In summary
Buddy says it is one of the better wins he has been involved in. And there have been a few. A lot of criticism in the post-game on Adelaide bottling it, not least letting Sam Reid free for that goal out of nowhere to put the Swans within a kick. It was the moment, on reflection.
The implicatons on the ladder... if the Swans finish fifth, the loser of 1v4 will play the Swans. G’luck with that! They go to bed fourth tonight, mind. Adelaide, meanwhile, will still probably finish top. But will need to win next week against WCE in Perth.
They’re singing the song in the Sydney rooms, which is probably my cue to sign off. Thanks for your company tonight. Be sure to stick with Guardian Australia all weekend with the Sportwatch blog, kicking off again at lunchtime tomorrow. Night!
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Moment of the night.
You will see this a few times on highlights packages over the years, long after it has been forgotten who won tonight. It’s even better on the replay.
This was Buddy amazing! #AFLCrowsSwans pic.twitter.com/kpK5ihbvYq
— AFL (@AFL) August 18, 2017
FULL TIME: Sydney Swans 13.5.83 def Adelaide Crows 11.14.80
The scoreline tells it all, the Crows having every chance to win this but throwing it away with their kicking. Through the second half the home side controlled the ball out of the guts, but Sydney are the best defence in the comp for a reason. In the end, the losing side won the inside 50s by a margin of 62 to 42. Remarkable.
Of course, their win was set up by the jump they got early taking a 29-point lead early in the second quarter. But Adelaide hung on then pounced. The last quarter they were flying, three brisk goals giving them their biggest lead of the night, nine points. But goals to Reid and Papley - a gem to win it - shifted the dial to the Swans at the perfect time. All their vast experience was on display in the final moments, slowing the game to a crawl. What a game.
SYDNEY BY THREE POINTS!
Precious seconds tick down. Adelaide aren’t able to penetrate, Sydney have thrown the proverbial kitchen sink here, numbers behind the ball to turn the last few minutes into a slog. Nothing doing at all for the hosts. Exhausted. Crouch can’t take it away clearly at the end, securing the Sydney Swans a famous victory! Sydney by three points!
Q4 4:30 remaining. Crows 11.14.80 v Swans 13.5.83. Sydney back in front! Two in a minute as Papley gets the ball at ground level and does what he does best. Kept composure when he could have gone to the deck as well, wasn’t expecting the ball as it landed with him. Adelaide crowd stunned into silence. They need at least one more, probably two.
Q4 5:10 remaining. Crows 11.14.80 v Swans 12.5.77. Sam Reid! Just as he did at the end of the third, the big man has popped up at a crtitical time for Sydney to keep them in the game. Surely this ends within a kick either way. That kind of night, that kind of season.
Q4 8:45 remaining. Crows 11.13.79 v Swans 11.4.70. Held! I was calling it from here, the umpire agreeing. McGovern at the traditional CHF position went long to the hot spot, the outnumbered Swans’ defence got all grabby, Jenkins pulled down in the contest. The experienced hand wasn’t going to allow another mistake from a set shot, slotting it straight through the middle from 25m. Adelaide extend their lead to nine, the most they have been in front by all night.
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Buddy ferocious. Creates half a chance up the other end, but nothing comes from it. He’s in the game, winning another free at crntre half-forward. Inside 50, Heeney centres put cannot find hands. Nor can Papley, Betts for Adelaide engineering the clearance instead. Composed footy from Adelaide, Sydney should have scored in that surge. TALIA DOWN AGAIN BEHIND PLAY! It isn’t the ankle that he hurt before, reaching for his head as the trainers take a look. He’s pushing them away; wants to stay on. All happening!
Q4 12:00 remaining. Crows 10.13.73 v Swans 11.3.69. Walker has done it! McGovern puts him into space after a turnover, the big man playing his 150th has all the time in the world running towards the goal mouth, but bangs it on the boot. Goes along the ground but thankfully for the home side it doesn’t matter, just sneaking in. The Crows, at last, are in front!
