The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from round 8

Jordon Butts and Mark Keane are hardly defenders who keep key forwards up ay night. But maybe, after quelling Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay — they should be. See the full likes and dislikes in The Lowdown.

There was a stark contrast between the two South Australian sides over the weekend.

Adelaide roared back into form with a huge victory over Carlton, but their crosstown rivals Port Adelaide sunk to a historical low.

Ahead of the Showdown, see all the likes and dislikes from round 8 here.

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Jordan Dawson was superb. Picture: Getty Images

LIKES

1. CAPTAIN DAWSON

It had been an interesting couple of weeks for the Crows skipper. The numbers were down yet he got the most coaches votes in the win over GWS, although it was a scrappy game. Matthew Nicks said the criticism of his captain was off the mark, saying “there’s a lot of stuff that Jordan does even when the perception is that he hasn’t played well”. Well the perception is that Dawson was back to his brilliant best against Carlton on Saturday. In a game that the Crows really needed to win he finished with 22 disposals, nine score involvements, eight tackles, six clearances, seven marks and three goals going at 86 per cent efficiency. His contested marking is such a weapon for the Crows with Dawson’s nine the most by a midfielder in the competition so far this season. Against the Blues he looked so dangerous whenever he went forward and unsurprisingly got the 10 coaches votes to take the lead in that award. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Crows use this ability of Dawson with the taller forward line they roll with going forward. Because as we saw against the Blues, teams struggle to cope with the Crows skipper when he goes forward.

The Adelaide defence stood up. Picture: Getty Images

2. THE CROWS DEFENCE

That might have been the best the Crows’ defence has been under Nicks. And it was even more impressive that it was without the injured Nick Murray, who is so important to the Crows’ backline, and the suspended Mitch Hinge. There’s arguably no more challenging key forward duo than Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay in the game and apart from Curnow’s two goals the Crows’ defenders just blanketed them. Mark Keane and Jordon Butts well and truly stood up as key defenders and Josh Worrell was just outstanding coming off and intercepting.

Max Michalanney can clamp down an opponent like the best of them but seems to have developed an offensive game, while Wayne Milera had 27 disposals and Rory Laird bounced back. And to top it off veteran Brodie Smith produced the moment of the match with his goal just before the finish. There might be those fans who have been on Smith’s back over the past couple of seasons, but it was still evident that he is a much loved figure at West Lakes.

The perfect way to cap off the night 🥹 pic.twitter.com/W7Nkw6g9bx

— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) May 3, 2025

DISLIKES

1. SOME BIG CONCERNS

Port Adelaide had taken some big steps forward over the past three weeks. On Saturday the Power took a massive leap backwards. That’s twice now the Power have been beaten by 90-points or more this season and again were not able to stop a side from piling on the goals. The Round 1 loss to Collingwood was a shocker. The loss to the Western Bulldogs was just as bad, and maybe even more disappointing considering the Power had players back and actually started the game pretty well. The numbers from Ballarat were concerning with the 48 points from defensive 50 clearances its worst ever in the AFL and 78 points against from clearances the third most the Power have conceded since 1999.

There are some bis concerns at Port Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

The 41 points it scored was the fifth lowest under Ken Hinkley, while the 14 points scored from turnovers were the second worst under him. And the wider numbers from 2025 so far would also be worrying at Alberton. When it comes to post clearance contested possessions the Power are ranked last this year, while defensive 50 to inside 50 it is 17th. For the last eight rounds of 2024 the Power were ranked first for score per inside 50 and clearance to score, it is now ranked 12th and 14 and after being fourth for intercept to score in that period it is now 14th. At 4-4 the Power’s season is still alive but the ball movement and areas of its defence are of concern.

Jordan Sweet was well beaten by Tim English. Picture: Michael Klein

2. NOT SO SWEET RIGHT NOW

Reilly O’Brien seems to be a bit of a whipping boy when it comes to Crows fans online. Jordon Sweet is escaping the criticism from the Power faithful at the moment. While he has broke even or won the hit-out battle in the last three weeks and is leading the competition when it comes to this stat, the Power’s ruckman has been well and truly beaten by his opponent around the ground. Last year one of Sweet’s better games was against ex-teammate Tim English. On Saturday in Ballarat the Bulldog just destroyed the Power big man with 27 disposals, six marks, four clearances and three goals. This followed on from Tristian Xerri having 23 disposals, seven clearances and a goal for North Melbourne the previous week and Sydney’s Brodie Grundy having 26 disposals and nine clearances the week before. Disposals aren’t Sweet’s strong point but in those matches it has been nine, eight and nine for the Power ruck. And along with Nick Bryan, out for the season with an ACL injury, he is the only ruckman yet to take a contested mark this year.

Mitch Georgiades was fined for a tripping incident against the Dogs. Picture: Getty Images

AND THE LOWDOWN ON...

While all the attention was on the Paul Curtis tackle and suspension, another tribunal outcome raised eyebrows last week.

Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades was fined $3000 for tripping during the first quarter of his side’s home win over the Kangaroos, in an incident the Match Review Officer deemed intentional.

Georgiades challenged the grading and successfully got it reduced to careless.

The problem was the fine the Power forward received still ended up being more than if he had taken an early plea on the initial classification ($2000).

It begs the question - why bother challenging at all?

On principle, surely an intentional trip that is graded as low impact has to receive a higher sanction than a careless one, even with a guilty early plea?

The match review and tribunal systems have plenty of bigger issues that need addressing.

But add this example to the list of club frustrations with the model that should be fixed and make little sense the way it is.

Originally published as The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from round 8