It went from ugly to even uglier for the West Coast Eagles as they travelled to Adelaide to face a Crows outfit that would’ve been eager to bounce back from a disappointing performance against the Suns in Darwin.
A lot of the narrative around the Crows the past week or two is that they can’t win away from Adelaide, and a win-loss record of 1-4 away from the Adelaide Oval is pretty cut and dry that the notion is correct.
A few weeks ago, Mark Robinson crowed (no pun intended) on his little show on Fox Footy that the Crows could win it all. I am not as buoyant about that statement, but they are on the right path, and I’m convinced my pre-season prediction of them playing finals will come true.
On an evening where the club celebrated Taylor Walker’s 250th game, the Crows had the game stitched up by quarter time and then really stuck their foot on the throat of their opposition.
It was annihilation football at its finest: +101 disposals, +31 inside 50s, +39 contested possessions and +44 marks is all you needed to know about this game on the stat sheet. The Crows did what they needed and got themselves a well-needed percentage booster.
They now sit a game behind the small logjam in the teams fighting for the third and fourth spots on the ladder – Melbourne has yet to play. Still, Brisbane’s loss to Hawthorn earlier in the afternoon makes the race for the double chance a bit more interesting as we head to the second half of the season.
THE TEXAN’S TEN
It just feels utterly poetic that the milestone man is the latest player to join the club of those who have kicked double figures in a game at the top level. Matthew Nicks said he didn’t care if he got the ten during the three-quarter time interview with Mark Ricciuto: you and your bald nogging aren’t fooling me, Nicksy!
Remember that the Eagles had no Jeremy McGovern, no Tom Barrass, and not even Harry Edwards was available in this one, and it left the Eagles short on options to combat Adelaide’s tall forwards. Tex’s direct opponents in the opening half were Rhett Bazzo, Elliot Yeo and – at stages – Brady Hough and Jayden Hunt when the Crows had the ball on transition.
Tex took full advantage of the situation. By the third minute of the second term, Tex had kicked five goals, and everyone was wondering the question of how much he’d finish with. He was too strong for Bazzo and far too good for a man who’s been injury-riddled and hasn’t spent too much time in the defensive 50 since he arrived at the Eagles.
The situation was that dire Adam Simpson had to make a move and sic Coleman Medal fancy Oscar Allen onto him in the second half. To be fair to Oscar, he competed well in the air. He had to because there wasn’t much else down there for them. Tex’s eighth was on the back of Allen overcommitting to a contest on the wing. Finally enabled him to get off the leash, and the teammates sensed the occasion.
Walker had kicked seven to half-time and had been such a great contributor. It was more than just marking and kicking; he had second and third follow-up defensive efforts. The media had him on death row three years ago because he had zero scoreboard impact and couldn’t move as far and run as hard as he has since. I’ll admit, I was on board that wagon too.
His 10th goal was on the back of being able to find space where there was minimal. There was everything with his bag; a couple of long-range ones, some good ones coming out of a crowded space and just sheer brute force on the mismatch. He had 17 score involvements for 10.2 and a goal assist. He also had 21 disposals and 11 marks in this match.
Some will argue the manner of the opposition takes some gloss off the performance, but in an era where 10-goal hauls are few and far between, it won’t take away the fact that game 250 will be one we will have good memories of Taylor Walker at his very best.
DESKMAN LAIRD
When the game was up for grabs, the Crows completely broke West Coast in the clearance battle, and the leading man was Rory Laird.
Many of the flowers have gone to Jordan Dawson over the first half of the season, and sure, he came through with another 32 disposals in this game; there wasn’t as much impact on the game with his touches in the manner that Laird has.
Also, consider that out of the 34 disposals he recorded, 20 were contested possessions – the eighth time he has reached 20 or more in his career. He also added a lot across the ground; he linked up well, and many of his kicks hit targets and were important in the scoring chains.
The Crows had 18 clearances in the opening term and ten more than the opposition’s. Laird had five to his name by quarter time and finished the match with 13. It was in the centre bounces that he was utterly destructive, with eight of them coming direct from the middle. Three Crows players recorded multiple centre clearances: Laird, Jake Soligo (three) and Chayce Jones (two).