Peppering the 50, but not the board. The Crows have it permanently in their arc. Must find a way through the big sticks. Kennedy sprays a clearance out on the full from the side of his boot, giving them another chance to go inside. Riley Knight has the chance to bring it back but elects to go himself from 52 where the arc meets the boundary. It’s a bold attempt, and he misses. In keeping with the theme. Two points the difference, 12 minutes left.
Adelaide dominating the clearances now. Jacobs the most important man on the field, giving fantastic service. They have won every clearance this quarter. And via one of those Jacobs hit outs, Sloane has got it out and an uncontested mark to Cameron! He has a set shot and... MISSES! It’s happened again! Hits the post. Oh what a mess for the Crows, that would have put them into the lead. Still a quarter of an hour to go, and three points behind, but they should be ahead times over by now. The crowd’s frustration palpable.
Q4 17:00 remaining. Crows 9.11.65 v Swans 11.3.69. Banged forward by Jacobs, McGovern finds the footy, snaps it true! He has four! Adelaide within a kick despite having kicked two fewer goals. That kind of night. And Talia is back on as well - that’s MASSIVE in the context of this game.
Rough and tumble opening minutes. Zak Jones can’t help himself, giving away a 50 to Brad Crouch but the Crow cannot convert. 1.5 from set shots! The Swans 7.2. Says it all.
Three-quarter time: Crows 8.10.58 v Swans 11.3.69
In the Talia move, I missed a goal. That was via Sam Reid, who extended the margin to double-digits by the final change for the Swans. And at the end of that wild old quarter, we’re more or less where we started. Adelaide went bang-bang, Sydney did likewise, there were long chunks where neither side could get a clear shot on goal. Adelaide created more chances on the whole but struggled to convert. Sydney were precise when their opportunities came. That last major a real steadier. But we have a grandstand finish, that’s for sure. Don’t go anywhere!
Push/pull. Jerka Jenkins on the lead the old-fashioned way, found laces out. But he can’t slot it either. The lead narrows by one to four, just over three minutes remaining in the frenetic term. Oh, now Talia is in strife. He’s taken off straight away. In pain. A groin? Huge in the context of the game as it means Buddy could be let loose. Alternatively, Alex Keath: go make a name for yourself.
Post! Second time Sydney have hit the post - the only two behinds they have recorded. In stark contrast to the aforementioned problems of the hosts in kicking straight. As their former premiership coach Malcolm Blight might say at this time if he were on the commentary: Footy Gods. Don’t tempt them by missing your chances. Has there ever been a game where a team hasn’t actually kicked a non-post behind? Could we be heading towards one of the more obscure records in footy history? Is it even possible to find out such a thing?
Adelaide set shots. They’re within a kick after Douglas misses to the left, that’s the second they’re missed from a standing stard this term, Cameron having a chance earlier. Sprayed three in the second quarter as well. Should be in front, really. Sydney by five, now time-on, in the old speak.
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Q3 9:00 remaining. Crows 8.6.54 v Swans 10.1.61. McVeigh, the champion, gets free inside 50 for an uncontested mark. Goes back with the Adelaide crowd doing their best to put him off, but they can’t, the Swan veteran going back and drilling it. Big response. Every twist and turn vital from here.
Q3 12:00 remaining. Crows 8.6.54 v Swans 9.1.55. Eddie’s turn! Was bound to influence this game again with all that is going on. It’s back to a point the difference when he bangs it home from point blank range in the old D-Com parlance. Cameron won the free, put him into space, and that was that. Goal for goal on the goal by goal!
Q3 13:00 remaining. Crows 7.6.48 v Swans 9.1.55. Two in a hurry for Sydney against the play. Rohan cops a whack from Lever but doesn’t miss.
this game #aflcrowsswans pic.twitter.com/UhxauJypLg
— Iamutd (@uniqueutd) August 18, 2017
Q3 16:00 remaining. Crows 7.6.48 v Swans 8.1.49. BUDDDDDDDYYYYYYYY!!! Sydney needed a Buddy special and he’s kicked one of the very best you will see! On the gallop from half back (!), he had the time to bounce and fumble and all the rest, then bounce again. Talia nearly reaching him with a Hooker-esque chase and dive, but Franklin was never missing once he set his eyes on the target from range. What a gem! What a game!
