In a night of rapid ball movement, intense pressure and high scoring, key forwards were expected to thrive with numerous one-on-one contests inside 50.
Adelaide’s tall defenders, with the job of nullifying Geelong’s tall forwards such as Tom Hawkins, were set for a big challenge on Thursday night.
It was hyped as one of the biggest aspects of the game.
Daniel Talia did well to keep the Tomahawk to just 1.1, as well as out marking him on several occasions.
However, somewhat surprisingly it was Adelaide’s small defenders that excelled.
Brodie Smith, Matt Jaensch and Luke Brown were prolific on Thursday night and the young trio are set to become household names in Adelaide over the coming years.
Matt Jaensch has had a horror run with injuries, cut down every time he is able to cement a place in the side’s best 22.
His talent is undoubted. He was the most prolific ball winner of the three Adelaide small defenders on Thursday, registering 25 disposals, including a magnificent goal from outside 50.
The Crows seemed keen to get the ball into his hands given his elite foot skills.
Jaensch’s kicking is unrivaled at Adelaide, recording a perfect 100 per cent disposal efficiency as he rebounded from his defensive 50 on five occasions.
He also sent the ball forward four times, including a magnificent 50 metre pass to Lewis Johnston midway through the third quarter.
Standing 14cm taller than Jaensch at 194cm, Brodie Smith is Adelaide’s version of Grant Birchall.
The pick 14 in the 2010 Draft, Brodie was set for a breakout year last year before breaking his collarbone in the NAB Cup, giving him a delayed start to the season.
After a strong preseason where he recorded second in the post-Christmas time trials, it would appear that 2014 is the time for Brodie to ‘breakout’.
Thursday night was certainly a good start with his elite kicking skills, strong marking and electrifying pace a highlight of the match.
The defender took the ball out of defence and down the wing on several occasions on Thursday, collecting a game-high number of bounces.
He also rebounded from the defensive 50 on eight separate occasions, a game high and the second highest for the round.
His long kicking, despite looking awkward, was extremely effective, kicking a massive goal from outside 50 in the first quarter and also registering a disposal efficiency of 78 per cent, considerably higher than the league average.
Luke Brown, the most underrated of the three, played exceptionally well as a lockdown defender during the game.
After the retirement of Michael Doughty, Brown was thrown into the deep end, matched up against small forwards, Eddie Betts, Lindsay Thomas and Michael Walters.
Brown was able to collect 20 disposals at 70 per cent against Geelong, also having four tackles, four marks and rebounding from the 50 on three occasions.
After Jimmy Bartel’s inspiring second quarter, Brown again showed his worth as a lockdown defender, keeping the Brownlow Medalist to just one more goal for the rest of the game.
These three small defenders who are 23 years of age on average, were the sole reason Adelaide were able to compete for so long against a 2013 finalist.
Between them, they had 16 rebound 50s, 63 disposals at an average disposal efficiency of 83 per cent. They also had two long-range goals.
These young stars will be able to guide Adelaide into the finals with their sublime foot skills, elite decision making and exciting pace.
They may average just 185 centimetres, but they are standing tall for the mighty Adelaide Crows.
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