This may have been Matthew Nicks’s finest victory as Adelaide coach.
After all, this is the team that is now fully fashioned in his vision of what a successful AFL team looks like.
More satisfying was how competitive the team was against Sydney, a genuine contender – in Sydney. At last, it is his team, and how good did it look, even in weather that shouldn’t allow elite talent to function? Ironically, however, as the weather conditions worsen, it’s the elite talent that stands out
Adelaide silenced critics of its slow starts with a blistering first quarter. Those criticisms incidentally were valid. There was one big difference however – the Crows started as underdogs. Adelaide is always at its best when it is the underdog.
Lachlan McAndrew continued his meteoric rise as an AFL ruckman, taking on Brodie Grundy, one of the giants of the game. Wayne Milera was unpassable at half back. But most impressive was the presence and form of Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty in the forward line. There was a vitality about the Crows forwards that was compelling.
Only two talls plus the occasional presence of Toby Murray, who, as awkward as he may seem, manages to regularly contribute with a goal, may be Adelaide’s most balanced forward structure. It certainly looked more functional than at any other time this year.
The pressure and the effectiveness of the small forwards was the best it has been.
Who would have thought such a great victory would give Matthew Nicks a selection headache?
The “resting” of Taylor Walker is a snapshot of the selection dilemma that Nicks will face when it’s finals time, or maybe even next week.
It’s complicated. On form, Walker is in the Crows best 23. But form can be deceiving, especially when you can dominate the weaker teams. The three talls can work against less credentialed defences, but the structure hasn’t been as effective against the better teams with elite defenders.
But on a shorter ground like the SCG, the centre half-forward is almost superfluous – as proven on Friday night. Both Fogarty and Thilthorpe did their best work out of the goalsquare.
Too many talls when there is not enough space is a tactical blunder, especially when the rebound from halfback on the SCG is looking for the tall forward leading from the goalsquare.
Another complication is that until Fogarty’s recent burst of potential-fulfilling form, Walker had been Adelaide’s most reliable forward. Walker and Fogarty had been the form forwards in the Crows line-up.
But under no circumstances are you going to drop Riley Thilthorpe, whose form on Friday night gave cause to believe “he’s back.”
The AFL’s match review officer last night, as expected, intervened and influenced the structure of Adelaide’s forward line for the next few weeks by handing down a three-match ban for Fogarty’s hit on Harry Cunningham, as accidental and unintentional as it was. Tex’s time is not yet finished.
But for now it’s all about Thilthorpe. He’s the vital piece in Adelaide’s forward-line structure. Before Friday night he looked a player out of touch and bereft of confidence. Injuries and enforced lay-offs can do that to you.
He needed to regain that confidence before finals time, because Adelaide won’t progress deep into September without him.
Friday night, even in conditions that did not favour big men, he looked terrific -even if his form does give the coach this dilemma. Three talls (plus a resting ruckman) has proven to be a burden in September where the premiership is won.
Note: not one tall forward has won the Norm Smith Medal this century. There’s Nicksy’s dilemma. Which two of those three will he go with?
Of course, there will always be an outlier. Fremantle’s three tall forwards (all 195cm or more) are serving them well this season. The Dockers’ tall forward line is working well, but so too did Adelaide’s last year in its dash to the minor premiership. Then, suddenly, it didn’t.
Besides the big forwards there was so much more to like about the Crows’ Friday night performance. James Borlase blanketed Charlie Curnow who is leading the Coleman Medal at this stage of the season.
Max Michalanney looked back to his best and Luke Nankervis looked a veteran beyond his years. To single a few is a little unfair because it was a terrific overall effort and propels the Crows back into contention for a top-four finish. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Surprisingly, the SCG holds no fears for the Adelaide Football Club. Of all the visiting teams to play the Swans on the SCG, the Crows have the best winning record.
Only four teams have beaten the Swans on the SCG more times than they have lost: Adelaide, North Melbourne, Geelong and Hawthorn, and the Crows are the best of them. With a 60 per cent winning rate, it’s even better than the Crows’ winning percentage at Adelaide Oval (59.81)
Maybe it’s because the SCG is not really an Aussie rules ground and if we are being brutally honest, Aussie rules football should not be played there.
The names on the stands reflect the SCG Trust’s indifference to the sport of Australian rules football that contributes so much of its revenue. It’s the Sydney CRICKET Ground, and unlike at Adelaide Oval, where the names on the stands reflect the contributions and legacies of both famous footballers and cricketers, only cricketers and rugby league/union champions are celebrated by commemorating grandstands in their honour and their memory.
Yes, the names: Bradman, Noble, O’Reilly, Trumper, Clive Churchill and Dally Messenger are all legendary. Churchill and Messenger are iconic rugby league/union names, but those codes aren’t played on the oval anymore. There are statues of Paul Roos, a Swans premiership coach and Paul Kelly, inspirational captain and Brownlow Medallist, within the precinct, but their presence is overwhelmed by the legends of the other sports.
What is worse, the ground does not have the measurements of other AFL grounds. It’s more of a circle than an oval. The SCG is 11 metres shorter than Adelaide oval and 14 metres wider. It’s no wonder visiting teams get lost on the wings.
It’s true that you should be able to play a game of Aussie rules anywhere but this is the best football competition in the world and the venues should reflect and respect that. It is not a footy ground.
Nevertheless, the SCG has been the venue for some of Adelaide’s most heroic victories, Friday night included. Adelaide’s most famous, and unlikely victory came in the 1998 finals campaign. Adelaide had finished fifth at the end of the minor round and in the ridiculous finals system at the time had to play fourth-placed Melbourne in the qualifying final. Melbourne won by 48 points.
Under today’s system their season would have been over, but in 1998 they played on – having to go to Sydney to play the third-placed Swans who had beaten sixth-placed St Kilda in another of the four qualifying finals (I said it was ridiculously complicated).
On a night when the heavens opened up and a tempest raged (Mark Ricciuto likened it to war zone), the Crows triumphed. Another step to a consecutive premiership under Malcolm Blight, who refused to let his team be neutered by conditions, travel or an opponent who had finished above them at the end of the minor round.
The premiership would come two games later. Now that’s doing it the hard way.
For now Matthew Nicks can sleep soundly, perhaps dreaming of premierships. His team is back in contention. He can sort out his forward line structure later.
But after such great win, keeping his players’ feet on the ground may prove to be just as big a challenge.
Graham CornesSports columnist