AFLW finals 2022: All the news on Adelaide vs Collingwood semi-final
Adelaide slogged its way past Collingwood in torrential rain, lightning and huge puddles. Its reward? The toughest job in AFLW — Brisbane Lions away in a preliminary final.
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A daunting preliminary final match-up against the Brisbane Lions is Adelaide’s prize after overcoming lightning interruptions, driving rain, howling wind and a persistent Collingwood, but the Crows will be buoyed by the return of Chelsea Randall.
With the inspirational skipper controversially sidelined by AFLW concussion protocols, Matthew Clarke’s side weathered Saturday’s wild conditions to defeat the brave Pies in a delayed and interrupted semi-final at Unley Oval.
Randall remained symptom-free after suffering a late knock in the qualifying final loss to Melbourne and was cleared to play by club doctors before the AFL stepped in with new footage of the incident to rule her out.
Clarke laughed when asked if Randall would be ready to resume against the minor premiers as the Crows’ quest for a fourth premiership and back-to-back flags continues.
“Absolutely, yes, I’m very confident,” Clarke said of Randall’s availability.
“It’s been an interesting week topped by one of the stranger days I’ve been involved with.
“She’s been pretty good, obviously it was disappointing for her, but once the decision had been made she just focused on helping her teammates.
“The positive is she’ll be fresh.”
Asked if there had been more angst at the league’s decision inside the club than his brave public front suggested, Clarke was diplomatic.
“Everyone is trying to do the right thing, so that’s the starting point,” he said.
“In this instance, you can see that the player was cleared clinically and in good shape so that was really challenging.
“But when there’s a protocol in place and the powers that be assess that she shouldn’t play then you just have to run with it.”
The semi-final was delayed by 30 minutes and play stopped for 43 minutes at quarter-time as intense thunderstorms and lightning lashed the city.
“I’m super proud of the group for the way that they managed what was a truly bizarre day,” the coach said.
“Our head of high performance was away so we had one of our younger guys filling in the role and he had to run seven warm-ups in his debut.
“It was clearly a really strange day, but I thought we played some really strong footy.
“It was a grind in the second half but to get the outcome is really significant.
“The most pleasing thing was probably our ability to work through a unique set of circumstances to keep coming and play some pretty decent footy.”
CROWS RIDE WILD WEATHER TO KEEP FLAG DREAM AFLOAT
Adelaide’s bid for back-to-back AFLW premierships is alive after the Crows overcame gallant Collingwood and the wild weather that wreaked havoc across South Australia to score a dramatic 12-point semi-final win.
Adelaide’s road to a fourth flag goes through Queensland, with Matthew Clarke’s side now to take on Brisbane in next week’s preliminary final.
The Crows, who were contentiously without skipper Chelsea Randall after she was put into concussion protocols, rode a rollercoaster of weather disruptions and a brave challenge from the Pies to keep their premiership dream alive.
The start of the game at Unley Oval was delayed by 30 minutes due to lightning strikes in the area, with the Crows leaping out to an 11-point lead when play got underway.
Heavy rain resumed soon after the opening bounce and lightning lit up the venue with about 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, with AFL officials summoning the players from the field as the siren sounded.
Officials paused the game for 20 minutes initially then added another 20 minutes, with the second quarter eventually starting 43 minutes after the quarter-time siren.
It was a surreal setting for such an important game.
Anne Hatchard was outstanding with a game-high 24 possessions and a sublime goal, with ruck Caitlin Gould also influential with 14 touches and 28 hitouts.
Eloise Jones kicked the opening goal of the game just 17 seconds in and looked dangerous playing more as a permanent forward.
Ebony Marinoff held to 11 possessions by a disciplined hard tag from Aishling Sheridan, but also contributed with 13 tackles.
Jaimee Lambert had 23 disposals for the visitors, with Chloe Molloy and Lauren Butler amongst the Pies’ best players.
LIGHTNING CRASHES
The weather crashed the party in Adelaide on Saturday, with the Christmas pageant shortened and horse racing at Morphetville postponed.
The footy looked set for the same fate as play was suspended amid wild scenes.
It was hard to see how play would resume as lightning cracked all around the ground as it was pelted with torrential rain and blustering winds.
If the weather didn’t abate the game would’ve been rescheduled this week and restarted from when it was halted, but the weather gods smiled on the home side.
Large puddles of water across the ground made life difficult for both sides, but Hatchard’s class shone through.
The star onballer stretched Adelaide’s lead to 18 points at half-time after she brilliantly gathered a half-volley in heavy traffic and sent a shot goalward that trickled over the line.
SPOT FIRES
The second half got underway in bright sunshine and the contest got heated in the third quarter.
A Collingwood free kick was reversed after an off-the-ball bump on Hatchard, with the ball then taken off the star Crow and handed back to the Magpies on the grandstand wing after Ash Woodland erred further afield.
The added spice fired up the Pies, who pressed with the help of a strong breeze that had swung toward the northern end.
With Adelaide defending grimly, Eliza James finally broke through with a superb crumbing goal from close range to slice the margin to 10 points at the last break.
The Crows took over use of the wind in the final term, and while they weren’t able to produce a goal with it, they forced Collingwood into a stalemate that delivered a preliminary final berth.
SCOREBOARD
CROWS 2.1 3.3 3.3 3.5 (23)
MAGPIES 0.2 0.3 1.5 1.5 (11)
PHELAN’S BEST
Crows: Hatchard, Gould, Newman, Charlton, Biddell, Allan.
Magpies: Lambert, Molloy, Butler, Chiocci, Sheridan, Schleicher.
GOALS
Crows: Jones, Hatchard, Whiteley.
Magpies: James.
INJURIES
Crows: Nil.
Magpies: Nil.
VENUE
Unley Oval
AFLW final delayed twice as wild weather smashes Adelaide
Adelaide and Collingwood players have returned to the field at Unley Oval after a 40-minute break due to lightning strikes in the area.
The semi-final’s start was delayed by 30 minutes due to the wild weather that lashed Adelaide on Saturday, with play suspended at quarter-time after thunderstorms rolled through the city.
Lightning lit up the venue about 30 seconds before quarter-time, with AFL officials summoning the players from the field as the siren sounded.
Pictures from the ground showed flooded areas near the bench.
Asked when a call needed to be made on if the match could safely restart, AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone told Channel 7: “The deadline is the light. Clearly this oval, we are playing a daytime match. It has some lighting. Again, player safety, being able to see. From a broadcast point of view but also from a match point of view but also from a match point of you as well.”
Livingstone said she was confident the match would be completed on Saturday.
“It’s eerie when the Storm comes through but again we are on the line with the bureau of meteorology, the BOM, we have a direct line with them and they are saying this is going to clear and we will be able to get the match away,” she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology is reporting more than 37mm has fallen in some parts of Adelaide since 9am.
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