ADELAIDE has produced a final-quarter fightback to keep its NAB AFLW defence barely alive with a draw against Greater Western Sydney.
Both teams battled hard in teeming rain at Blacktown in Sydney's west, where the Crows trailed for most of the game which finished 2.7 (19) apiece.
Check out the full match stats here
The Crows are last of the eight teams on percentage behind GWS, with both clubs six points outside the top two with three rounds to go.
Conditions made it hard to produce flowing passages of play and handle the ball, and especially difficult to take marks.
Much of the march was conducted at ground level, where both teams scrabbled furiously for possession in front of 2,409 spectators.
Ruth Wallace shows some class with this brilliant goal! #AFLW #AFLWGiantsCrows pic.twitter.com/iTfVAduXrl
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) February 25, 2018
Trailing by nine points at the last change, Adelaide scored the first ten points of the final quarter, before GWS notched a behind to square the contest.
Adelaide were left to rue missed opportunities late in their rain-drenched encounter, with scores locked when the final siren sounded in Blacktown.
"You've just got to try and win them all (now)," Crows coach Bec Goddard said of her team's Grand Final chances.
"It feels like a loss because we really had the opportunity, I think, and the girls are really disappointed."
Her frustration was shared by Giants coach Alan McConnell.
"It''s not a great outcome for either team, it makes life pretty difficult," McConnell said.
"I'm pretty frustrated, I thought we were the better team, but when you have 10 minutes as poor as our first 10 in the last quarter you pay the price."
Each team kicked one goal in the first quarter, with Rebecca Beeson hitting the target for GWS and returning vice-captain Courtney Cramey replying for Adelaide as the teams went to the break locked at 1.1 (7).
The captain shows how it's done #AFLW #AFLWGWSGiantsCrows pic.twitter.com/f5i9fwaozw
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) February 25, 2018
Lively GWS forward Cora Staunton kicked the only goal of the second quarter from a free kick, with the Giants leading by eight points at the long break.
Scoring became even tougher in a goalless third quarter in which the Giants added two behinds to the Crows' one.
Cora Staunton shows off her Gaelic skills with a nice set shot snap. #AFLW #AFLGiantsCrows pic.twitter.com/07CZqRcyV7
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) February 25, 2018
Adelaide's Ruth Wallace slashed the gap to two points early in the last quarter with a goal from an opportunistic snap followed by a behind, as the Crows dominated the early minutes of the term.
Ebony Marinoff starred for Adelaide with a remarkable 21 tackles, the most ever in an AFLW game.
Updated stats are in and Marinoff has actually broken the tackles record in AFL/AFLW, recording 21! Absolute tackling machine. https://t.co/7ABBTY6MaI
— Sarah Black (@_sjblack) February 25, 2018
Alicia Eva was superb for GWS, notching 22 possessions (nine more than any other Giant) and laying six tackles.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 1.1 2.3 2.6 2.7 (19)
ADELAIDE 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.7 (19)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Beeson, Staunton
Adelaide: Cramey, Wallace
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Eva, Staunton, Beeson, Barr
Adelaide: Marinoff, Randall, Wallace, Foley
Crowd: 2,409