Adelaide slumps to 0-5 in season 2020 after squandering chances against Fremantle in poor showing
It was a battle of the cellar dwellers at Metricon Stadium on Sunday, and Adelaide finished the match against Fremantle as the AFL’s only team yet to register a victory in 2020. We look at what went wrong for the Crows.
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Winless Adelaide has much to work on, admits coach Matthew Nicks, with kicking efficiency across the ground, accuracy in front of goal, execution and fundamentals to come under the spotlight at training this week.
“We’ve been working really hard for two weeks on our ability to compete, our intensity in the contest, we’ve been talking about it, we’ve been training it … (but) if you’re going to give the ball straight back to the opposition, we found ourselves on the back foot,” he said.
Nicks knows there’s no hiding from the fact their 4.10 (34) total in their 20-point loss to Fremantle was the club’s equal-fifth lowest score on record.
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The Crows’ lack of potency going forward remains a worry.
From its five games this season, Adelaide has kicked three paltry totals that now sit inside its seven lowest scores on record (29 against Gold Coast, 34 against Fremantle and 35 against Port Adelaide).
If there’s a bright side, it’s that after being sensationally dropped last weekend, Matt Crouch returned and was among Adelaide’s best.
Crouch’s first disposal for the day, a kick going inside 50, was sloppy and went straight to the Fremantle defence, but from there he was solid and finished with 27 disposals, took four marks, laid five tackles and had four clearances.
Only his brother – and reigning club champion – Brad outdid him on the stats sheet, having 28 touches, three marks, four tackles and a team-high six clearances.
Defender Tom Doedee (18 disposals, five marks), said Matt was impressive for the way he returned to the side, adding his communication and leadership once again.
“When he stands up, the boys feed off that,” he said.
The Adelaide defence largely stood tall, with young Will Hamill impressing Doedee.
“When he takes off he’s got a bit about him and we’re encouraging him to keep defending first and when he gets it, to take off and take the game on,” he said.
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Captain Rory Sloane passed a last-minute fitness test on the ankle he badly sprained against Brisbane, but by three-quarter time had not attended a single centre bounce stoppage.
However, Doedee said Sloane’s stats weren’t important.
“He’s one of the most infectious people you’ll meet, whether we’re losing … whether we’re up and about kicking goals, it’s always Sloane leading from the front,” he said.
“He’s persevering through some of the injuries he’s had, all week he’s been super diligent … he’s doing everything he can to make sure he gets up and gets back to his best.
“For him, it’s not necessarily about stats, because he provides so much in terms of pressure and repeat efforts and leadership that if he’s out on the field, it’s a big boost for us.”
Fast start
Fremantle stamped its authority early, Sam Sturt goaling within the first 90 seconds.
From there, the Crows started moving better and had five inside 50s to Freo’s two early in the term, but they were unable to convert those into scores.
On the other hand, Fremantle’s speed and efficiency going forward inside 50 was far superior, with players like Tucker able to easily shake their defenders and kick truly from set shots.
At the other end, Adelaide might have been working hard (it won the inside 50 count for the first term 10-9) but too many turnovers, coupled with sprayed set shots meant the teams went into quarter time with the same number of scoring shots – three – but vastly different scores.
Futile going forward
The Crows have been criticised in recent weeks for their poor inside 50 differential count (they lost that to the Lions last week by 33).
To three-quarter time they were winning that count 33-30 (losing 42-43 in the end), but there’s no point having inside 50s if you can’t convert them.
Epitomising their day, hardworking Crows’ forward Lachlan Murphy earnt a free kick in the first quarter only 15m out after running down Freo’s Luke Ryan, but then sprayed his kick.
Adelaide was held goalless until the dying seconds of the first half, when Reilly O’Brien took an impressive mark on the wing, kicked to Billy Frampton who found Myles Poholke in the goalsquare.
He took a strong contested mark and as the siren sounded celebrated that the Crows’ finally had their first major.
Stand-in captain courageous
Freo mid-forward star Michael Walters stepped into Nat Fyfe’s captaincy shoes and was quiet for a half, before finding his feet.
Adelaide’s new midfield recruit Ben Keays – having done solid jobs on Brisbane gun Lachie Neale and Gold Coast youngster Matt Rowell in the previous fortnight – was tasked with keeping Walters quiet and he did just that: holding the 155-game Docker so well that, remarkably, he had no touches in the middle of the ground in the first half.
When coach Longmuir sent Walters forward in the first term it was with immediate effect, taking a clever running mark after breaking free from the three-game youngster Will Hamill and kicked a run-on goal.
Walters finished with 14 touches, two clearances and two goals.
SCOREBOARD
Fremantle: 3.0 4.1 5.3 8.6 54
Adelaide: 0.3 1.6 4.8 4.10 34
GOALS
Dockers: Lobb, Walters, Tucker 2, Sturt, Taberner
Crows: Poholke, Frampton, Lynch, McAdam,
BEST
Dockers: Brayshaw, Cerra, Mundy, Aish, Tucker, Lobb
Crows: B. Crouch, M. Crouch, O’Brien, Smith, Laird
INJURIES
Dockers: Travis Colyer (late withdrawal with illness replaced by Taylin Duman), Conka (hamstring)
Crows: Talia (head clash but played on)
UMPIRES
Meredith, Gianfagna, Glouftsis
VENUE
Metricon Stadium