AFL: Crows want Tigers on the hallowed turf of the MCG

The possibility of a meeting Richmond at home rather than the MCG this weekend doesn’t appeal to the Adelaide Crows

Adelaide’s David Mackay kicks the ball during his side’s narrow win over the Demons. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

The Adelaide Crows would gladly knock back an additional home match this weekend to play premiers Richmond at the MCG.

The Crows are due to meet the Tigers at the home of football on Sunday, however with the Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne, the match could be moved to the Adelaide Oval.

But rather than be overjoyed by the prospect of home-ground advantage, the Crows would relish an opportunity to beat the Tigers at the MCG.

“A few boys are pretty keen to play at the ‘G actually,” Crows assistant coach Scott Burns said on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a lot of blokes who haven’t played at the MCG. We’ve got Richmond, two or three premiership stars coming back into that side by the looks of it as well, so they’re going to hungry, they’re going to be desperate, so it’s a good challenge to go to the ‘G.

“If I had a preference, playing-wise, I would love to go to the ‘G to play Richmond, for our supporters though, play here and get a crowd here.”

It’s little surprise that the Crows’ confidence is so high that they would embrace the challenge of beating the Tigers in Melbourne.

“The design symbolises me finding out a bit more about my culture, a bit more about myself and diving into things I didn’t think about too much before."

Ben explains the meaning behind Adelaide's 2021 Indigenous guernsey 💙❤️💛#weflyasonepic.twitter.com/dQResXkdr7

— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) May 25, 2021

Adelaide became the first team to beat Melbourne this season with a one-point weekend win over the Demons at Adelaide Oval.

But the finish to the games was controversial, with the AFL admitting an umpiring error had been made in not penalising Crow Nick Murray for deliberately hand-passing the ball out of bounds in the dying stages.

Had a free-kick been awarded, the Demons would have had a shot at goal to win the match and maintain their perfect start to the season.

“It’s really hollow for Melbourne supporters, isn’t it?” Burns said of the AFL admission.

“And it’s irrelevant to us. There are so many decisions made in the last two or three minutes – some go your way, some don’t.”

Burns was particularly pleased with the Crows’ “consistency of effort” in their thrilling victory.

“To compete for the four quarters and then to also show that little bit of resilience at times when they might have got one or two (goals) ahead of us ... we did that early in the game and obviously we did that at the end,” he said.

“We’ve got to make the most of the little wins we have along the way.”