1. Talia v Riewoldt
The two No.12s staged an intriguing battle all afternoon. Riewoldt managed to pick up some uncontested marks up the ground but when the two were matched up inside 50, last year's NAB Rising Star regularly prevailed. He showed great judgement and poise and took out the majority of the one-on-one contests. Talia also managed to sneak forward and kick a goal before Riewoldt got on the board. The Saints star's only major eventually came from a free kick conceded by Ben Rutten.
2. St Kilda's second half fadeout
The Saints stayed in the game in the first half but were completely blown away by the Crows in the third quarter. Montagna and Riewoldt worked hard but St Kilda lacked the efficiency required to carry the ball through the middle of the ground. Sean Dempster did a solid job on Patrick Dangerfield but Scott Watters lamented his young players couldn't sustain the 4-quarter effort required. It was a disappointing performance following their win over Carlton but Watters believes the Saints are still on the right track.
3. Jenkins could be the answer
It looked like Josh Jenkins' day was over early in the first quarter when he landed awkwardly on his right knee but he bounced back and became a prominent target up forward. He pulled down nine marks and if he kicked straight he could have easily jagged four goals but finished with 2.4. After kicking 10 goals last week, Tom Lynch again played well providing an effective lead-up target. He had 11 marks and also kicked two goals. It's taken some time but Adelaide's forward line setup is starting to take shape after the loss of Kurt Tippett.
4. The Crows have toughened up
Crows coach Brenton Sanderson has built his game-plan around contested footy and it showed against the Saints. Adelaide won the contested ball 113 to 106, the inside 50s 49 to 41 and the clearances 27 to 22. They even won the tackles, which had been a big focus in the off-season. Without first use of the ball, the Saints got blown away in the third quarter. Best afield Richard Douglas had four clearances and 10 contested possessions. He also sneaked forward for a goal and ran down Terry Milera in the last quarter who was running into an open goal.
5. 'Sauce' rules in the ruck
St Kilda's Ben McEvoy has been one of the in-form ruckmen of the competition but Sam Jacobs was back to his best, dominating the ruck duel. Jacobs won the hitouts 23 to 15 and managed to limit McEvoy to just eight possessions while he had 20 of his own. The first use that Jacobs provided for his midfielders was crucial to Adelaide's 40-point victory.
