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The Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats go head-to-head in a top of the table clash which should be a belter of a game. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEST).
Despite sitting at, or near, the top of the ladder for much of 2017, in many ways the Adelaide Crows are still flying under the radar.
At 12-4, Don Pyke’s side own the outright best record in the competition, while their percentage of 140.4 is a full 22 points higher than that of the second-placed Cats.
They’ve enjoyed victory over fellow top-eight sides in the Giants, Port Adelaide, Richmond and Melbourne and won seven of nine at their Adelaide Oval fortress and for all intents and purposes have been the team to beat in 2017.
Surely a win over second-placed Geelong casts aside all doubt that it’s Adelaide’s flag to lose?
Geelong come into this game as underdogs, but their play in 2017 has also been of frightening calibre.
A three-game losing streak in May had them looking somewhat shaky, but since then it’s six wins, one draw and one loss as Chris Scott’s chargers have hit their stride in time for a deep run into the finals.
The Cats enjoyed a comfortable victory over Adelaide in their Round 11 clash, leading at every break on a Friday night in Geelong to claim a resounding 22-point victory.
Doing the double on the Crows would see the club leapfrog into first on the ladder. It would also significantly shorten their premiership odds.
Geelong have had some kind of spell over Adelaide for quite some time, with the Cats triumphing in five straight encounters against the Crows and eight of the last 10.
The last time Adelaide won consecutive games against Geelong was a four-game run from 2001 to 2003. In the 20 games played since, the Crows have put together just five wins.
Prediction
Adelaide may be top of the ladder for now but, unlike previous seasons, this year’s competition has never found itself in the stranglehold of whoever’s on top.
Melbourne and Hawthorn have already triumphed at the Adelaide Oval, so there’s very good reason to believe Geelong, who’ve owned the Crows in recent years, can do the same.
Cats by 13 points.
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