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After an initial 10-minute arm wrestle, the likes of Smith, Bontempelli, Bailey Dale, Bailey Williams and co got motoring and the Doggies captured a commanding upper hand. Only wayward goalkicking prevented the Bulldogs from leading by more than 23 points at quarter-time, all four of their first-term majors coming from Adelaide turnovers.
“Our commitment to loose balls and our willingness to put our bodies on the line and collide if need be within the rules was really outstanding,” Beveridge said.
“It’s unusual for us to lower our colours at centre clearances and clearances everywhere, so to have such an important win with the final margin, it’s a good sign for us considering we really got beaten quite badly at centre-bounce clearance. Outside of the stoppage, our contest was very, very good.”
The Crows had the breeze in the second stanza but were unable to make any inroads and were fortunate the Dogs’ supremacy could only yield a 1.6 scoreboard return, keeping Adelaide, somehow, in the game.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks described the opening hour as his side’s “worst half for the year” but things didn’t get any better for his charges after the interval as Dale, Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore joined Smith in a third-quarter feast as the ball remained camped almost exclusively in the Dogs’ forward half.
The Crows’ dark day dimmed when Izak Rankine was reported for forceful front-on contact with opponent Taylor Duryea before the margin stretched past 50 when Macrae goaled to end a run of misses.
‘That was maybe the uppercut that we needed.’
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks
“For the performances we’ve been putting out there, this was a big step backwards for us,” Nicks said.
“We didn’t get the game on our terms at all – in fact, we played exactly the way the Bulldogs wanted to play.
“We were lucky, with their inaccuracy, we avoided a bigger loss. This one stung a bit. That was maybe the uppercut that we needed.”
ONE OF THOSE DAYS
The closing moments of the first half epitomised Adelaide’s forgettable showing and Dogs’ errant finishing.
Wayne Milera had plenty of the pill but didn’t use it as well as he customarily does, and his exit kick in the last minute of the second term landed in the hands of Oskar Baker.
Baker’s missed set shot after the siren was the Bulldogs’ sixth behind from seven attempts for the quarter.
The scoreboard suggested the Crows were still in the hunt, but their butchering ball use and lack of pressure after the break put paid to those hopes.
NAUGHTON SOARS
Aaron Naughton lit up Ballarat’s grey skies in the first quarter with a trademark flying mark as the Dogs seized a complete stranglehold on the match.
Naughton gave himself a few strides, employed Nick Murray as a stepladder and pouched the aerial gem before converting the set shot.
BEST
Bulldogs: Smith, Dale, Macrae, English, Daniel, Bontempelli, Williams.
Adelaide: Laird, Jones, Rachele, Dawson.