Match

St Kilda vs Adelaide Crows

Commentary / 27 Apr 2019

Pre Game

00:00

The Crows scored 88 points directly from their intercepts against the Suns last round, their most recorded in a match since the Preliminary Final in 2017.

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

01:19

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)

02:15

Ben Long with the first goal of the game for St Kilda, coming from a contested mark inside forward 50. Long has now kicked 5 goals for the season, and is yet to miss a shot at goal this year.

04:37

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Eddie Betts)

04:56

Eddie Betts answers immediately for the Crows with a goal from a contested mark of his own inside forward 50. Betts averages 1.8 goals per game against the Saints over his career, slightly down on his career average of 1.9 goals per game.

07:46

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steven)

09:36

The Saints have prided themselves on their tackling this season, averaging 67 tackles per game, ranked first in the league. This is on display again early in this game, with the Saints recording a plus-eight tackling differential.

09:53

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Steven)

12:23

The Crows are really struggling to hit their targets by foot so far today. Adelaide have currently recorded a kicking efficiency rate of just 44 percent. The Saints in comparison, are tracking at a 70 percent efficiency rate.

12:55

Saints Interchange - Callum Wilkie off due to the blood rule.

14:16

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Josh Bruce)

14:56

St Kilda are doing a good job of keeping their ball in their forward half, recording a time-in-forward-half ratio of 71 percent to this point in the first quarter.

15:23

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Matthew Parker)

17:11

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Hugh Greenwood)

17:31

Hugh Greenwood takes a contested mark inside 50 for the Crows and converts the set shot for a goal. The Crows have averaged just nine marks inside their forward 50 this season, ranked 18th. They have taken two already today so far.

18:43

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Lonie)

19:21

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Lonie)

21:46

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)

23:57

The Crows have brought their pressure early in this game, recording 30 corralling pressure acts in this first quarter, compared to the Saints, who have recorded just nine.

28:52

Matt Crouch is having an impact for the Crows, with a game-high 13 disposals in this first quarter, including six contested possessions, two clearances and three score involvements. He is the only Crow with more than one score involvement.

29:24

Saints Interchange - Jack Lonie and is possibly out for the game.

30:21

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Steele)

30:43

The siren has sounded to end Q1.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

01:32

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)

02:28

Taylor Walker kicks the first goal of the second quarter for the Crows, making it three consecutive goals for Adelaide. Walker averages 2.3 goals per game against the Saints over his career.

03:31

Since the 21-minute mark of the first quarter, the Crows have dominated this game. In that time, they lead the inside 50 count 7-2 and have converted that to 2.0 (12) against 0.1 (1).

07:19

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Tim Membrey)

07:22

Tim Membrey goals after marking inside forward 50, following a free kick further up the field to the Saints. St Kilda has scored 11 goals directly after winning a free kick this season, the equal-most recorded by any side.

11:16

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Riley Knight)

12:07

After the Saints held a plus-ten contested possession advantage in the first quarter, the Crows have hit back in that area in the second quarter so far, recording a plus-five advantage. Hugh Greenwood leads all players in this quarter, with each of his three possessions contested.

15:09

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Lachlan Murphy)

15:25

The Crows hit the lead for the first time in this game, after a goal from Lachlan Murphy following another mark inside 50. The Crows are now up to five marks inside 50, well on target to beat their season average of nine.

17:00

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Hugh Greenwood)

18:16

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)

18:30

Taylor Walker kicks another goal for the Crows, extending their lead. In this second quarter, the Crows are plus-28 for disposals, plus-six in contested possessions, plus-23 for uncontested possessions and hold an 11-6 inside 50 advantage.

23:21

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Jordan Gallucci)

25:24

The Crows are scoring heavily from intercepts again this week, recording 7.0 (42) from this source. Of that score, 4.0 (24) has come from forward half intercepts.

26:20

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Matthew Parker)

27:17

The siren has sounded to end Q2.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

00:18

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Elliott Himmelberg)

01:20

Elliott Himmelberg goals just 18 seconds into the third quarter to give Adelaide their biggest lead of the game. Since midway through the first quarter, Adelaide have dominated on the outside, recording a plus-25 uncontested possession and plus-13 uncontested marks advantage.