Q3 17:00 remaining. Crows 7.6.48 v Swans 7.1.43. What has happened to this game of footy?! 29 down half way through the second quarter, and within a couple of mintues in this new quarter the Crows have hit the front! “The Swans just can’t keep up,” says Bruce. Five in a row. McGovern gets the first after a Matt Crouch centre break within 30 seconds. Tom Lynch, after another crisp clearance, snaps around his body after Eddie put it on a plate for him.
Half-tme: Crows 5.5.35 v Swans 7.1.43.
That was a quarter befitting the blockbuster tag. Sydney had all the play to begin, two goals in a hurry extending their lead to five goals. Adelaide looked ready to roll over. Then, after missing a couple of set shots, their window to get back into it looked to be closing. From nowhere, they turned it around.
Well, not nowhere - from immense pressure and tackling. Already mentioned Sloane’s 11 grapples. Betts too inside the 50, throwing himself around and getting into the game. McGovern showed his class in the air and on the ground, involved in two of the three Adelaide majors registered in their burst of energy to narrow the margin to single digits. They were unlucky not to score again in the final minutes before the long break.
So we have a game on our hands. Grab a cup or tea, I’ll do likewise. Back with you in ten or so for a huge second half.
A minute to go. It’s end to end. Adelaide running their guts out. Douglas pumps it long inside 50 again but it ends up out of bounds. Betts brilliant roving from the throw in, but the kick is smothered. Rory Sloane has ELEVEN tackles to half-time. Enjoy that, fantasy footballers. Huge points. Buddy has it on the wing with 15 seconds to go, but Adelaide tidy up at half-back and that’s the SIREN. Phew.
Q2 3:00 remaining. Crows 5.5.35 v Swans 7.1.43. And another! Matt Crouch on the end of some rapid ball movement inside the arc, Betts involved in that too. He’s the outside man, able to settle and steer from 30. Game on. “All of a sudden Sydney are on the back foot,” says Bruce. Moments later Betts has another shot on goal, which would have been four majors in as many minutes. But he misses. What Sydney need is the siren. Adelaide have had 37 tackles in the quarter, Cameron Ling reports - they average 18 this season per term.
Here is the McGovern goal, the middle of the three. How about the pace?
McGovern puts the pedal to the metal. 👟 #AFLCrowsSwans pic.twitter.com/X0mSsHgWzr
— AFL (@AFL) August 18, 2017
Q2 7:00 remaining. Crows 4.4.28 v Swans 7.1.43. Two goals in a heartbeat for the hosts! Where that come from? Well, Eddie converts a set shot at close range. McGovern did the spade work there with a towering mark at half-forward. He’s having a decent time of it. Then, down to McGovern again from the restart who bananas Adelaide back into the game!
Why is Brian Taylor calling McGovern a gecko? “He has the most gecko hands I have ever seen!” Well, whatever the case, he has missed a straightforward set shot here. That hurts, given how few opportiunities they have had to score in this quarter, as it hits half-way. Betts gets a rare sniff shortly thereafter, but his snap just misses as well. Eddie and Walker have five kicks between them.
Structure. “The Swans have set up beautifully tonight,” says Cameron Ling. As Adelaide once again find Swans jumper coming out from the defensive 50. Has happened routinely.
Q2 15:30 remaining. Crows 2.2.14 v Swans 7.1.43. Sydney are blowing this game right open. Any momentum Adelaide clawed back in the final moments of the opening term goes with Sydney’s second goal of the first five minutes in the second. Here, it is Zak Jones again. Two kicks, two goals. Easy business this. It required going upstairs for a review, but it is all clear.
Spud: Every disposal Adelaide get is under extreme pressure. #AFLCrowsSwans
— 1116 SEN Footy (@SENfooty) August 18, 2017
Q2 18:10 remaining. Crows 2.2.14 v Swans 6.1.37. Zak Jones kicks Sydney’s first of the quarter inside two minutes, Sydney able to rebound after a sloppy exit from Adelaide’s defensive 50. Jones coverts the set from from 35 and gives it the big ones with the celebration as well. Big fan of that.
Siren. We’re back in the city of churches.
Quarter-time: Crows 2.2.14 v Swans 5.1.31.
