It’s difficult to comprehend how tough the last three weeks have been on the Adelaide Football Club. Now two games into the post Phil Walsh era, it’s hard to get a true reading of how the emotion of the tragedy is affecting the playing group. A new coach and director of coaching mid year is unsettling, but obviously unavoidable. And after a brave effort against West Coast in Perth and then Sunday’s phenomenal Showdown performance, the football world awaits with intrigue to see how these courageous combatants will handle another game as the intensity of the moment begins to subside, at least a little bit. Despite playing at Adelaide Oval last weekend, Saturday’s game will be the first home game since the passing of Walsh, meaning it will be the first time Adelaide members will return to the football to watch their side. Just to add extra significance to the trip for the Gold Coast SUNS.
Murmurs out of West Lakes suggest Rory Sloane is a serious chance of returning from a second cheekbone fracture this season. The star midfielder has trialled several protective headwear pieces this week in an attempt to prove his fitness in a delicate area. Sloane originally sustained the injury against Gold Coast in round six, before suffering the same injury against the Brisbane Lions in round thirteen. Whilst Sloane remains a ‘maybe’, All Australian key defender Daniel Talia is a chance to miss the encounter with the SUNS after being substituted out of last Sunday’s Showdown due to concussion. The full back suffered an accidental head knock in the second quarter and took no further part in the game against Port Adelaide and given the six-day break may not get up in time.
Scott Thompson’s days were considered numbered at the start of the season when he missed a large chunk of the pre-season. A common train of thought was ‘father time’ had caught up with the veteran midfielder. That couldn’t be further from the truth, with the big-bodied onballer still capable of producing performances chiselled from grit. He won the inaugural Phil Walsh medal on Sunday afternoon, after collecting 36 possessions, including 22 contested possessions, 13 clearances, eight tackles and five inside 50s. Impressive figures for a player supposedly walking to the finish line. Thompson isn’t quite producing the sort of numbers that he did in his prime, but he still leads the Crows for average disposals with 26.9, clearances at 8.5 and tackles 6.3.
Conversations this week have ferociously focused on Patrick Dangerfield and where his services will be utilised in 2016 and beyond. The star midfielder has been dogged by free agency debate this season and did nothing to end the speculation during an interview on Adelaide radio station FiveAA during the week. Despite the constant questioning, Dangerfield’s football has done the talking for him this year. He is still one of the more damaging players in the competition and his numbers stack up. The Victorian is averaging 26.7 possessions (15.7 contested), 7.5 clearances and 4.8 inside 50s from 14 matches this season.
An area of concern for interim coach Scott Camporeale and the Crows will be how to stop a Gold Coast attack consisting of tall targets Charlie Dixon and Tom Lynch. Adelaide has been light on in the key posts since the retirement of Ben Rutten, with Talia lacking support. Kyle Hartigan has played the last five games to suggest he might be an option long term, whilst first round draft pick Jake Lever is the future. Talia is an elite defender in the top crop of key defenders, but if he is sufficiently separated and unable to impact other contests, the Crows can become vulnerable, particularly against sides with two key scoring avenues. Dixon drew Talia the last time the two sides met back in round six, and despite only touching the ball five times, he booted three goals.
At the other end of the ground, the Crows forward setup, comprised of Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Charlie Cameron and Tom Lynch has proven difficult for opposition sides to match up at times this year. Walker and Betts are top shelf. Whilst Lynch and Jenkins have the ability to break games apart, although inconsistent. Without having any massive games since round one, Walker has been a key contributor for the Crows this year with a generous helping of threes and fours. He got a hold of Steven May last year in Adelaide and will be a tough assignment for the Gold Coast defender once again.
Key Players
Sam Jacobs saved one of his best performances of the season for the biggest stage of the Crows year to date. His effort against Port Adelaide in last Sunday’s Showdown was right out of the top drawer. Jacobs gave his onball department first use for the duration of the afternoon, collecting 51 hitouts and a whopping 20 to advantage to dominate Power pair Matthew Lobbe and Paddy Ryder. He also collected 17 possessions and six clearances to be influential around the ground. After 16 rounds, Jacobs is ranked fifth across the key indicators for ruckman – hitouts (35.8), hitouts to advantage (11.8) and ruck contest win percentage (41.4 per cent). When Jacobs is on, typically the Crows are on such is his influence with his trigger hand.
There aren’t many more dynamic and devastating players in the game than Patrick Dangerfield. His contract talk might have sold more papers in the city of churches than any other story this year, but his football has also been exceptional. Last time the Crows played the SUNS, Andrew Raines put the clamps on Dangerfield, restricting the free agent to a season low of 17 disposals. Raines isn’t making the trip to South Australia, but in the same game, Alex Sexton nullified dangerous ball user Brodie Smith and may be called upon to quell the influence of Dangerfield in the same manner. In the wake of the Walsh tragedy, the world has weighed in on Dangerfield’s duty of staying at West Lakes. His football in the last fortnight has been classic Dangerfield. Game breaking, brilliant and awe-inspiring. Expect much of the same on Saturday afternoon.
After eight rounds, Eddie Betts was in career best form. With 29 goals next to his name, the former Carlton livewire forward had a mortgage on the small forward role in the All Australian team. The well has dried up since then with Betts only adding nine more goals in the last six weeks. Despite his scoreboard impact drying up, Betts remains a key pillar in the Crows attacking arsenal. He got a hold of Jesse Lonergan the last time the SUNS played Adelaide, but at that stage he was unstoppable, capable of kicking goals from anywhere and always a threat when the ball entered his area. Whilst the goals have evaded his stat sheet recently, you get the sense the tide will turn. Betts has 38 for the year to sit in sixth position in the Coleman medal race behind runaway leader Josh Kennedy.
Recent Results
Rd. 16 Adelaide 18.8 (116) def Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) at Adelaide Oval
Rd. 15 Adelaide 14.7 (91) def by West Coast 22.15 (147) at Domain Stadium
Rd. 14 Adelaide v Geelong - Cancelled
Rd. 13 Adelaide 11.16 (82) def Brisbane 10.9 (69) at Gabba
Rd. 12 Adelaide 12.13 (85) def by Hawthorn 17.12 (114) at Adelaide Oval
