Analysis: Adelaide Crows in a world of pain after shock loss to Fremantle Dockers
THIS time there can be no excuses. The Crows’ top four hopes are over before their mid-season bye and their finals hopes are in serious jeopardy after an unforgivable loss to the youngest Fremantle side coach Ross Lyon has ever fielded.
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THIS time there can be no excuses.
The Crows’ top-four hopes are over before their mid-season bye and their finals hopes are in serious jeopardy after an unforgivable loss to the youngest Fremantle side coach Ross Lyon has ever fielded.
While injuries have been used as a reason, even as an excuse, for beaten grand finalist Adelaide’s demise this season — it is now 6-6 after 12 rounds — Sunday’s effort was all about heart and skill execution.
Put simply, the Dockers were better in both departments at Perth Stadium.
Sure, the Crows have plenty of injuries. But rebuilding Fremantle, which was never considered a likely finalist this year, had a greater percentage of gun players missing than Adelaide, with Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe, giant ruckman Aaron Sandilands and midfielders Stephen and Brad Hill sidelined.
After losing three of their past four matches and slipping out of the top eight, the Crows should have — at the very least — have hit the ground running in Perth.
Prior to the start, star small forward Eddie Betts and club great and current board member Mark Ricciuto both called it the club’s most important game of the season
But Adelaide stumbled out of the gates, allowing the Dockers to burst to a 22-point lead at the first change and gain some much-needed confidence.
The Crows steadied to kick six unanswered goals in the second term to grab a two-goal lead at half-time and the pecking order appeared to be restored.
But, with so much riding on the result, Adelaide inexplicably collapsed. It did not score a goal in the third quarter — the Dockers, fielding a bunch of kids, booted four — to fall 12 points behind at the final change.
And the expected last quarter charge did not come, with Fremantle holding firm and the final margin of three points flattering Don Pyke’s side following an after-the siren goal from Myles Poholke.
Make no mistake, this was a horrible loss.
The decision to play captain Taylor Walker, who had missed four of the club’s previous five games with back and leg muscle injuries, did not pay off.
He had a modest 11 disposals and kicked just one goal.
Far too many Adelaide players did not play with the same spirit as their Fremantle counterparts, their skills were poor and they just didn't work hard enough.
Unless they can pull something out of the fire in the second half of the year, what once promised to be an exciting season for the Crows now looks like being a disastrous one.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. FREMANTLE’S midfield is in terrific shape. While they were already blessed with the excellent quintet of Nat Fyfe, Lachie Neale, David Mundy and Stephen and Brad Hill – only Neale and Mundy played against the Crows – the Dockers have found two more on-ball stars in teens Adam Cerra and Andrew Brayshaw. Cerra was selected at pick five at last year’s national draft while Brayshaw went at two. Both were outstanding against Adelaide, with Cerra dominant with 30 disposals and Brayshaw 20. Former Norwood running machine Stefan Giro, who was picked by the Dockers at the rookie draft, also played well, gathering 18 touches.
Wasn't our quarter, but Tom Doedee provided one major highlight with this epic chasedown #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/8ywnS15WCq
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) June 10, 2018
2. TOM Doedee did his chances of winning the AFL Rising Star award no harm with another strong performance in defence. Already the favourite for this year’s best young player award and in line to become just the second Crow to win the trophy after fellow backman Daniel Talia in 2012, Doedee battled his heart out for 17 disposals, six marks and five tackles. But while he won his share of the ball, it was his chase on star Docker Michael Walters in the third quarter that illustrated just what an emerging gun he is. With Walters well clear and powering towards goal, Doedee refused to give up the chase, gained ground and forced the brilliant forward to run too far and be penalised when running into an open goal.
3. WE won’t call him under-rated because he gets too much of that but small defender Luke Brown again showed his worth for Adelaide. Although forced from the ground early in the final term after twisting his left ankle, he was the one who kept the Crows in the game when they were under siege in the first quarter. Brown not only blanketed the dangerous Walters – the classiest player the Dockers fielded – but took several intercept marks to stop the home increasing its advantage when it controlled play. Retired Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich called Brown “one of those players you run down the race with knowing he’s going to give it his all and do a good job’’.
4. SOUTH Australian Brennan Cox is going to be a star for Fremantle. Drafted at pick 41 at the 2016 national draft from Woodville-West Torrens as a key defender – Cox was the All-Australian under-18 centre half-back – the 19-year-old played a massive role as a forward against the Crows. He kicked a career-high four goals and showed poise beyond his tender years with some crucial kicks at goal on a day most players were off with their radar. His straight kicking came after a 2017 season in which he booted an erratic 4.11.
5. THE Crows must stop experimenting with classy playmaker Wayne Milera and leave him at half-back. After Adelaide pegged the one-time midfielder/forward as injured Brodie Smith’s replacement this season and saw him have a career-high 33 disposals against Gold Coast in round six, Milera started in attack in last week’s loss to GWS and struggled. But, with the team’s best player of 2018, Rory Laird, sidelined with a broken hand, he was put in defence against the Dockers and was exceptional early and finished with 22 disposals. He not only won the ball, including under pressure in traffic, but used it with precision. It is time to leave him in defence.
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