Crows flex their attacking muscle
The Crows entered season 2016 with a forward line that, on paper, loomed as one of the most intimidating in the League. It failed to deliver last week against North Melbourne, although Josh Jenkins did boot five goals, but on Saturday against the Power it was simply awesome. Given the Crows’ domination around the ground and the quality of delivery their forwards received, the Power’s defenders were always going to be up against it. Still, the credit has to lie with Tom Lynch (six goals), Eddie Betts (five goals) and Jenkins again (four goals). Scarily, with Troy Menzel and Charlie Cameron playing in the SANFL and Taylor Walker only slotting a few goals, there remains scope for Adelaide to further improve its attacking capacity.

Full match report

Talia’s ton
He might be the youngest in Adelaide’s leadership group, but Daniel Talia is also one of the most impressive. Talia transitioned into the club’s premier defender brilliantly in 2014, claiming his first best and fairest award as well as gaining All Australian selection. At just 24 years of age Talia still has his best football ahead of him, yet he’s already proven himself as one of the League’s most efficient defenders - regularly shutting down the opposition’s deadliest forwards. On Saturday, in his 100th game, he was again sensational. Talia was one of Adelaide’s best, keeping Charlie Dixon goalless and finishing with a team-high 13 one percenters.

Switched on and firing
Adelaide’s run and carry in the opening term was nothing short of exceptional. The Crows countered with blistering speed, running the ball through the Power’s defence into open space which helped them set up a commanding 32-point quarter-time lead. Highlighting the proficiency at which it carried the ball was Adelaide’s handball receive statistics: at the first break the Crows had 45 to 17. That speed also helped the ‘home’ side boot the first five goals of the second term, stretching the lead out to almost 60 points and sealing Port’s fate.


An open struggle
The Power’s struggle to get the ball to its outside players in the opening half was summed up by Jared Polec’s impact - or lack thereof - on the contest. At his best the wingman is one of Port’s best ball-movers, using his leg speed and penetrating left foot to great use. But on Saturday and with Adelaide dominating open possession, Polec was nowhere to be seen. He managed to handball the ball along the boundary line on centre wing late in the second term - his only disposal of the first half. He was hardly the only Power player down on form; Adelaide entered the change rooms at the main break with an incredible 123 uncontested possessions to 67 and 38 uncontested marks to 16.

A nightmare soured
It wasn’t April Fools Day, yet Saturday’s Showdown 40 resembled a cruel joke for Power fans. After a disastrous 2015 and then an ordinary opening three quarters last week against St Kilda, Port needed a strong showing on Saturday. To the horror of the Power faithful what it presented instead was one of its weakest performances in recent memory. Port was beaten on the inside, slaughtered on the outside and failed to make the most of its opportunities when they presented. To make matters worse, Chad Wingard finished the match on the bench with a suspected strained hamstring.