Crows win opens race for top eight

Who would have celebrated Adelaide’s second win of the year more, Crows fans or their Melbourne and Western Bulldogs counterparts?

Adelaide’s David Mackay hits Bobby Hill in a tackles as the Crows shocked the Giants at Adelaide Oval Picture: Getty Images

Who would have celebrated Adelaide’s second win of the year more, Crows fans or their Melbourne and Western Bulldogs counterparts?

GWS had the chance to solidify a finals spot against a Crows team that was winless until last week, and the Giants blew it.

Last year’s grand finalists are still alive in 2020 but they are now in a three-way battle for the last finals spot after they were shocked by the cellar-dwelling Crows.

Matthew Nicks’ side set the tone from the first quarter when they looked like the team that had everything to play for and when GWS’ quality threatened to steal a win the Crows stood firm.

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GWS may still emerge from this three-way tussle with the Demons and Bulldogs, but the Giants remain out of sorts at a worrying time for Leon Cameron.

GWS have arguably the premier midfield of the competition while the Crows have been smashed in the middle of the park for much of the year.

But in the first half at Adelaide Oval it was the Crows who were winning the battle of the two engine rooms, and how. At quarter time they were 10-2 in clearances, at half time this was 19-6.

The Crows, led by Rory Laird (seven clearances himself) surprisingly smashed the Giants in an area of their strength.

But despite the big win in the contest, the Crows were kicking themselves at halftime as they didn’t make this count on the scoreboard and the Giants got back into the match.

Adelaide’s Shane McAdam and GWS’ Ian Hill had a battle within the battle as to who could end up with the moment of the match. Hill definitely snared the goal of the night with a sensational shot from the right pocket in the first quarter, and would be the favourite for the mark of the night with a huge jump on a pack of Crows defenders to surely put his name forward for some end-of-year awards. But McAdam ran him close as the Crows youngster again showed his high-flying ability with a hanger in the second quarter.

Jeremy Cameron is the reigning Coleman Medallist and a forward who can tear teams apart. Yet he was deployed on the wing and further up the ground by the Giants for long periods.

In the first quarter when Cameron – whose performance last time out against Carlton was derided by pundits – had some good moments it looked like it might rejuvenate GWS’ star attacking linchpin. But is that the best way to get the most out of their star?

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