Crows to remain wary of Giants

THE Adelaide Crows might be sitting on top of the AFLW’s Conference A, but with only two minor round games left, head coach Matthew Clarke knows today’s clash against Greater Western Sydney is a must-win.

The Crows might be firm favourites against the fourthplaced Conference B Giants today, but with a finals place awarded to the top-two teams in each conference and Adelaide on top only on percentage, Clarke admitted he’d started doing his sums to see how likely the side was to extend its season.

And those sums came up with one conclusion: “The reality is that we really do have to win the final two games to guarantee ourselves a spot in the finals, it’s pretty straight forward.

“There are a number of teams, particularly on our side of the draw, that are in really good form and we’ve just got to keep on keeping on.”

He said, for this reason, the Crows (on four wins/one loss) wouldn’t take GWS (on one win/four losses) lightly.

“There’s not any opportunity for complacency,” he said.

The Crows head to Unley Oval today for the first game of AFLW played at the venue.

It’s the side’s fourth home game for season 2019, but to be played on its third home ground.

However Clarke said that wouldn’t bother his side and just to make sure, a captains’ run was held there on Friday evening.

“We’re fortunate in SA that all the SANFL grounds are of such a high standard, that we are able to shuffle around a little bit and clearly in Darwin, the TIO Stadium is a magnificent facility,” he said.

Clarke expected GWS – a team that includes five South Australian players – to play defensively to shut down the likes of gun mid-forward Erin Phillips and the league’s leading goalkicker, Stevie-Lee Thompson, who has nine goals to her name.

“In any team, the capacity to defend inside-50 is critical,” he said.

“Often, if you choose to do that, it comes at a price because you’ve clearly then got to transition the ball the full length of the ground.

“If that eventuates, then it’s really a volume issue, you just have to be patient and have the capacity to lock it down that end and take your chances when they present.

“Clearly, we’ve got some talent in forward half, and they don’t need a heap of space to generate an opportunity, so we’ll see how we go.”