The script could not have been followed better ... Eddie Betts turning it on with an amazing goal rush to seal an unexpected win against the GWS Giants at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night – in the Sir Douglas Nicholls Indigenous round.
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For all the rave reviews about the Giants, and the fragility of the Crows in the big games when it counted this season, Adelaide's win was one of their finest in years.
But it was not with drama as the Giants made an admirable, albeit unsuccessful last-quarter comeback – only to be finally floored with Betts kicking his fifth goal.
Everyone thought Adelaide had blown their chances with appalling kicking for goal in the first half – missing seven of their 10 set shots – but in a superb recovery and a huge lift in intensity they left GWS stunned.
And much credit must go to little Eddie who kicked three successive and stimulating goals in the third quarter, starting by out-bustling the much-bigger Heath Shaw in a one-on-one contest and finishing with a goal-of-the-year contender from 50 metres along the left flank.
After letting the Giants right into the game at half-time when they led by just two points, the Crows kicked 8.2 to 1.0 in the third term. Just brilliant – and Taylor Walker kicked two goals in these 31 minutes of devastation to take his tally to five.
As much as the Giants have come of age this season, and achieved numerous club milestones, they still haven't produced their best in the few night games. They have now won only two of their 11 night games since 2012, and the crowd – 46,737 – was the biggest they had confronted.
Adelaide was under huge pressure to do something against the competition leaders. They have played six of the other top-eight sides with only the West Coast Eagles to come at Domain Stadium in round 12, and won two of them – against Sydney Swans and now the Giants.
Adding credence to this win was the fact the Giants generally played terrific football for the most part. Their attack on the ball was ferocious, they produced some quality passages of play with slick passing on the run. But so did Adelaide, and the big difference between these two usually high-scoring sides was the fact the Crows denied the Giants domination at the stoppages.
The Crows have copped fair criticism for their inadequacies in this area, but Saturday worked incredibly hard through Scott Thompson, Jarryd Lyons, who has had limited chances but really stood up, Rory Sloane and Rory Atkins in just his 18th AFL game.
Adelaide's defence was as resilient as ever; there wasn't a weal link, but Kyle Cheney was one who has risen to better things this season and was outstanding in the manner in which he prevented Steve Johnson from having his usual big impact on the game.
Few thought the Crows would beat the rampaging Giants, and they seemed to have blown their chance with bad kicking for goal. To recover by kicking five of their eight third-quarter goals from set shots says something about their mental strength.
The Giants too had outstanding players including Josh Kelly and Tom Scully whose skills under pressure, pace and creativeness presented many chances for goal.
At 46 points down at three-quarter time, the Giants also showed remarkable courage to continue the fight, kicking four hard-earned goals up to the 17th minute mark to get within 20 points. The hush among the home fans was deafening as the Crows went off the boil. Suddenly it was survival mode again.
When Richard Douglas missed the easiest of shots, to take Adelaide's fourth-quarter tally to 0.4, that third-term blitz seemed so long ago. When a Toby Greene kick dribbled through arms and legs of Adelaide defenders and correctly deemed a goal after a review, the pressure was amazing.
Leading by 17 points, the Crows then endured four of their longest minutes for some time.
