Adelaide won the inside-50s 45-33, had more possessions (400-395), more contested possessions (136-129), more tackles (61-57) but managed to lose the game by 22 points. Go figure. Much of the blame could be attributed to their poor set-shot goal kicking. The Crows booted 3.8 from set shots, not many of them too difficult or too far out. It was a different story for Freo. With Matthew Pavlich suspended and Chris Mayne not having much of an impact, Nat Fyfe stepped up as the go-to forward, booting a career-best four goals.
2. Brothers in arms
The match hadn't even started when Adelaide skipper Nathan van Berlo felt the wrath of Dockers not happy that he was about to tag their star runner Stephen Hill. Ex-Port wingman Danyle Pearce and Michael Walters made a beeline for van Berlo before the bounce in an obviously premeditated attack. But Freo went too far when Zac Clarke also had a high crack at van Berlo, handing the Crow a free kick without the ball being bounced. Expect fines for Walters and Pearce this week.
3. Crowley blues
Richard Douglas couldn't believe his bad fortune when uber-tagger Ryan Crowley sidled up to him just before the pre-bounce melee. And sure enough the prolific Crow was suffocated in the first 30 minutes, kept to just one kick and one handball. The final analysis wasn't pretty for Douglas who had averaged 22 disposals for the season. He ended with 16.
4. End to end
Hill showed why he is often a marked man with the play of the match midway through the second term. Hill snatched a hot ball near his defensive point post after Bernie Vince's soccered shot at goal slid across the face, and instead of playing safe he took off. His daring dash and optimistic kick set in chain a Fremantle attack along the northern wing which ended up with a Fyfe goal.
5. Bad night all round
The Crows didn't only leave Patersons Stadium beaten, they left it beaten up as well. In the third term Bernie Vince copped what former Adelaide hard nut Mark Ricciuto described as "one of the harder knees in the head I've seen for some while" from a high-flying Matt de Boer on the outer wing. But worse followed in the final term when promising big man Josh Jenkins left the field on the golf cart with a serious looking leg injury. On first look it appears it may be season over for Jenkins.
