Dog of a night for the Crows.

Finally, another week is finished with and the weekend awaits. School went so quickly, but the time between Thursday and Friday seemed so far apart. But once that final bell rang to signal the start of the weekend, a long weekend in fact (although it shouldn’t be), this game was on my mind.

The match started and the 0-4 Adelaide Crows made the early running, with Bernie Vince and Kurt Tippett goaling to lead by 13 points. Ryan Griffen marked and goaled, before Brett Burton replied after some Jason Porplyzia-magic, something we haven’t seen so far this season. The Dogs got onto a run, with goals coming through Daniel Giansiracusa, Nathan Eagleton and a kick out of mid-air in the goalsquare from Mitch Hahn, the Bulldogs leading by six points. Tippett took a good grab and kicked his second to finish the first term, Adelaide leading by a point, 4.4 to 4.3.

The second quarter began and Barry Hall took a strong mark to kick his first, before Jarrad Grant showed some promise in his second game, marking and kicking his first goal in the AFL. Hahn ran into an open goalsquare, marking a Brad Johnson kick to boot his second, before Hall and Shaun Higgins kicked quick goals to take the margin out to 31 points. The Crows showed some resistance though; Patrick Dangerfield kicked a great goal after a couple of bounces and some dummies. Jason Porplyzia gathered and snapped a great goal before Chris Knights marked, played on, and drove it home for his first and cut the margin to twelve points. A late snap to Hall, his third goal of the quarter, saw the Doggies out to a three goal lead at half time, 10.5 to 7.5. The second quarter finished with a couple of spectacular marks to Porplyzia and Jason Akermanis, and I noticed a common thread in the Western Bulldogs’ goalkickers, apart from Eagleton.

The second half started and Eagleton kicked his second, before the promising Jordan Roughead, in his first game, earnt a free kick, before kicking the goal. Burton kicked his second, before Hall kicked two consecutive majors, before a late snap from Bob Murphy saw the Dogs out to a 44 point break at the last change, 15.11 to 8.9.

The final term began and, after ten minutes of no goals, Grant broke the drought with a superb snap goal after he picked it up off the ground before putting it onto his boot as quick as a flash. Tippett took a good grab and kicked his third, perhaps Kurt is returning to some sort of form. Griffen, in his best game for the tri-colours, received a handball from Roughead, and proceeded to bang through his second on the run from just inside 50, taking the lead out to 50 points. Eagleton ran into an open goal, but a late major to Porplyzia saw the final margin at 49 points, 18.13.121 to 10.12.72.

I’m not quite sure, but has Adelaide, or Port Adelaide for that matter, ever entered a Showdown with a record as poor as 0-5? If not, Adelaide has set a record. The Western Bulldogs toyed with them for the first half, before pumping away and grinding out a big win, the final margin was flattering towards the Crows though. They should have lost this game by over ten goals. That’s what the Bulldogs need to do, start obliterating teams when it’s clearly obvious that they have the four points in the bag. It’ll give them a bigger percentage, let them go into the next round with momentum, and will help bald-headed Barry head for his first Coleman Medal in his career. Only Jonathon Brown stands in his way.

Western Bulldogs 4.3—10.5—15.11—18.13.121

Adelaide 4.4—7.5—8.9—10.12.72

Goalkickers:

Western Bulldogs-Hall 5, Eagleton 3, Griffen 2, Hahn 2, Grant 2, Roughead, Murphy, Giansiracusa, Higgins

Adelaide-Tippett 3, Porplyzia 2, Burton 2, Dangerfield, Knights, Vince

Best:

Western Bulldogs-Griffen, Giansiracusa, Eagleton, Moles, Johnson, Gilbee, Hall

Adelaide-Vince, Thompson, Edwards, Davis

Crowd:

26,884 at Etihad Stadium

Votes:

3: Ryan Griffen (WB)

2: Daniel Giansiracusa (WB)

1: Nathan Eagleton (WB)