The tone was set in the first 37 seconds, as the Hawks bounded out of the gates and put two on the chin of the Crows before the home team knew what hit them.
You could sense the tension in the crowd at that moment. After last week’s capitulation to Collingwood, it was as though a nightmare was playing out before their eyes. The Hawks had come to town, and despite some nice photo opportunities with strange billboards about Crows Nests and so on, it was the home team that looked shell shocked and out of place.
Any thoughts of nerves on the Hawks’ part were dismissed immediately, and as the visitors added one more major inside the first five minutes. The heat was well and truly on the Crows again.
Despite getting the game back on level terms, from that point on it felt like Adelaide were chasing tail. Their slow start seemed to sap them of their confidence, and whilst they were able to slot three goals for the remainder of the quarter, they never really seemed in control.
And it was like the Hawks knew it.
Jai Newcombe dominated the centre bounces, with five centre clearances to his name by quarter time, and the Crows struggled to control the footy, with the Hawks punishing them on turnover.
Whilst the Hawks got five big ones from Jack Gunston, Adelaide struggled to feed their forwards, with the Hawthorn back six controlling the footy and playing tremendous help-defence.
Tom Barrass kept Riley Thilthorpe under wraps for the most part, while the combination of Josh Battle and Jack Scrimshaw gave Tex Walker and Darcy Fogarty bugger all. With those blokes doing the big jobs, it allowed James Sicily to go to work, as well.
In the end, the Crows became the first minor premier in 42 years to go out in straight sets, and the Hawks set up a mouth-watering Preliminary Final showdown with the Cats at the MCG.
Tell me that doesn’t get you up and about, Hawks supporters?
There is a heap to get through in this one, with some pretty big questions needed to be asked about Adelaide, and a lot to celebrate for the hawks.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions from the First Semi Final.
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