Western Bulldogs 0.3 1.7 1.10 2.14.26 Adelaide 3.1 3.3 6.6 9.9.63
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Webb, Suckling Adelaide: Betts 4, Lynch, Murphy, Poholke, Jenkins, Fogarty
Alex Docherty’s Best
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Bontempelli, Cordy, Williams, McLean, Wallis Adelaide: Betts, Gibbs, Greenwood, Ellis-Yolmen, Laird, Seedsman
On a night full of pouring rain and on an Adelaide Oval turf that almost resembled a swimming pool than a Football ground, it was an under strength Adelaide Crows that continued to assert themselves into the top-four picture, breaking the Western Bulldogs’ three-game winning run on Friday night with a 37-point win on the back of a strong second-half performance.
It was a night devoid of skill and classy finishes, but Eddie Betts, playing his 100th game for the Crows – started things with a typically brilliant Eddie Betts goal, his kick from long range and next to the boundary line never looked like missing, even with the ball hitting the goal-square before bouncing through – he plays Adelaide Oval so well and the Crows supporters know it, that’s why they have each forward pocket theoretically named after him.
From that moment on, it became a hard slog for the rest of the quarter, as the rain continued to poor down, forcing the a slippery leather ball and a number of fumbles and turnovers. It took 25 minutes before another goal was kicked, but it wasn’t before the Dogs had their fair share of opportunities. The Dogs generated 14 inside 50s in the opening term, but as has so often been the case this year, they’ve lacked the finish required to put teams away.
Josh Dunkley, Ed Richards and Jason Johannisen all registered minor scores in the first quarter, before first-year Crow Darcy Fogarty and Tom Lynch capitalised on the the visitors’ missed opportunities, and given the fact that goals were always going to be hard to come by, those were goals that hurt the Dogs before going into quarter time, as they were held goal-less. It wasn’t until the 14th minute mark of the second quarter that they got their first goal of the match, through a dubious ‘contact below the knees’ free kick against Daniel Talia.
Lukas Webb stood up for their first goal of the evening It would be the only goal the Dogs would kick for the first three quarters, which has compounded the season-long issue of their woes in front of goal. It isn’t for a lack of trying though as their were many times throughout the first half they battled and scrapped and fought through everything that was coming their way, but a combination of superb, yet stingy Adelaide defence and a lack of adaption to the wet conditions at times contributed to a disappointing loss.
The second quarter perhaps was the visitors’ best chance of cutting the deficit from 16 points to even potentially leading at half time, with the Bulldogs recording 18 inside 50s for a return of 1.4 for the quarter. Whilst the polish isn’t up to scratch right now and hasn't been throughout the course of 2018 so far, the one thing that did impress me throughout the night was their endeavour for the contest. They laid 118 tackles, which is a club record. Unfortunately, the Crows also laid a club record in tackles and were more than up for the task, laying 114 tackles – also a club record. For all the dominance that the Bulldogs had, particularly in the second quarter, the hometown Crows absorbed the Bulldog pressure and with all the inside 50 entries generated in the first half (32 inside 50s), it was about Adelaide's magnificent defence as much as the Bulldogs' incapabilities to make the most of their opportunities. A strong case in point is Adelaide's Jake Kelly, who did very well to hold up Josh Dunkley, striding for a loose ball inside 50 and denied the Dogs a valuable six points. But he wasn't the only one. Daniel Talia, Kyle Hartigan and Rory Laird were all brilliant in absorbing the pressure that the Bulldogs' constantly piled on. Despite only managing just two behinds in the second term, the Crows only held the Doggies to one goal themselves, which is a mighty effort.
The Crows were finally rewarded for this in the second half, with three goals to nothing to put the match nearly beyond doubt in such horrendous conditions. The theme on the television for most of the night was about taking half-chances and the Crows made more of them than the Bulldogs did. Myles Poholke had a quick kick on goal that sailed through, whilst Eddie Betts and Lachlan Murphy converted shots from tight angles.
