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Sport Nation
Mid-season review: Why the Crows attack is dividing opinions
SEN • June 22nd, 2025 3:55 pm
Kane Cornes and David King have reviewed every club’s start to the 2025 season as the competition enters the mid-season byes.
Graded on SEN’s Fireball, the former greats look at what areas each side is performing well in and where they could be exposed in the second half of the season.
With Adelaide heading into their rest period, fourth on the ladder, Cornes and King had an in depth look at the Crows first 14 games.
Matthew Nicks' side are currently 9-5 and are firming for their first finals appearance since the 2017 Grand Final loss however there is still plenty of work to be done between now and then.
Adelaide
After a disappointing 2024, which saw the Crows win just eight games for the year and finish the season in 15th spot, the South Australians were under plenty of pressure heading into 2025.
The Crows have successfully lived up to the preseason hype and have finally had the opportunity to play Taylor Walker, Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty all in the same side.
Cornes and King disagreed on how they thought Adelaide had fared in 2025, with the point of contention being the performance of the side’s three tall forwards.
“They’d be reasonably comfortable with where they sit probably on expectation I would’ve thought for Adelaide,” Cornes said.
“I still think that the facts are they are too tall in front of the ball, since Round nine it has just been a complete drop off, of the impact of (Taylor) Walker, (Riley) Thilthorpe and (Darcy) Fogarty.
“They’ve beaten West Coast, Sydney, Brisbane in a low scoring one where they kicked five goals to three quarter time, they beat Port Adelaide just after being dominated against.
“I think the mix of the group looks far more dynamic when it is (Jordan) Dawson, (Izak) Rankine, (Josh) Rachele, (Ben) Keays and two talls and I just don’t think you can argue with that.
“I just think the facts are starring you in the face, and if he wants to be nice Matthew Nicks and go the easy decision, then that’s what you’ll get.
“If he wants to be hard and put the team first with what’s best for them, he will make a hard call, whether it is Walker or Fogarty.
“I will be shocked if all three of them are there for the first final and I was shocked that they didn’t sub one of them out on the weekend."
King believed the Crows three tall forwards was a point of difference and they aren’t just having an impact on the scoreboard.
“I think most people were hoping they would make the eight, they are going to do that, I think they are above expectation and now they have a real opportunity to win the thing,” King said.
“Since round nine they have got a percentage of 141, which is only behind Geelong.
“They have got the second-best attack; I don’t know how you argue it.
“It’s about the team and collective scoring and they have consistently done that this year, it has been their point of difference.
“They contested mark between the arcs better than any team in the competition by a long way because of Curtain, Thilthorpe, Walker and Fogarty.
“It’s the full gamut, it’s the whole ball movement and intercepting marking game that these three talls allow."
Listen to the full mid-season review below:
