AFL 2023: Key stats reveal why the Crows struggle on the road

Great footy sides win anywhere, anytime – but Adelaide’s recent results are that of an ‘as long as we don’t have to get on a plane’ team. And the glaring issues aren’t new.

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 03: Jordon Butts of the Crows looks dejected after a loss during the 2023 AFL Round 12 match between the Gold Coast Suns and the Adelaide Crows at TIO Stadium on June 3, 2023 in Darwin, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

when it comes to winning games.

Adelaide’s recent results are that of an “as long as we don’t have to get on a plane” team.

The Crows are 1-4 away from Adelaide Oval this year, the latest loss being to Gold Coast in Darwin by 25 points on Saturday night.

In contrast, Matthew Nicks’s side is 5-2 on home soil.

The Crows’ poor form outside of South Australia is not new.

Since the start of 2021, they are 7-19 (26 per cent) on the road and 14-16 (46 per cent) at Adelaide Oval.

These are their away scalps during that time: North Melbourne and Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium, and St Kilda in Cairns in 2021; the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat, the Kangaroos in Hobart and West Coast in Perth last year; and the Hawks in Launceston this campaign.

While no road wins are easy and all are worth four premiership points, the facts are they have beaten just one eventual finalist in that span – the eighth-placed Bulldogs last year – and one major-round contender (St Kilda).

The Crows have not been able to replicate their almost irresistible home form away from Adelaide. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

North Melbourne were wooden spooners in both seasons, the Eagles were second-last in 2022 – although they were a tougher task in Perth last year because it was champion forward Josh Kennedy’s farewell – while Hawthorn sat 14th in 2021 and was now 16th.

No doubt Adelaide has improved since 2021, but it will not take the next step in its development until it can start recording more road wins.

Champion Data statistics reveal some stark disparities between the Crows’ home and away performances in 2023, including:

■ Averaging 25.8 fewer points on the road – 99.4 points at Adelaide Oval, 73.6 elsewhere;

■ Conceding an average of 19.1 points more in away games – 95.4 on the road, 76.3 at home;

■ A dip in scores per inside 50 – scoring from 50 per cent of them at home and 43 per cent away;

■ Opponents scoring on just 41 per cent on inside 50 entries at Adelaide Oval, compared to 52 per cent on the road;

■ Contested ball differential being +7.5 at home and -14.2 away

How do the Crows solve their woes away from home? Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Several members of Adelaide’s best 22 are not having as much influence interstate as they are at home.

Granted, Champion Data ranking points do not tell a game’s full story, including a player’s role and what is going on around them, but they provide an insight.

Among the Crows whose statistics dip when on the road this year are:

■ Star recruit Izak Rankine: averages 89 ranking points and 3.1 forward 50 ground ball gets at home, compared to 65 and 1.2 away

■ Key forward/ruck Riley Thilthorpe: averages 71.4 ranking points and 1.4 goals at home, compared to 46 and being goalless away

■ Captain Jordan Dawson: averages 129.8 ranking points and 28.4 disposals at home, compared to 99.1 and 25.6 away

■ Key defender Nick Murray: has lost just 13 per cent of his one-on-ones at home, compared to 38 per cent away

Izak Rankine has embodied the Crows’ stark difference in form away from home. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker told The Advertiser the team had spoken about its away results “here and there”.

“It’s one of those things – do you talk about it and it becomes right in front of you or you don’t talk about it and you hide the elephant in the room?,” Walker said.

“I’m neither here nor there, the results are what they are.

“If you’re going to win a grand final, you’ve got to win on the road (at the MCG) so we’ve got to get better at it, simple as that.”

Adelaide’s remaining away games are against: Collingwood at the MCG, Essendon at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne at the MCG, Brisbane at the Gabba and West Coast in Perth.

The Crows will likely need to win a few of them if they are to end a six-year finals drought in 2023.

Beating the bottom-placed Eagles at home on Saturday is worth just as many premiership points as victory over the Magpies at the MCG the next match.

But Adelaide will get little credit externally for a victory this weekend, whereas a triumph against Collingwood, the Bombers, Demons or Lions will be massive for their top-eight hopes.

Originally published as AFL 2023: Key stats reveal why the Crows struggle on the road