Poorly coached Giants no match for all-conquering Crows

The Adelaide Crows could not have opened the 2017 finals series in more emphatic style than they did with their dominant win over Greater Western Sydney.

When there’s a big result like this in a final, with everyone watching, there are always two stories to come out of it – Adelaide confirmed their premiership favouritism; questions will get asked about how it all went so wrong for GWS.

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Firstly, the Crows.

Rory Sloane’s absence was supposed to tip the midfield battle in favour of the Giants, particularly in light of how Adelaide has struggled at times this year when he was tagged.

To further pile on the pressure, Brodie Smith, a valuable half-back and midfield runner, went down with a suspected ACL injury early in the game.

In theory, the Crows were two prime movers down, taking on one of the most brilliant midfields in the competition.

But, true to their historical form, Adelaide covered for these losses and continued on with business. They adapted to the wet weather, and reduced their possession count, only recording 340 disposals against a season average of 395.

There was no one player that stepped up to obviously fill these roles in the side, and the highlight for the Crows was their organisation and system. It is their number one weapon in the race for the flag.

(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Adelaide set up better than GWS when they didn’t have the ball, and looked more dangerous, with more options, when they did have it. Watching the match on TV, it was rare to see the Giants outnumber the Crows when the ball was in dispute in general play. When Adelaide was outnumbered, it wasn’t for long.

Josh Jenkins kicked the last goal of the first half, which was the Crows eighth in a row.

The play that led to the goal started with a stoppage in the back pocket, where Adelaide out-numbered their opposition.

They were able to move the ball to half back, where they didn’t have the numbers initially, but by the time the ball was won they did. The ball moved through the wing with greater numbers, and at the end of it, the Crows still had Eddie Betts and Jenkins by themselves ahead of the ball.

Don Pyke has his side playing true team football. They keep working for each other, they keep running to provide each other options both offensively and defensively, and they are well educated in reading the play, knowing how to run smartly.

On the flip side, GWS were shown up in many areas of the game.

Firstly, the Giants looked too tall at selection, given the wet conditions they game was played under. There are times when Jeremy Cameron, Jonathon Patton and Rory Lobb works okay playing in the same side, but there are just as many times when it doesn’t.

Are Leon Cameron and his coaching staff ruthless enough to leave out one of those talented talls, especially in an era of forward pressure?

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

At their best, the Giants are renowned for their ball movement, but in too many games they haven’t been able to play with any fluency. There was none on display on Thursday night. The talent is still the same as it’s always been.

Leon Cameron had two weeks to prepare for Don Pyke’s organisation, yet the Giants had no answers. They were unable to break down the Adelaide defence when driving the ball forward. They were unable to stop the Crows scoring options in the first half when the heat was in the game.

GWS had more possession on the night, yet Adelaide adapted to the conditions, recording 217 kicks and 123 handballs, a kick to handball ratio of 1.76 against a season average of 1.24. The Giants, with 194 kicks and 160 handballs, had a ratio of 1.21, which is almost identical to their season average. Part of that is due to the Crows pressure, which forces more handballing to free up a loose player.

The Giants are a poorly coached side, and this was shown up on the big stage of prime time finals football.

Leon Cameron inherited a club with more latent talent on its list than any other. That talent has taken them to two consecutive top-four finishes, but they have now been found wanting for both structure within games, flexibility of game-style depending on opposition, and adaptability to conditions.

Adelaide now get another week off, to prepare for hosting one of Sydney, Essendon, Geelong or Richmond. Don Pyke will be watching all teams closely.

GWS now move into the cut-throat final stage, against the winner of Port vs West Coast. At face value, it’s a softer final for them, and they’ll be favourites to win.

They’ve got a week to get their house in order.