Heavy rain ensures contested ball key for victory.
The Adelaide Crows kept the Western Bulldogs to their lowest ever score as they ran out convincing 52-point winners at AAMI Stadium.
After keeping the Bulldogs goalless for almost three quarters, Adelaide put their foot on the pedal to snare three majors in the final term to seal the comfortable win.
The Bulldogs’ effort was worse than their 2005 loss which saw them only score 5.5 (35).
Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson said he was pleased with his side’s pressure on the ball carrier.
“We finally had tackles. We had 96 – the most we’ve ever had in a game, the conditions suited that but I’m proud of that,” Sanderson said.
“We still tried to be too quite at times in the conditions, but it was a pretty good battle through the midfield.
“We’re still a long way off our best footy and that’s because we haven;t had consistency.
Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney said his side simply were not able to get into the game and the Crows exploited the wet conditions better than his side.
“The Crows were able to set up their defence well. We hung in there to half time under difficult circumstances, we have to do that for longer,” McCartney said.
“There were some patches of the game today we were obligated to set the ground up in a certain way and we didn’t do it,
“When we didn’t set up around the ground correctly, scoring dried up and our confidence was killed off.”
Adam Cooney was the star for the Bulldogs in a sorry night for the club with 30 touches, 10 clearances and two goals, but he was well supported by mature-aged recruit Brett Goodes (27 disposals) and emerging midfielder Tom Liberatore (33 disposals).
For Adelaide Patrick Dangerfield (21 disposals, three goals), Rory Sloane (28 disposals, eight clearances) and Scott Thompson (29 possessions) shone, while Richard Douglas’ bright start to 2013 continued with 25 disposals.
Check out Patrick Dangerfield’s historic 100th career goal:
While his side might have won the game, Adelaide forward Taylor Walker will want to forget this shot for goal in a hurry:
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