No miracle for Crows as losing streak rolls on

With 40 seconds to go and three points down, the crowd were on their feet – could a miracle win be on the cards?

Adelaide’s Matt Crouch handballs over Zach Merrett at Adelaide Oval Picture: Getty Images

With 40 seconds to go and three points down, the Adelaide Oval crowd were on their feet – could a miracle win be on the cards against an undermanned Essendon?

Brodie Smith had the ball, took a long snap at goal, but it went out of bounds and hopes were dashed.

It might have been a scrappy game overall, but it was compelling as the Bombers beat spirited Adelaide in perfect conditions by three points.

This loss wasn’t Smith’s fault, the Crows kicked 1.6 in the final term.

With Brad Crouch gone by halftime, the Crows’ lack of a creative, big-bodied midfielder was exposed; they couldn’t hit targets, too often fumbled handballs and dropped simple marks and Essendon were able to capitalise on Crow mistakes, of which there were many.

The embattled Crows’ sinking season continues; their run of losses now sits at eight for the season, having not won a game for 358 days.

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With 10 players sitting on their injury list, including Dylan Shiel (suspension), Cale Hooker (calf), and Dyson Heppell (ankle), this was an undermanned Bombers’ side.

But there were still plenty of names running around on the grass: midfielder Zach Merrett dominated and had 33 disposals and six clearances and was best on ground.

Working alongside him was Andrew McGrath, whose two first-half centre clearances were more than the entire Crows side put together.

Adam Saad was the best of the defenders, while forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti shook off his one-touch first quarter, finishing with 13 touches and two goals.

This was a significant win for the Bombers who are now 5-2 (with a game in hand).

Adelaide were up for the contest. It was the bump that set the intent for the Crows early: only two minutes into the game, the running Tom Doedee gave Essendon’s Will Snelling a savage “Welcome back to Adelaide” bump that left the former South Australian winded on the bench. It was tough, hard footy.

Doedee, who stepped into the captaincy with Rory Sloane injured, stood tall down back until his day was over in the third term, when he came off the ground needing ice on his hamstring. It’s devastating not only for Adelaide, but for the 23-year-old who was shining in the captain’s role.

Snelling meanwhile fought his way back into the game and finished with 19 disposals and laid 10 tackles.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks laid down a challenge to his inside-midfielders this week, imploring them to change their mindset at centre bounces and improve their centre clearances.

The Crows lost centre clearances 7-14 against St Kilda and 4-13 against West Coast and so it was no surprise that going into this round, Adelaide was also ranked worst in the league for clearances per game.

By halftime, the Crows were severely down in the centre clearances (1-7), but their third quarter effort saw them fight back (5-9).

The Crows lost clearances overall 29-37 and centre clearances 6-11.