AFL 2016: Western Bulldogs beat Adelaide Crows by 15 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 7
WESTERN Bulldogs backed their pre-game bark with bite — continuing an Etihad Stadium barricade against Adelaide and hold on top four status.
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WESTERN Bulldogs backed their pre-game bark with bite — continuing an Etihad Stadium barricade against Adelaide and hold on top four status.
Josh Jenkins gave the Dogs the slip all night with a career best eight-goal haul that dramatically enhanced his claims for a long term West Lakes deal. Jenkins’ last goal got Adelaide to within three points in the thriller but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 15-point defeat, the visitors’ seventh in eight starts at Etihad.
The Dogs kept coming with Marcus Bontempelli (2) Tory Dickson (3) and Jake Stringer (4) sealing the deal despite Taylor Walker’s first goal of a dirty day in the final stanza. Midfielder Bontempelli had said the Bulldogs wanted to make Adelaide pay for last season’s ‘Talia-gate’ elimination final loss at the MCG and delivered the final blow for the Luke Beveridge’s men.
Adelaide lost all key categories to the Bulldogs in last year’s preliminary final but was saved by 57 to 45 per cent scoring accuracy. This time the Bulldogs were on target early with a 6.3 first term. The Dogs deep midfield rotation led by Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Liberatore, Lachie Hunter, Bontempelli, Matt Boyd and Jack Macrae were all over a quiet Adelaide engine room. Scott Thompson struggled, Rory Sloane battled apparent ankle soreness and David McKay pulled a hamstring.
Tag rucks Tom Campbell and Jordan Roughead proved a real match for highly fancied Sam Jacobs while Dogs prevailed decisively in centre clearances 23-8.
Stringer slotted four in a surprise match-up with Kyle Hartigan.
Late goals to Jenkins and Rory Atkins gave Adelaide a crazy shot at a great Etihad escape with a last change deficit of 18 points. Canny inclusion Jack Redpath (3) was curbing every charge from the visitors and making life difficult for Dogs enemy No. 1 Daniel Talia who had an uncharacteristic poor showing.
Jenkins and Lynch started the second half as they ended the first as Adelaide came to within eight points of the front running Bulldogs.
However a crucial, questionable boundary umpire decision on Eddie Betts straddling the line robbed Josh Jenkins of a sixth goal and Adelaide’s momentum entering time on in the third term. Bulldog Bontempelli immediately responded and extended the lead to 24 points.
Lynch’s dynamic forward presence with Jenkins had kept Adelaide in the contest when the Dogs threatened to run away with the game. Charlie Cameron’s touches, tackling pressure and goals against the flow were instrumental. Matt Crouch (24 touches) was the primary ball winner for Adelaide in the clinches when the going was tough.
One area of concern for Adelaide was Walker struggling to meet the frenetic intensity of the contest. ‘Tex’ punished an early error from Marcus Adams but the Bulldogs defenders regularly ran off the Adelaide skipper, still inconvenienced by a foot injury. A last quarter mistake booting the ball into the man setup Stringer’s fourth.
One player shouldn’t make a difference but Adelaide’s rebound appeared punctured without Rory Laird’s multifaceted excellence. Laird’s toe injury loomed as problematic as the 2015 club champion runner up can shut down small forwards while a ball magnet who can create scores from behind centre. Laird’s Champion Data per game, elite ranked disposals (25.7), uncontested possessions (17.6) and intercept possessions 7.2 were acutely missed.
The first half was a tale of errors for Adelaide — its worst for the season. However the Crows scrapped back into the contest reducing a 36 point deficit to 20 points at the main break when the game could already have been lost.
The first three goals of the game came from errors from Bulldog Marcus Adams and Adelaide’s Thompson and Kyle Cheney.
Adelaide had taken on the Bulldogs in a pound for pound shootout in the first quarter and were coming off second best.
The Bulldogs enjoyed 20 inside 50s and won clearances 6-3 in the first term but were unusually frugal recording 6.3.
Goals from Stringer and Mitch Wallis threatened to flatten the Crows early in the second term but Charlie Cameron conjured a riposte from nothing to stop the bleeding. Stringer’s leg injury after hitting the post eight minutes in gave Adelaide crucial breathing space. Jenkins and Lynch kept Adelaide alive but Redpath was proving a constant thorn for Adelaide and Talia.
5 THINGS WE LEARNED
1 — Adelaide’s centre square work was very poor in the first quarter as the Bulldogs led by four goals. Sam Jacobs couldn’t jump and the Crows midfielders couldn’t get contact with their opponents. It improved but not enough. It must get better.
2 — Josh Jenkins. Josh Jenkins. Josh Jenkins. Boy oh boy. I didn’t think he could but he has. I was wrong and he has officially arrived with eight goals.
3 — The Crows field kicking was poor, their kicking for goal was not much better. It has been of high standard so far this year but it was off a little, like several parts of the Crows game last night.
4 — Five free kicks to three-quarter time. Five? Three of them did result in goals but fans were not happy and they had every right not to be. They ended up with 11 but the Dogs had 28.
5 — So much of what the Crows are doing is good — but they continue to allow the opposition too many inside 50s. This must be addressed. The Dogs had 68 to the Crows just 37.
BEST
WESTERN BULLDOGS: Liberatore, Hunter, Boyd, Bontempelli, Dahlhaus, Morris, Redpath, Macrae
ADELAIDE: Jenkins, M Crouch, Lynch, B Crouch, Atkins, Lever, Cameron, Sloane.
Originally published as AFL 2016: Western Bulldogs beat Adelaide Crows by 15 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 7
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