The race for eighth spot is now wide open after the GWS Giants suffered a disastrous 12-point loss to the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval.
The Giants were completely out played by the last placed Crows all night and never led in the 8.11 (59) to 7.5 (47) defeat.
The Crows got off to a hot start with the wind at their backs, kicking three goals to one to take a 14 point lead into quarter time.
The Crows were dominating the clearances with Reilly O’Brien getting on top of his mentor and former Crow Sam Jacobs in the ruck and giving his midfield first opportunity at the footy.
The second quarter turned into a stalemate early with the Crows unable to capitilise on their territory dominance before the Giants counterattacked with two goals to Jeremy Finlayson, trimming the lead to just 4 point at half time.
The Giants were forced into four changes for this match with Brent Daniels, Jye Caldwell, Harry Perryman and Shane Mumford all out and they were all sorely missed.
After a goalless second quarter, the Crows once again made the most of the breeze as they kicked four of the first five goals of the third quarter to open up a 22-point lead midway through the third quarter.
The Giants answered back with goals to Jeremy Cameron and Heath Shaw before Shane McAdam kicked his second goal to give the Crows a 16 point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Giants overcame a 15-point three quarter time deficit to defeat the Blues last week and would need similar last quarter heroics to get over the line in this one.
The Crows continued to dominate the field position, but it was the Giants who kicked the first goal of the last quarter through Jacobs to bring the margin back to 10 points.
There was still plenty of time on the clock for the Giants to complete a comeback, but the Crows did an excellent job of staying composed and ran out 12 point winners.
Moving the ball forward has been an issue for the Giants this season and that continued as they were belted 49-26 in inside 50s and were forced to play the game in their half.
Another glaring issue this season has been he form of their ruckmen. Mumford and Jacobs are both in the latter stages of their career and have been consistently outplayed this season.
Jacobs lost the hitouts 43-20 to O’Brien and the Giants ultimately lost the clearances 34-24 and the contested possessions 138-110.
The Giants would have found themselves a game clear of the 9th placed Western Bulldogs with a win, but now find themselves in a dog fight for that final spot in the top eight.
For more:
