AFL 2023: All the news, analysis from Adelaide Crows vs Hawthorn
Anyone who questioned if Izak Rankine was worth the money Adelaide is paying him should eat their words after the young star proved his worth in a nailbiting win.
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Adelaide would not have won this game a year ago.
Two years ago the Crows went down to Hawthorn in Launceston by the same margin – three points.
And for much of the fourth quarter on Sunday it looked as if the Crows’ poor run against the Hawks and at the University of Tasmania Stadium would continue.
After coming off a win over Carlton to kick off Gather Round – dubbed the Crows’ best win since the 2017 prelim – it seemed Adelaide’s issues of coming into games on the back of good victories was rearing its head again.
The old Adelaide would have lost.
But this is a different, more mature Adelaide, and the Crows steeled themselves to win four games on the bounce for the first time since 2019.
“That might have been one a year ago that we let go,” former captain Rory Sloane told News Corp.
“But we showed great maturity as a group.”
On paper it is a three-point win over the bottom placed side.
But Matthew Nicks could perhaps be more pleased with that than the dominant victory over the Blues a week prior.
Because good teams win these sorts of games, and the Crows are on their way to becoming a good team.
“We spoke about Adelaide finding out something about themselves, could they scrap out a win when things weren’t going their way?” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy.
“They’ve done that and answered the call. This is a really important win for them, it doesn’t look pretty – they’ve beaten the bottom team by a kick.
“But in the overall scheme of things, when you string four wins together and maybe they’re competing for a place in the top eight later in the season … I think they’ll look back and this and go: ‘We found a way to get the job done’.”
The importance of the victory was summed up by Crows captain Jordan Dawson addressing the players on the ground post-match.
Because it was an absolute slog.
“You take the scrappy wins over an honourable loss, Crows forward Taylor Walker said on Fox Footy.
“It was great to just fight it out”.
It was a fight.
The 163 tackles between the two was the most in a game this season.
Hawthorn’s 88 was a season high.
Unsurprisingly, the pressure ratings were high. Hawthorn’s was 199, Adelaide’s 187 – the Crows’ second-highest of the season.
The AFL average is 180.
“I thought they were outstanding, that is their weapon their contest,” Sloane said.
“We just knew we had to stand up and take the tackles, it was tough but we had to keep persisting and play consistent footy and we got there in the end.”
It helps when the Crows have a matchwinner in Izak Rankine.
When the Crows lured him back to SA there was a lot of debate about whether he was worth the money. Those who believed he wasn’t worth it should be eating their words, if they haven’t yet already.
His goal to get the Crows back in it late was a piece of class Adelaide just hasn’t had in the last couple of years.
“Izak is amazing, isn’t he? Some of the stuff he did late, that goal that he did late,” Sloane said.
“I’m staring at him right now, he is pretty happy.
“It was just some individual brilliance there at the end.
“I missed one on the run, the big fella (Walker) missed one so someone had to stand up and kick them.
“Izak was going well, he just said get it in my hands.”
His partner in crime Josh Rachele summed up the Crows’ new-found maturity.
After a barnstorming first half, in which he had 16 disposals, Rankine didn’t register one in the third quarter.
He was quiet in the fourth as well, but that didn’t stop him from coming up with the pinpoint kick that found Fogarty to give the Crows the lead and the game.
Sloane said Rachele was a special player, but also credit should go to some Crows’ role players.
“I love what Rach brings, when he goes and pinch hits in the midfield his speed and energy is outstanding,” he said.
“We know his class going forward, I’m just loving these guys playing their role, to be honest.
“We speak of similar guys every week but there are guys like Lachie Murphy, Luke Pedlar, these guys play some of the most vital roles at our footy club. They continue to put their head over the ball and that is all we are asking at our footy club at the moment.
“Just go out and play your role.”
With Rankine and Rachele providing the spark and x-factor, players like Murphy can just focus on being a pressure forward.
Crows fans have raged online about Murphy getting games in the past couple of years. But with no need to be the player who kicks at least two goals a game, he is quietly putting together arguably his best spell of games for the Crows.
Sloane himself arguably had his best game for the Crows for some time.
His 30 disposals was the first time he reached that mark since round 3 in 2021.
And he provided the grunt that the Crows needed with the pressure turned way up.
Many didn’t know where Sloane’s place in the side would be as he returned from his ACL injury last year. He is playing more midfield now and is winding back the clock.
“I’ve been in some good form the last few weeks, I’m just trying to be consistent and it is just about me filling some roles and using my voice and expertise out there,” he said.
