It was a gloomy day from start to finish at Blacktown International Sport Park as Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide fought out a tough low-scoring draw in what can only be described as horrendous conditions.
With rain pelting down all afternoon, it was a tight battle for the entire afternoon; the weather preventing either team from taking charge of proceedings and subsequently forcing a very congested and slow-paced game.
Both their seasons on the line, the clash was built to be one of the matches of the round. A resurgent GWS looked to continue their good form from last week with a big win against one of the competition’s lowly sides in Collingwood.
The Crows meanwhile looked to carry their momentum from last week’s come-from-behind win against the Western Bulldogs, with Erin Phillips again the centre of attention following her 4.2 return.
As expected, it was a hotly contested start at Blacktown and prior to the original downpour of rain, both teams played at an extremely high quality.
The Giants got things underway relatively quickly, surprising the Crows with their intensity around the ball and pressure which resulted in costly Adelaide mistakes.
After dominating initial field position, the girls in orange hit the scoreboard relatively quickly, pouncing on a poor Adelaide kick-in and setting up an easy set shot for the classy Rebecca Beeson who duly converted.
But GWS couldn’t keep up the pressure as a fired-up Adelaide team immediately began to show their premiership pedigree.
Much like the Giants, the Crows were able to lock the ball inside their attacking half and were rewarded as All-Australian defender-turned-midfielder, Courtney Cramey, announced her return from injury with an excellent finish to tie things up at quarter time.
With the heavens opening up, the match turned into a tough slog after quarter-time.
A nasty collision between Courtney Gum and Cramey was just one incident of what was a very contested quarter of footy – the attack on the ball by both teams intense in the wet.
It would take some nice build-up play and a classy finish by the experienced Cora Staunton to give the Giants a crucial break.
Despite having opportunities, neither side could add another maximum to their tally before the main break, with the weather making it extremely difficult to generate any sort of fluent ball movement.
Half-time would see the Giants hold a crucial eight-point lead in what was an excellent half of wet weather football from the reigning wooden spooners.
The weather would hold no reprieve for the third term as rain continued to pelt down relentlessly at Blacktown.
Missed opportunities plagued both sides as Adelaide locked down defensively and began pegging back an advantage around the contest, with Erin Phillips getting involved in some critical touches.
Each team would have patches of dominance throughout the quarter, yet neither would capitalise with a major.
The Crows only managed one behind opposed to the Giants three behinds in the contested and sloppy quarter of footy.
It was do or die for both teams going into the last quarter as the Giants came in with a very handy buffer of nine points.
After improving defensively in the third term, the Crows would come to life offensively in a last bid to keep their distant finals hopes alive.
A rev-up from coach Bec Goddard saw them come out with a sense of vigour and intensity which the Giants simply couldn't match.
A brilliant piece of work by Ruth Wallace from the boundary would see Adelaide spring right back into the contest as she collected cleanly and snapped a beautiful goal.
The Crows would continue their momentum with a period of absolute dominance, locking the ball in their forward half and applying immense pressure on their young opposition.
But despite this excellent period, Adelaide again couldn’t convert, as chances to Jenna McCormick and Cramey went begging as the Crows put on four straight behinds to take a one-point lead into the final five minutes.
GWS would quickly level the scores through a counter-attack play out of Adelaide’s forward half to give them hope of a thrilling win.
In the game’s intense final moments with both of their seasons on the line, neither team could trouble the scores again and the match ended in at 19 points apiece.
Ebony Marinoff was superb for Adelaide, racking up a record 21 tackles for the game (the largest for both the AFL and AFLW), while midfielders Chelsea Randall and Angela Foley were also impressive.
The Giants had a number of excellent performers with Alicia Eva the standout with 23 disposals, and was supported well through the midfield by Gum and Beeson up forward.
Next week Adelaide face another must-win match at Norwood Oval against a deflated Carlton, who will be itching for redemption after Friday night’s embarrassing defeat to the Western Bulldogs.
The Giants on the other hand will travel over to Perth for a crunch meeting with a desperate Fremantle side looking to keep their season alive.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 1.1 2.3 2.6 2.7 (19) ADELAIDE 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.7 (19)
GOALS Adelaide: Wallace 3, Jones 2, McCormick, Hewett, Sedunary Carlton: Harris, Vescio
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Eva, Beeson, Dal Pos
Adelaide: Marinoff, Foley, Randall
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