Australian Football

Match Report

Adelaide's late season resurgence continues, with Crows overcoming a tardy start to thrash the Brisbane Lions at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. The Lions started strongly and led by a goal at quarter time but Adelaide dominated the rest of the match, kicking 18 goals to just three to win in a canter and set up a break of a game and a half over Geelong with two rounds remaining, a remarkable achievement in the wake of the death of coach Phil Walsh early in July. 

Brisbane started the match strongly, and ex-Cat Allen Christensen and two goals on the board for the Lions in the first 10 minutes. Taylor Walker's first cut the Crows' deficit to five points, but a goal to Jonathan Freeman at the 19-minute mark saw the Lions leading by 11 as the term entered time on. A second Adelaide goal via Matt Crouch cut the margin back to five and the two sides traded behinds after that, Brisbane leading by an even goal at the first break.

The momentum that the Lions took into quarter time disappeared the moment the second term began. After a behind from Taylor Walker the Adelaide Crows went on a goal spree for the rest of the quarter, kicking eight goals straight, three of them to Walker and one each to Rory Sloane, Rory Atkins, Josh Jenkins and Patrick Dangerfield, while not allowing Brisbane to score so much as a behind in that period. At the half, the Crows lead was 43 points. 

A much better third quarter from Brisbane saw the Lions kick three of the first five goals, one each to Daniel McStay, Stefan Martin and Freeman to get back within 37 points, but Eddie Betts and Walker undid the Lions' good work with majors at the 26 and 28-minutec marks and the margin was out to 49 at the final change of ends.

It was goals galore again for Adelaide in the final term. Holding the Lions goalless as they had in the second quarter, the Crows added majors through Walker, who kicked two to take his match tally to seven, Charlie Cameron, Betts and Jarryd Lyons (two) to run away to an 87-point win and take a six-point break over the ninth-placed Cats.

Walker (seven goals, 13 touches), Sam Jacobs (47 hitouts, 21 disposals) and Tom Lynch (32 possessions, nine marks) were among the best for the winners, while Brisbane was well served by Tom Rockliff (10 marks, 29 disposals) an Dayne Zorko (38 touches and six marks).

Despite the game-and-a-half break over Geelong, the Crows are very vulnerable. They will host second-placed West Coast next Sunday and, if they lose that match, will potentially be playing the Cats for eighth spot at Kardinia Park on Saturday week. The Lions will see out the season with matches against Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, needing to win at least one of them to avoid the wooden spoon.

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 7; Betts 3; Atkins, Lyons 2; Crouch, Sloane, Jenkins, Dangerfield, Douglas, Cameron
Brisbane: Christensen, Freeman 2; Mcstay, Martin

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Walker, Lynch, Sloane, Jacobs, Henderson, Douglas
Brisbane: Rockliff, Zorko, Martin, Robinson, Christensen

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Adelaide: Jacobs, Walker, Sloane, Lynch, Smith, Henderson
Brisbane: Zorko, Rockliff, Redden, Robinson, Martin, Christensen

INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Brisbane: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Jarryd Lyons replaced Luke Brown at three-quarter time.
Brisbane: Josh Green replaced Trent West at half-time.

UMPIRES: Brown, Ryan, McInerney

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Matthew Campbell, Mark Ricciuto, Alastair Lynch, Ben Dixon