Mitch Grigg believes a lack of composure late in the game cost Adelaide’s SANFL side an opportunity to snatch victory away from flag fancies Woodville-West Torrens on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by 18 points at the final change of a low-scoring struggle at Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval, Grigg sparked a final-quarter fightback by the Crows with a long-range goal in the early minutes of the fourth term.
Athletic forward Harry Dear then finished off a coast-to-coast play by beating his opponent with a sharp turn of speed to bring Adelaide within five points of the second-placed Eagles at the midway mark of the quarter.
But it was as close as the Crows got for the rest of the contest. Woodville-West Torrens bagged the next three goals in quick succession to take the wind out of Adelaide’s sails and bank a 20-point win.
Grigg felt his side blew its chance to cause a major boilover.
“We had the momentum there and kicked a couple of quick ones in that last quarter,” Grigg said.
“I thought momentum shifted and we started to get on top of them around the ground as well. But we just didn’t find that extra bit to get the job done when we needed it in the end.
“We go through patches when we’re on, and then there’s other patches when we have little lapses in concentration or we seem a bit fumbly and turn the ball over.
“It’s something that we’ve got to keep working on as a group and get better at.
“We were five points down at one stage late in the game and we ended up losing by 20. That’s just not acceptable.”
The two teams could hardly be separated in the first half, but the home side did most of its damage in a one-sided third term. Woodville-West Torrens had eight scoring shots to Adelaide’s solitary goal and finished the game with big advantages in most key statistical areas, including clearances, inside 50ms and contested possessions.
“They’ve played a lot of footy together and they’ve got a lot of experienced heads in their team,” Grigg said of last year’s SANFL Grand Finalists.
“But we didn’t do ourselves any favours with our balance around the stoppages. They preyed on our fumbles and they preyed on the loose ball.
“It’s something to look at during the week and improve.”
SANFL Stats: Round 17 v Woodville-West Torrens
One of Adelaide’s most consistent performers in the SANFL this season, Grigg pulled his teammates together after the loss in a great show of leadership from the 23-year-old.
Grigg said the belief in the group was strong, but the side still had several areas to tidy up before the end of the minor round.
“We’ve got to change a few things, the way we go about our footy in regards to our ball movement, and when we move slow and when we turn things back fast,” Grigg said.
“Sometimes there were guys who were too stagnant, then there were other times when we were going too quick and turning the ball over trying to make handballs that just weren’t there.
“We just spoke about getting that mixture right and how to improve that in the future.”
A healthy squad and an in-form AFL midfield has made it difficult for several quality players, including Grigg, to earn opportunities at senior level this season. The skilful left-footer has played 20 AFL games since joining the Club via the 2011 National Draft, but is still hunting his first senior game of 2016.
The prolific ball-winner said he’s continuing to work hard to earn himself another opportunity at the elite level.
“My priority is to get back into the AFL side, but the best way to do that is to play your role for the team in the SANFL,” Grigg said.
“If you get a gig back in the AFL side they’re only going to play blokes who are giving everything to the team. That’s what I’m trying to do week-in, week-out.”
“I just need to keep building and when an opportunity comes up, hopefully I’m the first name that goes up on the magnet board.”
