WIN 2 CROWING
GC SUNS SHOOT DOWN ADELAIDE CROWS
MATT Rowell has starred again for Gold Coast who have shattered an AFL hoodoo in style, thumping Adelaide to continue their remarkable form since the competition’s return.
The Suns’ clinical victory last night was their first in 14 encounters with the Crows. The hosts kept a side scoreless in the opening term for the first time on the way to a 12.10 (82) to 4.5 (29) win.
The 53-point margin fell short of their record 86-point defeat of
Hawthorn in 2017, while the Crows only just crept past their lowest score of 24.
Gold Coast’s (2-1) effort followed their upset of West Coast last weekend to snap a 19-game losing streak, while the Crows (0-3), thrashed a week ago by Port Adelaide, were never in it.
“I’m proud of the boys to back it up,” Suns coach Stuart Dew said.
“Last week was exactly what we wanted to do and we set ourselves a challenge to repeat that.
“We’ve got into a spot in the last couple of weeks where guys understand they don’t have to go over and above and, if they stray from that, it’s detrimental to the team.”
Jarrod Witts dominated the ruck while midfielder Hugh Greenwood (10 contested possessions, 13 tackles) enjoyed the first clash with his former team and 18-year-old Rowell (20 disposals, 10 tackles, two goals) backed up last weekend’s dominant showing.
Ben King (three goals) imposed himself up front and Touk Miller (26 disposals) was lightning through the middle of Metricon Stadium for Dew’s improving side.
The Suns had the game’s first 12 forward-50 entries, almost doubling the Crows’ contested possession count, with Adelaide forward Taylor Walker one of four to go without a touch in the first quarter.
But seven behinds and just one goal meant they didn’t have the points to show for it until King soccered through a major in the quarter’s final seconds for a 19-point lead.
Darcy Fogarty put Adelaide on the board as the work rate lifted in the second term. But a four-goal Suns flurry and even greater tackling pressure was the answer.
Rowell ran from the square to launch a major from 55m on his non-preferred left foot as the Suns took a 35-point halftime lead.
Everything was going the Suns’ way against the fumbling Crows.
Rowell snapped another after Darcy McPherson’s pass from the pocket inadvertently sailed through for a goal.
ESSENDON could be forced to play Carlton and Collingwood without a cluster of their best players as the AFL zeros in on Conor McKenna’s staggering decision to attend an open house inspection last week.
McKenna, 24, completed a full-scale training session on Friday shortly before testing positive for COVID-19 in a finding that has rocked the AFL.
It is believed McKenna, who is asymptomatic, had trained in a small group with fellow defenders Adam Saad, Cale
Hooker, Michael Hurley, Matt Guelfi, Jordan Ridley and Mason Redman.
The AFL had encouraged clubs not to stack their training groups with players from the same line.
But the AFL will tell Essendon they need to play next week even if their starting back six are not available while in quarantine.
Players in McKenna’s training group at Essendon are the footballers considered at greatest risk of being declared “close contacts” by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), although the training footage will be crucial.
The department was poring over footage of that session to determine how many “close contacts” of McKenna must quarantine for 14 days.
The AFL and the department are tracing McKenna’s every move because they want to know where he contracted the virus from.
McKenna’s attendance at an open house inspection would be the subject of a probe.
AFL legal counsel Andrew Dillon told 3AW that if a club had 25 eligible players it would play the following week even if a team’s stars had been excluded in quarantine.
He said the government definition of “close contact” was specific and would be worked through to decide which Essendon players would have to remain in quarantine for 14 days.
“There is a definition for close contact and it’s if you are face-to-face for more than 15 minutes or confined space for more than two hours,” Dillon said.
“The AFL rules are pretty clear (on playing on despite players in quarantine). As long as we have 22 players and a couple of emergencies you are able to have a team.”
The department wants to know whether it will lead to a cluster of untraced Victorian cases while the AFL is set to demand answers to why he breached the league’s strict player protocols.
McKenna’s teammate, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, was suspended for Round 2 for a minor breach he self-reported.
“DHHS advice will be to quarantine all of those identified close contacts (of McKenna) for two weeks from the time of exposure,” Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.