IT WAS viewed as the turning point of the game; the ugly second-quarter clash that rendered Crows star Jason Porplyzia facedown and unconscious on the damp turf.

Intentional, or not, young Blue Steven Browne’s hit on the wounded fan favourite turned a subdued AAMI Stadium into a bubbling cauldron of animosity and sparked a spirited reaction from the home side.

A fracas broke out inside Adelaide’s forward 50m as Porplyzia was escorted from the ground on the stretcher and young leader Nathan van Berlo said the Crows, with their backs to the wall, knew they had to respond.

“There was certainly a lot of feeling around the incident when it happened because Porps was so courageous for us last week and he’s been terrific all year, so to see him going down like that was, obviously, not a good thing,” van Berlo said.

“We just wanted to make our presence felt and let people know we’re not going to stand for blokes hitting our players off the ball. We were just standing up for our teammates, which is what we expect from each other.

“After that, the boys rallied together and said that we’d have to be first in and turn the game around because we were one down and then we lost Chris Knights before half time too.

“It was a real good test of character for the boys. We came through in the end and it was a pleasing thing for the culture of the club and the group.”

Porplyzia fronted up for Sunday morning’s recovery session and, despite also re-injuring his troublesome shoulder in the clash, is expected to play in Andrew McLeod’s 300th game next week provided the effects of his concussion subside.

Knights experienced hamstring tightness in the second quarter and scans are expected to reveal he’ll miss at least a week. Michael Doughty and Kris Massie were also excused from Sunday’s Crows Nest coaching clinic after copping heavy knocks, but both are expected to play against Richmond.

Van Berlo was one of the stars in Saturday’s thrilling eight-point win, finishing with a career-high 40 possessions and nine clearances.

With the injuries, van Berlo played 84 per cent of the game, while six Crows (compared to Carlton’s three) played every minute of the enthralling clash.

“I really enjoyed my role in the midfield and I had to play most of the game, as did the rest of the guys, because we were short on rotations. It was good to be a part of it and we had a lot of guys contributing, which we needed to get the result in the end,” van Berlo said.

“The boys are obviously very pleased with the result having been really tested with a couple of numbers down.

“To come through with the result is a great thing for the boys to hopefully draw on for the rest of the year. It’s still going to be a tough run to get into the finals but now we will have a lot of confidence.”