Much of what you take away from this game will depend on how you rate Carlton.
I mean, last week, they took down the Cats, and suddenly, people thought they were back. The previous two weeks were soft kills, with both West Coast and North Melbourne capitulating easily, but a win over the Cats… maybe, just maybe they were finding something?
If that were indeed the case, the Adelaide Crows’ win over Carlton in Round Eight is a statement – a dominant performance with winners all over the park, making Carlton look second rate.
That’s what I’d like to believe, but I also have this nagging feeling that Carlton might very well be second-rate.
Adelaide dismantled the Blues. They started at clearances, with Reilly O’Brien taking Tom De Koning’s space, and run at the footy. That led to a +26 hit out advantage, and a +8 clearance advantage. It moved to the midfield, with the dynamic combination of James Peatling, Jordan Dawson, and Izak Rankine, moving the footy from inside to outside with both precision and a sense of urgency.
And then it was a well-structured forward setup, which managed to overcome some pretty ordinary inside fifty deliveries, at times, to find avenues to goal.
Finally, the defence.
With both Nick Murray and Mitch Hinge missing from the backline, the Crows were deemed “undermanned” by several in the media. Whilst that is great surface-level analysis, the fact of the matter is that this Crows teams bats so deep now, that they are the best situated team in the game to cover absences, and they proved it with Jordon Butts and Brodie Smith bringing experience into the back six to replace those going out.
It was a comprehensive win from the Crows, and one that they should be able to use as a springboard into the remainder of the season. If you had any doubts that they were in this season up to their eyeballs, then following this game, those doubts should be erased.
Unless, of course, you genuinely believe the Blues are complete pretenders.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions.
REMEMBER WHEN EVERYONE WISHED ADELAIDE HAD TWO JORDAN DAWSONS?
It wasn’t all that long ago.
Jordan Dawson was new in Adelaide, and flittering between half-back and the midfield, with the Crows tossing up where he was best utilised. The skill set of the Adelaide captain is so diverse, he can basically play anywhere except ruck, and even though some will look at his matchup against Patrick Cripps, peruse the stats, and think they were about even, nothing could be further from the truth.
Jordan Dawson was on another level in this game, winning the footy both at the coal face, as well as spending time as a deep forward, where he was instrumental in creating scoring opportunities with his aerial ability and second efforts.
With the Crows now building a well-balanced midfield, the captain now provides the team with a potent addition to an already-powerful offensive unit.
And the benefits don’t end there.
It was in defence that Dawson was once deemed necessary. His ball use off the back of the square was quite irreplaceable, but with a couple of years under their belt, the duo of Josh Worrell and Max Michalanney have made Dawson’s presence back there unnecessary.
Who thought we’d be reading that a couple of seasons ago?
I had Worrell as the best player on the ground in this one. Sure, others had better statistical games, but the impact Worrell had on this contest was profound. Big intercept and contested marks, desperate spoils with the flight of the footy, and penetrating delivery from defence made him look like Jordan Dawson Junior.
And he wasn’t alone.
Max Michalanney owned the footy in defensive fifty, picking up 21 of his 27 touches uncontested, as he ran to space and continually left his opponent for dead.
Finally, a fit Wayne Milera has to be a sight for sore eyes for the Crows. After years of barely being a presence in this team, his return has kind of caught me by surprise. Not because I didn’t think he’d make it back, but because I forgot what he could be. His speed when he runs through the guts is elite, and his decision-making with the ball is fantastic. Oh, and his closing speed when he chases is off the charts. There is a part of me that waits to see something go “twang” when he takes off, but he is stringing together games now and looks like he has put injury worries behind him. What a bonus this is.
Look, I am sure the team would still love two Jordan Dawsons. Any team would be thrilled with just one, but the Crows have now populated their list with players who make life easier for their captain. No longer does he have to be everything to everyone, even if he is capable of being everything to everyone.
