2021 Adelaide Football Club season
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| 2021 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | John Olsen | ||
| Coach | Matthew Nicks | ||
| Captain(s) | Rory Sloane | ||
| Home ground | Adelaide Oval | ||
| AFL season | 15th | ||
| Malcolm Blight Medal | Rory Laird | ||
| Leading goalkicker | Taylor Walker (48) | ||
| Club membership | 60,232[1] | ||
| |||
The 2021 Adelaide Football Club season was the club's 31st season in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club also fielded a reserves team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Following on from the club's first ever wooden spoon in 2020, the Crows improved and won seven games to finish 15th on the AFL ladder.
Squad[edit]
List changes[edit]
| 2020 Adelaide Football Club list changes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Name | Change | Ref. |
| 10 September | Bryce Gibbs | Retired | [2] |
| 23 September | Riley Knight | Delisted | [3] |
| Ayce Taylor (R) | |||
| Patrick Wilson (R) | |||
| 13 November | Jordan Gallucci | Delisted | [4] |
| Myles Poholke | |||
| Ben Crocker (R) | |||
| 25 November | David Mackay | Moved to Rookie List | [5] |
| Ben Davis | |||
Adelaide lost Rory Atkins and Brad Crouch as free agents to Gold Coast and St Kilda respectively,[6][7] and Kyle Hartigan was traded to Hawthorn in exchange for a future draft pick.[8] The Crows later signed Mitch Hinge from the Brisbane Lions as a delisted free agent on a two-year contract.[9]
National Draft[edit]
| 2020 Adelaide Football Club National Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Notes | |
| Club | League | ||||
| 1 | 2 | Riley Thilthorpe | West Adelaide | SANFL | |
| 11 | Luke Pedlar | Glenelg | SANFL | Pick traded from Greater Western Sydney in 2019 | |
| 25 | Brayden Cook | South Adelaide | SANFL | Pick traded from Collingwood at the draft; received from Greater Western Sydney at the draft; received from Geelong | |
| 2 | 28 | Sam Berry | Gippsland Power | NAB League | Free Agency compensation pick (Crouch) |
| 38 | James Rowe | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | Pick traded from Fremantle; received from Melbourne in 2019 | |
Pre-Season Draft[edit]
| 2021 Adelaide Football Club Pre-Season Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Notes | |
| Club | League | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Jackson Hately | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | |
Jackson Hately was out of contract at the end of the 2020 season and had requested a trade from Greater Western Sydney to the Crows, but the two clubs failed to reach an agreement before the trade deadline. Hately then delisted himself from Greater Western Sydney's list, and Adelaide were then able to use the first pick in the Pre-Season Draft to add him to their list.[10][11]
Rookie Draft[edit]
| 2021 Adelaide Football Club Rookie Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Notes | |
| Club | League | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Bryce Gibbs | Adelaide | Australian Football League | |
Bryce Gibbs had retired with one year left on his contract with the Crows. For salary cap purposes, the Crows opted to re-draft him to their Rookie list for 2021. As Adelaide used the first pick of the Rookie Draft to do this, Gibbs was given the strange distinction of being drafted with pick No. 1 in both the Rookie Draft and the National Draft, as he was originally drafted with the first pick of the 2006 AFL draft by Carlton.[12] Gibbs was placed on Adelaide's inactive list, creating a vacant spot in the list that the club filled during the supplementary selection period by signing Nick Murray.[13][14] The Crows also signed two Category B rookies from their Next Generation Academy: Tariek Newchurch and James Borlase.[15][16]
