Sydney Swans Media explores Adelaide’s camp ahead of the Swans’ season-opening clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Recent form
Adelaide lost both its Marsh Community Series games, falling to Melbourne by 33 points and Gold Coast by seven.
The Crows led the Demons by nine points at half-time but in the second half conceded 10 goals and added just three of their own.
Newly appointed coach and former 175-game Swan Matthew Nicks identified Melbourne’s second-half dominance at the coalface of the contest as a critical factor in the result, and the Demons finished the match with 146 contested possessions and the Crows just 118.
Brad Crouch (30 disposals), Rory Atkins (29), Wayne Milera (29) and Matt Crouch (27) were all among Adelaide’s best.
Key match-up
Two of the league’s toughest inside midfielders will square off as Sydney co-captain Josh Kennedy meets Adelaide skipper Rory Sloane, who’s set to play his 200th AFL game.
Of all current AFL footballers, Kennedy (14.7) is averaging the third-highest amount of career contested possessions per match, while Sloane is sitting in 10th on 11.7.
Will Kennedy continue to thrive on the back of his stellar Marsh Community Series match against the Roos, which yielded 37 touches, eight clearances and 10 tackles, or will Sloane shine in his milestone match?
Last time they met
The Crows led at every change en route to a 26-point win when Sydney and Adelaide last met at the SCG in Round 2, 2019.
Sloane was awarded the three Brownlow votes after gathering 23 possessions (13 contested) and nine tackles, while Brad Crouch collected one Brownlow vote after posting 26 touches (10 contested).
What they said
Adelaide forward Tom Lynch on playing behind closed doors: “There’s usually a capacity of over 50,000 cheering for us and we’ve become so accustomed to having that support and are lucky to have those fans. Obviously we won’t have those fans at the game on Saturday, but we know we play our oval really well and we can’t wait to get out to Adelaide Oval again. We think it’s one of the best stadiums in the world and there’s a lot to play for this week.”
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