Match

Adelaide Crows vs Melbourne

Commentary / 06 Jul 2025

Pre Game

00:00
Melbourne has won its last four games against Adelaide, most recently a 15-point win at Adelaide Oval in Round 4 last season.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:16
Melbourne wins the first centre clearance of the match. Both the Demons and the Crows rank amongst the top six teams for centre clearance differential this season.
01:32
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
02:53
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
06:24
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Ben Keays)
06:50
The Crows have had all the territory thus far, leading the inside 50s 6-2. They average 4.9 more inside 50s than their opponents this season - ranked fifth.
07:36
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Trent Rivers)
08:20
Trent Rivers kicks long for the first goal of the match. He has a kicking efficiency of just 65.2% this season – his lowest in any season in his career.
13:19
Melbourne's defence has held up well to start, with Daniel Turner already taking three intercept marks. His career-high is five, which came back in Round 11, against Sydney.
14:16
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Ed Langdon)
15:35
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
15:44
Izak Rankine averages 2.3 goals against Melbourne – his highest average against any opponent.
17:42
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
18:52
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)
19:30
Taylor Walker converts following a kick-in chain. The Crows have only scored from 7.9% of their kick-ins this season - ranked 15th.
20:34
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Jake Melksham)
22:25
Melbourne has had five set shots, yet has only scored 0.3 (3) from such shots. They have the second-lowest set shot accuracy in the league with an accuracy of 44%.
23:32
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Rushed)
27:39
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
27:44
The inside 50 count is even at 14 a piece, with both teams struggling to capitalise on their opportunities. The goals per inside percentage is at 14% and 7% for Adelaide and Melbourne, respectively - both below their averages of 26.4% (ranked first), and 20.7% (ranked 15th).

