1. Counter-Boxing Kangaroos
Last Friday it was North throwing all the early punches, but not landing enough against the Hawks. Roles were reversed on Thursday night. Adelaide came out swinging in an impressive opening term. They were more physical than the Roos early and they were a step ahead of them. But the Crows only led by 18 points at the first change. North’s response in the second term was superb. The midfield worked its way on top and the Kangas’ forwards nailed the chances they missed against the Hawks. Ben Brown and Lindsay Thomas were dangerous, while Mason Wood kicked a goal and gave away another to Brent Harvey after a superb pick-up in the wet. The Roos led by four points at the long break despite having six fewer scoring shots.

Full match coverage and stats

2. Atkins' point of the year contender
The commentators were searching for superlatives, and the scribes had described it as a goal of the year contender. Rory Atkins’ kick was seemingly the left-footer’s equivalent of Eddie Betts’ goal from the same pocket earlier in the month - or so we thought. The midfielder found the ball on the boundary in the early minutes of the match and, like Betts, he avoided a tackle but where Eddie snapped it back on his right, Atkins perhaps achieved a higher degree of difficulty with a left foot checkside. The only problem was Jack Ziebell got a fingernail on it. Players had returned to the middle, before the goal review overturned the decision to the Crows’, crowd’s and commentators’ great disappointment. 

3. Stoppage Wizardry, then Tex spark Crows in third
There was an uneasy feeling around Adelaide Oval at half-time. The local side controlled much of the first half but wasted chances as indicated in their 4.13 scoreline. They trailed at the long break but two superb goals from stoppages after the break helped ease the tension and set the Crows on the path to an important win. First Matt Crouch blasted around his body from 40m to kick a goal when he had no right. Eddie Betts did likewise two minutes later, rolling one through in traffic out of a stoppage, then Taylor Walker made it three outrageous goals for the opening 10 minutes of the third term when he marked and wheeled around to kick truly from 60m. It set Adelaide on the path to four important premiership points. 

4. Lustrous Lindsay
You don’t need free kicks when you can kick them like Lindsay Thomas. The controversial small forward provided yet another umpiring talking point midway through the second term when he was awarded a dubious free kick after accentuating a hold by opponent Rory Laird. But everything else he did paled into insignificance in comparison to his stunning checkside goal on the left foot off one-step in the third term. Ben Cunnington handballed to Thomas whose banana from the pocket was a genuine goal of the year contender. He kicked another major moments later as the Roos took the lead against the trend. 

How the fans saw it

5. Too many Crows to shutdown
It’s highly unlikely both Adelaide and North will finish the minor rounds in the top four. With that in mind the stakes could hardly have been higher as they entered the final term separated by less than a goal. In the wash, it was weight of numbers and weight of class that told the story. The Crows were wasteful all night and kicked the most behinds (28) in their history. None of their forwards had massive nights but between them they helped amass 40 scoring shots in tough conditions. Eddie Betts, Tom Lynch, Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins, and Mitch McGovern all looked dangerous at times and had their moments. The pressure of their midfield led by Matt Crouch and Rory Sloane meant much of the game was played in Adelaide’s half. Eventually they made North pay. For the second game in a row the Crows absolutely dominated a good team in the final term. They Crows have now won five on the trot and have a massive chance to push into the four in coming weeks.