03:58

Saints Interchange - Ben Long off due to an injury.

04:46

Shane Savage is providing the Saints with plenty of outside run, recording a team-high 17 disposals to this point. All of his possessions have been uncontested to this point, while he has also added two rebound 50s and seven uncontested marks.

06:23

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Brodie Smith)

07:28

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dean Kent)

07:44

Dean Kent kicks a much needed goal for the Saints, on the end of a defensive half intercept. Despite recording a minus-17 differential in disposals, minus-seven in contested possessions and minus-12 uncontested possessions for the quarter, the Saints lead inside 50s 5-4, highlighting their 75 percent kicking efficiency for this third quarter.

10:34

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Elliott Himmelberg)

12:28

Alex Keath is having a fine game in defence for the Crows. To this point he has recorded 14 disposals at 86 percent efficiency and a game-high five intercept marks, three more than any other player on the ground.

13:13

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Elliott Himmelberg)

15:17

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Matthew Parker)

16:12

Adelaide are dominating the clearances 9-0 this quarter, including four centre bounce clearances. Adelaide has lost the centre bounce clearance count by a total of 14 so far this season, ranked equal-17th in the competition.

21:35

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Sebastian Ross)

22:32

St Kilda has won the groundball count by 10 per game so far this season, ranked third. However, in this quarter, its the Crows who are dominating this statistic particularly in their forward 50. The Crows have recorded seven groundball gets in this quarter in this zone, compared to the Saints who have recorded just one.

22:49

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Tom Lynch)

25:34

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Ben Paton)

26:14

Ben Paton kicks the Saints second consecutive goal. Since the 14-minute mark of this quarter, the Saints lead disposals 53-41 and uncontested possessions 32-22, turning this into an inside 50 advantage of 7-5 during this time.

26:46

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Taylor Walker)

27:44

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Taylor Walker)

28:17

The siren has sounded to end Q3.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

00:19

Matt Crouch records the first clearance of the last quarter, adding to his performance. Crouch has had a team-high 28 disposals (nine contested possessions), three clearances and six score involvements.

03:21

Adelaide has gained 14.2 metres per disposal so far this season, the third-lowest rate recorded by any side. The Crows are recording even less than that today, gaining 13.3 metres per disposal. The Saints in comparison, have gained 14.7 metres per disposal.

04:22

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)

08:00

Brodie Smith continues his excellent season for the Crows today. Smith has gained 504 metres from his disposals this season, ranked No.1 at the club and 12th across the competition. Today that average has continued, with Smith recording a game-high 539 metres gained.

08:25

SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Elliott Himmelberg)

10:09

St Kilda has averaged 20 points from its forward half clearances this season, ranked No.1 in the competition. Today however, the Crows have managed to stop this, with the Saints recording just 0.2 (2) from its forward half clearances in this match.

12:01

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Tom Lynch)

12:20

Tom Lynch kicks a goal from an impossible angle against the boundary line from a set shot. The Crows have been very accurate from set shots today, recording 10.4 (64) from this source. The Saints have not as many opportunities from set shots, recording 3.2 (20).

15:40

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Lachlan Murphy)

16:05

Adelaide have continued to dominate the game in this final quarter, with plus-seven contested possessions, plus-four in clearances, and 10-6 inside 50s. The Crows have also won every centre bounce clearance in this final quarter.

18:37

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Lachlan Murphy)

20:56

SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jade Gresham)

22:47

SCORE GOAL - Crows (Eddie Betts)

24:20

Seb Ross has fought hard for the Saints today. He has 25 disposals, a team-high in tackles with seven and in inside 50s with eight, while having six score involvements as well.

26:24

Callum Wilkie has won a total of 32 intercept possessions so far this season, ranked No.1 at the club and equal-33rd in the competition. He has had six intercept possessions today, ranked equal second for his team in the match.

26:46

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Tim Membrey)

28:34

SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)

30:08

In the end, the Crows record a comfortable 29 point win against the Saints, their ninth in a row over St Kilda. Adelaide dominated the contested ball after quarter time, finishing with a plus-20 differential. Rory Laird mopped up for the Crows all game, finishing with 33 disposals at a very high 82 percent efficiency.