The thrilling victory sees the Crows in fifth spot on the AFL ladder, albeit temporarily, and has ensured the club’s finals hopes remain alive.
Adelaide, not for the first time this season, was forced to overcome injury when it lost playmakers Jason Porplyzia (knocked out) and Chris Knights (hamstring) in the first half and Craig said his team was to be commended for their courage.
“To be able to get that win against a side that jumped us early and to have to play with 20-odd players for a half of football, on top of the premiership table situation, it was an enormous win,” Craig said after the game.
“And it will hold us in good stead, not only this year, but for the future of this playing group.
“I just thought it was a fantastic win for our playing group with the two guys that went down both being key players for us in the last couple of weeks.
“To battle on like we had to in the second half, and even when Carlton came at us in the last quarter, I thought our guys still held their nerve and continued to attack.”
Porplyzia was taken from the ground on a stretcher in the second quarter following a nasty collision with Carlton’s Steven Browne.
The classy forward, who received heavy attention from the Blues’ defenders all day, was knocked out in the clash and also re-dislocated his troublesome shoulder.
Craig, who was hopeful Porplyzia would be fit to tackle Richmond next week, said the young star’s willingness to take the field was one of the more courageous acts he’d ever seen on a football field.
“Jason Porplyzia is showing enormous courage to play AFL footy and to perform with a shoulder that comes in and out. I’m not sure if anyone here has ever had that injury, but there is pain involved. He’s doing a great job for the team,” he said.
“The important thing here is that, he’s not just taking the field and being a number out there, he’s actually contributing, very strongly. It just adds to his profile and what a lot of supporters think about Jason Porplyzia. He’s a legitimate AFL player.”
Craig also heaped praise on tagger Rob Shirley, who restricted superstar Chris Judd to 15 possessions while picking up two crucial goals of his own.
“It was a great effort by Shirls because Judd is a fantastic player, as we know, and you could even witness that towards the end of the game when Judd chased van Berlo; it was a 50m run from him,” Craig said.
“It was a great effort from Shirls to do what he did and he had some help from his teammates as well.”
Craig was visibly pleased after the stirring win and said it was reflective of his team’s competitive and resilient nature.
“That five-week losing streak earlier this season tested everyone. I’m just really proud of how the playing group have gone about the business and kept really strong in the mind,” Craig said.
“I’m sure our supporters would be really proud of the playing group at the moment with the way they’re going about their work. We’re not the best team in the competition, we understand that, but our supporters would be driving home with a smile on their puss.”
