Adelaide wins sixth match in a row to earn first AFLW final at home with ruthless blitz of Melbourne
Adelaide will host an AFLW semi-final — venue and time to be determined — after blitzing Melbourne at Casey Fields to claim top spot in Conference A.
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Adelaide has finally earned a home AFLW final — and in the most emphatic way — by completing a six-game winning streak by crushing would-be finalist Melbourne by 60 points.
Now the Crows just have to work out where to play their national league semi-final at the weekend.
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Adelaide’s qualification for the new-look AFLW final series was sealed on Saturday by claiming the top ranking in Conference A with the 10-goal blitz of Melbourne at Casey Fields in Melbourne.
Crows co-captain Erin Phillips is appealing for the semi-final to be played at Adelaide Oval.
“Hopefully it is at Adelaide Oval - that would be a massive opportunity for us,” she said.
The inaugural AFLW premier (2017) will play the second-placed team from Conference B, either expansion team Geelong or 2017-18 grand finalist Brisbane that must beat Collingwood on Sunday to qualify.
Adelaide extended its winning streak to six - and claimed its first win against Melbourne - with the most manic style of football seen in three years of national women’s football.
Melbourne’s mission to beat Adelaide - and win by at least 27 points to tip the Crows out of the top two in the conference - was wrecked by rookie coach Matthew Clarke proving all-out attack is the best form of defence.
Melbourne did not score until the fifth minute of third term when Tyla Hanks had her handball at the goalface become a rushed behind. At this stage, Adelaide already had 41 points on the scoreboard - all built on cleaner and more efficient use of the ball.
Melbourne’s 0.1 at three quarter-time is the lowest score recorded by any team in the first three quarters of an AFLW game.
This dubious record on Melbourne’s collective shoulder is a badge of honour for the clinical Adelaide defence. Despite being named as a key forward, Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall remained in defence serving as the marshall of a sharp reading unit in Adelaide’s back half.
Melbourne’s first goal was in the ninth minute of the last term when Chantel Emonson won a holding-the-ball free kick and 50-metre penalty.
Adelaide’s ruthless first-half crush of the Demons - with a 34-0 lead at half-time - began in the ninth minute with the Crows’ Irish recruit Alish Considine scoring her first AFLW goal with an alert toe-poke in an unprotected goalsquare. She followed up three minutes later with her second career goal, this time on the run.
Adelaide’s reputation for moving the ball with precision to its forward 50 - and locking the ball in the front half - remains the work of impressive makeshift ruck Angela Foley, tireless midfielder Ebony Marinoff, co-captain Erin Phillips and vice-captain Courtney Cramey.
Despite feeling ill, Marinoff was the most-dominant player in the decisive first half with 14 disposals.
In her return from a hamstring setback, Cramey delivered one of the contenders for the AFLW goal of the year with her right-foot snap from 35 minutes when pinned to the boundary line in the third minute of the second term.
The template for Adelaide’s victory held from start to finish with strength at the contests, gripping tackles, clean ball movement from the stoppages and a manic determination to keep the play in the Crows’ forward half.
The simplest solution to the semi-final puzzle would seem having a double-header with the Crows men’s team that opens the AFL premiership season at Adelaide Oval against Hawthorn at 4.05pm on Saturday.
But this might be complicated by the needs of the AFLW television broadcasters, ticketing at the Oval - and Brisbane asking for a seven-day break for a semi-final played on the road for the Lions.
The fallback might be to stay at Unley Oval with a stand-alone AFLW final.
The concerning closing note for Adelaide was the accidental shin that crashed into the face of Crows defender Anne Hatchard as she battled for a ground ball early in the third term. She sat out the last term as the Crows took a no-risk approach.
ADELAIDE 3.3 5.4 8.6 10.8 (66)
MELBOURNE 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.2 (8)
BEST - Adelaide: Marinoff, Phillips, Randall, Foley, Thompson, Considine.
Melbourne: Gay, Cunningham, Cordner, Paxman.
GOALS - Adelaide: Considine, Foley 2, Cramey, Marinoff, Ponter, Scheer, Thompson, Varnhagen.
Melbourne: Emonson.