The Australian
West Eagles add to Crows misery
By AAP
OPPORTUNIST Mark LeCras kicked five goals as West Coast solidified its spot in the AFL top eight with a 39-point crunching of Adelaide today. There was no sign of the rout to come early as Crow eight-gamer Matthew Wright kicked the opening two goals as his side established a 10-point quarter-time lead. But the Eagles seized control with seven unanswered goals in a scintillating second stanza. Crow woes worsened when Tippett was helped from the field with a left shoulder injury moments before halftime. Adelaide forward Patrick Dangerfield had a chance to get his side within a goal early in the final quarter, but sprayed a 30m set shot out of bounds on the full. Eagle Mark Nicoski seized the let-off, booting the next two goals to restore his side’s control. Adelaide meet the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne on Friday night.
The Age
Eagles fly too high for Crows
By Ashley Porter
NEIL Craig may have seen his coaching life pass before his eyes in just 14 seconds. It took just that long for West Coast to shatter the Crows' fading hopes of being able to hold together a crumbling season. Ultimately, the vastly superior Eagles won by 39 points, but it was that second quarter, made up of their brilliance and the Crows' lack of discipline and ineptitude, that set the tone. Hail the Eagles; shame the Crows, and as much as Adelaide has been admirable at times this season with an incredibly inexperienced bunch, it was generally its younger players who actually stood up and were prepared to offer resistance. The courage of Patrick Dangerfield to return after dislocating his right thumb late in the second term and continue to have an impact was great, as was Rory Sloane's typical tenacity on the ball.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Craig says Crows stuck in the mud
By Steve Larkin
ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig likens his AFL club's form slump to being stuck in the mud. ''Clearly the last two weeks we have been spinning the wheels a bit,'' he said yesterday. ''So we need to get some more traction and start to move forward again.'' Craig said the recent defeats were alarming for a lack of intent from his players. ''That has been the most disappointing aspect in the last two games and where I personally have great empathy for our supporters,'' he said. ''Because up until then, we were doing some pretty good things, moving forward - not necessarily the scoreboard ticking over the way we would have liked, but we were doing some good things. ''Much of Craig's week has been focused on his misfiring midfield brigade, frequently getting hammered at the crucial contested ball. ''We have a real good close look at that,'' he said. ''Some of it is about game knowledge … but that is not the major concern. ''A lot of it is about intent, the mental intent - nowhere near fierce enough, and that is an area we can improve overnight.”
The Herald Sun
Mark LeCras and Daniel Kerr star in West Coast Eagles rout of Adelaide
By Jesper Fjeldstad
CONFIDENCE-sapped Crows crashed to their eighth loss from 11 matches, a result soured by an apparent serious shoulder injury to key forward Kurt Tippett. Confidence-sapped Crows crashed to their eighth loss from 11 matches, a result soured by an apparent serious shoulder injury to key forward Kurt Tippett. Craig and his assistants copped an earful of vitriol - one crowd member asked loudly how one assistant coach dared to smile - and players received little encouragement after the Crows' finals hopes seemed dashed by last year's wooden spooner. At the moment, we can't sustain quarters ... you know, quarter, after quarter, after quarter," Craig said. “And to play finals ... you have to win some games on the trot. We're not playing good enough football to even win games on the trot at the moment. Let's see if we can get four quarters of highly competitive footy to start with.”
The Sunday Times (WA)
West Coast Eagles breeze home to beat Adelaide Crows
By Chris Robinson
WEST Coast took another big step towards a return to finals football in 2011 with a comfortable win over Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. Despite leading by just 11 points at three-quarter time, the Eagles took full advantage of kicking with a strong breeze in the last term to run out 15.16 (106) to 10.7 (67) winners. The Crows failed to take full advantage of their turn with the wind in the opening quarter, establishing a 10-point lead at the first change. West Coast held sway for much of the third quarter, before two late goals to Richard Douglas saw the Crows sneak within nine points at the last change.
The Advertiser
Neil Craig safe as Crows coach, says chairman Rob Chapman
By Michelangelo Rucci
NEIL Craig is still safe as Crows coach - even after another disheartening loss yesterday - with Adelaide Football Club chiefs backing Craig to the hilt. "We back Neil and we will continue to back Neil," said Crow chairman Rob Chapman. Chapman's public response is yet another solid vote of confidence in Craig. "Because we believe today he is the right coach for this playing group," added Chapman in his chairman's address before Adelaide's 39-point loss to West Coast at West Lakes on Saturday. That result has left the Crows with a 3-8 win-loss count and hopelessly out of the race for the AFL finals in September. Adelaide's chiefs see the task of returning to September action requiring much work on developing and strengthening the player group rather than changing the coach. "Neil Craig is the right man for the job," declared Chapman of the man who took charge as senior coach at West Lakes mid-way through 2004.
