Coming into the St Kilda match I have to say that I was rather confident. The Crows performed well under pressure against Collingwood. They also had the return of Graham Johncock and Scott Thompson to look forward to. So there was reason to believe that good things would happen.
It came as a surprise that St Kilda dominated as much as they did. The Saints nullified Adelaide's powerful run from defence by applying non-stop pressure. This meant the Crows kept turning over the football and often in precarious positions. The 5 goal final margin ended up being a fair representation of how the match was played.
Adelaide did show a lot of promise though. Whilst being beaten clearly for most of the match, they maintained scoreboard pressure on the Saints. It's always a hallmark of a great team that despite not having the best game, they are in the contest. It was not until the final quarter, when Adelaide could only manage one goal to St Kilda's six, that the game was put beyond doubt.
The returns of Johncock and Thompson were welcomed with both players in the Crows best. Bock, Edwards and Goodwin also had very solid games. For me it was members of the younger brigade who shined the most though. Petrenko showcased his evasive skills once again. Dangerfield kept busting through tackles and working hard to create opportunities for his teammates. Tippett also had a strong game up forward kicking 4 goals.
The worst thing about the match, aside from losing the 4 points, is the loss of Hentschel to a quad injury. I'm sure everyone is wishing Trent a quick recovery. Another major loss will be Chris Knights who is out for a month with a fractured eye socket. These sorts of injuries hurt, but do provide opportunities for younger players to get into the team. If the young players can continue to pop up and make strong contributions then the Crows will still be in good shape.
The team now has their first loss, so it's time to get back to winning ways against Fremantle at Subiaco.
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