Brad Crouch continued his remarkable comeback from injury at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Crouch won 30 possessions and six clearances, laid five tackles and kicked two goals in a brilliant individual display against West Coast. Since returning from a broken leg in Round 15, Crouch is ranked fifth in the AFL for total disposals (147) and eighth in clearances (31). His past three matches, where he’s averaged 31.6 touches and five tackles, have been particularly impressive.
Only All-Australian midfielder Scott Thompson found more of the ball for Adelaide than Crouch. Thompson gathered collected 31 possessions, five clearances, four tackles and four inside 50ms.
Forward Taylor Walker played one of his best games of the season. Walker kicked 4.1 and assisted in two other Crows goals. He also laid four tackles and took three marks.
Acting co-captains Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane worked hard to shake tags against the Eagles, each gathering 26 disposals in Adelaide’s 31-point defeat. Dangerfield also generated six clearances and four inside 50ms. He kicked a goal and assisted in another. Sloane tried his best to lift the home team, laying seven tackles, winning seven inside 50ms and five clearances. He also kicked a goal and set up two others.
Matthew Jaensch used the ball well off half-back. Jaensch finished with 27 possessions, six marks, six rebound 50ms, six inside 50ms and one goal assist in the under-siege Crows defence. Small defender Luke Brown enjoyed a good battle with Eagles star Mark LeCras. The unassuming Crow held LeCras to one goal from a mere 14 touches to win his position.
Coach Brenton Sanderson bemoaned his team’s ball use and namely its kick-to-handball ratio of 1:1. The Crows recorded the second-worst kicking efficiency of any team in Round 19 behind Collingwood.
Despite posting their equal-best first quarter of the season – 6.0 (36) – Adelaide leaked goals defensively, conceding its highest score of the season 20.16 (136) in a disappointing display.
Match statistics
Disposals
Adelaide – 374
West Coast – 377
Kicks
Adelaide – 187
West Coast – 201
Handballs
Adelaide – 187
West Coast – 176
Free Kicks
Adelaide – 13
West Coast – 17
Clearances
Adelaide – 41
West Coast – 41
Inside 50ms
Adelaide – 58
West Coast – 53
Contested Possessions
Adelaide – 153
West Coast – 147
Tackles
Adelaide – 67
West Coast – 73
Hit-outs
Adelaide – 45
West Coast – 44
Interchanges
Adelaide – 120
West Coast – 119
