Adelaide's new go-to tagger Sam Kerridge claimed another scalp in the Club's win over St Kilda.
Kerridge, 20, has been quietly going about his business over the past three weeks, nullifying the opposition's most damaging midfielder.
In Round Two, the hard-running onballer did the job on Travis Boak, holding the Port Adelaide captain to 19 possessions. Last weekend, he kept Sydney ball magnet Kieren Jack to 12 disposals before coming from the ground with an eye injury in the third quarter.
Saints star Leigh Montagna was Kerridge's target on Sunday. Montagna finished the match with a season-low 17 possessions. The disciplined Crow also managed to hurt Montagna and Boak offensively, working hard to kick a goal against each.
“It's a role I've been asked to play. It's an exciting challenge for me to follow around the best players in the competition. I just try to do my best for the team,” Kerridge said.
“These guys never stop running. I'll always back my endurance in, but it requires a different type of fitness and more concentration. For me, it's about learning the little smart things from the really good players.
“Hopefully, those little tricks can help me improve my own game going forward.”
It was a brave performance from Kerridge considering he was under an injury cloud during the week. He had to wear an eye patch after being poked in the eye against the Swans, but recovered in time to take on the Saints.
“It was pretty sore when it happened, but it’s healed up okay,” he said.
Kerridge’s selfless job on Montagna was just one example of a Crow playing his role on Sunday.
After the game, coach Brenton Sanderson praised Adelaide’s win as a strong ‘team’ performance.
“Today, we had no passengers. Everyone stood up, played their role and contributed,” Kerridge said.
“It's always good to get that winning feeling back. We haven't been playing the best footy over the last few weeks, but there had been some good signs, so it was good today to put a four-quarter effort together and come away with the win.”
Dashing onballers Brodie Smith and David Mackay were among the standouts in Adelaide’s 86-point thrashing of St Kilda.
Smith collected a career-high 30 possessions and 12 marks playing on a wing. Mackay also generated plenty of run. The speedy wingman collected 29 touches (his most since the 2009 Semi-Final), five inside 50ms and two goals.
“Brodie and D Mac are great to watch (whereas) I just run around chasing tail all day,” he said with a laugh.
“It's good to see them do what they do because they're exciting players. They're damaging and can turn the game in a flash.”
Kerridge also praised key forward Josh Jenkins, who responded to an inaccurate display last weekend with an equal-career high four goals on Sunday. Jenkins was one of 12 goalkickers for the Crows at Etihad Stadium.
“I love it when ‘JJ ‘kicks his goals. All the boys razz him up during the week if he misses a few. It's nice to see him put him through the good sticks and get some reward,” Kerridge said.
“He's been playing some really good footy and it's a good confidence-booster for him to finish off his hard work. The best teams are the ones that can get multiple goal scorers on the board and not just rely on one or two key players.”
