AFL 2021: News and analysis from Adelaide’s 42-point defeat to West Coast

The Adelaide Crows now have the longest current losing streak in the competition after coming up short against the Eagles at home. But their situation is far more dire than that.

Simeon Thomas-Wilson and Jason Phelan

8 min read

July 19, 2021 - 10:14AM

NCA NewsWire

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 18: Andrew Gaff of the Eagles kicks the ball past Darcy Fogarty of the Crows during the 2021 AFL Round 18 match between the Adelaide Crows and the West Coast Eagles at Adelaide Oval on July 18, 2021 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

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Dane Swan reckons Adelaide “are officially the worst team in the league again”.

Even the most optimistic Crows fan would struggle to argue with that with Matthew Nicks conceding “we are too far off our best at the moment” after another loss dragged Adelaide right into the danger zone of a consecutive wooden spoon season.

The Crows have made some significant progress this year, knocking off Geelong and Melbourne at home to show what Nicks’ young side can do when they are at their best.

But for all those positive strides the Crows are in a real form slump — highlighted by a second-half no showing in the 42-point loss at the hands of the previously struggling West Coast.

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Dejected Crows after losing to the previously struggling West Coast. Picture: Getty Images

The Crows now have the longest current losing streak in the AFL, with their last win over St Kilda feeling like a lifetime ago.

Even that one could be seen as the Saints, who have galvanised themselves after the loss, throwing it all away.

The Crows sit two and six points ahead of the 17th-placed Hawthorn and bottom-placed North Melbourne, and play both those sides in their final five games.

Nicks said he wasn’t thinking about the prospect of a second-straight spoon.

“We’ve got to look at next week and come out to perform so we need to put our heads down and get to work now,” Nicks said.

“That’s what we’ve done all year, we go to work to win games of footy and to improve every week.

“We’ve had some losses this year where we have come off and we have felt like we have improved as a team, as a squad. We didn’t do that tonight, we will go into whatever game next week and we will go into win that game of footy.

“It’s not about looking at the premiership ladder at this point, it’s about winning games of footy and getting back to a brand that people want to watch and be a part of.”

Getting back to the contested brand Nicks wants his side to be known is among the top priorities.

“When we talk about our brand we are too far off it at the moment, for whatever reason we have strayed off what it is,” Nicks said.

“Even though it was a scrappy affair early on I thought we brought the intent and focus and then for whatever reason we dropped off right away.

“At the moment we are too far off our best, our best allows us to compete with anyone and we are just too far off our best as individuals and as a team, more importantly as a team we just aren’t connected at the moment.

“That’s the most disappointing part for our group at the moment, the brand that we want to be known for isn’t there consistently at the moment.”

Brodie Smith being chaired off with Nic Naitanui in their 200th games was the only high point for the Crows. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

STOPPAGE SHOCKERS

With Nic Naitanui playing his 200 game, the Eagles were always going to be up for the fight at Adelaide Oval.

The Crows didn’t need to help them anymore by producing some simple mistakes with their structure at stoppage.

The numbers for clearances between the two sides come the final siren weren’t all that far apart, with the Eagles edging the clearance count 35-32.

But it was the way the Eagles dominated the Crows at the centre bounces, and how they were able to score out the back of stoppages around the ground that was stark.

The Eagles had 14-8 centre bounce clearances, and then to ram the woes home for Nicks up in the coaching box they scored heavily against the Crows from back 50 stoppages.

On multiple occasions this was just because the Crows didn’t have a person as a “sweeper” in the goalsquare to try and stop any potential shot, which Nicks said just wasn’t good enough.

“It’s those key moments where we have a simple structured game plan and we need to execute that,” he said.

“In the end we got scored on heavily from back 50 stoppages, whether that is fatigue or concentration, a lack of communication, leaving people free at a back 50 stoppage that hasn’t changed in 40 years of football.

“It’s not something that you do and tonight for whatever reason we were off in that area

they are set plays … we are playing against a very good stoppage side with a ruckman who almost gives them another onballer.

“We knew that coming in and we trained for that and we set structures up for that and today we let ourselves down because the parts that take no talent we didn’t get those right.

“You don’t need to be drafted into an elite AFL system and be a footballer to stand in a spot where your teammates need you.

“And that’s why at the moment we are all hurting, and we have all let ourselves down

and why that’s what we need to get to the bottom of.”

Ben Keays and his teammates are feeling the heat. Picture: Getty Images

David Mackay and his fellow Crows need to regroup and quickly.

CHALLENGE LAID DOWN TO FOG

Darcy Fogarty’s AFL career to date was pretty much summed up by his performance against the Eagles.

Re-installed in the side, the 21-year-old was one of the Crows best in the first half, kicking two goals and having seven possessions.

This prompted Dermott Brereton to ask Adelaide board member and footy director Mark Ricciuto on Fox Footy why Fogarty wasn’t an automatic selection each week.

