Adelaide’s SANFL side had its first hit out of the 2023 season, taking on Glenelg at Thebarton Oval on Saturday afternoon. 

It was a strong showing by the Crows who led at the end of every quarter to run out 42-point victors.

Here are five key takeaways from the match:

Contested Taylor

Midfielder Zac Taylor continued to show his development as an on-baller, not afraid to get in and under to extract the ball and find outside runners.

Taylor showed composure with ball in hand with SANFL Head Coach Michael Godden pleased with how he has developed over the pre-season. 

“Since last year he has developed into a really strong midfielder and he’s improving every week,” Godden told AFC Media.

“Every game he gets to play is adding to his experience and he had some moments today he would want back but he also had some amazing moments too.

“In and around the contest his hands are exceptional and he had another really solid effort today.”

Thilthorpe shows development

Riley Thilthorpe continued to work on his craft as a ruckman, taking over the ruck duties for Adelaide to give the Crows another dimension at stoppages.

Thilthorpe gave Adelaide a tall presence around the ground with his hard running allowing him to impact multiple marking contest and take several contested marks.

“Riley has been working really hard over the pre-season and I guess this was a culmination of that work because he is obviously doing a little bit more ruck work than he has in the past,” Godden said.

“Today, we saw him take those contested marks that he has been working so hard on, to push forward and be able to do that was really pleasing.”

Thilthorpe also impressed on the scoresheet with four goals.

Sholl shines on the wing

Outside midfielder Lachlan Sholl won plenty of the ball for the Crows throughout the afternoon, with his speed and smart ball use being an asset for Adelaide.

Sholl gave Adelaide run and carry on the wing and played a vital part in linking up the play to launch his side forward.

“I thought Lachie was outstanding all day,” Godden said.

“Sometimes the wing can be a really tough position to play but he is very good at it and he can go both sides of his body, so he penetrated with ball in hand but also defended really well.”

Sholl was rewarded in the second quarter with a goal from 45-meters out.

Forward line clicking

Adelaide’s forward line was potent in front of goals against the Bays, making the most of its scoring opportunities, while sharing the goal kicking honours.

The Crows kept the scoreboard pressure on Glenelg throughout the contest, highlighted by a seven-goal first term to get the side off to a strong start.

“We looked really dynamic up there obviously with Neddy (McHenry) and Murph (Lachlan Murphy) getting around the feet and then you’ve got Lachie Gollant kicking four as well,” Godden said.

“It was a really good return for him (Gollant) because his pre-season has been really strong, he brought the ball to ground when he needed to and halved the contest.”

For the game, Adelaide had 11 different goal kickers.

New role for Cook

Defender Brayden Cook was solid off halfback throughout the afternoon, rarely being beaten one-on-one while having some big spoils.

Put into a new position down back, Cook did not look out of place throughout the afternoon with Godden pleased with his effort.

“It was really exciting to see the spoils today because he has never really played down back,” he said.

“His pre-season is just building and building, and we are seeing growth in his game.

“We know how good he is with ball in hand, so can he now work defensively and we are seeing that balance.”

Adelaide will play one more trial game next week against Port Adelaide’s SANFL team at Alberton Oval on Sunday with the game starting at 10am.   

ADELAIDE: 7.3  12.4  15.6  19.9 (123)
GLENELG: 2.3  4.6  8.6  12.9 (81)

GOALS:
Adelaide: Gollant, Thilthorpe 4, Madgen, Smithson 2, Sharrad, Murphy, Newchurch, Sholl, Taylor, Wright, Clamp

BESTS: Thilthorpe, Sholl, Taylor, Gollant, McHenry, Borlase