Crows send warning to AFLW as they dispose of Geelong with high-possession team football
Adelaide has sent a warning to rivals by disposing of Geelong with a high-possession brand of team football at Norwood Oval, with star Crow Ebony Marinoff setting a new league disposals record along the way.
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In a clinical display of disciplined football, Adelaide racked up possession getters and goal kickers as they beat Geelong by 29 points.
After two games of slow starts and inaccurate kicking, in this game it was as if all the pre-season talk of working on skill fundamentals had clicked together. And the high-possession, tough-marking football sends a warning to Fremantle who plays the Crows next, while Geelong will learn its lessons before it takes on Carlton.
In hot conditions at Norwood Oval, the Crows were 28-point leaders at half-time and when they headed into the changerooms they boasted four individual goal kickers, including three to the bright orange boot of co-captain Erin Phillips and the first in Crows colours to new recruit Renee Forth. And they were ahead in every way: disposals, marks, tackles and clearances and they had more than tripled Geelong’s inside 50s (19 to 6 and by the end of the game this stood at 41 to 16).
They also went into the changerooms with seven players who had already racked up double-figure disposals (including midfielders Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard), while Geelong had not one.
By game’s end the Crows had 12 players in double figures compared with Geelong’s five. It was a dominant performance.
Geelong’s debutants
While the Cats came to Adelaide with two big outs — No. 1 draft pick Nina Morrison (ACL) and Aasta O’Connor (sore knee) — they were welcoming two high-profile debutants to the blue and white in captain Melissa Hickey, returning after rupturing her ACL in March last year, and tough midfielder Richelle Cranston, after serving a two-week ban for a sling tackle in a pre-season game.
Cranston proved her worth racking up 18 disposals and was a shining light in their midfield. Hickey, however, was quiet, but she was pleased to get the first game under her belt and finish without any niggles.
Lessons learnt
Pre-game Adelaide coach Matthew Clarke acknowledged his side found the congestion of the smaller Norwood Oval difficult during their 1-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in the opening round. In that game the Crows kicked 1.11 (17), but Clarke said they’d learnt their lessons about how to play to the conditions. Learnt they did, with a lively start that never really stopped.
Goal spree
And if Adelaide was worried about a repeat of the same inaccuracy in front of goals they had last time they appeared at Norwood Oval, they needn’t have: the side had already out-goaled their first dismal score by the end of the first quarter. They were 2.2 at the first break thanks to goals from Phillips and finished with seven individual goal kickers (as well as posters to Foley and Sarah Perkins). Geelong booted six of their own.
Possession getters
It was as if the Crows were on a mission to outdo each other, and the numbers they racked up were impressive: Ebony Marinoff got herself into record-breaking territory with 33 disposals that were evenly shared between kicks and handballs. Fellow midfielder Anne Hatchard continued her impressive move into the midfield with 27 of her own. But despite all those large numbers, what the Crows can most take away from this game is that this was a team win, with the load shared across the board and at both ends of the ground.
Returning Randall
After missing last week’s win against Carlton due to hamstring soreness, co-captain Chelsea Randall returned from her week off filled with the high-marking, hard-running, long-kicking style that has made her an integral part of defence. She was noticeable all game long.
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