Australian Football

Match Report

When Adelaide started the season with a more than favourable draw, many questioned whether their form would stand up against the better teams in the AFL. Their win against Sydney silenced critics, but their thumping of the reigning premier had some commentators talking up the Crows’ chances of a top-four finish. Geelong was missing star midfielder Jimmy Bartel and vital full-back Matthew Scarlett, but Adelaide was far too good regardless. The game was all over at half time after the Crows produced a devastating eight-goal to one second quarter. It was a complete team performance from Adelaide with contributors all over the ground, including 13 goalkickers. The Cats lost the contested ball count again (failing to win that area in the opening seven rounds) and coach Chris Scott said it was a serious problem that his side had to drastically improve. Geelong’s day was made worse when defender Tom Gillies (knee) and Tom Christensen (calf) went down with injuries.



GOALS

Adelaide: Walker 3, Johncock, van Berlo, Petrenko 2, Tippett, Thompson, Jenkins, Mackay, Jaensch, Tippett, Doughty, Porplyzia, Wright, Lyons

Geelong: Duncan 3, Christensen, Selwood 2, Podsiadly, Stringer, Chapman

BEST - SPORTAL
Adelaide: Thompson, Sloane, Reilly, Doughty, Petrenko, van Berlo, Walker

Geelong: Selwood, Duncan, Chapman, Johnson, Kelly

BEST - ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
Adelaide: Thompson, Sloane, Reilly, van Berlo, Petrenko, Johncock
Geelong: Selwood, Duncan, T Hunt, Kelly, Corey, Chapman, Mackie

COACHES COMMENTS
Brenton Sanderson (Adel): That is as good as I have seen these boys play this year. That first half was incredible really. But the boys do deserve some credit because they're playing some good footy ... but we won't get ahead of ourselves.

Chris Scott (Geel): I've said it for the last six weeks, I think. If we don't improve it we're going to get left behind by the good teams, which is what happened today. We're not blaming the players, we think that their effort was okay, but we've got to make sure we identify what the problems are and fix them quickly
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Umpires: Farmer, Mitchell, McInerney