Source : the age
Adelaide’s former captain was determined to not let the current skipper down.
Taylor Walker shrugged off one of the worst first quarters of his storied career to boot five goals – including the sealer – and steer the Crows to a pulsating one-point win over St Kilda on Saturday night.
Walker, the Crows’ greatest-ever goalkicker, led an emotion-charged performance following one of the most difficult weeks in the club’s history following the death of captain Jordan Dawson’s brother, Jaryd.
Walker, who turns 36 on Anzac Day, was doing everything within his power to give Dawson a reason to smile.
“I think there was a bit in it,” Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said.
“Tex [Walker] is an emotional guy, and he was doing whatever he could to make Jordan proud.
“That probably adds to the win.”
Walker’s crafty left-foot finish in the 28th minute put the Crows up by seven points, moments after Alex Neal-Bullen’s tie-breaking point, which was enough. Just.
Mitch Owens jagged a late one with 10 seconds on the clock, but the Saints ran out of time.
Adelaide had both trailed by 26 points and led by 28. It was anything but a normal match. But it had been anything but a normal week for the Crows.
Dawson, who wears the No.12 with pride every week, watched from a suite in the Riverbank Stand and was afforded a moving 60-second standing ovation at the 12-minute mark of the first quarter.
When Walker, kept quiet early by Callum Wilkie, booted the fourth of his bag of five, he pointed up to the current skipper to let him know all of Adelaide was with him and his family.
“It’s been an emotional week – a really emotional week,” Nicks said.
“To get a win is a great result, but when you spend a week in a footy club like we are, you realise how lucky you are to be in a position like this when circumstances play out the way they did this week.
“[It’s a] really tough time for someone who means a lot to us, and a family that means a lot to us.
“We’re lucky we’re part of this football club. It was good to have Daws [Jordan] here today with the group.”
The match had protracted momentum swings. St Kilda did as they pleased early doors, dominating in every department.
Co-captains Jack Sinclair and Wilkie dominated unhindered behind the footy, and the Saints’ midfield worked harder than their Adelaide counterparts.
If not for a couple of gettable misses, and Josh Worrell’s and Wayne Milera’s diligence in defence, the 20-point margin would have been greater.
Adelaide turned it around decisively through the centre-square across the middle two quarters, unleashing a 9.4 to 0.4 tidal wave that threatened to bury St Kilda for good.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera started the match on the ball, spent time across half-back, and then began the fourth quarter in attack.
The Saints, down by 15 at three-quarter-time, needed an answer, and they almost delivered, before being ultimately denied by Walker’s boot and a wave of Crows emotion.
St Kilda ruckman Tom De Koning copped a knock to his lower back in a ruck contest, leaving him in doubt for next Sunday’s clash with West Coast at Marvel Stadium.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the fight,” Saints coach Ross Lyon later said of his group.
“We dominated the last quarter for scoring, contested ball and pressure.
“I’m more than glass half-full. I’d point to the other way – we’re very full.”
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What a day for football fans – three ripping contests. The Suns beat Essendon by nine points, Hawthorn finished three points clear of Port Adelaide, and the Crows fell in by just a point over St Kilda.
After a week of controversy, it was great to see the game take centre stage.
Thanks for joining us. My name is Danny Russell, and I am signing off for the night.
Be sure to check back in on our pages on Sunday for some more blockbuster football action.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has had a veiled swipe at the AFL fixturing after the Saints were forced to play two games at Adelaide Oval against Adelaide opposition within six days.
The Saints beat Port Adelaide by 14 points last Sunday as part of Gather Round, and then fell by a solitary point against the Crows on Saturday night after spending a week in the South Australian capital.
They now sit 2-4 for the season.
“Yeah, it’s been a short week – [a] six-day turnaround – but a long week in a sense, like, Gather Round, you know, as a club,” Lyon said post-game in his usual cryptic manner.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks was relieved to finally be on the right side of the ledger in a close match after his side beat St Kilda by a point at Adelaide Oval.
“It’s nice to really get over the line in one of those every now and then,” Nicks said on Fox Footy.
“We’ve had our moments where we’ve been on the other end of it, and come in really disappointed.
“We understand that sliding door, you know, but we did enough tonight [to win] … I think both teams would have deserved it, but we were, you know, up for most of the night.
Adelaide’s former captain was determined to not let the current skipper down.
Taylor Walker shrugged off one of the worst first quarters of his storied career to boot five goals – including the sealer – and steer the Crows to a pulsating one-point win over St Kilda on Saturday night.
Walker, the Crows’ greatest-ever goalkicker, led an emotion-charged performance following one of the most difficult weeks in the club’s history following the death of captain Jordan Dawson’s brother, Jaryd.
Time runs out for St Kilda, and Adelaide win by a point.
It is an emotional win for the Crows in a week that captain Jordan Dawson lost his brother.
Five-goal hero Taylor Walker paid tribute to his skipper after the game.
“It has been a pretty challenging week for our footy club, and for Daws and his family,” Walker said on Fox Footy.
The Saints have found a goal through Mitch Owens. They trail by a point, with just 10 seconds remaining. What. A. Finish.
Taylor Walker has marked and is shooting for goal. We have a minute to go.
But he misses the shot! The Saints need to get the ball forward now.
They trail by seven points.
Taylor Walker receives a handball and snaps a low left-footer through the big sticks.
“It’s a great finish by big Tex,” Ken Hinkley says on Fox Footy.
Crows by seven points. Two minutes remaining.
Adelaide 15.13 (103) lead St Kilda 14.12 (96)
Adelaide kicks a point. And they lead by a point. We are inside the final three minutes.
Cooper Sharman almost kicks a pearler. He tries a 40m banana from the pocket and it just bends too far right for the Saint. That levels the score at 96 points all.
There is no saving this game. Both teams have to try and win.
