It was only my second time visiting the MCG. The first visit was back in 1998 for the grand final, so you could say that my second MCG experience probably wasn’t going to be quite up to that standard. In fact, it was an entirely different sense of occasion with the young Adelaide Crows lining up against Collingwood.
Collingwood had shown some solid form in the NAB Cup. Betting agencies had them as clear favourites for this match as well. The Victorian media seemed to be quite confident of a win for the Magpies and perhaps even a big win.
Despite this, I came to Melbourne to see the Crows win. Granted, it’s not the same team of old but you can’t help being enthusiastic about the young players coming through. Some critics might suggest that it’s a worrying sign to have 3 players debuting in the same game. It is however a sign of emerging talent.
The game itself was challenging to watch (and that’s not just because of the sun cooking us all). It had the sort of ebb and flow that makes football so special. The Crows asserted their dominance early, to the surprise of the local fans, with a four goal lead heading into quarter time. Collingwood responded in the second quarter and from then on it proved to be a great contest. The end result was a hard fought four point win to Adelaide.
The key ingredient to this win seemed to be composure. Collingwood had numerous opportunities heading towards goal but would fumble under pressure. This pressure created many scoring chances for the Crows and hopefully this will continue in the future.
The debutants Cook, Petrenko and Walker showed promising signs and will be hopeful of retaining their spot in the side that will face St Kilda this week. It was also pleasing to see Bernie Vince start the season in fine form with 33 disposals and 11 marks.
Another positive to come from this game was the full return of Trent Hentschel. It was great to see him back in Crows colours after a prolonged absence. His performance showed he is still capable of being a strong marking forward. He also proved his versatility by spending time both up forward and down back.
It was a great start to the year and the Crows will be looking to build upon that heading into Round 2 against St Kilda at AAMI Stadium. If what I saw against Collingwood is a sign of things to come, then we can all be excited about the season ahead.
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