Adelaide’s SANFL finals chances have taken a huge hit in a 17-point loss to Glenelg at Bordertown Oval on Sunday.

A hamstring injury to returning defender Kyle Hartigan further compounded the pain for Adelaide in the 10.9 (69) to 13.8 (86) result in the south-east. The 25-year-old left the field in the opening minutes in his first game in four weeks.

It left the Crows a man down for the majority of the match as Adelaide was forced to play catch up all afternoon.

Glenelg burst out of the blocks with the opening four goals of the contest and built a match-high 46-point midway through the third term.

Pleasingly, Adelaide didn’t give up the fight and dominated the final quarter with an 18-5 inside 50m advantage and nine scoring shots to Glenelg’s solitary goal.

But poor conversion cost the Crows any hope of a last-gasp victory. Adelaide booted 4.5 despite all its dominance to fall three goals shy of an unlikely upset.

The Crows have now lost their past five SANFL matches and are two wins and percentage behind the fifth-played Bays on the League ladder with just three rounds remaining.

SANFL stats: Round 15 v Glenelg

Adelaide SANFL coach Ryan O’Keefe couldn’t fault his team’s effort, but said the side lacked poise at key moments of the match.

“Our execution let us down today,” O’Keefe said.

“A good team like Glenelg will always hurt you from turnovers and that’s exactly what happened. The intent and work rate was there, but we lacked that bit of polish.

“We lost the match and that’s disappointing, but I thought that was probably the most promising performance we’ve had in several weeks.”

Harrison Wigg continued his consistent SANFL form with a match-high 34 disposals, 10 inside 50ms, nine marks and six clearances as Adelaide’s most influential contributor.

Fellow tough nut Daniel Fry impressed again from the Club’s SANFL development squad with 20 possessions and an incredible 14 tackles.

First-year Crow Jordan Gallucci was tenacious at the contest and racked up 21 touches and 14 tackles himself, while dependable defender Tom Doedee stood up in Hartigan’s absence as Adelaide’s general in defence with 16 disposals, five marks and four rebounds.

Left-footer Troy Menzel showed his class with three goals to finish as Adelaide’s top scorer for the afternoon.

Intermittent rain and a gusty breeze made conditions tough for both sides in the south-eastern regional centre.

Hartigan made a strong start with several crunching spoils and intercept marks before sitting out the match after quarter-time with ice on his hamstring.

Onballer Scott Thompson set up Blake Launer for his first goal at SANFL level who then backed up with a second major to help keep the Crows within touching distance at the first change.

Rookie ruckman Paul Hunter copped a heavy knock early in the second stanza but returned to play a key role after half-time, picking up 15 possessions and six marks along with 23 hit-outs despite missing a significant chunk of the match.

Adelaide peppered the scoreboard in the final term but couldn’t make the most of its opportunities as time worked against a last-gasp Crows comeback.   

Adelaide’s SANFL side won’t be in action next week due to the SANFL’s split Round 15 before returning against North Adelaide on Saturday, August 12 at Prospect Oval.


ADELAIDE   3.1   4.3   6.4   10.9 (69)
GLENELG   5.1   8.7   12.8   13.8 (86)

GOALS
Adelaide: Menzel 3, Launer 2, Beech, Dear, Boxer, Pinyon, Signorello
Glenelg: McBean 4, T Milera 4, Merrett 2, I Milera, Scott, Nicholson

BEST
Adelaide: Wigg, Fry, Thompson, Hunter, Gallucci, Doedee, Launer
Glenelg: McFarlane, Snook, T Milera, McGinty, Curran, Joseph

INJURIES
Adelaide: Hartigan (hamstring)
Glenelg: Nil