Late rally not enough for GWS Giants to reel in the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval
THE GWS Giants kicked five of the last six goals of the match to give the Crows a mighty scare before going down by 22 points.
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THE GWS Giants kicked five of the last six goals of the match to give the Crows a mighty scare before going down by 22 points.
In front of the largest crowd (46,737) in their short history Leon Cameron’s team left their run way too late with the final scoreline flattering them after Adelaide had given them a football lesson for the first three quarters.
Taylor Walker and Eddie Betts led the way with five goals each. Betts’s fourth late in the third quarter was a candidate for goal of the year when he trapped the ball on the boundary line and beat two players before finishing brilliantly from a tight angle.
For the first time this season GWS struggled to find winners across the field. Callum Ward had his colours lowered, picking up just 16 disposals as Rory Sloane took the honours in a pivotal battle.
The Giants forwards were almost shut-out of the game with Jeremy Cameron held to just one goal by Daniel Talia. Rory Lobb was the only other forward to get on the scoreboard as Steve Johnson and Rhys Palmer were both kept goalless.
The Giants’ three multiple goal scorers all came from the midfield through Toby Greene (three), Tom Scully (two) and Dylan Shiel (three).
Experienced defender Joel Patfull was another who had his colours lowered as he allowed Walker too much latitude especially in the first quarter when he kicked three of his five goals.
Heath Shaw again found plenty of the football but was soundly beaten by crowd hero Betts.
One of the few shining lights for the Giants was defender Nick Haynes who helped limit the damage dramatically.
As well as restricting Josh Jenkins to just one goal for the night he produced six intercept marks as well as winning a host of one-on-one battles.
Stephen Coniglio also battled on well with 30 possessions including 11 contested. Tom Scully, Shiel and Josh Kelly were also solid contributors as were Zac Williams and Nathan Wilson who continued to provide plenty of rebound from defence.
The loss keeps the Giants winless in Adelaide against both the Crows and Port Adelaide.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier with GWS travelling to Geelong next week before taking on the Swans at Spotless Stadium.
After beating the Bulldogs last week and losing to the Crows they sit 1-1 in the middle of a massive month of football which will be pivotal to their finals chances.
Originally published as Late rally not enough for GWS Giants to reel in the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval
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