The Crows kicked their highest score for the season as they marched to a 72-point win, 22.13 (145) to 10.13 (73) before 39,288 fans.
They were also impressive with virtually the same side when Gary Ayres coached them in their last game – a 32-point win against the Western Bulldogs – but it has been years since Adelaide has been able to combine skill, passion and desperation in the same game.
It was a sensational performance. With the emotion surrounding Craig taking over the coach’s box the Crows always seemed destined to do something special, but to work as hard as they did against a quality side like Melbourne was surprising. And to win by such a big margin, and to produce their best effort for the year, was astounding.
An elated – undeniably relieved – Craig said after the game if he did not enjoy that performance it would be a tough industry to be in.
“I am sure the players enjoyed it, the club enjoyed it and from what I hear the fans enjoyed it, so it has been a pretty good day for the footy club,” he said.
“We all understand it won’t be like that all of the time, but of course it is important that you enjoy your wins because that is what this competition is all about... hard work. Wins don’t come all the time, so when you get them I say enjoy them.”
Craig agreed the performance and the margin was beyond his wildest dreams.
“We knew we were up against it, against a quality side like Melbourne,” he said.
“It was good that we won all four quarters. We got into a bit of trouble in the third quarter when we got unbalanced because of injury. We started to run out of midfielders in the end, but Hayden Skipworth was able to come back on and cover that for us. You don’t have to win four quarters to win a game of football, but when you do that it tends to indicate that you were full bore all the way.”
Melbourne coach Neale Daniher said he was really disappointed with his team’s effort.
“We just move on,” he said. One thing we have been able to do is regroup. We have not lost two games in a row, and this is a big challenge for us because we’re playing St Kilda, a very good team (at the MCG on Sunday).
Adelaide may not have played as well since its 1998 premiership year, and perhaps never with such an inexperienced side. This was its biggest score since 21.8 (134) against Richmond in round five.
Significantly, 18 of Adelaide’s 22 goals came from directly in front or slight angles. Absent was the attack from the pockets, and positive, direct play was the order of the day. There was a return of domination from the centre square, and incredible will to win the ball.
There were match-day heroes like Scott Welsh with eight goals, Andrew McLeod, who weaved his magic for a rare time this year, and ruckman Rhett Biglands, who dominated in ruck and kicked goals. There was also Mark Ricciuto at his near best, but only this time he had plenty of support.
But overall, it was the great committed team game orchestrated by Craig, the assistant who would be king for the day (and maybe for a long while yet) that finally brought Adelaide alive.
The loss cost Melbourne second spot on the ladder, but while it looks bad against a side that had previously won only four of its 13 games this season, the script was always written for the home side.
Also hurting was the reporting of Adam Yze by field umpire Colin Rowston for allegedly charging Crows’ defender Nathan Bassett late in the third quarter.
The Demons battled hard, and enjoyed some great passages of running play from the backlines that resulted in three or four goals. However, they were simply consumed by the occasion. Melbourne at least deserves praise for its comeback attempt in a tough third quarter.
David Neitz kicked Melbourne’s first two goals against Ben Rutten, who was playing only is fourth AFL game, but struggled from there. He was not alone.
Trent Henschell kicked two goals in the first quarter, and took a strong mark to give him a chance of a third early in the second term, but landed awkwardly on his right ankle and was carried off. He is doubtful for Saturday night’s game against Sydney at the SCG.
After a great first half Adelaide was not as polished in the third quarter, and took 18 minutes to kick a goal when Martin Mattner charged forward. The decline was largely due to Melbourne’s perseverance, but obviously it was not to last.
The Crows lifted again, and went into the last quarter eight goals clear. The last term became a procession as they charged to their equal-highest score set in round one last year.
ADELAIDE: 7.1, 13.7, 16.10, 22.13 (145)
MELBOURNE: 2.5, 5.8, 8.10, 10.13 (73)
GOALS: Adelaide: Welsh 8, Hentschel, Edwards, Skipworth, Biglands 2, Bassett, Shirley, Torney, Ricciuto, Mattner, Jericho
Melbourne: Davey 3, Neitz 2, Yze, Green, McDonald, Robertson, Bruce
BEST: Adelaide: Reilly, Ricciuto, Welsh, McLeod, Biglands, Edwards, Skipworth
Melbourne: Yze, McDonald, Green, White, Bruce, Ward.
INJURIES: Adelaide: Hentschel (ankle)
REPORTS: A. Yze (Melbourne) by field umpire C. Rowston for charging N. Bassett (Adelaide) during the third quarter
UMPIRES: A. Coates, C. Rowston, S. Ryan
CROWD: 39,288 at AAMI Stadium
