Adelaide have kept their top-four hopes alive with a gritty nine-point win over a determined Richmond outfit at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The Crows were expected to notch a percentage-boosting victory over the lowly Tigers, but had to dig deep to come away with the four points in driving rain.
Rankine's Record-Breaking Performance
Izak Rankine produced one of the greatest individual performances in club history, racking up 37 possessions, six marks, six tackles, 12 clearances, one goal and 791m gained to achieve the most ranking points in club history.
Captain Jordan Dawson was also instrumental in avoiding one of the biggest upsets of the season.
Clutch Finish Seals Victory
The game was in the balance for much of the final term until Zac Taylor nailed a clutch goal in the dying stages.
The victory keeps Adelaide in fifth place, just behind Brisbane on percentage. But with a tough trip to come next week against Fremantle, their position in the top six is anything but safe.
Melbourne are equal on points with Adelaide, while Geelong is just one game behind and have a superior percentage.
Fans and Greats Unimpressed
Despite coming away with the victory, Crows fans were far from happy.
“Worst win in club history,” one fan raged. “The worst win in our club’s history we had to get a lift from the umps to beat 17th,” another said.
“Take the four points and run, if we play like that against Freo next week we are getting absolutely smashed,” another lamented.
“Hugely uninspiring. That rubbish will not win a single finals game,” another said. “Heading into finals... I’m as flat as anything. I don’t have any confidence that our game style and players can do what it takes to win anything,” another said.
“We’re never winning a premiership under Nicks,” another said.
Even club great Mark Ricciuto wasn’t impressed. “Disappointing. They’ll take the win but they’ve been far from impressive,” Ricciuto said on Fox Footy.
