Round 23 – Adelaide v Collingwood (Floreat Pica Society)

 

Adelaide v Collingwood

7:35pm, Saturday August 16th

Adelaide Oval

 

 

 

Pre-game
There’s been a lot of hype coming into this game about how big it is. There’s been our form (the less said, the better) on one hand, and our record against Adelaide and Adelaide Oval and our ‘back against the wall’ situation on the other. I want to feel hopeful but it feels too risky! We’ll see if my anxiety is justified soon enough!

 

 

First quarter
We start well! This, too, feels dangerous to think or say out loud. We get the first goal of the game from Membrey, who is just so reliable. Goals from Elliot, Houston and another to Membrey follow, with just one to the Crows somewhere in there. A goal from DC after the siren is a bit of icing on the cake for the quarter. We’re dominating inside 50s, and while it would be nice to have a bit more on the board to show for it, I’ll take it. Our pressure has looked more like us, ball movement has looked more like us, and it feels like maybe the ‘abandon all hope (ye who enter here)’ for the season might maybe be premature.

 

Adelaide: 1.2.8
Collingwood: 5.3.33

 

Second quarter
See, I knew I shouldn’t have thought anything good! Adelaide get five unanswered goals for the quarter, despite us continuing to do well at clearances (the contract re-sign maybe lifting some weight off DC?) and continuing to get inside 50s. They’re often shallow though, and not many are marked. A frustrating quarter. But, the score is close despite the unevenness of this quarter thanks to our good start, so we’ll see what we can do in the second half.

 

Adelaide: 6.3.39
Collingwood: 5.4.34

 

Third quarter
We start the half with three behinds, one to Adelaide, and then another behind. Agony! The AFL website kindly lets me know that to this point, we haven’t scored from a defensive 50 launch despite 14 attempts tonight. The Crows get the first goal of the quarter from a goal it feels like shouldn’t have happened. Maynard gets shoved in the back, tumbles forward, and misses the opportunity to contest for the mark. Despite what should have been a blatant free to Maynard (for an act the whole football world has been crying out to stamp out all year), Crows get a 50 for Maynard’s protesting, and a sure goal. Thankfully, our Billy answers back just before the siren to close the gap again.

 

Adelaide: 7.4.46
Collingwood: 6.8.44

Fourth quarter
And so began an agonisingly frustrating quarter. So many little things the umpires theoretically should just let go got called as frees; there were missed throws and missed time wasting kicking the ball away, and frees for clear staging and deliberates given to the team that kicked the ball out of bounds. It was exceedingly frustrating, but also (trust that I’m saying this in a begrudging tone), we had lots of opportunities to win anyway and we just didn’t. Our goal efficiency was woeful – eight goals from 71 inside 50s. But, while we lost, we played more like ourselves and I feel less despondent about finals now, and I think that’s true for lots of Pies supporters. Steve’s optimism might be infectious!

 

Adelaide: 9.5.59
Collingwood: 8.8.56

 

Horsbrough Medal votes
3: Darcy Cameron – so good to see him playing like himself again. Played a great game, had a goal, yay.
2: Nick Daicos – was everywhere, and that goal!
1: Jack Crisp – played his best game in a bit, 13 tackles too; contributed to our return to ‘Pies Pressure’.

 

 

 

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