Crows flex muscles to claim first big scalp as star struck down in tight Giants tussle
Adelaide lost a major player but still claimed its first big scalp of 2025 with a tough — and at times ugly — win over GWS.
Adelaide has claimed its first big scalp of 2025 with a tough — and at times ugly — 18-point victory over GWS in wet conditions at Adelaide Oval.
An arm wrestle for most of the game where goals were hard to come by, the Crows got an important buffer from an Izak Rankine goal late in the fourth term. Jake Stringer instantly responded with his first goal after three earlier misses, but the Crows hung on, 8.10 (52) to 4.10 (34).
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The win may have come at a cost though, with gun Crows forward Darcy Fogarty hurting his shoulder after a big hit from Harry Himmelberg in the third term. Fogarty initially returned after the heavy collision before exiting the game.
Taylor Walker was the only multiple goalkicker with two and the Giants had the three top disposal getters with Lachie Whitfield (39), Tom Green (36) and Lachie Ash (29), but Adelaide’s more attacking brand generated more scoring opportunities.
The result saw the Crows snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 4-2 to climb into fifth on the ladder, while the fourth-placed Giants are also 4-2.
In what was touted as a likely game-of-the-round contender, the Saturday evening duel between Adelaide and GWS was an arm wrestle … to say the least.
It was far from the free-flowing, high-scoring affair that fans from either side had hoped for, the two top-eight hopefuls combined for just 11 goals in a genuine tug of war.
Adelaide dominated play throughout the first half and it took Adam Kingsley’s side well over a quarter to kick their first major of the encounter thanks to a Josh Kelly tumble ball from the 50 metre arc.
It was the plethora of turnovers that made the game a rough spectacle, with the count of each side significantly higher than the league average at half time.
The AFL average for turnovers at half time is 32, with the Crows and Giants registering 46 and 45 turnovers respectively before the main break.
“The skills have been down, it is windy out on the ground, but an abnormal amount of turnovers from both sides,” Adelaide legend Mark Ricciuto told Fox Footy at half time.
“Luckily for GWS, Jordan Dawson’s not kicking as well as he usually is … if he could tidy that up, it’d be a different scoreboard.”
The Crows skipper was impactful as his side’s leading disposal getter, but also at times ineffective to finish the match with 27 disposals at 51.9 per cent efficiency, as well as nine inside 50s and 620 metres gained.
And as if the clash needed another variable that could make scoring any harder, heavy rain hit Adelaide Oval halfway through the third quarter.
The downpour came right in the middle of the Giants’ best term, with wind making kicking for goal and lateral switches much harder than normal.
“GWS looked really good at the start of that third quarter, which was generated from the defensive half ball movement,” Fox Footy reporter and Collingwood AFLW player Ruby Schleicher said at three-quarter time.
“It didn’t have to be pretty, it’s really ugly footy actually — but it’s more of the ‘Orange Tsunami’ that we’ve got to know of the GWS Giants.”
Reilly O’Brien was one of Adelaide’s best, and convincingly won the ruck battle over gun Kieran Briggs.
The 29-year-old monstered Briggs to register 21 more hit-outs than his opponent, as the Giant surprisingly failed to register a mark for just the fourth time in his 55-game career.
Up forward, Walker again proved himself invaluable despite the tough conditions for forwards as the game’s only multiple goal kicker.
“I thought it was a really mature performance, and they’ve taken giant strides in the first six weeks,” dual Kangaroos premiership player David King said of the Crows on Fox Footy Super Saturday Live post-game.
Six minutes into the second quarter, the Crows held an eye-opening 23-9 lead in the inside 50 count over the Giants and led in all mainstream stat lines bar efficiency going inside 50.
The home side eventually won the inside 50 and clearance count by 13 and contested possessions by 16.
Originally published as Crows flex muscles to claim first big scalp as star struck down in tight Giants tussle
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