1. Important win
Hawthorn's victory against Adelaide on Saturday night wasn't the most convincing of wins, but it was an important one. In front of a vocal pro-Crows crowd, the Hawks managed to find a way over the line even when the home side looked like it might steal the show. Adelaide never threw in the towel and made several spirited runs, but the visitors managed to repel each one to keep its top-four hopes well and truly alive.
2. Sando's record broken
Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson was proud of his record of never losing consecutive regular-season games since his appointment in late 2011 – but it was broken on Saturday. While last year's preliminary final loss was backed up by a round-one loss to Essendon, Saturday's 11-point loss to Hawthorn was the first time under Sanderson's reign that his side has succumbed twice in a row in one season.
3. Ultimate Danger
There is officially nothing Patrick Dangerfield can't do. His status as the competition's most explosive player is surely close to locked in and on Saturday night he showed why. He was the driving force of Adelaide's game on Saturday, with 20 disposals and two goals to half time, resulting in 91 AFL Fantasy points. He managed 35 touches by the final siren, three tackles, eight marks and a hit out to boot. The 'Raging Bull' is a genius on the football field and while his side went down on Saturday, his star rose higher.
4. Franklin flops again
For just the second time in his 167-game career Lance Franklin was kept goalless for consecutive matches. Not since his sixth and seventh AFL games has 'Buddy' failed to trouble the scoreboard in consecutive contests. He was only held goalless once last season, in round five against the Sydney Swans, but he bounced back the week after with a bag of five against St Kilda. History suggested that after failing to boot a goal last week against North Melbourne he was due but thanks to a huge game from Crows defender Daniel Talia, Franklin had another miserable day.
5. Green with envy
The near 40,000 strong crowd at AAMI Stadium wasn't enough to sway the umpires' decisions the home side's way, with Hawthorn the ones benefiting most from the men in green. The Hawks were awarded 23 free kicks to Adelaide's 20 and the crowd was furious, voicing their anger at the game's officials. They booed them from the field at half time and then again after the match and while the free kick discrepancy was minor, it was obvious Crows fans considered themselves hard done by.