Now, he can play in the middle, drift forward, hit the scoreboard, and trust in his teammates to do the stuff the team used to ask of him.
It’s a great place to be, and for the moment, one of him is far too much for the opposition to handle.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME PATRICK CRIPPS RAN HARD DEFENSIVELY?
You probably have to have a good memory to point it out, but I reckon we can safely say that this game was not one we’ll peruse again to find evidence that it does happen.
Remember the footage from a couple of weeks ago of Tom Liberatore saying “screw it”, powering down the wing after Brad Hill, and catching him holding the ball?
It was the type of action that, at 32, that made people respect the hell out of Libba. He probably thought he wasn’t going to catch Hill, but he made the effort, anyway. Turns out, he did catch him – mowed him down and won the free kick because he did not give up.
It was the polar opposite from what we saw out of Patrick Cripps in this game.
Making the effort and demonstrating that hard work is not an elective activity is what builds a great culture within a team. I didn’t see that at all from the Blues’ skipper. What I saw was a man who threw in the towel on several occasions, and jogged on defence, whilst his opponent, and a couple more players ran away from him.
And if it is good enough for him to do, isn’t it good enough for player 22 or 23 on the list to do? Isn’t Cripps’ example the one they’re following?
The stats say that Crippa had 24 touches and kicked two goals for the game – a nice return. However, if the umpires decide he should be rewarded with even consideration for a vote in this game, they need to hang up their whistles, leave their tax-free pay on the table (yes, pay to be an umpire is tax free), and find something else to do, because the one-way running he displayed in this game is the type of play that has a trickle down effect on the team.
Compare his efforts to Jordan Dawson, who ran past a teammate to lay a tackle on Cripps in the first quarter. It was all about effort. Dawson had plenty of it, unconditionally. Cripps had plenty of conditions on when he put in.
And if I can see it, others can, as well.
WHAT TYPE OF LUXURY IS IT TO PLAY RORY LAIRD AS A HALF-BACK?
Rory Laird laid three tackles in this game.
Doesn’t sound like much, but all of them were the type of tackles that see an opposition player wake up tomorrow morning wondering why they’re so sore.
After years of playing across half-back for the Crows, Laird made the move into the midfield to add some experience and stability to the mix, but with the Crows ushering in a new era of on-ballers, Rory has once again set up shop in defence, and as always, he is having no issue finding the footy.
Right place, right time – that’s how I see the current role of Laird. He is as steady as a rock down there… or a desk, as the case may be. He continually provides that little 30 metre hit up option for the defenders to open up the game, and as stated above, if he tackles you, you damn well stay tackled!
In the third quarter, alone, he laid the two best tackles of the game, nailing both Sam Walsh and George Hewett with bone-jarring hits that the crowd lapped up.
In most of the columns I’ve written about the Crows in 2025, the word “depth” features prominently, and when you think about the fact I am talking about Laird in defence, and I have not really delved into the impact of Jordon Butts and Brodie Smith, as yet – both thought to be back-up defenders, it quickly becomes apparent that Adelaide have the cattle to take an injury hit (or a suspension hit in Hinge’s case) and make the necessary adjustments to cover. Having someone like Laird back there makes this all the easier.
HOW MUCH CREDIT DO WE GIVE TO THE BIG FELLA?
Most of the talk about Tom De Koning in 2025 has revolved around just how much coin he’ll be making from next season, onwards. A restricted free agent following this season, whether TDK stays or goes, he is likely to be the highest paid player at whatever club he is at.
If you were watching this game as the first time you’d seen him, would you have thought that would be the case?
De Koning was able to get his hands on 16 ruck taps in this game, with Reilly O’Brien playing a very intelligent game against the mobile big man. The ruck can be so tricky (also stupid) inasmuch as what is a good block if you manage to get a fingernail on the ball becomes a bad one if you mistime things. ROB did a great job of getting things juuuust right in this one, holding the space at stoppages to prevent De Koning getting a run at the footy, and using his bulk to get first hands on the footy.
