Naarm back in eight after downing Euro-Yroke; Dawson leads Crows past Eagles

NAARM 14.16 (100) d EURO-YROKE 9.8 (62)

KEY POINTS

STRUGGLING SAINTS IN A HOLE
It’s just over two months since Euro-Yroke ran Collingwood off their legs. They look a shadow of that team now.

The run and dare which they showed against the reigning premiers is not evident. For long periods of the game, the Saints made even the most basic skills look difficult.

In the first term, they were stifled, at times resembling a local club’s reserves side in the way they hacked the ball blindly out of defence. They had a few passages in the 15 minutes before then after half-time where they moved the ball with speed, drawing within two goals, only for the Dees to regain control.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, electric on that March night against the Pies, is getting more attention. The Saints love the ball in Brad Hill’s hands but his effectiveness plummets when he’s under pressure. Liam Henry hasn’t gotten going since he was injured.

The one thing they do have is their team defence but that was picked apart with alarming ease in the second half. Ross Lyon has a lot of work to do to get the Saints back on track.

DEE-FENCE RULES
For a premiership contender, the Demons sure look clunky at times in the way they move the ball but their defence is stingy, even without Jake Lever calling the shots. They showed last week was an aberration with another miserly performance, holding the impotent Saints to just nine goals, three of which came in junk time.

Steven May was excellent against Max King, who finished with three goals but only two came against Narrm’s backline general. His 25 disposals, 11 of which were intercepts, was a big factor in the Saints’ struggles, so too the pressure which the Dees maintained around the ball for much of the game.

The Demons have another three months to bed down their forard structure but their control behind the ball will win them plenty of games and give them every chance to have a plum spot on the grid in September.

WHERE TO PLAY PETRACCA
Christian Petracca is Melbourne’s best midfielder. He would vie with Bayley Fritsch as their best forward if permanently stationed inside 50. Therein lies the conundrum as to where Petracca is best placed for the Dees.

As wide as the gulf in class was between the two sides, it was not until the second half when it was reflected on the scoreboard.

Petracca spent periods forward during that time when the Dees were at their most potent and though he played his part he was not needed to tear the game apart. He finished with 24 touches and two goals, one of which came from long range after he burst from the centre clearance.

Against Carlton, he was moved forward as a Hail Mary, with he and his team struggling. This time, the switch came with the points in the bag. If Harry Petty can’t get up next week after being subbed out with an ankle injury, where to place Petracca’s magnet will no doubt feature more prominently in Simon Goodwin’s planning.

My sense is against the best, the Dees need Petracca forward.

KEY STATS

That’s all for the blog tonight everyone.

Thanks so much for joining us and we will have more AFL coverage throughout the week and more blogs once round 12 begins.

Bye for now.

Crows captain leads the way

Kuwarna (Adelaide) skipper Jordan Dawson triggered a scoring avalanche as his team thumped Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) by 99 points in Sunday’s twilight fixture.

Dawson’s masterly 32-disposal display highlighted the Crows’ 21.11 (137) to 5.8 (38) triumph at Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide amassed 7.4 to 0.2 in the first stanza with the dazzling Dawson kicking two goals, setting up another, gathering 12 disposals and having five inside-50s in the quarter.

“Daws’ first quarter led the way and it seemed like the guys just got on board and momentum was then with us,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.

“He leads by example on the field, I think that’s what everyone can see.

“He has got the other part too … there’s a reason we picked him as our captain, it wasn’t just because of what he was doing on-field.

“He’s as good as any.”

No excuse as Eagles’ wings clipped

West Coast entered the game with three wins from their past six matches but slumped to their biggest loss of the season.

“I don’t think anything can be an excuse for what we did today,” Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.

“You have got to be honest, pragmatic, a sense of understanding that some days you’re not going to have great days.

“But I thought we were sort of past these type of losses.”

Veteran Jeremy McGovern (25 possessions, seven marks) battled against the tide for the Eagles, Tim Kelly’s 23 disposals included eight clearances, while No.1 draft pick Harley Reid was largely subdued – five disposals in the opening half and 14, plus a goal, for the match.

West Coast couldn’t manage a goal until the seventh minute of the second quarter and trailed 3.4 to 13.5 at halftime.

Healthy percentage gives Crows hope

Kuwarna boosted their percentage by more than 12 points to a healthy 113, much better than their 12th position on the ladder would suggest.

In fact, while they remain two wins and a draw (10 points) outside the top eight, the percentage is the sixth-best in the competition and better than four of the teams inside the top eight.

Their season stands at four wins, a draw and six losses, after they had 13 goalscorers in Sunday’s match. Winger Chayce Jones kicked three, while Dawson, Taylor Walker, Darcy Fogarty, Josh Rachele, Brayden Cook and Ben Keays slotted two each.

Winger Lachlan Sholl had a game-high 34 disposals, midfielders Rory Laird (31, 10 clearances) and Matt Crouch (30) were busy, and Nicks had the luxury of resting young on-baller Jake Soligo, who was substituted at halftime with his side 61 points up.

