Welcome to Adelaide.
As the footy world converged on South Australia for the inaugural Gather Round, it was only right that the Adelaide Football Club put on a show. Its ruthless 56-point hammering of Carlton was the type of home team performance worthy of kickstarting a special weekend of action.
While the general public might be hoping for four days of footy heaven during Gather Round, it took the Crows barely 30 minutes to bury the Blues. They kicked eight of the first nine goals on Thursday night, creating a 42-point buffer midway through the opening quarter, before easing to an 18.10 (118) to 9.8 (62) victory.
They found goals from eight different players during their first-quarter massacre, belting the Blues out of the centre, smashing them in contested ball and then clinically picking them apart with the footy.
Adelaide's one-two punch in the midfield was as influential as ever. Rory Laird had 37 disposals, nine clearances, 15 score involvements and a goal in a trademark tough display, while captain Jordan Dawson was the classiest player on the field to finish with 32 disposals, seven clearances, nine tackles, three goal assists and 11 score involvements.
Ben Keays not only tagged All-Australian defender Adam Saad out of the game, but also kicked three goals himself, while the Crows found just as handy contributions from a returning Darcy Fogarty (five goals, two goal assists) and veteran Taylor Walker (three goals, nine marks) throughout the night.
The seventh of Adelaide's eight opening term goals painted a neat picture of the match itself, as Brodie Smith delivered a clever pass to an unmarked Laird – the Crows' fifth grab inside 50 for the quarter – then waltzed unchecked through the corridor to gather the handball receive in return and kick truly for goal.
Carlton kicked three unanswered majors in the second term as it sought to make amends, at one stage even reducing the deficit to just 18 points, but late steadiers from Fogarty and then Chayce Jones restored a 31-point buffer by half-time and ensured Adelaide's dominant start was honoured by the main break.
The game broke into a holding pattern throughout the second half, with the Crows in control and the Blues unable to make a dent in an already significant margin. Keays added two more in the third, relishing his task on Saad, as the hosts succeeded in inflicting maximum damage with minimum fuss.
Even a bright Blues start couldn't restrict their deficit to anything under four goals in the final term, with one more pinpoint Fogarty set shot from deep inside the boundary eventually and a snap from the square settling a satisfying night for the Crows and ensuring the perfect way for a host of South Australians to start a landmark weekend.
ADELAIDE 8.3 10.5 13.7 18.10 (118)
CARLTON 2.1 5.4 7.7 9.8 (62)
GOALS
Adelaide: Fogarty 5, Keays 3, Walker 3, Rankine, Laird, Rachele, Smith, Pedlar, Jones, McHenry
Carlton: McKay 2, C.Curnow 2, Durdin 2, Walsh, Motlop, Acres
BEST
Adelaide: Dawson, Laird, Fogarty, Jones, Keays, Rachele, Walker, Doedee
Carlton: Cerra, Walsh, E.Curnow, Weitering, C.Curnow
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Carlton: Pittonet (eye)
LATE CHANGES
Adelaide: Nil
Carlton: Mitch McGovern (calf) replaced in selected side by Lachie Plowman
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Ned McHenry (replaced Jake Soligo in the fourth quarter)
Carlton: Josh Honey (replaced Marc Pittonet in the second quarter)
Crowd: 47,395 at the Adelaide Oval