“To be honest, I’m just enjoying being out there. I’ve missed far too much footy over the past couple of years so just to be out there again that is enough for me.
“I’m just enjoying being around this group.”
On paper it was a narrow win over the bottom placed team and the wooden spoon tip for many.
But it might show a lot more about the team the Crows are becoming.
Nicks: Fogarty matchwinner defied physics
– Jonathon Tuxworth
“We thought he should have snapped it.”
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks’ words at the exact moment might have been slightly more colourful, but he lauded Darcy Fogarty’s composed set shot from the pocket to steal a victory from Hawthorn on Sunday as “special”.
Buried in the UTAS Stadium pocket and with his team behind a couple of points with under two minutes left, Fogarty enhanced his reputation as one of the best kicks for goal in the league by threading a drop punt through.
Even Nicks thought the physics of the clutch moment might have been impossible for Fogarty, who kicked three goals straight to improve his record this year to 13.4 in the Crows’ three-point win.
The Hawks looked set for their second win at Launceston this year when Fergus Greene’s third goal of the day extended their lead to more than two goals with seven minutes left.
But a snap from Izak Rankine, then Fogarty’s heroics, sealed Adelaide’s fourth straight win in dramatic fashion.
“I’m not sure there was enough room for a ball to fit between the posts,” Nicks said when quizzed about Fogarty’s decision to kick a drop punt.
“There’s not many you’d like it in their hands more than Darcy Fogarty. Tex (Taylor Walker, who kicked four goals) will get real upset with me saying that, but at the moment he’d probably agree with me.
“Darcy is an outstanding set shot for goal, but I’d be lying if I thought it would go through as a drop punt.
“Darcy’s ability to finish was pretty special. It’s an indication of where he’s at and the work he’s done on that space.
“We talk bout the mental part of the game. To get it in his hands, we were probably lucky it was.”
The Crows had blown rivals out of the water with high-powered offence in their three previous wins.
Former skippers Rory Sloane (30 disposals) and Walker were crucial in helping drag the team over the line.
Hawthorn tackled their hearts out and turned it into a slugfest, a test the Crows looked destined to fail. But despite it being far from a complete performance, Nicks was proud of how they held their nerve.
“I’m extremely proud.This is a hard ground to win at, Hawthorn play this ground very well,” he said.
“For a while there we found ourselves in a bit of trouble. But to get it done in the end the last seven minutes when we were able to fight back, I’m really proud of the training the guys have done.
“All pre-season we’ve trained those scenarios, they almost mirrored the end of that game. There’s a bit of luck involved but a lot of preparation goes into that.”
Nicks admitted it was a big mental challenge to keep his young group focused coming to Launceston, off a ten-day break, after dismantling Carlton in front of a massive home crowd to begin Gather Round.
“It was a huge mental test this week,” he said.
“The test was a ten-day break is as big a challenge (as a five day break), if not bigger.
“How much time do you have off, balancing a mental break with a physical break.
“Did we get that right this week? Maybe not. But when we take four points with us, we did enough right to get the job done.”
Ice man gets Crows out of jail, into top four
Adelaide ice man Darcy Fogarty enhanced his reputation as one of the best set shots in the AFL with a pressure kick for the ages to rescue his side against a gallant Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium on Sunday.
After laying a season-record 87 tackles, the Hawks look to have ground down Adelaide when they took a two-and-a-half goal lead into the closing minutes.
But after Izak Rankine’s sole goal of the game, Fogarty nailed a brilliant set shot from the pocket with less than two minutes left to kick his third goal of the game and steal a victory.
The Crows had won three straight games before the Launceston clash, and scored over 100 points in each.
But they were asked to roll up the sleeves and win ugly by a gallant Hawthorn, who will be hurting after falling just short for the second straight week. Last Sunday they were denied by a late high-flying mark and goal from Giant Harry Himmelberg in a two-point loss in Sydney.
This will sting just as much, particularly given it was arguably the most stoic performance they’ve delivered under coach Sam Mitchell.
Full credit goes to Fogarty, who stepped up under extreme pressure and has now kicked 13.4 for the season.
CROWS STAND UP – JUST
It’s easy to get up for a sold-out home match to open the inaugural ‘Gather Round’, against a top-four fancy in Carlton.
The Crows entered Sunday’s match big favourites after that 56-point win, but they were asked to get dirty and win a slugfest against the gritty Hawks.