AAP

We had Andrew Wu down in the coaches press conferences at the MCG following Narrm (Melbourne)’s 38-point win over Euro-Yuroke (St Kilda).

Saints coach Ross Lyon had a bit to say on his team’s woes, and is sure to find his club under plenty of scrutiny this week.

Read what he had to say here: Ross the boss at a loss as ‘sloppy’ Saints slide into deeper hole.

Kuwarna was so close to notching a triple-figure win in that one, but will be rapt to end up with a percentage-boosting 99-point victory.

The Crows were streaming forward and Brayden Cook got his fingers to an attempted mark at the top of the goal square when the siren sounded to end the game.

It was a comfortable win for the home team in Adelaide, while the Eagles were unable to back-up after their giant-killing performance at home last week against Narrm (Melbourne).

Final scores: Kuwarna 21.11 (137) defeated Waalitj Marawar 5.8 (38).

The prospect of a triple-figure margin is live in this game, in fact one good kick could produce it for the Crows.

There’s five minutes left in the final term, and they lead by 94 points: 20.11 (131) to 5.7 (37)

Taylor “Tex” Walker has finished the third quarter in style for the Crows with a beautiful long bomb from a set shot after the three-quarter-time siren.

It’s doubtful that AFL teams still suck on cut-up oranges at the final break, but if they do the ones in the Crows camp will taste especially sweet tonight.

They lead by 86 points and the only real interest left in this game is whether they will extend the margin beyond 100 … and perhaps whether Eagle Harley Reid can stamp himself on the contest.

Reid barged through a pack with characteristic style to will himself to a goal late in that term – the Eagles’ fourth of the night.

“It’s Harley Reid versus the Crows,” exclaimed Fox’s Dwayne Russell on commentary, citing the fact the youngster had six of his team’s 27 contested possessions in that quarter.

Kuwarna 117 v Waalitj Marawar 31.

Kuwarna (Adelaide) are doing a number on Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) in the city of churches, where it’s not yet three-quarter-time.

With five minutes left in the third term, the Crows already have triple figures and lead by 87 points.

After a scrappy few minutes of play, Darcy Fogarty has just stretched the Crows lead with a classy goal on the run.

Kuwrana 17.9 (111) lead Waalitj Marawar 3.6 (24).

NAARM 14.16 (100) d EURO-YROKE 9.8 (62)

KEY POINTS

STRUGGLING SAINTS IN A HOLE
It’s just over two months since Euro-Yroke ran Collingwood off their legs. They look a shadow of that team now.

The run and dare which they showed against the reigning premiers is not evident. For long periods of the game, the Saints made even the most basic skills look difficult.

In the first term, they were stifled, at times resembling a local club’s reserves side in the way they hacked the ball blindly out of defence. They had a few passages in the 15 minutes before then after half-time where they moved the ball with speed, drawing within two goals, only for the Dees to regain control.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, electric on that March night against the Pies, is getting more attention. The Saints love the ball in Brad Hill’s hands but his effectiveness plummets when he’s under pressure. Liam Henry hasn’t gotten going since he was injured.

The one thing they do have is their team defence but that was picked apart with alarming ease in the second half. Ross Lyon has a lot of work to do to get the Saints back on track.

DEE-FENCE RULES
For a premiership contender, the Demons sure look clunky at times in the way they move the ball but their defence is stingy, even without Jake Lever calling the shots. They showed last week was an aberration with another miserly performance, holding the impotent Saints to just nine goals, three of which came in junk time.

Steven May was excellent against Max King, who finished with three goals but only two came against Narrm’s backline general. His 25 disposals, 11 of which were intercepts, was a big factor in the Saints’ struggles, so too the pressure which the Dees maintained around the ball for much of the game.

The Demons have another three months to bed down their forard structure but their control behind the ball will win them plenty of games and give them every chance to have a plum spot on the grid in September.

WHERE TO PLAY PETRACCA
Christian Petracca is Melbourne’s best midfielder. He would vie with Bayley Fritsch as their best forward if permanently stationed inside 50. Therein lies the conundrum as to where Petracca is best placed for the Dees.

As wide as the gulf in class was between the two sides, it was not until the second half when it was reflected on the scoreboard.

Petracca spent periods forward during that time when the Dees were at their most potent and though he played his part he was not needed to tear the game apart. He finished with 24 touches and two goals, one of which came from long range after he burst from the centre clearance.

Against Carlton, he was moved forward as a Hail Mary, with he and his team struggling. This time, the switch came with the points in the bag. If Harry Petty can’t get up next week after being subbed out with an ankle injury, where to place Petracca’s magnet will no doubt feature more prominently in Simon Goodwin’s planning.

My sense is against the best, the Dees need Petracca forward.

KEY STATS

And pretty comprehensively by the end too. Narrm downed Euro-Yroke by a whopping 38 points to ensure they’ll be in the eight by the end of the round.

After a slow-ish start, they piled on the goals, three of those through Jacob van Rooyen, while Christian Salem led the Demons’ disposal count with 32.

There are plenty of problem areas for Euro-Yroke, who just looked a class behind Narrm today.

Narrm defeated Euro-Yroke 14.16 (100) to 9.8 (62).