ADELAIDE has kept its faint finals hopes alive, bouncing back from a Showdown loss last week to defeat Richmond by 32 points at Ikon Park on Saturday night. 

The Crows had twice as many inside 50s as the Tigers but never really blew the home side away on the scoreboard, restricting to one goal each quarter on their way to a 9.8 (62) to 4.6 (30) win. 

TIGERS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

Ebony Marinoff was everywhere for the visitors, collecting a game high 40 disposals and 13 tackles. But the skipper had plenty of support, with Sarah Goodwin (30), Grace Egan (25), and Chloe Bown (23) all getting plenty of the ball.

Ellie McKenzie and Isabel Bacon fought hard for the Tigers but were left to shoulder too much of the load.

Richmond’s inability to get its hands on the ball proved costly, with 10 players finishing with 10 or fewer disposals. 

Adelaide dominated territory in the early stages of the opening quarter, with the ball living almost exclusively in its forward half courtesy of Richmond struggling to transition the ball out of defensive 50. 

Repeat turnovers gave the Crows numerous opportunities to strike, but it was the Tigers who kicked the first goal of the game through the unlikeliest of sources. Key defender Libby Graham found herself in plenty of space on the 50-metre arc as Richmond moved the ball through the middle of the ground courtesy of Fina Dethlefsen and Caitlin Greiser.

Graham, playing in her 61st game, gathered the loose ball, put on a burst of speed, and slotted truly from an angle. It was the 29-year-old’s first career goal.

"Libbs has had a terrific season once again, she's super consistent," Richmond coach Jarrad Donders said after the game. "To see her run off half back, find her way forward, and slot a goal from a tight angle was really pleasing for her and [will be] a great highlight that should be looked back on."

But Graham’s goal sparked the Crows into action, with former Tiger Grace Egan responding almost immediately. Caitlin Gould and India Rasheed followed suit shortly after, giving the visitors a 13-point lead heading into the first break.

Adelaide dominated proceedings in the first quarter (+41 disposals, +13 contested possessions, +9 inside 50s, and +5 centre clearances), and the early stages of the second quarter was more of the same. 

The Crows' intercept game was on full display, winning the ball back and sending it forward with ease. Adelaide registered nine of the first 10 inside 50s, five of which came from intercepts in the midfield.

Adelaide coach Ryan Davis highlighted the way his defence held its shape throughout the night, shifting and sliding as needed to counter Richmond's forward efforts. Davis also gave mention to 18-year-old Ava Stewart on debut, who looked comfortable at the top level with four intercept possessions.  

But the visitors were unable to make this dominance count on the scoreboard, kicking just one goal for the quarter as Grace Kelly, Jess Allan, and Eloise Jones all missing chances. 

Richmond got themselves back into things the longer the quarter went, winning more of the ball from stoppages around the ground. Ellie McKenzie was prominent, collecting eight disposals, five contested possessions and three inside 50s. First year forward Olivia Wolmarans snagged one for the home side late, reducing the margin to three goals at the half. 

Adelaide looked to continue their ascendency in the second half, peeling off the first half a dozen inside 50s and extending their lead after Gould kicked her second. Richmond maintained composure, creating plenty of chances on the back of a greater level of pressure. Georgia Stubs goaled in the 15th minute to get the margin back to 15 points.

However, the fourth quarter was largely one-way traffic on the scoreboard, with Adelaide kicking the first three goals of the last to put the game out of reach. The travelling crowd were given a great parting gift, with Lily Tarlinton kicking her first career goal in the final minutes of the quarter to end her first appearance this season on a high. 

The Crows finished +12 for tackles inside 50, much to the delight of their coach.

"The game really is now [a] transition game, and how often you can keep the ball in your front half. For our forwards to stay engaged with the contest, get back to the feet of the talls, and be able to put that relentless pressure on was really good and ended up getting us the result that we're after."

Donders conceded his side got smashed around the ball and struggled to execute certain basic skills, was confident that the Tigers would take the right learnings out of the loss as they work towards their definition of success over the next three to five years. 

"I'm never doubtful of their effort - they'll continue to fight to the end - [but] there's passages throughout quarters where we let ourselves down," he told AFL.com.au. "So there are areas that we will continue to work on."

The Richmond coach defended the decision to play top-up players Alana Barba and Caitlin Thorne ahead of Rebecca Miller and Paige Scott, who were both omitted for the clash, stating that he was pleased with their performances.  

Crows tame Tigers in the centre
Coming into round nine, Richmond were the second-ranked centre clearance team in the league, with an average of 8.1 per game behind only Geelong (9.8). Adelaide, on the other hand, was ranked 16th, averaging 5.6. But the Crows gave the Tigers a lesson out of the middle early, winning all five centre clearances in the first quarter. Things evened up from that point, with Richmond obtaining a slight edge throughout the remainder of the match (5-4).

Different Sherrin, same story for Crows skipper
Former AFLW player Aliesha Newman had the honour of designing the 2026 Pride Sherrin, incorporating the words “love”, “authentic”, and “unapologetic” throughout. But you wouldn’t have been surprised if the Ningy Ningy artist also slipped “E. Marinoff” somewhere in the design, given how often the ball ended up in the hands of the Adelaide captain. Marinoff had 40 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 13 tackles, six clearances, and two inside 50s.

Up next
Richmond will run out under lights at Ikon Park for the third consecutive week when they face off against Melbourne on Friday night, while Adelaide kicks off the Saturday afternoon slate of games when they welcome Gold Coast to Unley Oval. 

RICHMOND    1.1    2.1    3.4    4.6 (30)
ADELAIDE      3.2    4.7    5.7    9.8 (62)

GOALS
Richmond: Graham, Wolmarans, Stubs, Ford
Adelaide: Gould 2, Jones 2, Egan, Rasheed, Marinoff, Bown, Tarlinton

BEST 
Richmond: McKenzie, McKinnon, Bacon
Adelaide: Marinoff, Bown, Biddell, S.Allen

INJURIES 
Richmond: Nil
Adelaide: Nil

Crowd: TBC at IKON Park