It looked like they would fall just short of overcoming the challenge but some fine late finishing from two of their best kicks – Fogarty and Rankine – grabbed their fourth straight win.
There’s no doubt the Crows will consider themselves lucky to secure their first road win of the season, the first time they’ve been away from Adelaide Oval since a round 1 loss to the Giants in Sydney.
Former skipper Rory Sloane was immense with 30 disposals, while Fogarty and Taylor Walker (four goals) provided the key tall options up forward the Hawks lacked.
HAWKS’ RESILIENCE BUILDING, BUT NOW TESTED
They’re far from the most talented team in the competition and make more than their fair share of clangers, but there’s no questioning the Hawks’ commitment to the contest.
In the second quarter the Crows outpointed Hawthorn 6-1 in inside-50s at one point, but inaccurate kicking cost them and it helped keep the Hawks in the contest. Hawthorn won the tackle count 32-19 in the first quarter and 48-40 for the first half, which allowed them to clean up some poor kicking coming out of defence.
They were rewarded for hanging in there with quick goals to Tyler Brockman and Fergus Greene late in the second quarter, and trailed by just three points at the main break.
The Hawks hit back to take the lead in the final term after the Crows led by 14 points in the third quarter, but for the second straight week some clutch kicking from their rivals denied them a deserved win.
Their commitment was questioned after a horror second half against Geelong on Easter Monday, but they were unlucky not to beat the Giants in Sydney last week and frustrated an Adelaide side which had scored over 100 points in three straight wins.
In a football sense there’s plenty to work on, but coach Sam Mitchell has got the foundations in place in terms of the players’ commitment to the cause and each other.
Conor Nash was outstanding for the second straight week with 28 touches, seven tackles and seven clearances.
CONCUSSION A BIG WORRY FOR LYNCH
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says the club will rally around luckless ruckman Max Lynch after he suffered his third concussion since the start of last year.
Playing his first AFL game for the season, Lynch got clipped in a marking test in the second quarter. The Hawks confirmed afterwards that they didn’t bother conducting a concussion test given his history.
The 21-year-old has played 11 games and had an extended break after suffering a concussion against Brisbane in round 10 last year, also in Launceston.
He returned to play the final round against the Bulldogs, and Mitchell said they weren’t about to take any chances.
“He’s had concussion history, so as soon as we heard they were taking him for a concussion test I didn’t hover on that decision too long,” Mitchell said.
“We were very quick to pull him out of the game and hopefully he’s OK. I haven’t seen him yet after the game, hopefully it’s not too bad.
“We were ready to make that change pretty quickly given his history. It’s disappointing for him because he’s worked so hard to get back into the side.”
The Hawks are blessed with deep ruck stocks, with Fremantle recruit Lloyd Meek omitted from the Crows game while Max Ramsden is progressing well in the VFL.
Mitchell Hinge also limped off with a leg injury late in the game for Adelaide.
COSTLY MISS FOR HAWKS VETERAN
Hawthorn continued to hang into the contest in the third quarter, despite Crows key forward Darcy Fogarty nailing two set shots to improve his season tally to 12.4
But the Hawks’ own sharpshooter, Luke Breust, inexplicably missed a snap from 30m out when he had plenty of time and space.
Just a couple of minutes later Taylor Walker slotted his third goal of the afternoon to give the Crows a 13-point buffer.
It was a moment which could have flattened the resolve of Hawthorn, particularly given Breust is arguably their most reliable kick on goal.
But goals to Brockman and Conor Nash got Hawthorn within just two points again.
When Karl Amon snapped truly to start the final term the Hawks led by a goal.
Although the Hawks rallied after Breust’s miss, it was one the goalsneak will look back on and rue given he kicks it 99 times out of 100.
SCOREBOARD
HAWTHORN 2.1 5.4 8.8 11.10 (76)
ADELAIDE 2.3 5.7 8.9 11.13 (79)
BEST
Adelaide: Sloane, Fogarty, Dawson, Laird Rachele, Soligo.
Hawthorn: Nash, Frost, Newcombe, Greene, Impey, Sicily.
GOALS
Hawthorn: Greene 3, Brockman 2, Reeves, Worpel, MacDonald, Nash, Amon, Scrimshaw.
Adelaide: Walker 4, Fogarty 3, Dawson, Pedlar, Sholl, Rankine
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
3. Rory Sloane (Adel)
2. Conor Nash (Haw)
1. Darcy Fogarty (Adel)
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Originally published as AFL 2023: All the news, analysis from Adelaide Crows vs Hawthorn
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