It started looking like we could see a shootout to open Gather Round, with both the Blues and Crows playing free-flowing footy through the first quarter, However, defensive adjustments, and a bucket load of rain, tightened things up dramatically.
In that ensuing slog, it was the Crows able to put distance on the visitors, and despite the Blues showing some signs of life, Adelaide were able to maintain their lead and run out 28-point winners.
There’ll be plenty that comes under the microscope in this one, with umpiring a hot topic. It was red-hot in relation to insufficient intent, which I’ll touch on, but the number of reviews for out of bounds/lasso free kicks started to get a little ridiculous.
Lots to work through in this one, as The Mongrel issues the Big Statements from the Gather Round Opener.
You know what, I usually put a paywall up here, but I am leaving this on open. The Crows supporters were the first group to embrace this site in 2018, so now and again, I like to give back – thank you.
A POINT TO PROVE
Before each game, I pencil in two players to watch a little more intensively as the contest progresses. There is no uniformity in choosing them – I just kind of look at the individual games and which players need to make a statement.
SAM BERRY
In the finals last year, the speed of the Adelaide midfield was under the spotlight. They were blown away in consecutive games. One of those who struggled was Sam Berry, and after the first quarter of this game, it looked like the speed on the footy was going to be an issue again.
However, Berry dug in, and with some pretty stiff competition at the coalface, he started making life tough for the Carlton mids.
Plenty of handballs in tight for him in this one, as he continually fed the footy to the outside. Right up there with one of his most consistent performances for the Crows… and enough to make me not ring up the finals failures for a while.
ADAM CERRA
Okey doke… firstly, he looked rusty, and there were a couple of moments where you could watch him, and almost see the double-grab, or fumble, about to occur. I am sure these instances infuriated Blues supporters, particularly as he was always expected to be more than what he’s become.
That said, he completely went missing in the second quarter, right when the Blues needed someone to step up as the screws tightened on Sam Walsh.
I would have liked to see him eased back in, playing a less demanding role, but if he is going to be a midfielder over the long haul for the Blues, he needs to be better than he was in the second term.
So, did either prove a point?
Berry did. His work in the contest was exceptional, finishing with 18 contested possessions, as he ended as one of the Crows’ best.
As for Cerra, there were moments that may have proved the points of others when it comes to him, but not the good ones. He has some work to do, and probably needs a few weeks to get himself back in the swing.
NEW FACES IN FOCUS
In this section, I want to give a specific focus on players new, or at least relatively new, to the teams. Some have played elsewhere, and others are fronting up in their first season, so it is always worth keeping an eye on how they’re travelling.
This was a bit Carlton-heavy, so I’ve picked out a couple of Crows with limited experience to balance it out.
JAGGA SMITH
Hmmm, sent to half-forward early in the game to make way for Adam Cerra – more on that in a little while.
He was one of the very few Blues players who did not look all at sea when the footy got wet. For anyone else, 19 touches would be considered a very handy game, but I saw a few nuffies getting on his case. Once he was moved into the guts, he started finding it regularly.
BEN AINSWORTH
Very nice first half, then a disappearing act after halftime. Finished with two goals (both in the first half), but one tackle in these conditions is damning for a bloke that is being relied on to apply pressure.
The one time he did try to apply good pressure, Jordan Dawson dismissed him like he was a child, stiff-arming him to the deck before running off with the footy.
LACHIE MCANDREW
Was pushed around early against Pittonet, but fought back really well.
Conditions meant it was never going to result in a polished performance, but he took a few marks, tackled well, and ended up with the most hit outs on the park.
WADE DERKSEN
Did his job – switching between all the tall Adelaide forwards, he held his own without being a standout.
Probably unfair to compare him to the bloke he was replacing, but in just his second game, was not overwhelmed.
TALOR BYRNE
As a small forward, had just one of his nine touches inside 50, and laid no tackles inside 50. I know a lot of small forwards are rated on the number of goals they kick, but I prefer the defensive acts – they tend to create the scoring opportunities in the wet. Byrne didn’t really have much in the way of those acts to speak of.
FINNBAR MALEY
Had a couple of really solid moments, as he rotated between deep forward and the ruck.
With Darcy Fogarty out of the side, Finnbar brought some strength in the air, and when some poor bastard tried to spoil him late in the game, they learnt that he is built like a brick shithouse!
