Adelaide has continued Hawthorn’s miserable run of losses with a tradesman-like win in blustery conditions at Football Park. The Hawks managed to contain the Crows for the first half before the floodgates opened and Adelaide added eleven second-half goals to win 14.18 (102) to 8.10 (58).

Hawthorn opened with the intensity and endeavour that coach Peter Schwab had called for very publicly mid-week but was unable to put Adelaide under pressure on the scoreboard.

With Shaun Rehn dominating the ruck duels, the Hawks had the majority of the play early before Adelaide was able to work its way into the game through the hard work of Mark Ricciuto and Kane Johnson.

Hawthorn’s ploy of holding up the play at every opportunity frustrated Adelaide as it struggled to implement its familiar running style.

And while the Hawks were unable to maintain their early intensity as the match progressed, they stayed within striking distance of Adelaide by virtue of the Crows’ appalling conversion rate in front of goal.

The home side entered its attacking 50 twice as often as the Hawks during the first half for a wasteful return of 3.12 (30) to trail Hawthorn 5.3 (33) at the main break.

The Crows were able to up the tempo as the third term got underway and shook off the goal-kicking yips to add 5.2 for the quarter, including three to Brett Burton and one to Rhett Biglands after the siren to give Adelaide a 19-point break at three-quarter time.

Another Biglands goal two minutes into the final term signalled the end of the match as a contest with the Crows dominating possession.

Crows centre-half forward Mark Stevens chimed in with two goals and when Biglands slotted his third Adelaide was home by 44-points – a fitting result for former Crows captain Mark Bickley in his testimonial game.

After the match Crows coach Gary Ayres was pleased with his players’ intensity after a big win against the Lions last week. “Both West Coast and Collingwood who had previously beaten Brisbane before, actually then lost their games the next week,” he said. “So for us to come up again after a very good effort the week before, I thought was very encouraging and pretty professional as well.”
The fact that the match was Bickley’s testimonial was not used as a motivational tool by Ayres, but he paid special tribute to the club stalwart post-match. “It’s great to win for him … because he means so much to the footy club. He’s just been totally professional and fearless and he’s just a great ambassador for the club. He displayed those qualities out there today in pretty trying conditions.”

A bitterly disappointed Schwab lamented his side’s ability to perform well over four quarters. “I think we stuck to the task pretty well in the first half,” he said. “Even for most of the third quarter … but then we capitulated again in the final quarter.”

“For the margin to blow out to 40-odd points is disappointing. I think we would have got some satisfaction if we were able to fight that last quarter out, but we were badly beaten in the last quarter.”

He went on to emphasise the importance of next week’s clash with the Bombers. “Essendon at the MCG becomes a super-critical game for us. If we can win that one and then get to the break and get some guys back after that, maybe that’ll be the momentum we need.”


ADELAIDE: 1.4, 3.12, 8.14, 14.18 (102)
HAWTHORN: 2.0, 5.3, 6.7, 8.10 (58)
GOALS: Adelaide: Burton 3, Ricciuto 3, Biglands 3, Stevens 2, Bode, Edwards, Hart Hawthorn: Barlow 3, Tallis, Cox, Hay, Dixon, Hodge.
BEST: Adelaide: Ricciuto, Bickley, Johnson, Bode, McLeod, Biglands. Hawthorn: Crawford, Chick, McCabe, Cox, Tallis, Barlow.
INJURIES: Adelaide: Johnson (ankle) Hawthorn: Smith (hamstring)
CHANGES: Adelaide: Welsh (groin) replaced in selected side by Gallagher. Hawthorn: Thompson (knee) replaced in selected side by Campbell.
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES: McBurney, Woodcock, McInerney.
CROWD: 42,162 at Football Park