Australian Football

Match Report

In a season of upsets, Melbourne has caused one of the biggest of all, defeating top team the Adelaide Crows on their home turf on Saturday night. The Crows were expected to bounce back from their shock loss to North Melbourne a week earlier, and by midway through the second term when they led by 28 points, that script looked like being followed to the letter. But the Demons kicked the final three goals of the first half and then blew Adelaide away with the first six of the third quarter. The Crows never recovered, and Melbourne powered away to a 41-point win.

The match got off to a slow start, with each side managing only a behind on the first nine minutes before co-captain Nathan Jones broke through for the Demons with the first goal of the match. A minute later his teammate kicked a second and Melbourne was two goals ahead. The Crows settled after that and after behinds to Matt Crouch and Richard Douglas, Eddie Betts kicked their first major on the stroke of time on. That proved the be the last major of a low-scoring opening term, and the Demons led by four points at quarter time.

With the home crowd hoping and expecting better things from the Crows in the second quarter, they soon got their wish, Eddie Betts spinning out of trouble to kick the first goal of the term within two minutes. That goal seemed to inspire his teammates, and the Crows kicked another four in a row over the next 18 minutes - two to skipper Taylor Walker and one each to Rory Laird and Rory Atkins - to jump 28 points clear. But a goal to Tomas Bugg against the run of play changed the momentum of the match, and further majors to Jones and Bugg had the Demons back with 10 at the half and Adelaide went to the long break nowhere near as happy as it would have been 10 minutes earlier.

The home crowd certainly didn't get its wish when the third quarter began. After three and a half tight minutes, Tom McDonald goaled for Melbourne to cut the margin to just four points. He followed up with another four minutes later, giving his side the lead, and the Demons then piled on four more majors over the next 20 minutes - two to Pedersen, one to Jeff Garlett, and a 'miracle' goal to Clayton Oliver from the boundary - to jump 26 points clear. Josh Jenkins pulled one back for the shellshocked Crows at the 32-minute mark but Jack Viney responded almost immediately for Melbourne and the Demons were 27 points ahead at the last break.

Any thought of a last-quarter revival from the Crows pretty much evaporated at the five-minute mark when Andy Otten was deemed to have deliberated rushed a behind and Garlett goaled from the resultant free kick to put Melbourne 33 points clear. Two minutes later Dean Kent eliminated all doubt when he marked in the goal-square and converted. The Crows managed to hit the scoreboard a couple of times from there but Melbourne's goal also kept coming and the final siren saw the Demons virtually seven goals to the good as they recorded their best win under new coach Simon Goodwin.

Jack Viney (12 tackles, 30 disposals) and Clayton Oliver (10 tackles, 30 possessions) were standouts for the winners, while Sam Jacobs had an incredible 74 hitouts to be one of the Crows' best in a losing side.

The win lifted Melbourne's percentage to a very healthy 111.9 and they are knocking on the door of the top eight, with a game against North Melbourne at the MCG to come on Sunday. Adelaide, having now lost two matches in a row, will look to regroup with a big win over bottom side Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night. 

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker, Betts, Jenkins 2; Laird, Atkins, Smith
Melbourne: Pedersen 3; T.McDonald, Bugg, Jones, Garlett, Kent 2; Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Hannan

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Laird, Jacobs, Atkins
Melbourne: Viney, T.McDonald, Salem, Oliver, Vince, Petracca, Jones, Hibberd

BEST - THE AGE
Adelaide: Jacobs, Laird, Smith, M Crouch, B Crouch, Atkins
Melbourne: Oliver, Viney, Hibberd, Jones, Salem, Lewis

INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Melbourne: Hunt (concussion)

UMPIRES: Kamolins, Fleer (replaced in second quarter by Hundertmark), Ryan

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