The more exciting facet about Adelaide’s midfield is that it starts with them, much more than Laird and Dawson. Ben Keays sees minutes in the centre bounce a bit more, Josh Rachele is slowly introducing himself into the midfield over time, and Luke Pedlar is taking off as a mid-forward.
Eight score involvements from Laird also highlight how good his impact with the ball is. His defensive pressure was also excellent: six tackles and 20 pressure acts from a man who has always been a terrific defensive presence.
THAT YOUNG LAD FROM DROUIN
I love a story like this; it’s almost impossible not to love the story this young lad is on. 18-year-old Gippslander Ryan Maric was given his debut during the week, just over a week after being recruited to the West Coast Eagles via the mid-season draft.
It would’ve been a rough initiation for him; he was thrown right into the Lions’ den of AFL football. But there weren’t many other options to pick from – half of the team is on the injury list!
It was a terrific debut from the young fellow. I wrote a column piece the night the Eagles drafted him, and basically, getting a player like him in is good for the Eagles’ future. Well, I’ll put it like this: he contributed more than Jack Darling did for most of the game.
And considering that Oscar Allen was thrown down back in the second half, he worked hard and got himself into a couple of perfect spots, resulting in scoring opportunities. His first shot for goal was built on the back of being clever at the right place – being in front of his direct opponent for his first mark and first shot on goal. His second goal was on the back of being able to keep his feet in a marking contest and having the balance to execute.
The Eagles had 34 inside 50s in this game, which may sound like a fair slab of the pie, but considering the state of many of their entries and how easily the ball got repelled, it would’ve been tough to get looks at goal.
But one of Maric’s strengths is his football IQ, and his smarts helped him out at various points in this game, and all in all, it’s a solid first step. He had eight disposals, four kicks for three shots at goal, resulting in 2.1 – Eagles fans would have to be happy with his contribution.
We all know his story now – I think it’s done to death and then some. I know that his body of work this year leading up to this game has shown that the kid has the skill set to be an AFL footballer, and I’m glad he’s got this opportunity and taken it with both hands.
Having seen some of his games first-hand, the Eagles have got themselves a beauty.
HAS BAILEY WILLIAMS TAKEN OFF?
There have been few positives for the Eagles this season, let alone this game. But the rise of fake Bulldog Bailey Williams has been one of the better stories of the Eagles this year.
With all the ambiguity surrounding the Eagles season, there have been some brilliant stories: Oscar Allen finding his form that many know he can find, Maric, as previously mentioned, and Reuben Ginbey living up to the pre-draft hype that came with him last November are the first ones that come to mind.
But one that’s not being as highlighted is the vast improvement of Williams. The injury to Nic Naitanui has left a pretty significant void – I’m convinced we may not see him play again – at least not at the Eagles.
But there is the positive that some rucks are coming through; Harry Barnett has been in solid form in the WAFL from what I’ve watched, and Williams is slowly coming through – he’s averaged career-high numbers in disposals, tackles, hitouts and clearances this year. This performance has probably been the best game I’ve witnessed from him, full stop.
It’s not a knock on Reilly O’Brien’s game, he had plenty of good spots in this game himself, but Williams, lesser experienced and maybe giving away a couple of kilos to him, went pound for pound in both ruck contests and at ground level. Williams matched O’Brien in the hitouts 35-37 on four more ruck contests.
The next phase is finding more consistency in his tap zones – O’Brien doubled his numbers in the hitouts to advantage count, which will only get better with the more games he plays. Remember, this is a 23-year-old fellow in just career game number 39 against a man who is athletically entering his prime and is only *checks notes* 90 games into his career? That’s caught me off guard.
The thing that impressed me about Williams’s performance is that he never once gave up on a contest he could get to; 14 contested possessions, ten ground ball gets, and six clearances are good numbers for a big man, and it was great to see him get a goal on top of it too, to cap off an outstanding individual performance.
