IT WAS a tough slog, but Adelaide ultimately got the job done against St Kilda, winning by four points in a tough contested battle at Norwood Oval on Friday .

From the outset, the Crows were after redemption after last week’s match against Brisbane was snatched away by a last-minute Lions goal, but the Saints were up for the fight.

Despite dominating for most of the game, the Crows were unable to fully close the door on the Saints, leaving this visitors within striking range right until the final siren of the 3.8 (26) to 3.4 (22) contest.

Both sides brought the pressure early, with the tension broken by Saint Molly McDonald scoring the first goal of the match four minutes in.

CROWS v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

It didn’t take long for Adelaide’s Hannah Munyard to respond, arching her back to evade a St Kilda pursuit along the boundary before sending the ball superbly through the goalposts.

After missing the big sticks twice in the first term, Caitlin Gould broke an early stalemate in the second term with a goal while being chased by a flock of Saints.

After leaving the field clutching her side early in the third quarter, St Kilda’s J'Noemi Anderson returned to the field with aplomb minutes later, bobbing up to kick a late goal to break an otherwise scrappy and scoreless term. But Adelaide’s Chelsea Randall was not having any piece of it, scoring a goal in response only 90 seconds later, right on the three-quarter time siren.

The Saints closed the gap to just four points in the final quarter thanks to a Hannah Stuart goal, but were unable to break through for another by the time the final siren sounded.

Both sides showed signs of fatigue as the game wore on, a worrying sign as both sides face three more matches in the next 16 days as they enter their respective mid-week footy fixtures.

Kelly sisters face off
This match marked the first time Irish sisters Grace and Niamh Kelly faced off against each other since  they both made their debut in 2020. Their parents also made the journey from Ireland to see their daughters go head to head. While Niamh’s Crows won the game, Grace put in a strong individual performance with 21 disposals and three marks, while her younger sister had 19 and two. Coming across to the AFLW after playing Gaelic football for County Mayo in Ireland, both sisters started their footy careers at West Coast, joining the league in its seventh season.

75 Club
St Kilda’s Nicola Stevens celebrated her 75 game on Friday night. First drafted to Collingwood, Stevens was the first AFLW player ever traded, joining Carlton after her first season before moving to the Saints ahead of season seven, 2022. Stevens wasn’t the only player to notch up a major milestone, with Adelaide co-captain Sarah Allan also notching up her 75th match.

Up next
It’s a quick turnaround for both teams with St Kilda facing the Greater Western Sydney at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston on Tuesday night, while the Crows will return to Norwood Oval, Adelaide to play 13th-placed Melbourne on Wednesday night.

ADELAIDE     1.2     2.4     3.4     3.8 (26)
ST KILDA       1.1     1.3     2.4     3.4 (22) 

GOALS
Adelaide: Munyard, Gould, Randall
St Kilda: McDonald, Anderson, Stuart

BEST 
Adelaide: Marinoff, Hatchard, Munyard, Randall, Gould
St Kilda: Smith, Kelly, Lambert, Vesely, McDonald

INJURIES
Adelaide: Ballard (knee), Mueller (migraine)
St Kilda: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Adelaide: None
St Kilda: Alice Burke (illness) replaced in selected side by Maddie Boyd

Reports: Nil 

Crowd: 2,994 at Norwood Oval