Mid-Season Draft[edit]
| 2021 Adelaide Football Club Mid-Season Rookie Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Pick due to | |
| Club | League | ||||
| 1 | 4 | Patrick Parnell | Murray Bushrangers | NAB League | Tyson Stengle delisting |
After a series of off-field discretions, Adelaide delisted Tyson Stengle on 17 March 2021, just three days before their first game of the season. This delisting gave the Crows a pick in the Mid-Season Rookie Draft on 2 June, which the club used to draft Patrick Parnell.[17][18]
Final squad[edit]
On 26 February, Adelaide announced that they would be keeping the same leadership group as in the 2021 season, with Rory Sloane as the club's captain. The rest of the group consisted of Tom Doedee, Tom Lynch, Brodie Smith and Matt Crouch.[19]
Pre-season[edit]
| Date and time | Opponent | Scores (Adelaide's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | |||||
| Sunday, 7 March (3:40 pm) | Port Adelaide | 6.9 (45) | 17.14 (116) | Lost by 71 points | Flinders University Stadium | 3,028 | Report |
Home and Away season[edit]
Season summary[edit]
| Rd | Date and time | Opponent | Scores (Adelaide's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | ||||||
| 1 | Saturday, 20 March (4:05 pm) | Geelong | 15.13 (103) | 13.13 (91) | Won by 12 points | Adelaide Oval | 26,985 | Report |
| 2 | Saturday, 27 March (1:45 pm) | Sydney | 18.13 (121) | 11.22 (88) | Lost by 33 points | Sydney Cricket Ground | 23,946 | Report |
| 3 | Friday, 2 April (7:20 pm) | Gold Coast | 14.11 (95) | 12.13 (85) | Won by 10 points | Adelaide Oval | 30,175 | Report |
| 4 | Sunday, 11 April (1:10 pm) | North Melbourne | 10.8 (68) | 16.13 (109) | Won by 41 points | Marvel Stadium | 13,479 | Report |
| 5 | Sunday, 18 April (12:40 pm) | Fremantle | 11.6 (72) | 12.12 (84) | Lost by 12 points | Adelaide Oval | 31,454 | Report |
| 6 | Sunday, 25 April (12:30 pm) | Hawthorn | 15.12 (102) | 16.3 (99) | Lost by 3 points | University of Tasmania Stadium | 9,007 | Report |
| 7 | Saturday, 1 May (1:40 pm) | Greater Western Sydney | 4.15 (39) | 15.16 (106) | Lost by 67 points | Adelaide Oval | 28,853 | Report |
| 8 | Saturday, 8 May (7:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 12.15 (87) | 5.8 (38) | Lost by 49 points | Adelaide Oval | 43,069 | Report |
| 9 | Sunday, 16 May (2:40 pm) | West Coast | 16.10 (106) | 11.10 (76) | Lost by 30 points | Optus Stadium | 43,427 | Report |
| 10 | Saturday, 22 May (4:05 pm) | Melbourne | 15.6 (96) | 14.11 (95) | Won by 1 point | Adelaide Oval | 31,373 | Report |
| 11 | Sunday, 30 May (2:10 pm) | Richmond | 17.9 (111) | 12.11 (83) | Lost by 28 points | GIANTS Stadium | 4,236 | Report |
| 12 | Saturday, 5 June (4:05 pm) | Collingwood | 10.13 (73) | 12.6 (78) | Lost by 5 points | Adelaide Oval | 30,446 | Report |
| 13 | Saturday, 12 June (7:25 pm) | St Kilda | 8.12 (60) | 9.12 (66) | Won by 6 points | Cazaly's Stadium | 5,969 | Report |
| 14 | Bye | |||||||
| 15 | Sunday, 27 June (4:10 pm) | Carlton | 12.11 (83) | 10.13 (73) | Lost by 10 points | Marvel Stadium | 14,930 | Report |
| 16 | Saturday, 3 July (4:05 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 8.11 (59) | 17.9 (111) | Lost by 52 points | Adelaide Oval | 16,178 | Report |
| 17 | Friday, 9 July (7:50 pm) | Essendon | 11.18 (84) | 2.9 (21) | Lost by 63 points | Marvel Stadium | 23,604 | Report |
| 18 | Sunday, 18 July (4:10 pm) | West Coast | 8.8 (56) | 14.14 (98) | Lost by 42 points | Adelaide Oval | 24,554 | Report |
| 19 | Saturday, 24 July (7:40 pm) | Hawthorn | 16.6 (102) | 13.5 (83) | Won by 19 points | Marvel Stadium | — | Report |
| 20 | Saturday, 31 July (12:20 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 15.15 (105) | 8.8 (56) | Lost by 49 points | Mars Stadium | — | Report |
