Australian Football

Match Report

Part two of the split round saw the remaining fixtures played on the following Sunday, the first of which takes us to the City Mazda Stadium in Richmond where the Bloods took on the Crows. Last time these sides met back in Round 9 it was a case of close but no cigar, the Crows managing to dodge a bullet by a single straight kick. Both teams came into this one on the back of a loss, the Bloods going down by 15 points to the Bulldogs while the Crows were unlucky not to steal points from the Tigers. Mathematically the Crows could still nick the minor premiership, at this point the gap was five points on the ladder but they would need the Tigers to make some monumental slip-ups. 

The Bloods were quite game early on and thanks to some early match inaccuracy were able to stay within a couple of straight kicks. At quarter-time the Crows would hold a seven-point lead, having kicked 3.4 to 2.3. More poor shooting on goal by the Crows in the second term would keep the Bloods well and truly in it, their lead extended to two goals by the break after kicking 2.6 to 2.1. From here the real difference between the two sides would begin to show as the Crows slowly but surely flexed their muscles. Adelaide would score 3.3 to the Bloods' 1.4 in the third term to take their lead out to 23 points by the final change, then kicked the Bloods right off the park in the final term with their haul of 7.2 to two behinds to run out 65-point winners. 

Myles Poholke was named best for the Crows, the Bloods named Kaine Stevens as their standout on a dismal afternoon.