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The Adelaide Crows will be looking for their first back to back win since Round 6 when they take on the Greater Western Sydney Giants at Spotless Stadium today. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 2:10pm (AEST).
Since defeating the Western Bulldogs, for three straight wins, Adelaide has become a rollercoaster team in the competition. One week they are at the top of their game, the next week, they are poor and inconsistent.
Since Round 7 the Crows have gone on an 8 match streak of losing one week and then winning the next. This continued last week against Port Adelaide.
After losing to the Bombers in Round 14, and being written out of the finals race by the media, the Crows responded by beating the Power in Showdown 37.
It was Adelaide’s best win of the season and the first time any team had defeated the Power at Adelaide Oval.
It also reignited their finals hopes as other results went their way. With the Gold Coast and North Melbourne losing last week the Crows are one game away from the top 8.
A loss by either Gold Coast or North Melbourne this week, and a win by the Crows, could see them inside the top 8 at the end of Round 16.
In order to do that they need to stop the one win, one loss, streak they are currently on. Standing in their way this week is an improved Giants team who have been good at home.
The Giants have won three of their last five matches at the stadium, including an 8 point win over Carlton in the last match at the venue. Despite suffering a 46 point loss to Sydney last week, the Giants have been impressive over the last month.
Wins over Carlton and Brisbane, and an impressive performance against the Hawks in Round 11 have seen the Giants move off the bottom of the ladder. They will be looking for good performances over the next 8 weeks to avoid the Wooden Spoon for the third straight year.
If Adelaide don’t turn up for the match, and play poorly, then the Giants are capable of beating the Crows for the first time in their history. Unfortunately for the Giants, they don’t have a good record against the Crows.
In four matches against Adelaide the Giants have lost them all by an average of 91 points. At Spotless Stadium, the Crows have scored an average of 182 points.
In the last match between the two in Round 5 the Crows won by 65 points at Adelaide Oval. The Giants though are a different team to the one’s that got beaten convincingly by the Crows.
The match looks to be one that is decided by the midfield and the defence of each team. Adelaide smashed Port Adelaide in the contested possessions last week, gaining 30 more than their rivals. They also won the centre clearances 15-11.
This week they face the number 1 team in the competition for clearances. If the Giants can win this area then they are a chance to win the match.
The other area of fascination is in each team’s defence as they try to cover the tall forwards from the opposition. GWS, with Jeremy Cameron, Adam Tomlinson, and Jonathon Patton, have three tall players in their forward line.
Adelaide, with Taylor Walker, Tom Lynch, James Podsiadly and Josh Jenkins, has four tall players to choose from.
Adelaide looks to have enough cover to counter the tall forwards of GWS. The Giants, on the other hand, will have a tough challenge stopping the four tall forwards.
Tom Lynch looms large as the man who could hurt the Giants the most. The last time the two teams at Spotless Stadium he kicked 10 goals and dominated in the forward line. With his running capacity, and his coverage of the field, it looks to be a match-up the Crows can utilise over the match.
Adelaide has made four changes to the team that won the Showdown. Ricky Henderson returns from an ankle injury to play his first game of the season. He is joined by Ben Rutten – who announced his retirement at the start of the week – David Mackay and Rory Laird.
GWS has made 3 changes with Toby Greene returning to the team after the club imposed a ban on the 20 year old after he was arrested for assault in Melbourne. He is joined by Tom Scully and Zac Williams in the team.
Adelaide should be too strong for the Giants and I see them winning to continue their challenge for a top eight spot.
Adelaide by 40 points.
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