Crows spoil Josh’s party
Happy times for Laird’s 200th
ADELAIDE put a tough week off the field behind it to spoil the Josh Kennedy retirement party on Sunday at Perth Stadium.
Not that the Eagles champ, with eight goals, didn’t do his best to go out in style.
Kennedy’s final goal cut the margin back to just six points after it had been 23 before the final break. Cruelly, he missed a set shot moments later that would have tied the scores and threatened to run salt into the Crows’ newly-opened wound.
At the other end of the ground, Darcy Fogarty kicked his third goal of the quarter moments later to seal the 16point win.
Kennedy kicked the Eagles’ first goal, just 13 minutes into the game, slotting a difficult shot from the boundary line, 50m out, again displaying his famous stuttering run-up.
But the Crows already had three by then, two of them from the boot of Rory Laird, who was celebrating his own milestone. In his 200th AFL game Laird continued his great form and was clearly the Crows’ best, with 36 touches and 10 clearances.
GOOD AND BAD
SUNDAY’S win is Adelaide’s first at Perth Stadium in four attempts – three of those against the Eagles.
Against Carlton last week, the Crows forwards were given
plenty of chances and Taylor Walker and Ben Keays kicked two apiece. Fogarty booted two. That trio managed just one between them at half-time.
Walker had just one touch in the first half, his hands full with Tom Barrass. He didn’t see much more of the ball in the second half but kicked an important goal in the third term.
STOPPING THE RUN
AN inability to get the ball into the hands of their forwards is one reason the Eagles sit 17th on the ladder with two rounds to go.
The Eagles had more inside-50 entries than their opposition in only two games before Sunday, giving up a massive 342 forward entries over their first 19 games of the season. The Eagles led 18-8 in that stat by quarter-time against the Crows but couldn’t make the most of their chances, trailing by three points at the first break.
West Coast took control in the second term and by halftime the Eagles had 13 more journeys into attack and led by two points.
It was during the second term that young Crow Will Hamill was subbed out of the game with concussion after he got in the way of a Jack Darling lead.
Worrying for the Crows, it is the sixth concussion for Hamill in just 38 AFL games.
The Crows lifted their workrate after half-time and started to restrict the Eagles’ run. The opportunities to score dried up – they had only 16 forward entries in the second half.
END OF AN ERA
IT WAS a fitting end to a great career for Kennedy, whose AFL debut came in Carlton colours against Essendon in July 2006.
He walks away after 293 games and 723 goals, in 21st spot on the AFL’s all-time goalkicking list. He overtook St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt (718 from 336 games) and Carlton’s Harry Vallence (722 from 204 games) on his big day.