The Swans kicked the first four in a burst, Franklin involved with a precise set shot from long-range then a brilliant bit of body work to engineer a snap for his second. The old firm are driving their early advantage, Kennedy with plenty of it, McVeigh instrumental in two majors as well from half-back. Adelaide took the better part of quarter of an hour to find their feet, but were far more competitive thereafter. Sloane’s goal inside the last minute, a clever take and bomb from outside the 50, has the margin about where it should be at the end of the term.
Buddy = 🔥 #AFLCrowsSwans pic.twitter.com/W3d7vf3ukz
— AFL (@AFL) August 18, 2017
Q1 0:40 remaining. Crows 2.2.14 v Swans 5.1.31. Rory Sloane finds the the best through is over the top of them all. In the nick of time before the siren, runs around the back for a little handball receive from 52, kicks the journey and it is true. He’s been their best. They earned that one.
Bad misses. The big man Jacobs the beneficiary of an inside 50 that does a leg-break and goes through everyone, but turning around from 20m he misses. Indeed, he hasn’t scored. Talia, the TV tells us, has been now moved back to Franklin. Meanwhile, Kennedy has ten touches already, fuelling Sydney with his work in the guts. The ball has been in Sydney’s half 63% of the time to date, but Adelaide should have done more to bridge the gap over the last five minutes. Another shot missed by close range as I say that, Jerka Jenkins snapping over his shoulder from the kick-off line but it is off-target. Under more pressure than Jacobs was, but should have done better. 23 points the margin, two minutes to go in the term.
Q1 5:30 remaining. Crows 1.1.7 v Swans 5.1.31. Jack gets a gimme! He misses his initial set shot from 45m but Lever has overstepped the mark. 50m penalty paid, taking him to point blank range. Sydney have hit straight back.
Sydney's first quarter intensity #aflcrowsswans pic.twitter.com/wAiJDW7Z1c
— Sam McClure (@sam_mcclure) August 18, 2017
Q1 6:45 remaining. Crows 1.1.7 v Swans 4.1.25. Lever to Betts out of the back half, who gets the burners on finding a target at half-forward, that’s McGovern who pumps it into the hot spot, Smith running onto the loose ball and having the composure under pressure to convert. Taken a while, but Adelaide are on the board. The crowd roar, in relief as much as anything.
Q1 9:20 remaining. Crows 0.1.1 v Swans 4.1.25. FRANKLIN! He swerves and grooves his way at ground level, just shoves Keath out of the way, swings around to snap on his left from 30 and drills it! That’s the best of the genius, strength and style.
Sydney are on. After conmceding 50m penalty, unclear for what. Cameron bangs it deep for the Crows. Eight times in ten they would find a way to score, but it is an avalanche of red and white jumpers then some classy hands again from McVeigh before Hannery finds Franklin by foot with a precise chip. 62-39 the possession count to Sydney. All over them.
Q1 12:00 remaining. Crows 0.1.1 v Swans 3.1.19. Tippett! You know from the boos, it can only be him. Takes the strong overhead grab after smooth ball movement set up by McVeigh. Pops it through. “Adelaide are getting destroyed around the footy,” says Cameron Ling. 23 to 14 the contested possession count at this early stage in favour of the Swans.
Excellent from Alex Keath. Sticking with Franklin who looked ready to run, executing the tackle and winning the free. The young man made the transition from professional cricket to footy and on the early evidence looks the goods. But moments later, Sam Reid gets a set shot form long range anyway. He misses, hitting the post. “A fast start here,” says Bruce. That it is. “Adelaide need an earlier steadier here.”
Q1 15:30 remaining. Crows 0.1.1 v Swans 2.0.12. Kelly fumbles on the last line for Adelaide going with one hand instead of two, Rohan is there to collect the crumbs, taking two goes at it but soccering through for Sydney’s second in a couple of minutes.
Q1 17:00 remaining. Crows 0.1.1 v Swans 1.0.6. Rapid couple of minutes to begin, bodies flying everywhere. Tippett from half-forward gets it into Buddy who does as he has for a dozen years or more, using his body to position defender Keath under the ball. Kicking from the arc, he drills it with a penetrative kick, straight through the middle. The visitors are away.
