Australian Football

Match Report

Adelaide and Brisbane met at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night and while the expectations were that the Crows would make short work of the Lions and win well, few would have forecast a massacre of the proportions that were played out. The Crows were switched from the moment the match started and never really switched off at any stage, leading by 28, 64 and 108 points at the first three breaks before finishing off as strongly as they began to win by a whopping 138 points.

The tone was set the moment the ball was bounced, as Matt Crouch won the first centre clearance and kicked it long for Charlie Cameron to rove it and kick truly and bring up Adelaide's first goal after just 15 seconds. Brisbane responded with a goal to Daniel Rich but the Crows hit their straps after that, with majors to Paul Seedsman, Eddie Betts and Taylor Walker giving them a 20-point lead. Mitch Robinson goaled on the cusp of time on to cut the margin to 14 points but Adelaide closed out the quarter with three of the next four goals to be 28 points ahead at quarter time. 

Brisbane started the second term better than the first, with a goal to Tom Rockliff after four minutes but the Crow machine cranked right top after that, with Brad Crouch and Betts adding goals and the Walker kicking three on the trot as the lead blew out to 45 points. Rhys Mathieson pulled one back for the Lions early in time on but a brace to Tom Lynch saw the Crows go into the long break with a 64-point lead. 

Any thought of the match changing course after half time was quickly dispelled as Josh Jenkins and Betts took the margin beyond the 12-goal mark within the first three minutes of the third quarter. A goal to Lewis Taylor cut the margin back to 70 points at the eight-minute mark but the Lions were to goalless for the rest of the match as Adelaide powered on. The Crows added another six goals for the quarter and turned for home with a lead already beyond the magical 100-point mark. 

Brisbane managed to keep the Crows scoreless for the first six minutes of the last quarter, but the Lions couldn't make any impact on the scoreboard themselves, save for a behind to Eric Hipwood. Adelaide resumed 'normal transmission' after that, with majors to Betts, Josh Jenkins and Rory Sloane taking the margin out to 126 points. A mark to Mitch Robinson saw him register a behind for Brisbane, but that was the Lions' last score of the match and the Crows finished off with goals to Luke Brown and Matt Crouch to round out a crushing win, the 138-point margin just one point shy of Adelaide's biggest ever win. 

The Crows had many, many good players but Rory Sloane, with 34 possessions and two goals, was one of their best. By contrast Brisbane had few winners but Tom Rockliff (31 disposals and nine tackles) could at least hold his head high. 

Adelaide's huge winning margin enabled its percentage to jump up from 133.0 to 141.1, taking the Crows from fifth to third on the ladder. They will need to win all of their remaining three matches - against Fremantle, Port Adelaide and West Coast - to ensure they stay in the top four. The Lions will look to round out the season with better efforts than Saturday night against Carlton and Geelong at the Gabba, and St Kilda at Docklands in round 23. 

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker, Lynch, Betts 4; Jenkins 3; Ellis-Yolmen, Sloane 2; Smith, Seedsman, O’Brien, Lyons, B.Crouch, M.Crouch, Brown, Cameron.
Brisbane: Mathieson 2; Taylor, Rockliff, Robinson, Rich 

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Laird, Sloane, Walker, Lynch, Talia, Jenkins, Betts, B.Crouch
Brisbane: Rockliff, Mathieson, Bastinac, Zorko

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Adelaide: B Crouch, Sloane, Laird, Lynch, Walker, Jenkins
Brisbane: Bastinac, Rockliff, Smith, Mathieson, Rich, Zorko

INJURIES 
Adelaide: Seedsman (corked buttock)
Brisbane: Nil

UMPIRES: Schmitt, Hay, Mitchell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Adam Papalia, Dermott Brereton, Mark Ricciuto