HUDSON O’KEEFE
Look, we’re not going to pretend he had a great one, but the conditions did not help him at all.
He played about a third of the game, so you have to wonder whether the Blues made a huge blunder when it came to selection.
LUKE NANKERVIS
Good to see him get plenty of it, stationed off half-back and drifting up through the wings. One thing I did notice was that a few times, he opted not to give the first option, and tried to take his opponent on. It became a little predictable, and that meant that would-be tacklers went after him and watched his hips (they don’t lie, right Shakira?)
Overall, solid.
BRAYDEN COOK
Look, he’s got 34 games under his belt, now, so he is kind of like that one thing that doesn’t belong, however, he hasn’t been a fixture in the Crows team until this season. He looks solid on the wing, and seemed to enjoy the heavier conditions.
His form is a win for the Crows to this point of the year.
Let’s jump into The Big Statements.
EVEN WITH A SHINER, JOSH RACHELE WAS GLOWING BRIGHTLY IN THE FIRST
That first quarter was something special, wasn’t it?
Just like that black eye of his that refuses to go away, Rachele was visible every time the Crows went forward, slotting three of his four goals with some fantastic small forward work.
His front and centre rove and goal at the feet of Tex Walker was perfect roving, and the very next play, he hit the outside to slot his second.
On a Jordan Boyd turnover in the middle, the Crows surged again, ending with a Rachele snag for his third, and then he opened the second quarter with his fourth.
He breathed life into a Crows team that looked behind the eight ball in the first quarter, and provided the spark that lit the Adelaide fire. Finishing with 26 touches, six clearances, and five tackles, this is exactly the type of game that the Crows need more often to take Rachele from budding star to genuine star of the game.
MICHAEL VOSS OPTED FOR ADAM CERRA OVER JAGGA SMITH IN THE MIDDLE
This struck me as completely weird. I know that the Blues have not exactly set the world on fire in recent weeks, but one of the brightest lights of the season has been Jagga Smith. His efforts in the midfield have been excellent, and he has added some great outside run and composure to the Carlton midfield.
So, they threw him to half-forward and put Adam Cerra into the guts.
For the uninitiated, Adam Cerra was the third wheel – maybe the fourth- at Freo before coming to Carlton. I’d say he spent almost as much time running around on the wing as he did in the guts, as he had Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw coming through. They were viewed as Freo’s “big three”, very similarly to the way Zak Butters, Connor Rozee, and Xavier Duursma were viewed as Port’s big three.
However, Cerra was the Duursma of Freo’s big three – not quite as good as the other two, so he up and left, looking for greener pastures. Or more navy blue pastures.
However, I am not sure that he is the answer to any questions about the Carlton midfield.
Jagga Smith could be, though.
This really felt as though Michael Voss was going for experience to try and eke out a win, rather than doing what was right for the club, which is to continue to develop the young kid that’ll end up being the prize in this midfield.
Smith entered the midfield fray in the second half, attending ten centre contests. Cerra attended 23 for the game, and truthfully, he looked shaky.
Invest in the kid – he might genuinely be worth it.
HARRY MCKAY VERSUS JAMES BORLASE WAS A RIPPER
One of our Adelaide-based writers doesn’t really rate Borlase, but I think he is far too harsh on him. Most of the people who are down on defence-first big men want them to be more than they are.
I don’t. I want big defenders to do what they do best – murder contests. And over the past two weeks, James Borlase has picked up the crazy 31 one-percenters. He is in the team to replace Jordon Butts, and he is holding his own.
In this one, he went head-to-head with Harry McKay, and it turned out to be a ripping contest.
Borlase was hell-bent on spoiling every contest he was in – no attempted intercept marks,. No thinking he was Sam Taylor or Harris Andrews, or Josh Worrell… no, he just put his fist up and spoiled the footy.
But the Blues were prepared for that, and early in the game, they had their small forwards buzzing around the fall of the ball. Sure, Borlase was going to get a fist to the footy, but they were going to be ready to swoop.
Goals to Florent, Ainsworth, and Cerra all came at ground level, as the McKay versus Borlase contest drew additional defenders. McKay may not have been clunking marks, but he was drawing attention like the time Lady Godiva showed up to court stating he had literally nothing to wear.
