The Crows have suffered their first NAB Cup loss under coach Brenton Sanderson, going down to St Kilda by 26 points in game one at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

It took until the two-minute mark of the second half for a wasteful Adelaide to register a goal, courtesy of dangerous veteran Graham Johncock. Johncock put on a solo performance in attack kicking all three of his team’s goals but it was nowhere near enough, as the Saints ran out comfortable winners 0.8.2 (50) to 0.3.6 (24).

St Kilda’s small forwards wreaked havoc against an inexperienced Adelaide defence. New recruit Trent Dennis Lane and second-year forward Terry Milera both slotted two goals each, and Stephen Milne snared one. Beau Maister (two goals) also capitalised on St Kilda’s quick ball movement.

Minus a dozen first-choice players, the Crows lost the contested-possession count (44-55) and also laid fewer tackles (20-13) than their more desperate opponents, who were also without key players , including Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Sam Fisher.

Leading possession-getter Matthew Wright (nine disposals and four tackles), Aidan Riley (eight disposals and four clearances) and David Mackay (seven disposals and two inside 50ms) battled hard in the 37-degree heat, but Adelaide couldn’t convert its opportunities. The home team kicked only four behinds in the first half and was unable to recover the deficit.

There were some positives out of the loss, with defender Luke Brown showing good poise across half-back and Richard Tambling (seven possessions) providing plenty of run. Young Crows Jarryd Lyons, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Rory Laird also had memorable moments.

Importantly, the Crows reported no injuries out of the hit-out.

Game One

ADELAIDE 0.0.4 0.3.6 (24)
ST KILDA 0.4.1 0.8.2 (50)

GOALKICKERS
Adelaide
Supergoals: Nil Goals: Johncock 3.1
St Kilda
Supergoals: Nil Goals: Maister 2, Dennis-Lane 2, Milera 2, Saad, Milne

BEST
Adelaide: Wright, Johncock, Callinan, Brown, Mackay, Riley
St Kilda: Ray, Steven, Milera, Geary, Dal Santo, Gwilt, McEvoy

TEAM
Richard Tambling, Josh Jenkins, Lewis Johnston, Matthew Wright, Daniel Talia, David Mackay (c), Luke Brown, Andy Otten, Richard Douglas, Tom Lynch, Jarryd Lyons, Brodie Smith, Ian Callinan, Kyle Hartigan, Aidan Riley and Ricky Henderson. Int: Brad Crouch, Matthew Jaensch, Graham Johncock, Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Sam Kerridge and Rory Laird.