The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes for the Crows and Power from round 12

Does the loss to the Hawks spell the end of the Crows’ season? SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON says it’s time for Adelaide to start thinking about next year. Plus what’s going wrong at the Power.

Brayden Cook and his Crows' teammates look dejected after losing the round 12 AFL match between Hawthorn Hawks and Adelaide Crows at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on June 01, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

It was a shocking weekend for the two South Australian sides as Port Adelaide and Adelaide fell to Carlton and Hawthorn respectively.

The Power were right with the Blues until the start of the last quarter, but played a disappointing final term at home.

Adelaide didn’t show up for the opening 20 minutes of their contest with Hawthorn as the brown and gold piled on the first four goals of the match.

The early 27-point lead turned out to be the difference in the game.

See all the likes and dislikes below.

Jackson Mead showed plenty of promise against Carlton. Picture: Getty Images

LIKES

1. Son of a gun

Jackson Mead forced his way into the Power side off his pre-season. He has been the sub on three occasions this year but the son of Port great Darren is doing his best to keep his spot. Against Carlton he had a career high 23 disposals to go with four tackles. After three weeks of his centre bounce attendances being 33 per cent or higher, these disposals came with Mead only attending 17 per cent against the Blues. His best position is as a midfielder, an issue given the Power’s engine room is stacked, but Mead has improved out of sight this year and while it isn’t truly in his natural position he is finding a role in Port’s line-up.

2. Max in the middle

Of all the players you might have thought Matthew Nicks would move into the midfield, Max Michalanney would be down on your list. But the impressive young defender was thrown into the middle with the Crows second-best to Hawthorn and it actually looked kind of good. It’s time for Adelaide to look at different options. And for all the fans crying out for Josh Rachele to get more time in the midfield, or Luke Pedlar or Billy Dowling, Michalanney might be worth a bit more of a look. On top of his ability defensively, impressing when tasked with manning the opposition’s most important small forward, Michalanney has also stood out for his ability to remain composed under pressure in his less than two-years at AFL level. At 190cm he is a good size and it will be interesting to see whether this was a one-off or if Nicks goes to this again in the second-half of the season with something required to give fans hope for next year and beyond.

Adelaide’s finals hopes took a huge hit on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images

DISLIKES

1. Crows finals chances are cooked

Technically their hopes are still alive but let’s not sugar-coat it, the Crows aren’t making finals in 2024. This was supposed to be the year when the rebuild was finished, but approaching the halfway mark of the season Adelaide sit behind Hawthorn - who started its own rebuild after the Crows. With its mantra of embracing the expectations that came its way after 2023, Adelaide did say if it didn’t make or challenge for finals then it would want to have a comprehensive idea of what went wrong. How do the key figures at the Crows explain that start to the match against the Hawks? If you are serious about embracing expectations and challenging for finals you don’t come out and start like that. Nicks said his side seemed to “lack energy”. To do that at the MCG in a must-win game, against a side that is below you but you know are going to come out and bring the heat was inexcusable by the Crows given they came into the game with some good form. Yes they’ve had close games, which have been impacted by umpire decisions, but the Crows just don’t get the job done on the road. This has been a problem for years yet the Crows don’t look to be any closer to a solution. They have been described as the most disappointing team of the season so far, along with St Kilda, it’s a fair statement to make.

2. It’s time to think about 2025

In his weekly media conference ahead of the clash against West Coast late last month, Nicks said the Crows weren’t thinking about 2025 or blooding youngsters yet. After the Hawks loss it is time for the Crows to think about how they can bounce back up the ladder next year. Nick Murray should return to the side shortly after he got through his SANFL return, but the changes shouldn’t stop there for the Crows. See what Dowling can do at AFL level, give Dan Curtin a sustained run to show why he is so highly rated, bring Pedlar back and put him in around the ball if you think he is going to be an explosive midfielder one day. Hell do you even think about bringing Toby Murray in to see if he can play at the level? Clubs like to talk about their next premiership team, Adelaide needs to figure out who is in its next finals team.

Zak Butters leads a defeated Port Adelaide off the park. Picture: Getty Images

3. The tag is going to stick

It was a reality check for Port Adelaide on Thursday night against Carlton. And to make it worse for the Power, it now has to deal with Jason Dunstall’s tag of Port Adelaide being a “fake top four team”. At the moment it looks like it is going to be a hard tag for the Power to shake. It comes into its bye at 8-4. Port are in a good position to make finals off this but at the moment it doesn’t really look like the Power will have any impact come finals time unless things change at both ends of the ground. The defence was the big focus on the off-season and while it started off well it looks like teams have found a way to really hurt the Power. Across its first five games Port Adelaide had the fewest one-on-one contests defended. The Power ranked third for win percentage, third for neutralising those contests and was the No. 1 team for loss percentage. From rounds 6 to 12, those contest numbers spiked, with the Power competing in the second most one-on-ones in the competition. The rankings, however, have plummeted, with Port the 11th, 14th and 13th ranked side in each of those stats respectively. The win against Essendon in Gather Round was impressive and the win in Geelong was one for the ages but the Power just seem a bit stale right now.

Matthew Nicks has work to do. Picture: Getty Images

AND THE LOWDOWN ON...

Adelaide has made no secret that its first round pick in this year’s draft, and even next year’s, will be up for grabs as it aggressively tries to improve its list with established talent. But will the Crows have to revisit this now that a top eight finish is all but off the table? Right now the Crows would have the fifth pick of a draft that doesn’t have a clear cut No. 1 prospect, but is considered to be a deep one when it comes to talent. With Tasmania’s entry into the league to compromise future drafts, is it going to be worth the Crows passing the opportunity on elite young players?