Round Six v Gold Coast, Metricon Stadium
Adelaide disposed of an undermanned Gold Coast by 41 points in Round Six to snap the Club’s two-game losing run.
The Crows were never headed at Metricon Stadium, booting five of the first six goals of the contest to maintain Adelaide’s undefeated record against the Suns.
Eddie Betts starred again with his second five-goal bag in as many games to move into second place in the Coleman Medal race. Betts and forward partner Taylor Walker took two memorable hangers at either end of the ground during the victory.
First-round draft selection Jake Lever made a memorable AFL debut with 17 possessions and 10 marks alongside fellow defender Jake Kelly, who had 19 touches and 12 marks in just his fourth senior game.
The win was soured by a cheekbone injury to Rory Sloane which would cost the midfielder three weeks on the sidelines.
ADELAIDE 5.2 9.4 14.7 18.11 (119)
GOLD COAST 3.3 4.4 6.9 11.12 (78)
BEST: Betts, Jacobs, Laird, Wright, Walker, Jaensch
GOALS: Betts 5, Walker 4, Lynch 2, Dangerfield 2, Grigg, Cameron, Thompson, Sloane, Jacobs
Round Seven v St Kilda, Adelaide Oval
The Eddie Betts Show continued when the Crows dispatched St Kilda by 46 points in Round Seven.
Betts spearheaded the win with six majors, while Tom Lynch, Charlie Cameron and Taylor Walker all chipped in with three goals.
The win improved Adelaide’s record to 5-2 after seven rounds, but the game was marred by several injuries to key players.
Brodie Smith and St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt clashed heads in the opening term. Saints youngster Jack Lonie had already been subbed out of the game with his own bout of concussion in the brutal encounter.
Classy defender Matthew Jaensch then suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third term and was stretchered from the field.
ADELAIDE 3.3 9.3 15.6 18.13 (119)
ST KILDA 3.3 5.8 7.12 10.13 (73)
BEST: Betts, Lynch, Thompson, Cameron, Walker, Laird
GOALS: Betts 6, Lynch 3, Cameron 3, Walker 3, Grigg 2, Dangerfield 2
Taylor Walker and Eddie Betts celebrate Adelaide's big win over the Saints
Round Eight v GWS, Spotless Stadium
The Crows suffered their first defeat at the hands of Greater Western Sydney, falling by 24 points to the Giants in Round Eight.
Adelaide conceded the first five goals of the match and, although the Crows rallied in the second and third terms, the Giants had all the answers and never gave up the lead.
Taylor Walker (four goals) and Eddie Betts (three) worked hard up forward, but again the Club was stung with injury concerns to Sam Kerridge, Rory Laird and Ricky Henderson, who was a late withdrawal due to a back complaint.
Cam McCarthy kicked four majors and Shane Mumford was a powerhouse in the ruck for the home side.
ADELAIDE 3.3 5.5 9.6 12.12 (84)
GWS 6.4 8.7 16.10 16.12 (108)
BEST: Dangerfield, Mackay, Laird, Crouch, Walker, Betts
GOALS: Walker 4, Betts 3, Jenkins 2, Lynch, Dangerfield, Jacobs
Round Nine v Fremantle, Adelaide Oval
It was an engaging arm-wrestle highlighted by a battle within the battle when Adelaide hosted Fremantle in Round Nine.
Midfield powerhouses Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe went head-to-head in a slogging affair in wet conditions at Adelaide Oval, eventually won by the Dockers 11 points.
Fyfe collected a career-best 40 possessions and 14 clearances to collect the three Brownlow votes, ahead of Danger’s 38 touches and eight tackles – enough to claim two votes on Brownlow night.
The AFL celebrated Indigenous Round and fittingly it was through Eddie Betts, Cameron Ellis-Yolmen and Charlie Cameron that Adelaide kicked its first three goals of the game.
Betts also booted what would later be crowned Goal of the Year with a ridiculous left-foot torpedo from the boundary in the second term.
But it was little consolation for the Crows, who again could not overcome a sluggish start and poor conversion to upset the ladder leaders.
ADELAIDE 3.4 4.9 7.12 7.15 (57)
FREMANTLE 3.1 4.3 9.4 10.8 (68)
BEST: Dangerfield, Thompson, Lever, Laird, Ellis-Yolmen, Cheney
GOALS: Betts 2, Cameron, Ellis-Yolmen, Dangerfield, Lynch, Jenkins
Midfielders Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe battled head-to-head in Round Nine
Round 10 v Carlton, MCG
Adelaide ‘won ugly’ against Carlton in the Club’s first game at the MCG for the year, downing the Blues by nine points.
Josh Jenkins led the way with five goals, including the sealer in the final quarter, to see off a plucky Carlton in what was an error-riddled match.
A bizarre exchange on the goal line between Carlton’s Andrew Walker and Patrick Dangerfield following a Crows blunder epitomised the scrappy nature of the contest.
It was also the last game for one of the competition’s great champions. Chris Judd injured his left ACL in the opening term of the clash in what was an untimely end for one of the sport’s most decorated players.
ADELAIDE 6.3 8.9 10.13 14.15 (99)
CARLTON 4.1 6.2 11.3 14.6 (90)
BEST: Dangerfield, Jenkins, Lynch, Laird, Thompson, Jacobs
GOALS: Jenkins 5, Lynch 2, Betts, Wright, Cameron, Dangerfield, Jacobs, Walker, van Berlo
