Editor
Adelaide have sent an ominous warning to tomorrow’s preliminary finalists, dominating Geelong from just about start to finish in an emphatic 61-point victory.
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Final score
Adelaide Crows 21.10.136
Geelong Cats 10.15.75
A spot in the grand final – as well as bragging rights in the Patrick Dangerfield deal – is up for grabs as the Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats clash on a Friday night. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEST).
They’ve probably been the least hyped minor premiers in recent memory, but Adelaide still finished first on the ladder and are still the lukewarm favourites to make it through to the grand final.
They looked superb in their qualifying final two weeks ago, putting Greater Western Sydney to the sword in a dominant 36-point victory.
The week off did wonders for the Crows after they lost their last two matches of the home and away season, but will another week off prove too much of a good thing?
Geelong, on the other hand, had to get here the hard way after an awful last quarter saw them suffer a horrendous 51-point loss to Richmond in their qualifying final.
But as awful as that performance was, their semi-final shellacking of the Sydney Swans was infinitely more impressive.
Chris Scott’s personnel moves perplexed John Longmire, but did he play all his cards in the semi? Or can the Cats fool another opponent tonight?
Adelaide and Geelong’s two matches this season were eerily similar – with the Cats winning by 22 points in Round 11 and the Crows triumphing by 21 just seven weeks later.
In both cases the home side shot out to an insurmountable halftime lead, before some junk time resistance from the visitors saw the margin pegged back under four goals.
Geelong had enjoyed five consecutive victories against the Crows before the Round 18 clash however. The last time Adelaide enjoyed consecutive wins against the Cats was a four-game stretch between 2001 and 2003.
Prediction
Both teams enjoyed comfortable wins against one another this season, making this match almost impossible to predict.
You get the feeling the Cats don’t have a great deal of tricks left up their sleeves, however, so I’m giving a slight edge to the home team.
Crows by 9 points