The crowd of 46, 401 at Adelaide Oval on Easter Sunday was the biggest Round One crowd the Crows have played in front of in 25 seasons. It eclipsed the previous biggest turnout of 45,436 against Fremantle at Football Park in 2003.
Captain Taylor Walker took a Round One-high 15 marks against North Melbourne. Nine of Walker’s marks were taken inside forward 50m. The Crows dominated this statistic on Sunday – 22 to North Melbourne’s six. No team took more marks inside 50m than Adelaide in Round One.
Walker, who kicked his 200th AFL goal on Sunday, is also an early leader in the Coleman Medal with six goals, which equalled his career-best return in a game. Hawthorn sharpshooter Luke Breust and West Coast small forward Jamie Cripps each booted five goals.
The two-time Crows leading goalkicker also led the competition in score involvements (15) ahead of teammate Eddie Betts (12). He was involved in 40 per cent of Adelaide’s scores.
Walker gained more metres (713) than any other player for the round.
Walker’s performance, which also included a personal-best 21 kicks, saw him earn 146 AFL Fantasy points – ranked third in Round One. He was the No.1 ranked player according to Champion Data ranking points (177).
Adelaide kicked 21 goals in Round One – four more than the next-best team – and had nine different goalkickers. The Crows also generated the most inside 50ms (63) on the weekend.
The Crows set up their 77-point win with a fierce second quarter. Adelaide put the Kangaroos, who went goalless until the 29-minute-mark of the term, under enormous pressure and forced them into error. The ball was in Adelaide’s forward half a remarkable 77.6 per cent of the time in the second quarter, as the Crows piled on 10 unanswered goals to hold a 63-point lead at half time.
Adelaide kept North Melbourne to a score of 9.9 (63) – the Roos lowest since Round Five last year.
Of Adelaide’s 21 goals, 12 were scored from turnovers. In contrast, the Crows conceded only five goals from turnovers.
The Crows ranked second (behind Hawthorn) for time in possession (47.6 per cent), while North Melbourne was last in this statistic (35.2 per cent).
Richard Douglas was Adelaide’s leading possession-getter against the Roos, racking up 31 touches. The 2010 Club Champion also won nine clearances – ranked equal equal-fourth for the round.
Defender Daniel Talia was one of only four players in the AFL to play every minute in Round One. Kyle’s Cheney and Hartigan both played in excess of 98 per cent game time on Sunday.
Eddie Betts had six running bounces in Round One, trailing only Bachar Houli (Richmond) with nine. Wingman Brodie Smith had five all in the one passage of play, which resulted in a goal to Charlie Cameron. Betts also laid a team-high seven tackles.
Rory Laird had the job on the dangerous Brent Harvey for most of the day. Laird won the battle, limiting Harvey to only 18 possessions while collecting 24 touches and a goal of his own.
Adelaide won the contested possession count convincingly at Adelaide Oval, 142 – 115. Patrick Dangerfield had a game-high 16 contested possessions.
Match statistics
Disposals
Adelaide – 366
North Melbourne – 316
Kicks
Adelaide – 241
North Melbourne – 172
Handballs
Adelaide – 125
North Melbourne – 144
Free Kicks
Adelaide – 16
North Melbourne – 17
Clearances
Adelaide – 40
North Melbourne – 27
Inside 50ms
Adelaide – 63
North Melbourne – 47
Contested Possessions
Adelaide – 142
North Melbourne – 115
Tackles
Adelaide – 57
North Melbourne – 50
Hit-outs
Adelaide – 32
North Melbourne – 41
Interchanges
Adelaide – 100
North Melbourne – 100