The Crows legend, who wore the No. 32 Fogarty now dons, said he needed to work on his fitness — echoing comments he made about the Lucindale product at the end of last season.

“Personally I think he’s got to go to another level with his fitness and he’s got to bring the ball to ground at an absolute minimum when the ball goes into the forward line,” Ricciuto said.

“When he gets his hands on the ball, you can see what he can do. He’s just got to do that more often.”

After his good first half Fogarty only managed three more possessions in the second, and while Nicks said the young forward wasn’t alone in dropping off after halftime it showed some areas he needed to work on.

“The RFI (for Fogarty) is being involved and impacting the game more often,” Nicks said.

“And he is working on that, to his credit he has put his head down and gone to work.

Nicks said the off-season would be a hugely important time for Fogarty, if he wanted to follow other players in the league and realise his potential.

“There is going to be a really important time for Fog over this off season break and that’s about getting his fitness up to a point where he is able to play a full game right through and work his way into the game and impact the game more consistently,” Nicks said.

“We will keep working with him on that. There are a lot of players who have been in the same boat in the league and a lot of players who have improved out of sight after going away and doing that at other clubs and are now premier players in the game.

“Fog has some attributes that are quite exciting when you see him on the TV screen, he is a big strong lad, he is powerful, he is very skilful and he makes great decisions.

“We will try and get him on the TV screen a bit more.”

Matthew Nicks admits the Adelaide Crows are in a real spot of bother at the moment. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Why Crows weren’t disgraced despite severe drop-off

An improved Adelaide asked some stern questions of West Coast on Sunday, but the visitors ultimately had the answers with Jamie Cripps booting five goals in a 42-point win that moved his side back into the top eight.

The Eagles dropped out of the eight after Essendon’s win over North Melbourne, but Adam Simpson’s men jumped back to seventh on the back of the 14.14 (98) to 8.8 (56) win that snapped a run of three losses and improved their season record to 9-8.

Coming off a historic low score in a loss to the Bombers, the Crows were by no means disgraced.

Matthew Nicks’ side trailed by just three points early in the third quarter, but couldn’t go with West Coast, who surged to the line with Andrew Gaff, Tim Kelly and Nic Naitanui, in his 200th game, all prominent.

“I think when we talk about our brand we’re too far off it at the moment,” Nicks said after his 16th-placed side dropped to a 5-12 record.

“For whatever reason, we’ve just strayed off what that is.

“We are too far off our best as individuals and as a team, more importantly.”

West Coast improved to a 9-2 record at Adelaide Oval, but in a worrying sign, injury-plagued skipper Luke Shuey was subbed out of the game in the final term with a suspected calf injury.

Jamie Cripps (right) starred for the Eagles with five goals. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

SHAKY START

Both sides were staring down the barrel of a fourth loss in succession and they played a scrappy first quarter like two teams low on confidence.

The Eagles dominated the early going but with Josh Kennedy a late withdrawal with a calf injury, the visitors lacked a focal point inside 50.

In his return from a neck injury, Taylor Walker kicked the only goal of a hard-to-watch term with just under two minutes remaining.

FOG ROLLS IN

West Coast turned the game on its head with the first three goals of the second term, including back-to-back efforts by Cripps, but Darcy Fogarty was pivotal as Adelaide fought back.

Crows fans often question why the bullocking youngster isn’t in the side every week and he pushed his case with successive majors of his own.

Fogarty’s first goal 19 minutes into the second quarter, pushed Adelaide past the record low score of 2.9 in last round’s woeful loss to Essendon.

His second was worthy of automatic selection for the rest of the season. With his back against the boundary fence out near the 50m arc, on the wrong side for a right-footer, Fogarty split the middle with a superb effort that cut West Coast’s lead to two points at halftime.

Darcy Fogarty put in a strong showing. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

CRIPPS CRACKS IN

Cripps was the most dangerous forward on the ground, kicking another two goals and setting up Jack Petruccelle’s first of the third quarter as the Eagles made their move.

In his first game back from an extended break due to toe surgery, Tom Lynch was gifted a goal after Liam Duggan dropped a mark close to goal, but Petruccelle’s second made it a 21-point margin at three-quarter time.

The Eagles sealed the deal when Liam Ryan pounced on an ambitious Andrew McPherson kick in to score the first goal of the final term and Cripps equalled his career-best bag with his fifth.

Brodie Smith oand Nic Naitanui are chaired off 200th games. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

MILESTONE MEN

Brodie Smith and Naitanui both played their 200th AFL games. Smith, who copped an errant golf ball in the eye midweek, was influential, although he spurned a gilt-edged opportunity to celebrate with a goal in the second quarter. Naitanui had an enthralling duel with Reilly O’Brien, with the decorated Eagle taking the honours at the stoppages with some typically sublime taps, while O’Brien held his own around the ground with some strong relieving marks.