Adelaide’s young midfield stocks are amongst the best in the competition, according to Crows ball magnet Matt Crouch.
Crouch and Jarryd Lyons dominated from the centre square in Adelaide’s 68-point thrashing of flag fancies Woodville-West Torrens on Sunday. The pair finished with 38 possessions apiece, along with 12 clearances and 12 inside 50ms between them to steer the Crows to their biggest SANFL win of the year.
Adelaide had a full complement of contributors in the midfield, with youngsters Cam Ellis-Yolmen (25 disposals) Rory Atkins (24), James Battersby (21) and Riley Knight (19) amongst the most influential players on the ground.
Click here to see the full list of stats from Sunday’s big SANFL win.
Crouch said the side’s performance opposed to an experienced Eagles outfit was a glowing endorsement of the Crows’ midfield depth.
“We had an even spread today in the midfield and a good contribution from a few of our younger boys,” Crouch told afc.com.au.
“It’s a great sign for the Club to have so many young mids in decent touch. A lot of our young players are developing fast and putting a bit of pressure on the AFL guys at the moment.”
The 19-year-old, who has averaged 32 possessions in seven SANFL appearances this season, said the team showed great maturity to beat a side of such experience as Woodville-West Torrens.
“The Eagles were pretty experienced through there today, with guys like Lewis and Boyd who have been around awhile.
“So we had to respect that and run with them closely when they had the ball, but then really work hard and beat them back the other way.”
The plan worked to great effect, with Lyons (two goals), Porplyzia (two), Lynch (one), Ellis-Yolmen (one) and Battersby (one) all pushing forward at different stages to impact the scoreboard.
“I think everyone played their role and that was the main reason why we won the game.”
But the Crows didn’t have it all their own way early.
Adelaide stumbled out of the blocks and trailed by 17 points at quarter-time after missing several gettable opportunities in front of goal in the opening term.
Inspired by Crouch, Lyons and Porplyzia, the Crows responded with four goals to one in the second quarter to snatch a one-point lead by the main break.
Adelaide then streamed away with a 12 majors in the second half to run out convincing winners in front of a healthy crowd at Woodville Oval.
“We certainly didn’t start the game as we would’ve liked,” said Crouch.
“But in the second half we really brought that intensity that we were searching for, and we ended up running over the top of them.”
Matt played his only Crows game to date alongside older brother Brad in Adelaide’s last clash with the Eagles back in Round Nine.
The pair are yet to appear together at AFL level, but Crouch said it wasn’t a big focus for him in his week-to-week preparation.
“It’d be nice for sure, and I hope I can play a game in the AFL with him soon,” Crouch said.
“But it’s nothing I can control, and I’m sure I’ll get my chance in the future if I just keep doing what I’m doing.
“Hopefully we can play okay together eventually.”
