The game, which marked Andrew McLeod’s 300th, Craig’s 100th as coach and Joel Bowden’s 250th, was crucial to both teams’ finals chances.
Adelaide’s convincing win has seen the club firm in sixth position, a full game clear of fellow contenders St Kilda and Collingwood, while Richmond now has to rely on other results in order to make the eight.
The victory was also significant for the Crows in terms of their forward-line structure.
Craig and his coaching staff have been hamstrung for options in attack with injuries to leading goal kickers Brett Burton and Jason Porplyzia, but on Sunday, Adelaide registered 12 goal kickers and defied heavy conditions to score of more than 100 points for the first time since thumping the Tigers in round 11.
“From the season’s perspective, and we all know how the premiership table is tightening up, it was a pretty critical game for both clubs,” Craig said after the game.
“The win is very good for us. It was Joel Bowden’s 250th and Andrew’s 300th, so recognition to both of those guys as well. The win, for us, makes it a bit better for Andrew, which is great for him.
“To kick over 100 points in those conditions and to have 12 goal kickers with our forward line at the moment was really good.
“Last week Brad Moran and Ivan Maric had to do it [the goal scoring], so we’ve got to keep finding ways to make sure we keep kicking good scores. It was a good day for us.”
Craig encouraged his team to move the ball quicker and more direct after a scrappy opening term and the result was a match winning second quarter. The Crows slammed on 7.2 to Richmond’s solitary point in the term to open up a 54-point half-time lead.
“Particularly in the first half and in bits of the third quarters, I thought our kicking was very good. We actually got some real powerful running, which you could argue we’ve lacked a bit since our five losing weeks [rounds 12-16].
“I couldn’t ask any more of our playing group than what they put on display today.”
Craig, despite his team sitting just one game behind the fourth-placed Swans (who play Geelong next week), said his team was still not thinking top-four.
“We’ve still got to win at least one more to get to where we want to go initially,” he said.
“It’s hard to know where we’re at. I think we’ve probably just cranked the intensity up a little bit and that’s all credit to the playing group, it’s got nothing to do with coaching, and we need to rely on that.
“Just at the moment, we have to show that intensity, until our squad develops more in terms of maturity and the way we play the game, we can’t operate at 90 per cent. That will be a challenge for us as we go on.
“Hopefully, we can get in the finals and the finals is when the best play the best, so that will be another challenge again, but we’ve got to get there first.”
