Brave Bombers overrun Crows
By Ashley Porter
ESSENDON broke Adelaide's heart by stealing an 11-point win at AAMI Stadium on Friday night, helping to correct an appalling record away from home. Down six goals at half-time, and with the Crows down to two on the bench late in the third quarter with injuries to defenders Graham Johncock (hip) and Matthew Jaensch (shoulder), Essendon recovered to grab the lead 19 minutes into the last term. Cranked by a stunning 5.3 to 0.2 first quarter, in which half-back Johncock kicked two goals, the Crows appeared to have recaptured some of the form expected of them this year. Essendon got a sniff, but it was nowhere near as hungry as the Crows - until the second half. Unlike most games this season, the Crows were switched on, but obviously could not sustain the effort. Their midfield showed enormous improvement and for once overcame a clearance deficiency, especially through the gutsy and hard-working Rory Sloane.
Sydney Morning Herald
Bombers soar as Crows collapse
By AAP
A fast finishing Essendon flattened Adelaide with a late surge to notch a valuable 11-point AFL victory tonight. The Bombers were 37 points down midway through the second term but prevailed 12.12 (84) to 10.13 (73) on foreign soil at AAMI Stadium. Moments after Johncock sustained a suspected back injury, the Bombers broke through for their first goal of the match - by Monfries in the eighth minute of the second quarter. Adelaide held sway and tall utility Brad Moran goaled after taking a stretching mark in front of Bomber veteran Duncan Fletcher to help restore a commanding six-goal break at halftime. But Adelaide's ascendancy collapsed in the third term when Essendon kicked four goals to one to steal back into the match
ABC Online
Bombers escape Adelaide curse
By Raman Goraya
THE Bombers belied their recent return to form and started ineptly, conceding the first five goals of the contest and kicking only two majors heading into the major break. The victory was only the fifth time the Bombers have prevailed against the Crows in Adelaide and lifts them to seventh spot, just a month after their season was in free-fall following five successive defeats. Adelaide, coming off the bye following a confidence-building win over Sydney in round 15, started tremendously, dominating the aerial and ground contests and adding some much-needed forward pressure to its game plan. Graeme Johncock capped off the good work with two running goals in the first term as the Crows punished the sloppy and timid Bombers with some lively run off half-back. Johncock was tellingly forced out of the game with a lower back injury in the second quarter but the hosts continued to command and took a 38-point advantage into the long change. the spirited Bombers found cool heads in Zaharakis, Hurley and Travis Coyler in quick succession to steal their first lead of the game and go on to win by 11 points.
AFL.com.au
Crows hopeful on tro
By Katrina Gill
ADELAIDE is optimistic injured trio Graham Johncock, Matthew Jaensch and Ian Callinan will be fit for the club's clash with St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Friday night. It was feared Johncock had sustained a serious injury when he reported a loss of sensation in his left leg after landing heavily on his hip in a marking contest during the second quarter of the Crows' loss to Essendon last Friday night. The rebounding defender was substituted out of the game at half time and sent to hospitals for scans, which cleared him of any structural damage. Jaensch also sat out the second half of the game against the Bombers after landing awkwardly on his shoulder when he was edged under the ball in a marking contest in the first quarter. Callinan suffered a hamstring strain in just his second AFL game against the Sydney Swans prior to the club's bye in round 15, but trained late last week and is expected to earn an immediate recall to the team.
The Advertiser
Crows rethink but not about Neil Craig
By Michelangelo Rucci
AS South Australian football is presented as a "state of depression" simply by the worst results of its two AFL teams Crows chief executive Steven Trigg yesterday highlighted the Adelaide Football Club is underpinning its on-field fightback by strengthening its off-field position. "I'm genuinely fed up with the negativity when there are a lot of good things happening," Trigg said in an exclusive interview with The Advertiser on the state of SA football. "We will bounce back. Anyone who saw what a fit and firing team can do in the first half against Essendon will appreciate we're not far off it," said Trigg. Adelaide sold every ticket to AAMI Stadium for the clash with Essendon and claimed seats in the SANFL members' stand to meet public demand for tickets. "The 'brand' debate for us is about our football, not our coach," Trigg said. "As for Neil, his brand his values, how he presents himself and how he communicates is enhanced by how he has handled himself through these tough times. He has drawn admiration for how he has dealt with the external criticism that precious few individuals could not begin to imagine, much less manage."
Crows in need of an attitude fix: Reilly
By Michelangelo Rucci
CROWS midfielder Brent Reilly partly agrees with Tyson Edwards that change is needed at Adelaide. Not of coach Neil Craig, but of the players' attitude. A year after Reilly infamously declared boredom had set in at West Lakes, the 10-year Crow yesterday frankly admitted he and his team-mates were letting down Craig. "We make some silly mistakes we shouldn't make," said Reilly, who will play his 150th AFL game in the Friday Night Football clash with the finals-chasing St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. "They are costly errors that create turnovers that become (opposition) goals or we let the ball go through our press too easily. "It's more the players - us underperforming, not playing to the level we should," said Reilly accepting the players' responsibility for Craig having to tell the Adelaide board the Crows squad is failing. "Craigy is a fantastic leader at this footy club and we're sick to death of hearing about (his future). We know what he is like around the footy club and hopefully he can stay here for as long as he wants.
