AFL Round 6 Adelaide v GWS: All the news, analysis and fallout as the Crows hold off Giants
Darcy Forgarty was in plenty of pain when Harry Himmelberg smashed into his shoulder. The Crow won’t need major surgery, but will be on the plane to Perth this week?
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Adelaide star Darcy Fogarty has avoided a major shoulder injury, but the Crows don’t know whether he will be able to take on Fremantle in Perth.
The Adelaide leadership group member injured his shoulder in a contest with GWS defender Harry Himmelberg in the Crows’ gritty win over the Giants on Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
He had scans on Sunday and in good news for the Crows, Fogarty was cleared of any structural damage.
Adelaide High Performance Manager Darren Burgess said the scans had revealed Fogarty had suffered a sternoclavicular joint sprain, but he could take on the Dockers on Friday night depending on how it pulled up.
Fogarty leaves the ground after getting CLEANED UP by Himmelberg #AFLCrowsGiantspic.twitter.com/mNs3sayGhT
— outbreezy (@outbreezyWC) April 19, 2025
“We will need to let it settle for a couple of days so he will be on light duties, but in short there is no major structural damage which is pleasing,” Burgess said.
“It’s too early to rule him out of the trip to Perth, but his availability will obviously depend on how he responds during the week.”
Fogarty has kicked 16 goals for the Crows so far this season.
‘MATURE’ CROWS PROVE POINT BY TAKING BIG SCALP
If the Adelaide Crows needed a ‘big scalp’ to convince doubters of their credentials this season, they have one now after they clawed their way to a gutsy win against GWS.
The hard-charging Crows were the talk of the competition after their barnstorming three wins to start the season, but losses to Gold Coast and Geelong had some questioning the quality of the opposition in that opening trio of victories.
But there can be no doubting the quality of Saturday’s opponent, the Giants denied an opportunity to go to the top of the AFL ladder by Matthew Nicks’ men in tough conditions at Adelaide Oval.
“The (scalp) language is probably not what we use, but to beat a very good side, a side that will be there at the end of the year, we have to win at home,” Nicks said.
“There are a certain amount of games that we get to play here and we have to do whatever we can to win those games.
“It was very disciplined, mature is a good word for it, we have a plan most weeks, but we had a really deliberate plan this week off the back of a few areas we needed to work on.
“We came in with a plan and executed it really well.
“We looked hungrier, we looked like we had fast feet when it really counted, and when the rain came in we adjusted quickly, so that was pleasing too.
“It’s a sign of maturity that we can go through and get a lot of things right across four quarters.
“We were defensively a lot stronger than we’ve been up to this point in the season, and that’s an area that we knew we needed to improve on, so this was a great step in the right direction.”
The Giants averaged 97 points per game on their way to a 4-1 record, but were kept to their lowest score (34 points) since 2022 by the stingy Crows.
Adelaide’s own total of 7.10 (52) was its lowest score of the season, 38 fewer points than its previous low, but Nicks was delighted with his team’s defensive discipline in tricky conditions.
“It was one of those games … with the low scoring, the game is never done, especially against a team like GWS who can score heavily,” Nicks said.
“There’s no wind where I sit, it swirled around, and it was a tough game.
“We can’t complain, for our guys to play like that, they did a great job across four quarters.”
Darcy Fogarty was unable to see out the game, leaving the contest in the final term, with ice applied to his left shoulder following a fierce collision with Harry Himmelberg.
“He’ll need to be assessed,” Nicks said.
“It’s a shoulder (injury), but we’re not exactly sure just yet.”
Nicks was unable to replace Fogarty, having made a tactical sub with Sam Berry replacing Sid Draper ahead of the final term.
“There’s always the risk of us doing that,” the coach replied when asked if he had used his sub too early.
“Our guys have done a lot of work on their fitness, and it’s one rotation down, not one player on the ground, so looking at the data we feel we can still run a game out.”
Crows prove a point to take big scalp on bizarre day
The contest was ugly at times, a bit strange at others, and sometimes just downright bizarre, but Adelaide is back on the winners’ list, Taylor Walker’s two goals in a tense low-scoring affair enough to see the Crows home against GWS.
