Crows ball carriers Brodie Smith (754) and Rory Atkins (733) ranked No.1 and No.2 in the AFL for metres gained in Round 10.
Atkins topped Adelaide’s possession tally against Greater Western Sydney with a career-high 28, including 11 in the final quarter. Atkins also took eight marks and drove the ball inside forward 50m seven times.
Smith ranked No.1 in the League for combined inside and rebound 50ms on the weekend. Smith generated nine rebound 50ms– double that of the next-best Crow – and also sent the ball inside attacking 50m a game and equal-round high eight times.
Taylor Walker and Eddie Betts each kicked five goals. No player kicked more goals in Round 10.
Betts and teammate Josh Jenkins are now equal-fourth in the Coleman Medal race with 27 goals, while Walker has jumped into 10th place with 24, including 10 in his past two games.
Adelaide is the only club with multiple players in the AFL’s top 10 goalkickers.
Walker also hauled in a game-high 10 marks against the Giants, including six inside forward 50m. He also took more marks on the lead (six) than any other player over the weekend.
After kicking an inaccurate return of 6.11 (47) in the first half, Adelaide slammed on 8.2 to Greater Western Sydney’s solitary goal in the third quarter to lead by 46 points at the last change. The fast-finishing Giants outscored the Crows 5.4 to 1.4 in the last term to reduce the margin to 22 points at the final siren.
Jenkins assisted in an equal-round high five scores at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Forward Charlie Cameron had a game-high 11 score involvements – ranked sixth for the round. Cameron took four running bounces – second only to Geelong’s Cam Guthrie (five) on the weekend.
Rory Sloane applied a game-high 34 pressure acts – ranked equal-seventh in the AFL this season. This included a team-high eight tackles.
Adelaide won the all-important clearance 38 – 27 and contested possession 155 – 145 counts. The contested possessions were +23 in the home team’s favour before a GWS revival in the final quarter.
The Crows also out-tackled the Giants, 56 – 44.
Scott Thompson won a game-high 14 contested possessions.
Richard Douglas won more clearances (seven) than any other player on the ground, and laid seven tackles – second only to Sloane for Adelaide.
Promising midfielder Jarryd Lyons won six clearances, including a game-high four centre clearances, with his 20 possessions.
Defender Kyle Cheney held in-form Giant Steve Johnson goalless for the first time this season.
Adelaide kept GWS to their lowest score – 13.7 (85) – since Round Three. The Giants’ score on Saturday night was well below their season average of 112 points.
The Giants, who averaged 57 inside 50ms in the first nine rounds, managed 52 forward 50m entries against the Crows, including just 32 to three-quarter time.
Adelaide has the highest number of inside 50ms (62) of any team on the weekend.
Daniel Talia held Jeremy Cameron, who had kicked eight goals in the previous fortnight, to just one goal.
Talia also collected 20 possessions to Cameron’s 14, and effected nine spoils – ranked third in the competition in Round 10.
Kyle Hartigan and Jake Lever teamed up to limit Rory Lobb and swingman Jon Patton to one goal-combined. Lever also took nine marks.
Despite the win, Adelaide remains in eighth place on the AFL ladder with six wins and four losses. However, the Crows are now a game clear of ninth spot and one win (and percentage) behind the log-jam of five teams on seven wins and three losses.
Match statistics
Disposals
Adelaide – 370
Greater Western Sydney – 389
Disposal efficiency
Adelaide – 71%
Greater Western Sydney – 74%
Kicks
Adelaide – 241
Greater Western Sydney – 216
Handballs
Adelaide – 129
Greater Western Sydney – 173
Clearances
Adelaide – 38
Greater Western Sydney – 27
Inside 50ms
Adelaide – 62
Greater Western Sydney – 52
Contested possessions
Adelaide – 155
Greater Western Sydney – 145
Uncontested possessions
Adelaide – 209
Greater Western Sydney – 245
Tackles
Adelaide – 56
Greater Western Sydney – 44
Hit-outs
Adelaide – 31
Greater Western Sydney – 37
