The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from round 19
Port Adelaide’s season is over after going down to Hawthorn — and one glaring issue over the last four years continues to hurt the club. Plus, why the Crows can finish top in The Lowdown.
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The South Australian sides go into the Showdown in varying form.
Adelaide thumped fellow finals contender Gold Coast by 61 points at home to continue its September charge, while the Power’s already slim finals hopes ended with a six-goal loss to Hawthorn in Hobart.
Here are our likes and dislikes from round 19.
LIKES
1. THE HOTTEST OF HOT STARTS
Most of the 44,249 spectators at Adelaide Oval on Sunday would have been expecting a close contest given one win separated the Crows in third on the ladder and Suns in eighth.
Instead, it was a dream-like start for Matthew Nicks’s side and a nightmare for Damien Hardwick.
In shades of Port Adelaide’s 71-0 jump on Sydney in round 21 last year, the hosts led 74-5 before Gold Coast booted its first goal, 11 minutes into the third quarter.
The Suns had never had a goalless opening half in their 14-year, 322-game history.
Adelaide’s much-improved defending was almost as eye-catching as its attacking.
We say almost because the goals from Taylor Walker, Alex Neal-Bullen and Jordan Dawson were spectacular.
That is ALL CLASS from Taylor Walker 🤩#AFLCrowsSunspic.twitter.com/wqJFu9aZGP
— AFL (@AFL) July 20, 2025
The Crows are humming at the Adelaide Oval 😮â€ðŸ’¨#AFLCrowsSunspic.twitter.com/ShbUnOqp5y
— AFL (@AFL) July 20, 2025
Jordan Dawson, take a bow ðŸ‘#AFLCrowsSunspic.twitter.com/OoZI7vYLpL
— AFL (@AFL) July 20, 2025
The Crows made it very difficult for the visitors to score off the back of fierce pressure and terrific reading of the play in the backline.
Intercept marks finished 19-12 and scores from turnovers were 61-18.
Gold Coast’s six goals from 52 inside 50s reflected its inefficiency and Adelaide’s stellar defending.
Remarkably, the Crows finished with six fewer forward 50 entries for the match.
2. STRINGING WINS TOGETHER
The Crows entered the round 14 bye in fourth spot on the ladder, a win and 15 per cent from ninth, coming off a loss to Hawthorn.
They have navigated the past month with maturity.
Since its week off, Adelaide has beaten Richmond at the MCG, the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, and Melbourne and Gold Coast at home.
It is just the second four-game winning streak during Nicks’s six seasons, the other coming from round 3 to 6 in 2023.
Losing one of this latest run of matches would have left Adelaide in a pack of teams between fourth and seventh.
Two defeats and the Crows would only narrowly be in the top eight.
Reality is they are now closer to top than ninth.
3. JORDON SWEET
Sweet has been on the ruck merry-go-round at the Power this year, getting dropped to the SANFL for three games and sharing the role with Dante Visentini for four weeks.
The former Western Bulldog took a big step in Visentini’s absence on Saturday.
This column thought Sweet was Port’s best player in the 38-point loss to Hawthorn in Launceston.
His coach, Ken Hinkley, rated the performance as probably Sweet’s best in two seasons at the club.
The Power big man finished with a career-high 22 disposals (the ninth-most in the match), 19 contested possessions (first), 10 clearances (first), seven tackles (seventh) and three tackles inside 50 (second) in blustery, wet conditions.
With Visentini out for the remainder of the season because of an ankle injury and ex-Tiger Ivan Soldo a clear third choice, Sweet has a massive opportunity to cement himself as the No. 1 option going into 2026 – Josh Carr’s first campaign at the helm.
Carr was Sweet’s premiership coach at North Adelaide in 2018, the year the ruckman was drafted.
“I think that might be the best game he’s played for us and in really tough conditions for a big man against a really good opponent (Lloyd Meek),” Hinkley said post-match on Saturday.
“I said that to him afterwards – ‘you led the team really well and should be proud of that’.
“That’s his level now.
“He can get to that level and it’ll be great if he can.”
DISLIKES
1. PORT’S CARELESS FREE KICKS
The Power ranks last in the league for free kick differential this season, coughing up an average of 4.2 more than it gets each week.
Frees were 21-14 in Hawthorn’s favour on Saturday and the Hawks converted goals from several of them.
Jase Burgoyne’s deliberate out of bounds penalty that led to a neat Jack Gunston major was dubious.
But a bunch of the others were there and some were sloppy.
On a wintry day in Launceston, where territory and goals were so important, Port undid some of its good work by giving away a few careless free kicks, including deliberate out of bounds and high tackles.
Reducing the differential is another area of Port’s game for Carr to improve.
It is the fourth consecutive season the club has ranked in the bottom four in the AFL.
Asked last month on reasons for the differential, Power coach Ken Hinkley said: “We try to get after the opposition a fair bit aggressively. Maybe we need to tidy up a bit. We have a narrow focus on a couple of areas we need to be better (tackling).”
THE LOWDOWN ON…
Adelaide is suddenly within striking distance of top spot after a potentially season-shaping fortnight.
Losing to the Suns last week then the Dockers on Sunday has dropped Collingwood from a 14-2 record to 14-4, just half a win ahead of second-ranked Brisbane and one clear of the Crows in third.
In what shapes as a juicy round 23 clash where top spot may be on the line, Nicks’s team hosts Collingwood in a Saturday night game on August 16.
That is still four rounds away, but Adelaide has given itself every chance of a remarkable rise to the minor premiership.
Its only two road games remaining are against strugglers West Coast (round 22) and North Melbourne (last round).
Next week the Crows take on injury-hit Port Adelaide, which sits 11th with an 8-10 record.
Form does not always matter in Showdowns, but Adelaide is a $1.18 favourite.
Its other minor-round match is against top-four contender Hawthorn at home.
Collingwood faces 16th-placed Richmond this week, but then has three very difficult matches in succession: Brisbane and Hawthorn, both at the MCG, and the Crows in Adelaide.
The Magpies take on underperforming Melbourne in their last match.
Brisbane’s games are all difficult.
It heads to Gold Coast this week, then plays Collingwood (MCG), Sydney (home), Fremantle (away) and the Hawks (home).
What a fascinating end to the season.
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Originally published as The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from round 19
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