Staring down the barrel of three losses in a row, Matthew Nicks’ men showed impressive resolve in trying conditions after half-time at Adelaide Oval to improve to a 3-3 record, while the Giants slipped to 4-2.
Adelaide ground out a 23-point lead after three quarters, a Harvey Thomas goal five minutes into the final term set up a tense finale, but Izak Rankine found the middle with just over six minutes remaining to settle frayed nerves.
Jordan Dawson didn’t have his best day with his disposal efficiency by foot, but the skipper was still influential, as was Matt Crouch at the stoppages, while Max Michalanney kicked his first AFL goal and did a great job against Toby Greene, who didn’t kick a goal.
In a scrappy clash that didn’t feature great foot skills, Walker was the only multiple goalkicker.
Lachie Whitfield starred for the visitors, who had the three leading possession winners on the ground – led by Whitfield.
KEAYS CONVERTS
The fast-starting Giants had won their past nine first quarters, but Adelaide led by 17 points at the first break and probably should’ve been further in front.
The home side piled on the pressure with the first eight inside 50s of the game, which yielded goals to Ben Keays inside the first minute and later Riley Thilthorpe.
The Giants didn’t venture inside their forward 50 until nearly 13 minutes had elapsed and Reilly O’Brien ensured the ball swiftly departed their attacking zone.
Jake Stringer’s wayward start to his GWS career continued soon after, with former Bulldog and Bomber missing a regulation set shot to take his tally to 2.8 in his fourth game for his new club.
Adelaide had double the inside 50s (16-8) at quarter-time, with GWS failing to register a first-quarter goal for the first time in nine games.
STRANGE DAYS INDEED
The inside 50 trend continued in the second quarter, with Adelaide (33-16 at half-time) generating plenty of scoring opportunities, but Nicks’ men couldn’t muster a second-quarter goal despite that dominance.
Giants spearhead Jesse Hogan was a late out with calf soreness, but even so, two of the most potent attacks in the competition mustered four goals between them in the first half from 49 inside 50s combined.
The breeze was a little tricky, but the rain stayed away until the second half and there was little in the conditions to suggest why both sets of players were finding kicking so difficult.
The AFL average for turnovers by a team in a half is 32, and the Crows had 46 and the Giants 45 at the end of a head-scratching first half, in which GWS registered its lowest score (1.4) since 2012.
In keeping with the bizarre nature of the contest, the visitors’ solitary goal in the first half came off the non-preferred boot of Josh Kelly, whose hurried centring ball, from just outside 50, somehow spiralled over the defender’s head and wobbled through the middle.
CURTIN CRUNCHED
Dan Curtin was involved in a scary incident in the second quarter in a marking contest with Connor Idun.
As both men flew for the ball the GWS defender inadvertently took Curtin’s legs from under him, with the Crows forward landing face first on the turf.
A dazed Curtin left the field for a head assessment, but was able to return in the second half.
Darcy Fogarty hurt his left shoulder in a fierce collision with Harry Himmelberg in the third quarter, and while he was able to come back on, the burly forward was unable to see out the game.
SCOREBOARD
CROWS 3.2 3.5 6.7 7.10 (52)
GIANTS 0.3 1.4 2.8 4.10 (34)
PHELAN’S BEST
CROWS: Crouch, Dawson, Walker, O’Brien, Hinge, Michalanney, Neal-Bullen. GIANTS: Whitfield, Taylor, Green, Callaghan, Ash, Idun, Greene.
GOALS
CROWS: Walker 2, Thilthorpe, Neal-Bullen, Michalanney, Keays, Rankine. GIANTS: Kelly, Jones, Stringer, Thomas.
INJURIES CROWS: Fogarty (shoulder). GIANTS: Hogan (calf – late withdrawal).
UMPIRES Wallace, Gianfagna, Rodger, Mollison
40,062 at ADELAIDE OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Whitfield (GWS)
2 Crouch (Adel)
1 Dawson (Adel)
Originally published as AFL Round 6 Adelaide v GWS: All the news, analysis and fallout as the Crows hold off Giants
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