| 21 | Saturday, 7 August (7:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 7.9 (51) | 7.13 (55) | Lost by 4 points | Adelaide Oval | 14,736 | Report |
| 22 | Sunday, 15 August (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 16.8 (104) | 9.9 (63) | Lost by 41 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | — | Report |
| 23 | Sunday, 22 August (4:10 pm) | North Melbourne | 13.20 (98) | 8.6 (54) | Won by 44 points | Adelaide Oval | 13,103 | Report |
Round 1[edit]
Adelaide went into their first game against Geelong as massive underdogs. Adelaide had finished on the bottom of the ladder in 2020, while Geelong had made it to the Grand Final,[20] and the Crows selected nine players with less than 10 games of AFL experience, including two debutants: Sam Berry and mature-age recruit James Rowe, highlighting the fact that they had the youngest playing list in the competition.[21][22] Despite this, the Crows successfully played a fast-paced game taking advantage of the new Man on the Mark rule and kicked eleven goals to five in the first half.[23] The new Man on the Mark rule meant that Adelaide players could play on quickly with less risk, getting the ball into the forward line faster and isolating key forward Taylor Walker, who led the scoring with five goals.[22] The Crows suffered multiple injuries, and Geelong mounted a comeback in the second half, but Adelaide stayed in front and won by 12 points.[23] This was the first time that the reigning wooden spooner had beaten one of the previous year's Grand Finalists since North Melbourne beat Carlton in Round 1, 1971.[20]
Mitch Hinge was listed as Adelaide's medical substitute, and came into the game to replace Luke Brown when Brown's achilles was injured.[24] This gave Hinge his AFL debut, but Hinge himself was injured by dislocating his shoulder twice in the game. Hinge required reconstructive surgery, which ruled him out of playing again for the entire remainder of the season.[25]
| Round 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 March (4:05 pm) | Adelaide | def. | Geelong | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 26,985) | Report Stats |
| 4.4 (28) 11.7 (73) 13.9 (87) 15.13 (103) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.3 (15) 5.5 (35) 10.8 (68) 13.13 (91) |
Umpires: Chamberlain, Meredith, Wallace | ||
| Walker 5 Rowe, Frampton, McHenry 2 Lynch, Murphy, McAdam, Schoenberg 1 |
Goals | 2 Parfitt, Hawkins, Smith 1 Stanley, Rohan, Menegola, Blicavs, Guthrie, Dahlhaus, Miers | |||
| Walker, Laird, Sholl, McHenry, Rowe | Best | Dangerfield, Guthrie, Blicavs, Smith, Parfitt | |||
| Brown (sore achilles), Kelly (concussion), Hinge (shoulder) | Injuries | Menegola (shoulder) | |||
Round 2[edit]
Like Adelaide, Sydney placed near the bottom of the 2020 AFL Ladder, and they started their season with a win over the Brisbane Lions, who had finished 2020 in the top four. Adelaide and Sydney playing each other in the second round meant that one of 2020's lowest-placing teams was guaranteed to begin the season with 2 wins.[22] Sydney were also bolstered by the return of key forward Lance Franklin, who hadn't played an AFL game since 2019.[26][27] Despite Adelaide having a greater number of scoring shots, they kicked inaccurately throughout the game and finished with 22 behinds, allowing Sydney to win the game by 33 points.[28] Taylor Walker continued in good form by kicking six goals for the game, giving him a total of eleven for the season. This meant that he led the Coleman Medal as the competition's leading goalkicker after this game.[29]
He had four or five tackles inside 50 and was kicking goals off of pressure... I don't want to be disrespectful to Tex, but that may have broken the amount of tackles he's had in the forward 50 over the course of his career. Unbelievable.
