Is Adelaide Oval really a fortress for the Crows and Power?

It’s been 10 full seasons since Adelaide Oval became the home of Adelaide’s two AFL teams – but several interstate teams have a better winning record on our home turf.

It’s been 10 years since the reopening of Adelaide Oval brought AFL footy into the heart of our city. But in that time, have the Power and Crows managed to turn the best stadium in Australia into a fortress?

We dived into more than a decade of data to establish how much of an advantage the Adelaide and Port Adelaide footy clubs gain from playing at their home ground.

It shows that two teams have a better winning record at Adelaide Oval than the Power, and four teams (including Port) have notched a better win percentage than the Crows.

Collingwood and Melbourne are the most successful teams at Adelaide Oval, the Pies boasting a daunting win percentage of 69.2 while the Demons have won 63.2 per cent of their games.

The Power sits just behind with an 80-47 record, giving them a 63 per cent winning record, while after several tough seasons the Crows have dropped to 57.4 per cent.

But both SA teams have booted a higher average score per game on their home ground than any other team – and here it’s the Crows that come out on top, with an average score of 91 points, ahead of Port on 89.7.

Crows fans cheer on their team earlier this month against Melbourne – one of the clubs with a better winning record at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Two hapless teams have never won at Adelaide Oval in 11 attempts – North Melbourne Kangaroos and Gold Coast Suns – with both boasting an average score of just 59 points.

But Carlton finally snapped its decade-long hoodoo during Gather Round this month, surging past the Dockers in the final four minutes to finally record a win after seven straight losses in Adelaide.

The Blues have recorded a miserable average score of just 57 points in that time, with their opponents on average nearly doubling that tally.

Port Adelaide fans celebrate a goal during last weekend’s home win over Fremantle. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

From junior footy onwards, coaches emphasise that goals win games – and the Power and Crows lead the pack on this metric. 
Both average at least 13 goals per game, with the Hawks scoring a surprising third place with their average sitting at 12.4.

For the upcoming game next weekend, the Crows will be daunted by the way Essendon bounced back into form – but can take some solace from the fact the Bombers have a mediocre record in Adelaide.

Essendon has only won 42.9 per cent of their games at the venue, with an average score of 71 points.