1. Tex stands up
Crows skipper Taylor Walker answered his critics on Friday night with a dominant display. After his side's limp loss to the Magpies on their home patch last week, Walker – who booted only two goals in that match – was in the firing line. Well, a week is a long time in footy. Against Sydney, Walker made the game his own with four majors, the pick of them a second-quarter bomb from inside the centre square. He was on the board early when he nailed a set shot in the opening term, while his second - which came after a 50m penalty later in the quarter - set the tone for the night.
2. Rohan's emotional return
Emotion and footy go hand-in-hand and there were no moments more moving than Swan Gary Rohan’s first goal on Friday night. Rohan's wife Amie gave birth to twin girls last Thursday, Bella Rae and Willow Nevaeh, but Willow, who had been already diagnosed with a fatal brain condition, tragically passed away hours after being born. Rohan returned to Sydney's line-up against Adelaide after spending a week on the sidelines and during the third term he kicked a team-lifting goal and kissed the black armband that adorned his bicep before being mobbed by teammates. It got the loudest cheer of the night.
3. The city of crutches
The Crows' stuttering start to 2018 has been compounded by a lengthy injury list. Eddie Betts (hamstring) and David Mackay (concussion) missed the trip to the Harbour City after going down in Adelaide's dire defeat to Collingwood in round four. You can add Kyle Hartigan (hamstring) to that list after he hobbled off in the second term on Friday night. Rory Sloane (foot), the Crouch brothers and David Mackay are also part of the Crows' star-studded casualty ward. Betts' absence on Friday night was just the second time he has missed a game since joining Adelaide in 2014.
4. Score review confusion
Nothing splits the crowd like a score review, but the events after Tom Papley's snap in the first quarter were more divisive than most. Papley gathered the pill in a sea of striped jumpers and somehow found a way through – dancing around a couple, bouncing off another. He then curled through his snap amid high traffic from 20m out. Except he didn’t. The umpires signalled a goal despite animated protests from Adelaide's defenders and the ball went back to the middle. Eventually, after all the players had taken their positions again, the umps called for a score review and it was decided Crow Tom Doedee got a fingertip on it. The home fans hated it.
5. Terrible turnover
Goals from turnovers always look terrible, but in the second quarter Adelaide's Rory Laird took it to the next level. After marking at half-back Laird tried to switch play but scuffed his drop punt and hit Swans spearhead Lance Franklin on the chest. As if the turnover under no pressure wasn't bad enough, the bloke who gets the footy is a seven-time All Australian and four-time Coleman medallist. From outside 50, Buddy went bang – although his shot needed the right bounce in the unguarded goalsquare for the ball to roll through. Despite the blunder, Laird was among the Crows' best.
