SAINTS CLOBBER CROWS
Adelaide had the home ground advantage last night, but it meant nothing as St Kilda prolonged the Crows’ horror run with a 23-point drubbing at Adelaide Oval.
THE Crows were brave, oh, so brave, but there it is, the club record no Adelaide fan wanted.
As the home side went down by 23 points to St Kilda at Adelaide Oval — albeit with their heads held high — the club suffered its 10th consecutive loss, breaking the record for their worst-ever run of losses.
Adelaide hasn’t won a game since August 3, 2019 (ironically against the Saints), and St Kilda has beaten the Crows for the first time since 2011 and their first ever win at Adelaide Oval.
The boot of Dan Butler had the Saints on the board with an impressive snap in the first minute of the game and from there, St Kilda never looked likely to lose, despite Taylor Walker’s third goal for the night kicking the Crows within nine point late in the game.
Saints midfielder Jack Steele was electric with 26 touches and an incredible 13 clearances, while Paddy Ryder returned to the side and had 22 hit outs, and Butler finished with a bag of three goals.
After the Saints’ soul-destroying, six-point loss to Fremantle last weekend, their coach Brett Ratten laid down the gauntlet to his players: “Who do we want to be?” he demanded.
If this performance is anything to go by, the answer is: gritty, pressured and fierce.
When Crow Walker kicked the home side within nine points and momentum looked in Adelaide’s favour, Tim Membrey, Dean Kent and Jack Lonie kicked three goals in four minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
Zak Jones (20 disposals) and Ben Paton (257 metres gained) really held their heads high.
Adelaide’s youngsters shone in the first term: from Will Hamill spending time on Saints gun Bradley Hill (and Hill was kept to four disposals in quarter one), to Andrew McPherson taking a strong contested mark on the wing creating a turnover that led to a Taylor Walker goal.
There were a couple of celebrations for Adelaide: veteran Rory Laird celebrated his 150th, while 23-yearold Tom Doedee — playing only his 27th game of AFL — debuted as stand-in captain and both stood up to the Saints run and pressure.
Doedee did a job on Membrey early, who was held to only seven disposals (three for the entire first half and didn’t kick a goal until the final term).