Adelaide dasher continues outstanding comeback

Brodie Smith's return from his ACL has been inspirational and his second game back was brilliant. In one particular piece of play in the second quarter, the defender took possession in his back 50, handballed into space, then outsprinted his opponent to regather the footy. He dished it off again and ran on to provide an option on the wing, where he was found again and carried the footy to the other end of the ground. He went on to attack a contest on the ground to cause a spillage, and the Crows got themselves a goal about 20 seconds later. Smith finished the night with 29 possessions at 79 per cent efficiency and 599 metres gained to show he didn't lose anything during his extended stint out of the game.

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The Crows are done

Their finals hopes were only slim at best heading into round 21, but the loss to the Giants put an end to a disastrous season for Adelaide. There were the pre-season camp dramas that crept into the regular season, plenty of injuries, and a four-game losing streak from rounds 10-13 which saw Don Pyke's men drop games to Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney, Fremantle and Hawthorn. They had their chances before half-time on Saturday night but didn't put enough scoreboard pressure on the Giants, and it came back to hurt them when their pressure fell away for the rest of the game. After such a great season last year which ended with a Grand Final berth, it will be a long two weeks for the Crows, and an even longer off-season break.

Night footy in August kept the players fresh

It was a strange decision to give the Giants' last Canberra game of the season a 7.25pm kick-off, with temperatures before the bounce in single figures, and the 'feels like' scale dipping below zero. Luckily for the players the showers that swept through the city had disappeared, but it didn't stop a few of them donning the long sleeves. Bryce Gibbs, Hugh Greenwood, Rory Atkins and Lachlan Murphy looked like they were kitted out for the Tour de France in their white away jumper, while Stephen Coniglio and Rory Lobb were hard to miss decked out in orange. The Crows had a heater on their bench to help keep their players toasty, but credit to both sides for putting on a cracking contest for the 13,249 fans who braved the conditions.

Giants' injury crisis worsens

The home side was forced to make four changes at selection this week, and it became five when Matt de Boer pulled out before the game against the Crows with a hamstring issue. Big man Lachie Keeffe came in for his fifth game of the year, and with ruckman Dawson Simpson (ankle) out for the year, he might get an opportunity to press his claims for a finals berth. Things got worse during the match when Sam Reid pinged a hamstring and star midfielder Josh Kelly was knocked out in the third term before Heath Shaw was stretchered off the field with a knee injury in the final quarter. The Giants won't get Toby Greene (hamstring), Brett Deledio (calf) or Sam Taylor (hamstring) back before the first week of the finals, but they have some depth with Daniel Lloyd (six goals and 37 possessions) and Harry Perryman (43 disposals and a goal) dominating Gold Coast in the NEAFL on Saturday.

GWS lesser lights claim a couple of big scalps

Lachie Keeffe and Adam Kennedy were given jobs on star Crows Taylor Walker and Eddie Betts, and while the match-ups looked dangerous for the home side, the pair of Giants totally blanketed their higher-profile opponents. Walker didn't touch the footy until midway through the second term with Bettns almost as quiet, and both had no impact on the match. With veterans Phil Davis and Heath Shaw in the side, it was a courageous decision to go with from Giants' coach Leon Cameron. Keeffe made the most of his opportunity and with so many injuries at the club, the Giants will need all of their fringe players to step up over the next two months.