However, the place the Crows won this game was in their adjustments. Heading into the second quarter, the club placed more trust in their key defender, and in doing so, were able to even up the contest at ground level.
Looking at the listed best players for each team, brother of these blokes make the cut, but their contest was one of the pivotal ones in this contest.
ADELAIDE’S ADJUSTMENTS AT QUARTER TIME COMPLETELY STOPPED THE BLUES IN THEIR TRACKS
I pointed out one of the adjustments in the Adelaide defence, but the others in the midfield made a huge impact.
Sam Walsh went nuts in the first quarter. He was running like a man without a lingering back issue, which is great news for the Blues, as they signed him for about a bazillion years. The Crows knew what was going on, and they knew that allowing Walsh to continue to run unimpeded was not going to end well for them.
So, they looked to James Peatling to put the brakes on him.
How did he do?
Peatling’s strength is at the contest, and whilst Walsh is lethal on the outside, the work of Sam Berry and Jordan Dawson, in particular, assisted Peatling’s work. They simply prevented Carlton from winning the footy, and that meant that Walsh, who feasted in the first quarter, was starved in the second.
When you combine their work with that of Peatling remaining goal side of Walsh, and preventing him from providing the run and carry he did in the first quarter, they effectively shut down the Carlton engine room.
The Crows won the clearance count 15-4 in the second quarter.
Control stoppages, control the game.
The issue for Carlton was that once they lost control of the contest, they had nothing else going for them. They won the clearances 17-9 in the first quarter, but the Crows had more than one club in their bag (sorry…Fox Footy commentary about overclubbing and one-woods got to me). Their rebound did for them in the first quarter what the Blues’ defence was unable to do for them in the second.
Whilst this was a great tactical win for the Crows, the Blues once again demonstrated that once a team makes adjustments, they struggle to do the same, at least to the same extent.
WE NEED TO DIAL BACK THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS
I don’t know about you, but I think we may have taken the review of out of bounds calls a little too far.
How many were there in this game? Players were ready to get on with it, with no one complaining about the umpires’ call, when you’d have an ump put his hand up to his ear like he was a Secret Service operative, and he’d call for the ball.
The game would stop.
And then we’d have the “correct” call.
At what cost?
It just seemed to me, a league that has prioritised making the game quicker, probably doesn’t need another ten reviews per game of something as inconsequential as whether it came off a player’s foot on the wing, or not.
How about this – if the umpire clearly sees that it is off a player’s foot, pay the free kick.
If there is any conjecture, hurry the hell up and throw the fucking ball in!
We already have goal umpires terrified to make a call because they might be overruled by the video replay, and now we’re going to get boundary umpires getting jumpy, as well?
I’m not sure the game needs it. To me, it felt as though it detracted from the game.
Don’t show copious replays of it needlessly. Get on with the footy. Leave this shit to the NFL and NBA.
THE CROWS HAD MORE GOOD WET WEATHER FOOTBALLERS OUT THERE
Let’s list them, based on the evidence we saw in the third quarter.
Brayden Cook is a sure hand. Didn’t panic under pressure and made good decisions with the footy in hand.
Izak Rankine had only one effective disposal in the third quarter, but really, I kind of throw disposal efficiency out when the weather is that ad – it is hard enough to actually get a handle on the ball.
Josh Rachele’s quick, clean hands were on display in third. Again, not great disposal efficiency, but impact was significant.
Luke Nankervis actually got better in the rain. Playing behind the footy, he was able to gather well and dish off.
Ben Keays understood the assignment – move the footy forward!
And on the flip side, who did the Blues have.
Jagga Smith came to the fore in the third. More than anything, he is an intelligent footballer, and even though he wasn’t able to execute as well as he would have liked, you can see the oak tree in this acorn with him.
Elijah Hollands was one who got more involved as the ground became heavy, as well.
Zac Williams remained hard at it – similar to Ben Keays, actually. Pushed te footy forward and didn’t worry too much about the finesse.
And Nic Newman was solid down back
WAYNE MILERA HAS BECOME A BEAUTIFUL FOOTBALLER
I’m not sure how that comes across, but I mean it sincerely – he always looks as though he is one step ahead of everyone else out there, and knows exactly when it is time to disengage from his direct opponent, and help out his teammate.
