all day,” Bulldogs coach Roy Laird said.

“We can look at our last seven quarters (starting with the final three quarters against Port Adelaide last week) and say, ‘boys, we are on the right track.

“The last seven quarters we give ourselves a tick for intensity and persistence.”

The Bulldogs conceded the ruck to the Crows but the home team's midfield brigade was able to get their hands to plenty of ball to create opportunities.

Trent Goodrem, highly influential in his return from a hamstring issue, nailed the opening goal after three minutes and the Bulldogs were never headed.

They were able to quell the Crows movement with committed tackling and harassing tactics and keep the visitors goalless for the opening term.

Momentum then swung back and forth and when the Crows kicked the final two goals of the third quarter, the margin was only two points.

Jason Porplyzia had a strong impact for the Crows and Ricky Henderson, sidelined since breaking a leg in pre-season, made a successful comeback.

The Bulldogs bagged the first four goals of the final term, only to have their character tested when the Crows kicked the next three goals. Bulldog Josh Glenn was outstanding in the tense final few minutes.

“Central has not had 14 years in the finals without knowing how to compete,” Crows coach Heath Younie said.

“We did not take the game on as much as last week (win over Woodville-West Torrens).

“You can't take credit away from Central District. We knew they would turn up to play and they did it really, really well.”

CENTRAL 3.5 5.7 6.10 10.11 (71)

ADELAIDE 0.5 4.7 6.8 9.11 (65)

BEST - Central: Glenn, Goodrem, J. Schiller, Williams, Potter, Barmby, Hanna. Adelaide: Porplyzia, Hartigan, Kelly, Henderson, Battersby, Thompson.

GOALS - Central: McIntyre, Goodrem, Retzlaff 2, Glenn, Waldhuter, Mabon, Jenner. Adelaide: Graham, Robinson 2, Osborn, Callinan, Knight, Battersby, Ellis-Yolmen.

INJURIES - Central: Wagner (knee).

REPORTS - Adelaide: B. Crouch (striking).

UMPIRES - Bowen, Sboro, Hundertmark.