Collingwood outpressured the home side in the first AFL qualifying final. The Magpies were more desperate and more polished when it mattered. Homophobic Adelaide Crows fail to fire in final. It is a funny thing, what goes on inside the heads of football players and, seemingly, something coaches and supporters cannot count on. I suspect that week off before the finals sent too many Adelaide players into holiday mode for too long. Young teams are particularly susceptible to this anomaly. Yes, they missed Izak Rankine too.
Crows Fail To Measure Up Under The Heat Of Finals
Collingwood are a much older and more experienced footy team than the Crows. All season, as Daniel Hoyne has said, it is how you use the ball that makes the big difference in AFL circa 2025. The Magpies, Nick Daicos, Sidebottom and Co used the ball much more effectively throughout the match. Adelaide, by contrast, were under the pump all night, and their disposal was rushed and poor. Therefore, the Adelaide forward did not fire, apart from Tex in the first half. Riley Thilthorpe tried hard throughout but was too often a lone hand. Jordan Dawson was strangely out of sorts it seemed.
Adelaide Fans Boo Homophobic Slur Whistle Blower Isaac Quaynor
The home crowd booed Isaac Quaynor, as the homophobic Adelaide Crows failed to fire in the final. They, obviously, felt the absence of their own Izak keenly. The blame game will ramp up unmercilessly from now on, especially if the Crows exit in straight sets. Seeing things in black and white does not always help, apparently. The Crows lacked class around the ball and could not win the ground balls effectively. Rankine would have helped in this regard for sure. The Magpies outpressured the Crows all evening and this was the key difference in the game. No Crow ever had a moment to gather themself, it was tackle after tackle until they lost the ball. Collingwood hunted the younger outfit and won the day.
The Crows lacked class around the ball
Minor Premiers Deserve Another Chance
The mysterious nature of team sports is whether that team will turn up to play on the night. By that I mean, will they bring the ferociousness necessary to win a final? How will they react to the other side increasing the volume to fever pitch? Adelaide did not meet the moment. Perhaps, we can put that down to a young group playing their first final in many years. They earned the second chance by finishing top, so next week it all starts again. It is highly likely that they will get it together to win next week, at least that is what final’s history tells us. Meanwhile, Collingwood is into a Preliminary Final in 2025.
“If Adelaide is to claim this season’s premiership, it’ll have to do it the hard way after a 24-point loss to the Magpies. Some of the Crows’ veterans stood up, but nearly half of the team struggled on the big stage.”
- (Ben Waterworth, Fox Sports)
“The coach of the Carlton AFL football team received a death threat. The Carlton Blues have not been performing up to expectations in season 2025 and there is lots of noise around the future of the head coach and whether he has one at Carlton. Most footy fans hearing about this death threat are appalled but assume it is from a disgruntled Blues supporter. Upon finding out that it was from a Collingwood supporter, yes, a few eyes roll back and heads shake. The Collingwood Magpies are on top of the ladder and multiple games clear of second place. A normal supporter in this position would be too busy gloating to bother with such god awful behaviour. The dangers of tribalism, when carried too far, are a retrograde step in the wrong direction.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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