Australian Football

Match Report

The other four games would take place during the afternoon of Good Friday, the first of which takes us to the Hisense Stadium in Richmond where the Bloods hosted the Crows. The Bloods couldn't touch the Crows last year, going down by nine goals in Round 6, then by six goals in Round 11. The latter encounter was particularly disappointing for the Westies faithful, the Bloods having command of the first half before going missing in the second. They were leading by 16 points at half-time, but could only manage 1.6 for the remaining hour while the Crows rammed through 10 goals. The Bloods were unable to take advantage of the Roosters' inaccuracy in goal at Prospect last week and despite a gallant fighback in the final term would lose by 19 points. The Crows ran absolutely rampant against the Magpies, inflicting a 13-goal hiding at Adelaide Oval. Almost 1,900 people arrived for this game, around 800 more than either of last year's corresponding fixtures so definitely a plus for the club and early on, the Bloods were in control. The Crows weren't having the best time in front of goal as the Bloods went into the first break with an 11-point lead with the board reading 3.2 to 1.3. The Bloods kept up the pressure in the second term, but late in the period the Crows were showing signs of awakening despite still sending more than a few shots wide. West led by as much as 17 points but by the half-time break, their lead was back to just eight points after the Bloods scored 2.1 to Adelaide's 2.4. The Crows would come back from the break a different outfit and unfortunately for the Bloods, history was about to repeat. They were still blowing several opportunities to put some real space between themselves and Westies, but their ownership of the latter half of the third quarter would see them ahead by 19 points by the final change after outscoring the home side 5.5 to 1.2. They would own the rest of the game, in almost similar fashion as last year's comeback in Round 11. A further 5.3 to the Bloods' 3.1 would see them home by 33 points in the end. Matt Crouch was Adelaide's best, with 37 disposals, nine tackles and seven clearances. For the Bloods, Joel Stevens was their man with 31 disposals, nine clearances and eight tackles.