Adelaide’s SANFL side has kept its finals hopes alive with a commanding 77-point victory over Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon. 

The Crows were lethal in front of the big sticks after quarter-time, making the most of their chances to ultimately kick away and win 19.10 (124) to 6.11 (47).

Here are the five key takeaways from the match:

Smith’s leadership shines

Defender Brodie Smith gave Adelaide a weapon out of the back half, with his teammates looking to get the ball in his hands throughout the afternoon. 

Smith had his hand in setting up many of Adelaide’s scoring opportunities, thanks to his elite ball use, but it was the leadership he displayed which was most pleasing to the coaches. 

“Really important for our footy club that a player like Brodie, who is obviously a superstar of our club and competition, is showing really strong leadership and he is helping our group,” Godden said. 

“Albeit what he did on the field was outstanding, but his work with the players and helping them set up has been very valuable.”

 Smith finished with 34 disposals, eight marks, four inside 50s and five rebound 50s.

Jones rewarded for workrate

Chayce Jones set the tone from the opening bounce for Adelaide, leading by example with his workrate.

Jones worked hard both ways, along with being a cool head with ball in hand to help the Crows control the flow of the play. 

“Chayce I thought was really strong today out on the wing, he worked super hard,” Godden said.

“He got his hands on the footy a fair bit, unfortunately we took him off late in case anything happened with the AFL but I thought he was really strong.” 

Jones finished with 24 disposals, four tackles, six inside 50s and three rebound 50s.

Midfielders impress

Adelaide’s on-ball brigade was dominant against Port, with Billy Dowling, Jay Boyle and Charlie Edwards all leaving their mark on the game. 

Godden was impressed with how all three of them impacted the game, all backing up strong campaigns to date.

“It is great for all of them but in isolation Boyle has been with us for a long-time and he stepped up with Schoenberg being a late out,” Godden said.

 “Charlie Edwards backed it up with another really strong performance and Billy gave us some very strong midfield minutes.”

Dowling finished with 30 disposals, six inside 50s and a goal, Boyle had 25 disposals, 15 tackles and 11 inside 50s, while Edwards amassed 22 touches, five clearances and booted a major.

Welsh’s bag of five

SANFL Development Player Tyler Welsh had his best return in front of goals of the season, booting a game-high five majors.

Welsh made his impact felt after half-time, registering four goals, including two in the space of 90 seconds during the final term.

“It is great for Tyler, he has had a lot going on this year and you add into that he only just turned 18,” Godden said. 

“To kick five in a league game and having just turned 18 is a pretty impressive effort.”

Welsh also had 12 disposals, six marks and three inside 50s.

Adelaide takes control after quarter-time

Adelaide took control of the game after the first break, kicking five straight goals in the second term, while keeping Port goalless. 

This momentum continued after half-time, including a period during the third quarter and start of the fourth term where Adelaide booted eight unanswered goals. 

“We came in with a plan, it took a little while to get that plan in place and I thought the game was in the balance at quarter-time,” SANFL Senior Coach Michael Godden said. 

“I thought our adherence to the method as the game wore on, we just stayed consistent with it and the players got better and better as the game wore on.

“Obviously in that third quarter we kicked away enough to break the game open.”

The game served as a curtain raiser to the AFL Showdown.

Adelaide’s SANFL side next game will be against Sturt at Unley Oval on Saturday with the first bounce at 2pm. The game will be Adelaide’s last game of the 2024 SANFL Home and Away season.

ADELAIDE: 2.4  7.6  13.8  19.10  (124)

PORT: 3.3  3.6  4.8  6.11  (47)

GOALS:

Adelaide: Welsh 5, Burgess 4, T.Murray, Gallagher 2, Cook, McHenry, Dowling, Strachan, Edwards, O’Leary

Port: Scully 2, Szust, Soldo, Calvett, Lord 

BEST:

Smith, Burgess, Jones, Edwards, Boyle, Ryan, Welsh, Borlase