South Australian fans will be in for a treat when the Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats face off in a potential grand final preview at the Adelaide Oval this Friday night.
The Crows have been the best team in the competition by a country’s mile; other than sitting on top of the ladder, they are ranked first in attack and third in defence, only behind Port Adelaide and the Sydney Swans.
Don Pyke’s men started the season with six straight wins, the first time they’d achieved that in their club history, before enduring a form slump which saw them lose four of seven matches between Rounds 7 and 14.
This included a 59-point humiliation at the hands of 17th-placed North Melbourne in Hobart in Round 7, in which the Crows conceded ten goals in the opening quarter while not scoring at all themselves.
They also lost to Melbourne and Hawthorn at home, while their 22-point loss to the Geelong Cats in Round 11 kept them winless at Kardinia Park since 2003.
Other than that, the Crows have been so hard to beat at home, that their smallest defeat so far this season was by 56 points against the GWS Giants in Round 1.
It remains as their only win over a quality opponent at home this season.
After that aforementioned form slump, the Crows have got their premiership aspirations back on track, scoring a hat-trick of wins over Carlton, the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne to reclaim top spot on the ladder.
This has them well and truly poised to score their first win over the Cats since 2013 at the Oval this Friday night.
Once again, Chris Scott’s men have quietly gone about their business as they look to claim another premiership while their window is still open.
The Cats won their first five matches before failing to overcome hurdles posed by Collingwood, the Gold Coast Suns and Essendon between rounds six and eight.
Their poor post-bye record also continued when they lost to the West Coast Eagles in Perth in Round 13, while they fought back to force a draw against the GWS Giants in Sydney in Round 15.
Last week they overcame an aggressively-finishing Hawthorn side to win by three points, the victory made all the more impressive given reigning Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield played on one foot for the most part.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
This has placed him in doubt for Friday night’s blockbuster against his old side, while it could also derail his chances of playing a milestone 200th AFL game at home in Round 23.
His departure from West Lakes at the end of the 2015 season, which was marred by the shock death of coach Phil Walsh, left behind questions as to where the Adelaide Crows sat in the pecking order.
For the second time in twelve months they had to appoint a new head coach, and Don Pyke would be given that responsibility, having just been part of the West Coast Eagles’ coaching panel that took the club to the grand final.
They started modestly, splitting their first eight games, and were in prime position to secure a double chance until a fatal final round loss to the Eagles saw them eventually settle for fifth place on the ladder.
The Crows would thrash North Melbourne by 62 points in their elimination final before bowing out to the Sydney Swans by 36 points in the semi-final at the SCG the following week.
Many believe that the lessons learnt from last year, in particular that loss to the Eagles in which they were without Rory Sloane due to suspension, has set them up for premiership success this year.
True to form, the Crows unleashed their anger on the GWS Giants at home in Round 1, thrashing last year’s preliminary finalists by 56 points and not looking back since.
They have spent the entire season to date in either first or second place this year, and are in the box seat to claim just its second minor premiership and first since 2005.
However, whether they can perform when it matters most will remain to be seen, with many of its fans constantly getting frustrated over its recent underachievements in September.
On the flipside, Dangerfield’s arrival at Kardinia Park at the start of last year would have an instant impact on a side which, in 2015, missed the finals for the first time since 2006 after a golden era saw them claim three premierships from four grand final appearances.
He was easily best-on-ground when they defeated Hawthorn in Round 1, and from that point the rest of the field would be made to play catch-up as far as favouritism for the Brownlow Medal was concerned.
Dangerfield would eventually claim the AFL’s highest individual honour at year’s end, scoring a whopping 35 votes and finishing a country mile ahead of the second-best player, Sydney Swan Luke Parker who scored 26 votes.
So far in 2017 the 27-year-old, who recently became a father for the first time, has not disappointed, gathering at least 20 disposals in every match including a season-best 45 in the drawn match against the GWS Giants in Round 15.
Whether he plays this Friday night or not will be a major subplot to the match, but his former club, the Crows, should prepare in the anticipation that he does, for various reasons.
In three matches against them, Dangerfield has gathered exactly 100 disposals – 33 and 36 in rounds eight and 18 respectively last year, and 31 when the teams met earlier this year in Round 11.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
It is proof that the Moggs Creek resident always seem to lift when he plays his former club, as is the case elsewhere with other players and their former clubs (think Buddy Franklin when he plays against Hawthorn).
For the Crows, shutting him down will be one thing, while trying to end their hoodoo against the Cats will be another, the Crows having not beaten them (or Hawthorn or Carlton^) at the Oval since moving into the ground in 2014.
Also at stake is top spot on the ladder, and with the Cats having recently scored a draw against the Giants, a win would take them to outright top spot on the ladder, now that percentage does not matter anymore.
It promises to be a massive Friday night blockbuster so therefore don’t be surprised to see both teams leave little on the field as the race for the minor premiership continues.
Note that the 17-point win over Port Adelaide in Round 3 does not count because it was Port’s home game.
^ – the Crows have not yet played Carlton at the Adelaide Oval.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
Adelaide's Taylor Walker has thrown his support behind a 'captain's call' in order to prevent umpiring blunders, which the Crows have been on the…
Controversy has erupted following Essendon's thrilling three-point victory over Adelaide, with an umpire under fire for his decision to not award the Crows a…
Over the next few days, all discussion of Essendon's three-point win over Adelaide will likely centre on the decision, in the final seconds of…
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Former great David King has blasted Match Review Officer Michael Christian's decision to not suspend Port Adelaide star Zak Butters for his high bump…