In dry conditions, a scoreline of 42-16 would've been a manageable margin, but the Dogs were struggling for answers on this night. Not even head coach Luke Beveridge could've believed it when Matt Suckling kicked a great goal – and just the Bulldogs' second major of the night – from just inside the 50 metre arc in the sixth-minute of the last quarter. That was how badly the Dogs were going in front of the big sticks.
On the other end of Adelaide Oval, Adelaide's goal-kicking wizard Eddie Betts doubled his goal tally from two to four in a matter of minutes to make the result hurt even worse for the visitors, as Adelaide continue to press their claims for a top-four spot, whilst the Dogs remain stuck in the bottom six.
The feeling of this result from this Bulldogs supporter is so mixed. Two goals in 120 minutes of footy is almost unforgivable, no matter what the circumstances are, and this game is clear evidence of two things: 1) The Western Bulldogs struggle in the wet – because they often play in a roofed stadium and 2) They are still a long way to go to match the top teams. This wasn't even Adelaide's best team, with a number of walk-up starters of their best 22 out. The margin would've been much greater if the likes of Matt Crouch, Brodie Smith, Taylor Walker and others were to come back into the side.
However, the team was littered of players who tried their guts out. Jack Macrae had the company of former Roo Sam Gibson for the entire evening, yet managed to carry on his blistering form, recording 36 disposals, 10 clearances and 13 tackles in a monster effort. Marcus Bontempelli played a lot of his time this week also in the middle, and had himself 28 disposals, nine clearances and seven tackles – he was one of a rare few that managed to pick the slippery ball up of the deck so cleanly. Toby McLean (22 disposals and 10 tackles) and Mitch Wallis (20 disposals and 10 tackles) Also battled hard.
Zaine Cordy and Bailey Williams were perhaps the Bulldogs' best in the backline. On a night where the Crows had themselves nearly 50 inside 50 entries, these two did what they could under enormous pressure. Williams recorded 24 disposals and four marks and was often the one that tried to get it out of defence. Cordy found himself with 18 disposals along with five rebound 50s and three marks and often found a way to spoil the ball or bring the ball to ground whenever the Crows pumped it inside 50.
Adelaide's Eddie Betts was the only player on the ground who kicked multiple goals on the ground, with four majors – Perhaps the most influential player on the ground. Two of those goals came from such tight angles, and given how wet and greasy the ball would be, he managed to kick those goals with such precision, you could've been fooled if he had a dry footy in his hands. To go with his four goals, Eddie had 15 disposals, and three marks – two of those inside 50.
With midfield stars such as Matt Crouch and Rory Sloane out with injuries, the Crows needed some of their lesser-known players to stand up, and filled in the void magnificently. Hugh Greenwood has become a very underrated player in an outstanding team, recording 20 disposals (19 contested), 10 clearances and 11 tackles. Cam Ellis-Yolmen was another that performed admirably, recording 27 disposals (21 contested), along with six clearances and six tackles.
Along with Bryce Gibbs (26 disposals, 10 clearances and eight tackles), this trio were the grunt that Adelaide needed to match the Bulldogs on Friday night. Rory Laird was at his sublime best when the Crows needed an exit out of defence, recording 28 disposals and four rebound 50s in a solid performance in bad weather conditions.
The Western Bulldogs are back at Etihad Stadium on Friday night as they host the in-form Collingwood Magpies in what will be a massive match for both sides. The Bulldogs will want to keep in some form of touch with the top eight, whilst the Magpies, who have lost the last five games against the Bulldogs, sit outside the eight on percentage and having won five of their past seven matches, they will want to keep their winning ways rolling. As Luke Beveridge said in his press conference on Friday night: “The wheel will eventually turn”. Despite some poor form in front of the big sticks once again, there is enough in this side that suggest that things will get better as season 2018 progresses. If You Enjoyed This Piece, Jump Onto www.patreon.com/AlexDocherty and click on the 'Become A Patron' Button To Join An Exclusive Community!!