That sky though... 😮 #goswans #AFLCrowsSwans pic.twitter.com/gGLXTaqPyZ
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) August 18, 2017
Neglected to mention. It is Taylor Walker’s 150th tonight. Looks a packed house at Adelaide. A bit of rain there this afternoon, the telly tells me, but dry enough now for a clean game. “The Crows have more to lose,” the assessment of Paul Roos. A bit of nonsense push and shove before the bounce, as is the custom. And with that, we’re away. SIREN.
You know what...
Not always a bad thing to drop the second last round if you want to win the flag, Richmond stunning Hawthorn in 2008 comes to mind. But really, this is an excuse to post some of the best footy of my lifetime, Chris Grant ending Essendon’s perfect season in Rd 21, 2000. But they still went and won it all five weeks later.
Brilliant commentary too, Bruce referencing his famous Chris Grant “ooooh, you think Carey would have kicked it” call from a couple of years earlier. Magic. “A magnificent effort! He will be a hero forever if they win this match!” Go Bruce.
Stats and facts and all the rest.
I don’t feel like I talked enough about Adelaide in that opener. They’re pretty good at footy. Six of the last seven at the business end confirm as much. They cannot finish lower than second, so we’re back at the mighty Adelaide Oval in a fortnight no matter what. I was writing about that joint from Edgbaston the day-night Test at Edgbaston last night. What a place. But I digress. They kick a league-high 113 points a game. Have more inside 50s than anyone. More marks in the arc. All the stuff that makes it a joy to watch.
Daniel Talia has the toughest job in footy for them tonight, trying to stop the Great Man Lance Franklin. I already mentioned than I am Hawthorn to the core, so excuse a complete lack of rational commentary where Buddy is involved, for I adore the man. Talia hurt himself early on in last year’s semi and Franklin largely did as he pleased.
Josh Kennedy had it over 40 times that night and is expected to have young’un Hugh Greenwood running with him to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Nick Smith gets to cruise the Eddie Betts Pocket with Eddie Betts.
Heath Grundy will pick up Adelaide’s full forward Taylor Walker. The guy he used to roll around with down there, Kurt Tippett, will be down the other end. They hate him in Adelaide the way they did the Big V in state of origin of old. That’ll be fun.
A song before we start? As mentioned before, I am in Peckham. Indeed, I got myself locked inside Peckham Rye station last night. Long story. Anyway, with that in mind... The Maccabees.
Welcome to Adelaide versus Sydney - LIVE!
Hello everyone. Welcome to the penultimate round of AFL season 2017, kicking off with a proper blockbuster at the Adelaide Oval between the Crows and Sydney. The Crows on top, the Swans the form team of the comp for the better part of three months, we could very well have ourselves the Grand Final preview over the next few hours.
Adam Collins with you here from the mean streets of Peckham in South London to give you the good oil over the next few hours. And there should be plenty of that, as this is a corker.
Simply put, this is the best attack, Adelaide, taking on the best defence in Sydney. Defence wins flags - that much we know. Drive for show, putt for dough and all that. But Adelaide’s forward line are gifted beyond belief. See: Betts, Eddie.
Sydney’s run since round six is scary. They have won twelve of 14 (losing only to Hawthorn, twice, I say with my brown and gold scarf on). Through that period they concede an average of only 66 points and have a percentage of 154. That’s the pure premiership zone.
The Swans have also had the wood over their hosts tonight of late, winning five of their last six encounters. The most recent was a truly bruising semi final last year. I was on the goal-by-goal tools that night too, and it was rapid with Sydney popping seven through before anyone had the chance to settle. That ended up, roughly, the final margin.
We’re half an hour from the bounce, so I’ll pop this up and return with the key match-ups and other trivial nonsense in just a sec. How are you seeing it? Talk to me throughout. adam.collins.freelance@theguardian.com for sophisticated musings, @collinsadam crude hot takes. I like, and will include, both.
Adam will be here shortly. In the meantime, why not have a read of this heartfelt tribute to the soon-to-be-departed Bob Murphy, written by Kate O’Halloran:
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