In a game that went to crap in terms of skills, Milera’s class was evident for the entire four quarters. Always balanced, always in control, he is able to give the Crows both a good mid-size defensive option, and an excellent rebounding weapon.
He finished with 25 touches, eight intercepts, and seven rebound 50s in this game, and it feels like a lifetime ago that he was struggling to even get on the park. The Crows were patient with him then, and are reaping the rewards now. He is a potential All-Australian, but the issue for the Crows is, they may have too many players in that boat.
A nice problem to have, I guess.
SOMEONE SHOULD TAKE THE MICROPHONE AWAY FROM JACK RIEWOLDT
Right from the outset, I started to worry my ears were going to bleed listening to Jack. I am not sure who he has nude pictures of, but i refuse to believe he has been given such a prominent role based on talent.
In terms of being a commentator, he makes a fantastic full forward. Here are some of his gems.
He couldn’t wait to see how Patrick Cripps worked with Mitch McGovern and Charlie Curnow up forward in this game. Now, let’s dismiss the fact that Curnow now plays for Sydney, and concentrate on Cripps, the forward, who is travelling at 10% scoring accuracy this season. Yep, that’s what the Blues needed – another person missing goals.
Next up, he started talking about Zac Dawson… you know, the Adelaide captain, “Zac” Dawson.
This was before the game, mind you.
Next up, he calls for a free kick to be awarded for last touch inside 50… which is not a rule, and he follows that up with a comparison between Josh Rachele’s throw and an out on the full at the other end.
And to cap it off, we had this beauty – “The kick needs to go to the top of the 50!” This, as Ollie Hollands had the ball 60 metres out.
I’m being pedantic, I know, but when we get someone in the role of special comments, I expect the comments to be insightful, not completely wrong more often than not.
Sometimes, having a microphone doesn’t mean you HAVE TO talk all the time.
Even Mr Ed would never speak unless he had something to say.
QUICKIES
Did Mitch McGovern do the most Mitch McGovern-ish thing in this game, when he pushed Isaac Cumming out of the contest, and out of harm’s way? Not only did he give away the free kick, but he saved Cumming from a collision with the oncoming Carlton player… who instead crashed straight into Gov.
Classic Gov.
The 50-metre penalty against Max Michalanney seemed over the top. The free kick was bad enough, but that umpire seemed to think it was early 2025 with his interpretation of the dissent rule. Suck it up, princess.
The “insufficient intent” call against Nick Haynes was a bit of a joke. Gathering the footy on the line, as he was running toward the line, the only other possible option available to Haynes was to attempt to knock the ball backwards into play. And even that was a bit of a long shot.
When Jon Ralph attempted to justify the decision in the post match, it was almost comical watching him scramble for words. Reminded me of a lawyer attempting to defend someone he knew was absolutely guilty. There was no justifying that decision – another reason to frustrate fans, and not just Carlton supporters.
Oh, and the free kick reversal to Patrick Cripps was another umpiring error. With Sam Berry ready to take a free kick, Cripps ran toward James Peatling and initiated contact. The ensuing clash left Cripps doubled over, and the umpire reacted by reversing he free kick, assuming that Peatling had hit Cripps in the guts.
Of course, he hadn’t, and Cripps was nursing a sore wrist from clashing with Peatling… which was none of Peatling’s fault. This whole “uh h, there was contact, better blow the whistle” attitude, is garbage from umps. It’s a contact sport… at least for a while longer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a win the Crows needed, and they must have felt a little nervous early on. However, good teams adust, and I guess that is what separates teams like Adelaide from teams like Carlton at the moment.
The Blues are not too far away, but I guess their supporters are sick to death of hearing that. Results are what matters, and they’re simply not getting them. What this means for Voss cannot be construed as remotely positive. Watching him, he looks resigned to his fate. Even if the Blues want to back him, continued losses destroy the confidence of a group, and as the administrators of the club watch on, they’d be getting itchy trigger fingers.
Meanwhile, the Crows are now back on track. A game out of the eight and with the Saints at home next week, they’d be looking at starting their run toward the top four from here.
Remember, Blues fans, there were some screaming for Matthew Nicks to be sacked not all that long ago. Things turn around quickly… if you have the right pieces in place.
Do you have the right pieces in place?
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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