Written by Kimberley

7.10pm, AAMI Stadium, Adelaide

Crowd: 23,000

Adelaide: 8.9.57 def. Sydney 6.14.50

Goalkickers:
Adelaide: Callinan, Douglas, Petrenko, Sloane, Tippett (3), van Berlo,
Swans: Bird, Goodes, Jetta, McGlynn, McVeigh, O?Keefe

Best on Ground: Petrenko (Crows); Johncock (Crows); Tippett (Crows)

Last weekend, I walked out of ANZ Stadium feeling like a winner. Proud of my club. Ruing the late withdrawal of Ted Richards, who is without doubt key to our defensive structure. Collingwood looked rattled. It was a good night.

In Adelaide, the Swans erased the pride and goodwill last week?s effort earned them and confirmed that unless our squad & tactics are revamped, we will be lucky to make up the numbers in the eight.

Looking at my notes and tweets during the game is a sad indictment of how I (& I suspect many diehard Swans fans) feel about this season: maybe it is time to go home.

Let?s look at the positives first: our first quarter was encouraging. In dismal conditions, Tippett opened the Crows account with a goal off a free. We kept pushing forward, Seabs let fly but the ball was punched through by Rutten. The next 10 minutes were all Swans ? Jetta with a running goal off some good work by Goodes; co-captain Jarrad McVeigh?s dribbling major & Bird capitalising off Luke Parker?s swerving run.

Then, we let our guard down. Callinan was awarded a soft free against Rhyce Shaw & kicked a goal, followed by a behind. Into the sheds with a six-point lead.

The second quarter started brightly, with Ryan O?Keefe kicking from 55 out & Goodesy on the spot to shepherd the ball through for a goal. Cue Petrenko who snatched one back just when it looked like the Swans were going to stretch the lead. His mark & calm, straight shot marked the start of (what was for me) a best-on-ground performance by Petrenko, who just shaded Johncock?s terrific defensive effort.

Conditions and inaccuracy took over, with both teams scrapping for possession, the AAMI turf having none of it and the behind tally started creeping up ? we led by seven at the halftime break but looked to have the better of a very difficult match.

The third quarter was where it all really fell apart for the Swans, structurally & on the scoreboard. Despite a lot of attacking pressure, nothing was working, whereas the Crows started kicking goals whenever they got the ball. Tippett was better positioned than LRT to open their third quarter. At times our defence bordered on clueless. Tadgh Kennelley had one of his worst games of the year, done for ball in front of goal & Douglas kicked true. At best, we started replying with a string of behinds to Kennedy, Bolton & McVeigh. At worst, we sprayed it out on the full (say hello Dan Hanneberry). Going into the three-quarter break, Adelaide led by 1 & it looked like the Swans ? goalless since the fifth minute of the second half ? would be lucky to beat Adelaide on behinds.

Longmire sent Everitt on for Bird almost as soon as the fourth-quarter siren had stopped. Death by behinds continued ? Bevan, O?Keefe, Everitt (twice). Petrenko joined in, spraying the kick after a good mark, but his captain van Berlo made no mistakes in presenting & snapping for goal to put the Crows six ahead.

Goodes broke free and gave off to Bevan with 10 minutes to go, and the Swans kicked their first goal in 75 minutes. Yes, unhappy campers, in 75 minutes the Swans kicked 11 behinds and one goal. With a one-point lead & 10 minutes to go I thought an undeserved victory might be headed our way. Wrong. Jacobs levelled scores with a behind, then Sloane kicked a major. Vince missed the big sticks but every point counts as we know all too well. It was all over when Tippett has three or four juggles before taking the mark and slotting his third goal. Ben McGlynn kicked a consolation goal but the Crows held out to win by seven points.

So, where do we go? I?ll start again by trying to be positive. Ted Richards has really come on with his defensive skills, and Luke Parker showed better decision-making than most senior players. Jude was, as ever, in everything and the late withdrawal of Nick Smith showed how much his play means to the team. Now I get to unload. Tadgh Kennelly doesn?t seem to want to be here. Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I am a strong critic of John Longmire. For the life of me I cannot understand why he persists with a structure that breaks down in midfield after long bombs. Poor Sam Reid?s stats don?t match his talent - his lanky frame is still a year or two out from being a real weapon. Our small go-to guys of last year, especially McGlynn and Trent Dennis Lane are either not getting the ball because of Longmire?s reliance on going to marking contests or because, in Dennis Lane?s case, playing in reserves. The constant turnover of possession is wearing on our midfield ? having to constantly fight for possession because we?ve taken a poor option or gone too high & too long isn?t a good idea if we?re going to get to September relatively intact. Where are the short passes & handball through the corridor?

I am now nervous about the Gold Coast game. I hope there has been a lot of kicking practice this week.


Stats
Kicks 227 193
Marks 59 42
Handballs 130 124
Tackles 82 85
Frees 20 19
Hit Outs 53 37

Q1 2.1 3.1
Q2 3.4 4.5
Q3 5.5 4.10
Q4 8.9 6.14