Brenton Sanderson has a record that most AFL coaches would sell their kidneys for.
Since taking the reigns of the Adelaide Football Club, he hasn’t tasted defeat two games in a row.
The ability of the Crows to step up after a defeat is a trait that will stand them in good stead despite a shaky start to the season.
Defeats by the hands of Brisbane and Port Adelaide meant that The Crows hosted the Western Bulldogs sitting eleventh on the ladder.
Sam Jacobs and Rory Sloane in particular had to step up after below par performances in Round 3.
The loss of Kurt Tippett has tested Adelaide in more ways than one.
Big Sam now has to shoulder the majority of the ruck work. He was run into the ground last week and needed the backup of Tippett.
He looked dominant against Will Minson and worked really hard in defence.
Rory Sloane picked up 28 possessions and looked classy in the difficult conditions.
The conditions meant that both sides had to play an in close, scrappy game and this played into the hands of the hard running ball winner that is Patrick Dangerfield.
Paddy had a day out picking up 21 disposals and kicking four goals. Richard Douglas also tested the statistician, leading the way in tackles and effective disposals.
The Bulldogs just capitulated under the pressure put on them by the Adelaide midfield.
The men from Footscray bookended the game nicely kicking two majors in the first and final quarter with 85 minutes in-between.
Four goals are never going to be enough to win an AFL game.
The bigger vacuum left by the departure of Tippett is the foil that Taylor Walker may have used last year.
Walker looks lost at times and his forward pressure is non-existent. It was unacceptable that the Bulldogs only kicked four and it is equally disappointing that the Crows key forward only kicked one.
Walker is having to work back in order to get possessions. He racked up 14 disposals and a couple led to goals.
However at times he looked unwilling to get down and dirty and defend from the forward 50. Walker had a breakout year in 2012, kicking 63 goals. If he is to repeat those feats then he needs to work harder.
It’s hard to assess the performance of the Crows in what was essentially a training run.
The Bulldogs offered nothing. Adelaide will play in the finals this year and if they get over the off-field distractions that must have impacted their pre-season, they will probably make the top four again.
Losing two games this early in the season won’t help them, but it’s not the end of the world.
They have a very talented group and if they manage to work around the loss of Tippett then they will push towards another grand final. As the Crows settle into life after the saga that Kurt caused, they will go from strength to strength.
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