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It may have been another finals blowout, but last night was one Crows fans will never forget. Here are my five talking points from the match.
Adelaide thoroughly deserve their grand final berth
They were the best team throughout the home-and-away season, they’ve been the best team during finals, and now the Crows are through to the decider itself.
No club in the league deserves to be here more than they do and it is very fitting that they’re the first to officially qualify for the match.
Now we find ourselves waiting to see just who it is that they will face in the grand final, but either way Adelaide likely head in as favourites – not that that means anything.
But Gill, seriously, let them wear their home guernsey. They’ve earned it.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Motlop makes his mark, despite the loss
If the Cats cop a belting you’d usually expect some ire to turn towards perennial whipping boy Steven Motlop, but that could not be the case this week.
He was at the end of the night close to being Geelong’s best with 26 touches and a goal, backing up a strong game last week against Sydney.
The Cats have seemed firm all year in their decision to let him leave the club via free agency, and perhaps this was his last appearance in the hoops.
However after another quality performance they should ask themselves again whether it’s the right call to let him go – and opposition clubs will no doubt be eyeing him with renewed interest.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Dangerfield’s terrible horrible no good very bad day
Patrick Dangerfield didn’t leave Adelaide because they weren’t competitive or because he thought he was certain to win a flag at Geelong – he left to come home.
Still, losing a knockout final against the team you once played with would be one of the roughest experiences in footy, and probably only gets worse if they go on to win the flag.
It wasn’t through any lack of performance from him that the Cats failed to get across the line – 24 touches and two goals was a handy contribution, though it wouldn’t have hurt him to be more accurate.
Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan too carried their fair share of the load, but the Cats were ultimately done in by the fact only six of their players could manage 20 possessions or more.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Charlie Cameron comes good
There have been a few fans who questioned Charlie Cameron’s place in the team coming into finals, as his impact in the latter half of the year wasn’t always what they wanted to be.
He emphatically proved his worth in the preliminary final however, taking a great hanger and kicking five goals. It’s not often as a small forward that you show up Eddie Betts.
That kind of impact in one of the biggest games of the year is exactly what you want to see from every player, and there should be no doubt now that he deserves to be in their grand final side.
Exactly where he’s playing his footy after that is another question altogether, but not something the Crows should be thinking about right now.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
How long can the Cats keep topping up?
An interesting offseason now begins for the Cats, one where once again they’re reportedly keen on a number of different targets, and once again we wonder how they can possibly land them.
Last year they ultimately failed to get ahold of Brett Deledio because they just couldn’t crack a fair deal with the Tigers.
This year they could add all of Gary Ablett, Jake Stringer and Devon Smith, although Smith at this stage seems unlikely.
With this year’s first-round pick already gone that’s going to be mightily difficult to pull off, but it’s also worth considering whether this is really what they need.
I will, of course, be reviewing their list during the week, so watch this space.