The SANFL Crows are refusing to give up on their 2015 campaign after upsetting two of the competition’s top three teams in the space of a fortnight.
Adelaide went winless through its first seven games but has now claimed victory in five of its past seven matches, including a hat-trick of wins over the last three rounds.
The Club backed up a 63-point win over third-placed West Adelaide with a gutsy 29-point triumph on Saturday against reigning premiers Norwood to demote the Redlegs from second on the ladder.
Now sitting three wins behind fifth-placed South Adelaide with just four games remaining, Crows defender Kyle Cheney said the players were determined to salvage something from the season.
“No doubt – when there’s a mathematical chance for us to still get there, we’re going to be striving, fighting and scratching for that position in the finals,” Cheney said after Adelaide’s win over the Redlegs.
“I think what helps us is that we’re playing teams who are above us. We can only control what we can control and that’s hopefully winning games until the end of the season and then we’ll see where we sit from there.”
The Crows have been the SANFL’s ‘giant killers’ over the past month and a half. As well as the wins over the Bloods and Redlegs, Adelaide downed the Magpies for the first time in its SANFL history and pushed League leaders Woodville-West Torrens to within 13 points back in Round 10.
Next week’s clash with the Panthers now looms as a do-or-die blockbuster. A loss would end Adelaide’s last-gasp finals charge, while a win could leave the door open for the in-form Crows.
Cheney said the players were growing in confidence knowing they could match it with the competition’s best.
“The last three weeks have been outstanding for us, and to get a few scalps from so high on the ladder has been fantastic,” he said.
“Today was the first time we’ve beaten Norwood and they’re at the pointy end of the ladder as it sits at the moment.
“We’re getting some blokes back from injury and we’re starting to get a little bit of continuity with the blokes who are playing as well. That continuity builds trust and it builds confidence right through the team.
“The more we play together, the better we’re going to be.”
Cheney was a commanding force in the backline in Adelaide’s win over the Redlegs. In difficult conditions, the former Hawk mopped up across half-back beautifully with 18 possessions, four rebound 50ms and nine marks – including five intercepts.
Playing just his third game back from a troublesome back injury, Cheney was well supported by Jake Kelly, Andy Otten and development duo Sam Pfeiffer and Luke Carey to keep Adelaide in the contest despite Norwood’s first-half dominance.
The Crows were doubled for inside 50ms and absorbed 16 scoring shots to Adelaide’s eight, but remained just eight points down at the main break.
The visitors then capitalised with 10 goals to four in the second half to run out comfortable winners.
Cheney said he was proud of how Adelaide’s defensive unit stayed on task despite the early onslaught.
“Our back six today was outstanding, across the ground we competed really well,” he said.
“We were working together and helping each other out which was good. Our communication and organisation is still something that we need to work on, but to come out today and play like that was outstanding.”
Team performance remains his focus, but Cheney hopes he can work his way back into Adelaide’s senior side before the year is out.
“Everyone here wants to play at the highest level that we can,” he said.
“But the SANFL is still a high level of football and we’ve got everyone working towards that one goal.
“I missed a few weeks with that back injury, so I guess I’ve just got to come back and find a bit of form and we’ll see what happens from there.”