I covered the hit out discrepancy in the intro – O’Brien had forty taps, himself, but equally as important, he nullified De Koning in the air around the ground.
TDK had just one mark for the game – this is where he would usually have such a huge advantage over other rucks. And when he did manage to find the footy, he was often rushed into a quick disposal. That resulted in eight turnovers from his 17 disposals.
O’Brien had only seven touches for the game, but he competed well at ground level, and even managed to dish off a running handball assist early in the game, as the Crows burst from the middle. ‘
This is a game that should hurt the TDK pride. Reilly O’Brien gets a lot of heat for stuff that goes wrong – he has hands like stone when it comes to marking the footy, and is as clumsy as they come at ground level… but he got the job done in this game, and was vital to the Crows setting up this win.
Nice work, big fella.
WAS THIS THE PERFECT OUTPUT FROM IZAK RANKINE?
Not quite – he still has moments where you wonder what the hell he is doing, like when he threw the ball away from the umpire at a stoppage and gave a free kick away, but in terms of actual game play… yeah, this was close.
Always on the move, always looking for a way to take the game on, Rankine’s movement without the footy was just as impressive as it was with it. The way he ran the lines, pushed the footy out in front of him, and dared the opposition to try to hold him and contain it – it was the type of play that sets a team alight.
His combination with Josh Rachele, up forward, gave the Crows a dynamic that the Blues couldn’t handle.
You look at Carlton’s defenders. Adam Saad is a me-first player a bit too often. He wants the footy first, and to defend second. It’s like he has an internal struggle every week to make him defend, and I reckon the Crows know it.
Ollie Hollands will be fine, but he is a spaghetti-armed man at the moment, and forwards push off him too easily.
Then there is Matt Carroll, who is a baby by AFL standards, and Lachie Cowan, who is a good, hard battler, but that’s about it. This team misses Nic Newman like you wouldn’t believe. They are asking the wrong people to do roles on players like Rachele, and when Rankine rests up forward, tings get really messy, really quickly.
Rankine finished with a couple of goals to go with his 29 touches, and two goal assists. The bloke has the ability to destroy teams, and whilst he was close to being that man in this game, he was not quite there.
I pity the team that stands opposite him on the day he does. It’ll be carnage.
IS THIS VERSION OF BLAKE ACRES AFL-WORTHY?
Nope. He is a shadow of the player that he was just 12 months ago.
I reckon Acres has to be carrying an injury that is a little more than a niggle. He looks like he has lost the running power that saw him as one of the hardest working wingmen in the game last season, and his efforts to elevate just are not there.
At one stage, he had Josh Worrell completely beaten out the back. All he had to do was put a knee into him and either draw the free kick for front-on contact, or take the mark.
He did neither.
Worrell went back with the flight, took the mark, and left Acres looking like the bloke who played at St Kilda and Freo for a few years before finally deciding he wanted to be a player in this league.
Already with some time out of the side this season, his season represents Carlton’s in several ways. It’s feast or famine with him.
In this game, it was famine. Starvation everywhere.
WAS THERE A BETTER WAY TO END THE GAME THAN BRODIE SMITH BANGING A GOAL HOME AND THE ANGELS’ “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” PLAYING OVER THE PUBLIC ANNOUNCE SYSTEM?
No way.
Get fucked.
Fuck off.
Hey, don’t blame me… I am just quoting the crowd.
That was a nice highlight for Smith, but for me, his attack on the footy in the air was probably the best aspect of his game. He knows what his role is in the team now – he is the experienced man to come in and put his head over the footy (or under it in a couple of cases today) and take a hit if necessary.
He did so, and was not at all out of place in this team, despite many thinking we may not see him in the seniors all season.
I’ve gotta give Smith a lot of credit. Some may see this year as him holding on for one more season, trying to eke out a year that may not have been necessary, however, it takes a lot of humility and understanding of your position in the team and the club to take what is an obvious demotion, and come into the team ready to deliver when your number is called.
