Win-loss: 8-3
Ladder position: 4th
Leading possession winner: Scott Thompson (286)
Leading goalkicker: Brett Burton (28)
Season so far
The Crows lost more than 1000 games of experience over the summer, including arguably the club’s best-ever player Mark Ricciuto, leading goalkicker Scott Welsh and first-choice ruckman Ben Hudson.
With such significant changes in personnel, coach Neil Craig concocted a plan to move new skipper Simon Goodwin and reliable veterans Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards out of their respective comfort zones in an effort to bolster Adelaide’s attack and blood the next generation of midfielders.
Craig and his Crows had their doubters heading into the season, but the restructure of Adelaide’s line-up and injection of some impressive youth, including Kurt Tippett, Bernie Vince and David Mackay, has so far proved a masterstroke.
The Crows, through their trademark competitive, uncompromising and disciplined brand of football, have claimed eight wins in the opening 11 rounds, with the only losses coming at the hands of top-three teams Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs and the unpredictable West Coast.
Craig continues to get the best out of his playing group and, despite a tough draw in the second half of the season, the Crows are well on their way to contesting a fourth-successive finals series.
Best win
Adelaide’s victory in Showdown XXIV will go down as not only one of the Crows’ best this season, but also one of the club’s greatest ever. Port Adelaide, smarting after two straight losses, came out tough and hard with the aim of physically putting Adelaide off its game.
The Crows lost Nathan Bassett (concussion) and Luke Jericho (cracked sternum) in heavy collisions during the game and were also forced to juggle injuries to Jason Porplyzia (shoulder), Bernie Vince (heavy knock) and Kris Massie (hamstring) in the brutal encounter. Adelaide was reduced to just 19 fit men at several stages in the game, but the Crows, through Vince, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards, showed courage, heart and an unquestionable desire to claim a six-point win over their bitter rivals and square the ledger at 12 Showdown wins apiece.
B&F leader
The Malcolm Blight Medal could be heading the way of several Crows players at the halfway mark of the season. Brett Burton has made a stunning return to fitness and form with three or more goals on seven occasions this season, while Nathan Bock, who has been touted as a potential All-Australian, has enjoyed a career-best start to the year across half-back.
Burton and Bock have been brilliant, but a six-goal performance against Richmond in round 11 might just have nudged midfielder Scott Thompson ahead in the race for the coveted yellow jacket.
Thompson has shouldered more midfield responsibility with Goodwin and Edwards spending time up forward and, despite fielding some heavy tags, is currently Adelaide’s leading possession winner, averaging 26 touches and one goal a game. He finished third in the club’s best and fairest count last season, and in 2008 tops the Crows' tackle count and leads the way in Adelaide’s much-heralded hardball-gets.
Surprise packet
No-one at West Lakes has been surprised by Jason Porplyzia’s emergence as a class midfielder/forward this season. The 23-year-old has threatened to become a star since first joining the club as a rookie in 2003, but injuries and fitness have conspired against him.
This year, after completing his first full pre-season, Porplyzia has blossomed and wowed footy fans with his clean hands, goal smarts and undeniable class.
Porplyzia almost single-handedly destroyed North Melbourne in round seven with one of the most dominant third-quarter displays ever seen by an individual. The ‘Porpoise’ has booted 18 goals to date and, provided his suspect shoulder holds firm, looks set for a fitting end to a breakout season.
Keep an eye on…
It has been nearly two years since forward Trent Hentschel last pulled on the Crows guernsey. Hentschel, 25, has endured a long and interrupted recovery from the horrific knee injury that required multiple operations and threatened to end his promising career.
Hentschel, through sheer hard work and an unwavering desire to get back to full fitness, is now potentially only a few good SANFL games away from a return to the AFL.
Adelaide has increased its scoring power this season, averaging 103 points a game compared to 85 last season, and the introduction of Hentschel and fellow forgotten forward Nick Gill will give the Crows even more potency in attack.
Hentschel, who some doubted would ever play AFL again, will take time to acclimatise to football at the highest level again, but his mere presence will serve as great inspiration for the playing group.
Coach's award (one-percenter player)
Adelaide took the hard line on some of its senior players last season with the likes of Jason Torney, Ian Perrie and Matthew Bode vacating their lockers at West Lakes. Veteran onballer Michael Doughty, who had one year to run on his contract, survived the cut and has repaid Neil Craig’s faith with arguably a career-best start to the season.
The 28-year-old is fitter and stronger than ever before and has inspired teammates with his supreme defensive efforts. Doughty, who is second in the club’s tackling, is still one of the lesser known players in the Adelaide line-up, but his importance to the young midfield has been highlighted by Craig on several occasions this season.
Second-half story lines
Will Adelaide continue to surprise the football world (particularly those across the border) and hang on to fourth spot?
Can impressive youngsters like Kurt Tippett, Bernie Vince and David Mackay go the distance in their first full AFL seasons?
Are the Crows genuine premiership contenders? Craigy’s men have taken all before them so far this season, but how will they fare against the best sides in the competition over the coming weeks?
The run home:
Round 12 – Hawthorn at AAMI
Round 13 – Brisbane Lions at the Gabba
Round 14 – Geelong at AAMI
Round 15 – Collingwood at the MCG
Round 16 – Port Adelaide at AAMI
Round 17 – Sydney Swans at the SCG
Round 18 – Carlton at AAMI
Round 19 – Richmond at AAMI
Round 20 – Essendon at Telstra Dome
Round 21 – St Kilda at Telstra Dome
Round 22- Western Bulldogs at AAMI
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