WHO ELSE DO YOU LOVE OUT OF THE CROWS?
Where do I begin?
From the backline, Nick Murray’s job on Jack Darling in two and a half quarters was a great job. He did not lose a one-on-one anytime he was forced to defend against him. There were probably one or two times when he had to work hard and move the ball to the ground, and he did a superb job. I’d love to know why he got subbed out of this game.
Riley Thilthorpe might not get the votes in this game, but his composure and foot skills for a two-metre-tall bloke are excellent. Compared to two years ago, when he was in and out of this side, he has looked far more settled as a second-ruck/key forward and has an innate sense of where to lead and where to run: He kicked two goals and directly set up another three.
Izak Rankine had been under fire for his dismal performance against the Suns last week. He’s almost become the barometer of this side. When he is up and about, so are the Crows and early doors; he was on fire, kicking two goals, setting up another and missing one. That’s four score involvements right there, and he finished with 10 for the match, along with 3.2 and two goal assists.
Chayce Jones was excellent and needed to be because, as a high-end top draft pick (pick nine) in the 2018 super draft, few media sharks would be circling otherwise. But he’s in career-best form across the defensive half. Jones runs, spreads, creates, and links. He had eight intercept possessions and 14 kicks at 86 per cent efficiency.
Some of the older heads of this club: Brodie Smith’s run and drive out of the kick-ins were so refreshing, and those kicks always were direct and on point to a teammate. Rory Sloane was close to having a segment to himself – he had 13 score involvements in this game; two were goals, and the rest were as part of chains to their scoring. Five years ago, they would’ve been in the top five crucial players of the club, but now they’re there to help drive the standards and keep the younger players in line.
I could continue, but it’s time to move on.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Reuben Ginbey’s game was solid – he had 19 disposals, nine ground ball gets and seven tackles. Not that he’s unable to run games out, but once he builds a bigger and better endurance base, this kid will be beyond exceptional.
After being murdered in the first half by the Crows’ forwards, the decision to move Elliot Yeo into the midfield was great. He finished with 30 disposals, 12 contested, three centre clearances and eight intercepts. I see why he’s playing defence, but it was never going to work.
I liked what I saw from Zane Trew when he came on as the substitute – he dug deep, won some contested footy and at least played as he cared for the game a little bit – he had three clearances, four intercept possessions.
Xavier O’Neill had only three kicks that hit the target in this game. He will not hold his spot when the team is fit again.
After conceding the first goal to Ryan Maric, Josh Worrell got himself going in this game. He intercepted well, won some essential defensive contests and took some solid grabs – finished with seven marks for the game.
Lachie Murphy’s game was underrated; he had a couple of moments where he squared the ball up from the boundary line, hitting his teammate on the chest. He finished with 24 pressure acts– third most of any Crow on the ground.
Ben Keays’s stat line: 29 disposals, eight ground ball gets, 30 pressure acts, four clearances, and ten score involvements – including one goal and two goal assists. He’s been a key figure in their midfield in recent weeks. But I love that he is willing to do whatever job Matthew Nicks hands to him.
Lachie Sholl had some excellent defensive moments of desperation but also found himself in many dangerous spots in the forward half of the ground throughout the game.
And with all that said, that’s going to do me for this game review.
It was a result many expected, with Adelaide bouncing back. But I wonder if many of us had expected to dish out in the way it was, with Taylor Walker kicking 10 in his 250th match. They’ll enjoy the week off before travelling to Melbourne to take on Collingwood in a blockbuster game.
As for the Eagles, I’d love to know what the fans think about the situation with the club. It’s almost locked in that it will be a wooden spoon for them this year, but It feels a bit harsh to command his sacking.
The results on the field scream as if it’s an ‘untenable’ position, but I wonder if the man who fills in for him could do any better. There’s probably more to unpack, but I’d love to know from those who sit and watch them most weeks.
They too, will get the week off next week before they travel out to the SCG in round 15 and take on Sydney.
It will be an interesting second half of the year for the Eagles, even more so when we get to the off-season – it probably couldn’t come fast enough.
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