Much respect for the way he played in this one.
WOULD YOU RATE SAM BERRY’S STOPPAGE WORK AS BETTER THAN MOST OF THE CARLTON TEAM?
Just about. He looked natural in there, and I have always been a bit of a fan. It’s just that he has been stuck behind so many for so long, that we’ve kind of forgotten how good he could be.
Reading the taps to pick up three clearances in his 37 minutes of game time, his presence in the middle added even more toughness to the Adelaide midfield rotation. When you saw him hit the contest at pace, whilst Sam Walsh, Adam Cerra, and George Hewett remained flat-footed, it reminds you that sometimes, players just need a chance to prove themselves in a good team, and maybe now that time is now for Berry?
IS DOC COOKED?
Everyone loves and admires Sam Docherty.
Everyone wants to see Sam Docherty succeed one more time after so many things have set him back.
But I fear we are now at the edge of the cliff, and Doc is teetering on the edge, about to topple over into the sea of footy mediocrity.
Largely playing on the wing in this game, he was a non-factor, picking up 12 touches for two score involvements, going unnoticed for the majority of the game. Is it time the Blues put their faith in Ollie Hollands to run that wing opposite Acres, now? Maybe the other Hollands brother, instead?
I would love to see Doc recapture some form and make me eat these words – I am a bit boy, I can be okay with being wrong – but having watched Doc on several occasions this season, I am no longer sure that keeping him in the team offers anything than won’t be improved by having another in his role.
AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS TO SEE MORE BUTTS?
Yep, The Mongrel Punt… home of the cheap joke.
Anyway, all jokes aside, I have been a big fan of Butts for a while… I’ll stop now, I swear. His pairing with Nick Murray always had potential, and it is unfortunate that we’re now at the stage that it appears as though it might be one of the other in the team at any given time.
Mark Keane is doing a great job of holding down the other key position role, and was fantastic in keeping Charlie Curnow under wraps in this one, so that means that Butts has a few weeks to prove his worth before Murray is up and going again. Can he do enough to hold down the position and make Murray work to get it back?
If this week is anything to base it on, then yes, he absolutely could. I had him as a clear winner in his duel with Harry McKay, to the point that Harry was relegated to an afterthought in terms of impact in this contest.
Of course, Butts didn’t rate a mention in the AFL site’s best players, but his role in this game was everything you could wish for from a key defender. It just so happens that he is surrounded by a cohort of defenders who were also excellent on the day, and that makes it tough for him to stand out.
But he did to me.
SOME QUICKIES
I’ve been pretty harsh on the Blues in this review, and I think it is warranted. If you can name a winner from them outside Jacob Weitering, I’d like to hear it.
That said, I would probably give Sam Wlash a pass in this one, as he cpped that early corkie and worked through it all game.
Are we in agreement that Jesse Motlop is not a midfielder?
Good… let’s never have this discussion again.
We’re only seeing it in fits and starts, because that’s what he can offer in a high-powered team, but I like what I see from Daniel Curtin. Another who is excellent overhead and will eventually morph into a powerful presence in the middle for the Crows.
I love what Peatling brings to this team. He caught my eye at GWS last year, and I really felt that his timing could not have been better to secure himself a great deal at Adelaide. Even better, he has secured a great deal, and is living up to it. He does bang the footy on the boot a little too readily, but it’s hard not to love the endeavour.
And that might just about do me, people. This was a great win by the Crows – a crushing defeat for the Blues that may have exposed what the last three weeks wallpapered over.
I am right up for the Blues and Saints next Friday night… should be a banger if the Saints bring the heat like they did this week. Meanwhile, Adelaide have the Showdown, and for that, I hand over to my South Australian colleague, Matt Oman, who will relish the twice-yearly clash between the game’s biggest rivals. I love the Showdown… cannot wait.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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