| Round 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 27 March (1:45 pm) | Sydney | def. | Adelaide | Sydney Cricket Ground (crowd: 23,946) | Report Stats |
| 4.1 (25) 9.6 (60) 15.11 (101) 18.13 (121) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
3.2 (20) 4.6 (30) 6.14 (50) 11.22 (88) |
Umpires: Haussen, Nicholls, Howorth | ||
| Franklin, Heeney 3 Hickey, McDonald, Warner 2 Papley, Gulden, Reid, Wicks, Parker, McInerney 1 |
Goals | 6 Walker 4 McAdam 1 Keays | |||
| Gulden, Campbell, Heeney, Parker, Lloyd, Franklin | Best | Walker, McAdam, Keays, Laird, Sloane | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Nil | |||
Round 3[edit]
Gold Coast kicked the opening three goals of the game and led by 20 points before Adelaide scored,[30][31] but Taylor Walker kicked three goals in the first quarter to keep Adelaide in the contest.[30] The lead went back and forth several times throughout the game, but Walker's sixth goal in the final quarter gave Adelaide the lead, which they held to the end of the game.[32] Walker's tackling and goal-kicking game made him Adelaide's best player on the ground for the third week in a row, and with 17 goals in the opening 3 games he still led the AFL for goals kicked and had his best ever start to a season. Already he had kicked more goals in three games than he had in the entire 2020 season.[30] Rory Sloane was also an important player, with 34 possessions and 11 clearances.[33]
| Round 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 2 April (1:45 pm) | Adelaide | def. | Gold Coast | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 30,175) | Report Stats |
| 5.0 (30) 8.2 (50) 11.6 (72) 14.11 (95) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
5.6 (36) 5.9 (39) 9.11 (65) 12.13 (85) |
Umpires: Deboy, Stephens, Harris | ||
| Walker 6 Rowe, McAdam 2 Berry, Schoenberg, Keays, McHenry 1 |
Goals | 4 King 2 Burgess, Holman 1 Rankine, Macpherson, Weller, Ellis | |||
| Walker, Sloane, Laird, Keays, Smith, O'Brien | Best | Ellis, Greenwood, Bowes, Lukosius, King | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Witts (left knee) | |||
Round 4[edit]
During training on Thursday, Rory Sloane reported having blurred vision. This was discovered to be a retinal detachment, which required surgery to fix and meant Sloane would miss the next two to four games of the season.[33]
Adelaide played North Melbourne when they were winless and already on the bottom of the AFL ladder.[34] Walker kicked the first two goals of the game to get off to a good start,[35] but North Melbourne defender Ben McKay held him to just one goal for the rest of the game, forcing Adelaide to look for other options to kick goals.[36] As a result, the Crows moved Darcy Fogarty from the midfield to the forward line, where he kicked three goals.[36] North Melbourne suffered two injuries in the first quarter and Adelaide led by 15 points at half-time,[34] but North Melbourne held them goalless in the third quarter and led at three-quarter-time.[34] In the final quarter, Adelaide dominated the contested situations and ran away with the game.[34] Shane McAdam kicked three goals alone in the fourth quarter, and Lachlan Sholl kicked two.[34] With Walker held to three goals and Sloane injured, Rory Laird was Adelaide's best-on-ground with 31 possessions.[36]
| Round 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 11 April (1:10 pm) | North Melbourne | def. by | Adelaide | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 13,479) | Report Stats |
| 2.2 (14) 6.3 (39) 9.7 (61) 10.8 (68) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
5.2 (32) 8.6 (54) 8.9 (57) 16.13 (109) |
Umpires: Chamberlain, Meredith, Dore | ||
| Larkey 3 Stephenson, Thomas, Goldstein 2 Phillips 1 |
Goals | 3 Walker, Fogarty, McAdam 2 Schoenberg 1 Murphy, O'Brien, Seedsman, Rowe, Sholl | |||
| Hall, Simpkin, Stephenson, Powell, Ziebell, Thomas | Best | Laird, Doedee, Sholl, O'Brien, Seedsman, Smith | |||
| Zurhaar (concussion), McDonald (pectoral muscle) | Injuries | Nil | |||