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:33
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
01:47
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
01:59
Kysaiah Pickett kicks off the second term with a much-needed major. He is the first Melbourne player to have 15- plus disposals and 3-plus goals in three consecutive games since Brad Green in 2010.
04:21
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jacob van Rooyen)
05:04
There has been a clear motive for the Demons to move the ball through uncontested marks as they lead this ledger 41-16. Since 2024, Melbourne is 9-0 when they take 100-plus uncontested marks and 7-22 when they take less than 100 uncontested marks.
07:34
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jacob van Rooyen)
08:04
Jacob Van Rooyen slots his second for the quarter, with it being Melbourne's second goal from stoppage for the term. Since Round 13, the Demons have scored 37.3 points from this source on average - ranked fifth.
09:39
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
10:31
Four goals in a row for Melbourne, with Jake Melksham being the latest beneficiary. He is the first Melbourne player to have 11 scoring shots in a game since David Neitz kicked 8.4 in Round 20, 2006.
11:50
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
14:28
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
14:59
Adelaide put an end to a 32-point scoring streak from Melbourne. This goes against the Crows' ability to restrict scores this season, as they concede an average of just 31.9 points in the first half this season – ranked No.1 defensively.
18:42
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
19:10
The Crows have had to work hard to possess the footy this term, trailing the disposals 19-59 as well as uncontested possessions 7-38.
20:26
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Taylor Walker)
25:06
Demons Interchange - Max Gawn off due to an injury.
25:09
Melbourne's pressure this quarter has been elite, as they've been able to register a pressure factor of 215 compared to Adelaide's 174. Adelaide normally average 184 - the equal-highest in the AFL this season.
27:02
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)
28:20
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Riley Thilthorpe)
28:43
After being on the back foot early in the quarter, the Crows have gone on to have nine of the last 10 inside 50s. The Demons have not had an inside 50 since the 14-minute mark of the quarter, with their previous six entries all leading to scores.
30:06
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Josh Rachele)
31:10
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Rushed)
33:00
Crows Interchange - Josh Rachele and is possibly out for the game.
34:00
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Ben Keays)
34:53
The Crows didn't register a tackle in the second term until the 11-minute mark. Their pressure factor in the period before this was 130, which shot up to 182 after this time stamp.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:48
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Ben Keays)
01:15
An early goal for the Crows to get them back in front. They have now scored 3.4 (22) from attacking midfield chains for the game. They average 8.7 scores launched from this zone - ranked third.
06:06
Adelaide has won one of their three matches where they have been trailing at halftime. On the flipside, Melbourne has won all three games when they have been ahead at the main break.
06:44
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
09:03
Maximum impact for Izak Rankine as his seven disposals have resulted in four goals. His efforts without the ball have also been noticeable as he has applied 12 pressure acts - the equal second-most for the Crows.
09:45
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Ben Keays)
10:25
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
13:43
Reilly O'Brien has been on top in the ruck battle against Max Gawn, as he leads the hitouts by seven and hitouts-to-advantage by five, although Melbourne has scored two more goals from stoppage whilst these two have been ruck opponents.
14:27
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Rushed)
16:57
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
17:56
Melbourne has conceded 3.2 (20) from Adelaide's 10 inside 50s for the term. The Demons have conceded a score from 48.1% of their opponents inside 50s – ranked last defensively.
18:38
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
20:10
The Demons have scored 4.1 (25) from attacking midfield chains this afternoon. Since Round 10, they are averaging 26.3 points launched from this zone - ranked sixth.
20:34
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Zac Taylor)
22:45
Demons Interchange - Jake Lever off due to an injury.
24:00
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
25:53
Riley Thilthorpe has had just six disposals and is yet to score a goal after spending the majority of the game matched up on Steven May. He has kicked a goal in each of his last 12 games at Adelaide Oval. The last time he was held goalless at the venue was Round 23, 2023.
27:46
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
30:21
Ben Keays has been lively, collecting 18 disposals, 383 metres gained and 10 score involvements.
31:22
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
33:15
Melbourne were unable to own the footy as they did in the first half, having three fewer groundball gets as well as 21 fewer uncontested possessions. They led these ledgers by 10 and 72, respectively, in the first half.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:38
Adelaide has won nine of the 11 games where they have been leading at three-quarter-time. On the other hand, Melbourne has won one of the nine games where they have been trailing at the final change.
02:12
Jake Melksham has given his all, kicking four of Melbourne's 10 goals. The Demons have only had four individual goal scorers - currently their equal-lowest for the season.
04:13
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
06:33
Daniel Curtin is the first ever player to have 25-plus disposals, 4-plus intercept marks, 4-plus score assists, and 2-plus goals in a game. He has currently only amassed six disposals - the least amount of anyone with more than 85% of game time this afternoon.
10:15
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Daniel Curtin)
10:51
The Crows have taken 17 marks inside 50, with their latest leading to a goal. From Rounds 1-11, they averaged 13.5 marks in this zone - ranked third.
14:55
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Ben Keays)
15:56
Adelaide has won the post-clearance contested possessions by 7.7 per game – ranked No.1. They lead this ledger by seven in the fourth quarter.
17:08
Clayton Oliver had just 16 disposals against Adelaide last season after having 27-plus disposals in all the previous nine games he had played against Adelaide in his career. He has collected 20 thus far as well as three clearances.
18:09
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
21:50
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Izak Rankine)
21:59
Adelaide takes their score to 90 points. Melbourne has conceded an average of 90.5 points this year – its most since 2019 when it finished 17th on the ladder.
22:51
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
27:19
A virtuoso defensive performance from Mark Keane this afternoon as he has amassed a game-high 12 intercept possessions as well as four intercept marks.
29:24
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
31:08
Crows Interchange - Riley Thilthorpe off due to an injury.
32:13
Melbourne's first half had them in a good position at the main break, leading by five points as well as being able to control the ball on the inside ( 10 groundball gets) and the outside ( 48 uncontested marks). Despite this, they were unable to convert on the scoreboard early as they registered four behinds before their first goal from set shots.