Crows hold steady for McLeod

ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig said Saturday afternoon’s game against Carlton couldn’t have panned out any better for new games record holder Andrew McLeod and his teammates.

The Crows held the typically high-scoring Blues goalless in the first half and also worked hard offensively to lead by 55 points early in the third term.

Adelaide fans endured a nervous third quarter after another brief lapse, but Craig said he was pleased with the way his charges responded to record their first win at home this season.

“We played some good footy last week in the first half against the Brisbane Lions and the summary of the day [today] was that we saw it for a bit longer again,” Craig said.

“From a coaching perspective, I didn’t feel today the way I’ve felt in the [third quarter of the] previous two weeks. I thought we were still in the game and had some control of it and our last quarter was fantastic.

“We’ve improved from last week, as we did from the week before, so hopefully we can continue to do that.”

Craig lauded his team’s defensive effort and, in particular, veteran Michael Doughty for his tagging role on Blues’ skipper Chris Judd.

Rob Shirley, who was unavailable for selection after being suspended while playing in the SANFL, was Craig’s preferred option for the Carlton match winner.

But Doughty put in a supreme effort to restrict Judd to 19 possessions, including just two in a defining first quarter, while racking up 26 touches and a goal of his own.

“Michael Doughty was absolutely fantastic. It was a big role because Chris is a champion player,” Craig said.

“To do that sort of job on Chris Judd requires not just one player’s effort but a team effort.

“If we, or any side this year said they’d hold Carlton to no goals [for a half] coming into the game with the side they’ve got, they’d say you’re an idiot.”

Craig said the win was good reward for his side, in particular its younger members, after three tough losses on the trot.

He labelled David Mackay’s game as outstanding and recognised inaccurate forward Patrick Dangerfield (1.4) for his “special qualities”, but arguably the most impressive youngster was defender Andy Otten.

Otten, 20, has taken to his new role in defence with aplomb and picked up a goal -- his first in AFL -- to go with 23 possessions and seven marks against the Blues.

“Andy’s taken over a pretty significant role if you just sit down quietly and think about it; we had Nathan Bassett playing in that position,” Craig said.

“Nathan was a hardened AFL defender and meant a lot to us as a club, so for Andy to go back there and slot in … he’s coming along nicely. He looks a touch slow, but he’s not.”