Ladder[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "2021 AFL club membership breaks all-time record". AFL.com.au. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Cleary, Mitch (10 September 2020). "Last hurrah: Veteran Crow to hang up boots after game against old club". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Cleary, Mitch (23 September 2020). "Three players cut as Crows poach senior assistant from Hawks". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ "Former No.15 pick among three Crows delisted". AFL.com.au. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ "List lodgement update". afc.com.au. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Twomey, Callum (30 October 2020). "Adelaide gets compo pick as Crow flies north on lengthy deal". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Cleary, Mitch (4 November 2020). "Crouch a Saint after Crows make late call not to match offer". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Black, Sarah (5 November 2020). "Late future pick sees Crows defender become a Hawk". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Cleary, Mitch (26 November 2020). "CONFIRMED: Hinge on Crows' list after rejecting Brisbane deal". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Waterworth, Ben (17 November 2020). "Outgoing Giant Jackson Hately reveals Crows contract details after 'frustrating' trade stalemate". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Young Giant in limbo, veteran axed but promised rookie lifeline". AFL.com.au. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Cherny, Daniel; Ryan, Peter (10 December 2020). "North resurrect Tiger as Crows use pick one of rookie draft on Gibbs". The Age. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "List lodgement update". afc.com.au. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Crows sign Nick Murray". 7 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Category B rookie pre-selection: Tariek Newchurch". afc.com.au. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Category B rookie pre-selection: James Borlase". afc.com.au. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Crows, Stengle part ways despite offer to stay on club's list". AFL.com.au. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Crows select Patrick Parnell in AFL Mid-Season Draft". afc.com.au. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Sloane named captain for 2021". afc.com.au. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Laughton, Max (20 March 2021). "THAT JUST HAPPENED: Wooden spooner Crows break 50-year record in Cats boilover". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Turner, Kieron (19 March 2021). "Team Selection: Round One". afc.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Heinrich, Scott (22 March 2021). "Adelaide evoke Beatles era as Swans join AFL penthouse party". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Heinrich, Scott (20 March 2021). "AFL 2021 premiership season: Adelaide Crows stun Geelong - as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Michael, Luke (20 March 2021). "Tex leads Crows to jaw-dropping win over shellshocked Cats". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ Thomas-Wilson, Simeon (1 April 2021). "AFL 2021: All the latest Adelaide Crows news ahead of Round 3". The Advertiser. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ McKirdy, Lachlan (22 March 2021). "Lance Franklin to return from injury layoff for Sydney Swans against Adelaide Crows at the SCG". The Sporting News. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Balmer, Matt (22 March 2021). "Buddy beautiful: Sydney confirms superstar forward will make AFL return on Saturday". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Balmer, Matt (27 March 2021). "Crows roasted for 'diabolical' failure; Swans young guns press finals case: The 3-2-1". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Forsaith, Rob (27 March 2021). "Crows coach in awe of Walker's pressure". The West Australian. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Laughton, Max; Zita, David (2 April 2021). "Tex's resurrection resumes on Good Friday; Suns already ruined by injuries: The 3-2-1". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ "Adelaide v Gold Coast". AFL Tables. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ "AFL live ScoreCentre: Adelaide vs Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs vs North Melbourne". ABC News. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Gates, Zachary (9 April 2021). "Retinal detachment wipes out Adelaide Crows captain Rory Sloane for up to a month". Wide World of Sports. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 Balmer, Matt (11 April 2021). "Undisciplined actions prove costly for Roos; Crows find impressive late spark: The 3-2-1". Fox Sports. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ↑ "North Melbourne v Adelaide". AFL Tables. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Healy, Jonathan (11 April 2021). "Crows too good for improved but wounded Roos". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
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