AFL Round 19: Adelaide Crows win a thriller against Essendon, but win soured by knee injury to Nick Murray
Josh Rachele kicked the winner with under a minute on the clock to give Adelaide the points against Essendon. (Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)
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A potentially serious knee injury to Adelaide defender Nick Murray threatens to dampen a thrilling Crows win over Essendon.
Trailing by 15 points with seven minutes remaining, Adelaide kicked the final three goals of Friday night's captivating shootout at Docklands to pinch an unlikely two-point win.
Crows forward Josh Rachele booted the matchwinner, burying demons of a performance against the Bombers earlier in the season he conceded he was disappointed with.
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But the wounded Crows could lose key defender Murray to a second ACL rupture in as many seasons.
Murray was subbed off after being injured in the first quarter in just his fifth game since returning from a previous injury to his same knee.
"We're all trying to think positive thoughts at the moment," Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.
"He has to have scans on that.
"I don't want to say we're confident, but we're going to stay really positive and as you can imagine, he's quite emotional at the moment.
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"But we'll keep just thinking positive thoughts and hopefully that one comes out the right way."
Fellow defender Jordan Butts also failed to finish the match.
"(Butts) sprained his foot and it's one that he's had a few issues with in the past…we're staying positive and hopefully that one comes out the right way as well," Nicks said.
Adelaide will face Hawthorn next week without captain Jordan Dawson, who failed a concussion test.
But veteran Taylor Walker will return to boost a forward line who kicked 17 goals, including nine during a devastating second-quarter spell.
"'Tex' (Walker) will be hopefully freshened up, hopefully he's looked after himself this week and we go into a (big) break now…he'll come back in, bring that leadership ahead of the ball," Nicks said.
Despite sitting 14th and two-and-a-half games outside of the top-eight with five games to play, Nicks is not content just making up numbers for the rest of the season.
"We're still a chance, aren't we," said Nicks when asked about trying to create problems for finals contenders in the run home.
"Our aim is to finish the season off really strongly, we don't know when that is yet."
Ben Keays faces nervous wait over tackle
Meanwhile, Adelaide forward Ben Keays is facing a nervous wait following a tackle that led to Essendon midfielder Jye Caldwell assessed for a head knock.
Following a "confusing week" at the tribunal, Keays' will be heavily scrutinised.
Essendon coach Brad Scott said Caldwell passed a concussion test and could have played out the match, but the Bombers preferred to sub in Archie Perkins instead of waiting for the outcome.
It comes after the AFL appeals board overturned three-match dangerous tackle bans for GWS tagger Toby Bedford and Brisbane Lions star Charlie Cameron due to an "error of law".
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The AFL maintain both incidents were examples of dangerous tackles.
"It was a tough week," Crows coach Matthew Nicks said when referring to the confusion around dangerous tackles.
"We obviously look at these things and we educate around it.
"We have a complete understanding of what it is we're trying to do as a league (around concussion) and we support that as far as protecting and looking after player welfare.
"But it was a confusing week.
"We educate one way and then we have to come back and do a complete flip on that and talk now about how we're going to go about it.
"Our focus coming into this was we wanted a contest, we wanted to challenge the Bombers ... our intent was to tackle."
Essendon forward Matt Guelfi will also face a anxious wait to learn if he is cited by the match review officer over a tackle on Sam Berry, with the Crows midfielder's head appearing to hit the ground.
Guelfi was awarded a free kick for holding the ball, but the league-wide confusion over what constitutes a dangerous tackle means this will be a talking point.
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Essendon young gun Nate Caddy could also be in trouble after colliding front-on with Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson in the third quarter.
The Crows confirmed Dawson had entered concussion protocols and will miss next Sunday's clash with Hawthorn.
When asked if Caddy could be in trouble for the incident, Scott exhaustingly replied: "Who knows? Who could tell you at the moment?"
Look back at how the action unfolded in our live blog.
Live updates
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Bombers Crows
That's where we'll leave it
What a night!
From the start of things where we were dealing with the global internet outage, to where the footy took over, there was a lot happening at Docklands!
A morale-boosting win for the Crows, a big obstacle for the Bombers in the run-in to the finals.
Tomorrow we will be back for a five-game extravaganza, starting with the Expansion Cup between GWS and Gold Coast, and St Kilda vs West Coast - both games starting at 1:45pm AEST.
Then we'll have the twilight showdown between Hawthorn and Collingwood, which potentially will mean loser goes home, and then Geelong host Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide host Richmond in the night session.
We'll see you then, but for now, thank you for joining us on the blog — have a good night!
Adelaide 17.13 (115) def Essendon 17.11 (113)
Adelaide's Josh Rachele has snapped a brilliant goal with 50 seconds left to pinch a thrilling two-point win, leaving Essendon's finals hopes hanging by a thread.
The Crows trailed by 15 points with seven minutes remaining but kicked the final three goals of Friday night's captivating shootout at Docklands to end a seven-game losing run against the Bombers.
After Rachele's heroics, Essendon surged out of the middle through captain Zach Merrett and had multiple opportunities to snatch the lead back.
But the Crows rushed two behinds through, hanging on to win 17.13 (115) to 17.11 (113) for their seventh victory of 2024.
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It was a fitting finish to a rollercoaster match, after the Crows piled on 9.1 in the second term — the best quarter by any team this season.
But Essendon powered back from late in the second term, slamming through seven straight goals of their own to lead by 10 points at the final break.
After blowing a golden opportunity last week to solidify their spot in the top-four, the Bombers could end this round outside of the top-eight.
Adelaide forward Ben Keays, who was outstanding with a career-high five goals, could face disciplinary action for a tackle on Jye Caldwell, which resulted in the Bombers midfielder being subbed out with concussion.
Essendon forward Matt Guelfi will also face a nervous wait to learn if he is cited by the match review officer over a tackle on Sam Berry, with the Crows midfielder's head appearing to hit the ground.
Guelfi was awarded a free kick for holding the ball, but the league-wide confusion over what constitutes a dangerous tackle means this will be a talking point.
Essendon young gun Nate Caddy could also be in trouble after colliding front-on with Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson in the third quarter.
Essendon found themselves 36 points adrift late in the second term.
But the Bombers slammed through seven straight of their own in one of the more attacking matches of the season to lead by 10 points at three-quarter time.
Keays was ably supported up forward by Darcy Fogarty (four goals) and Rachele, who finished with three.
Adelaide will be sweating on scans to defender Nick Murray, who was subbed out of the game after injuring his knee in the first quarter.
It was only Murray's fifth match back after injuring his ACL in July last year.
AAP
Last five weeks for Adelaide, Essendon
Adelaide:
Round 20: vs Hawthorn (H)
Round 21: vs Geelong (A)
Round 22: vs Western Bulldogs (H)
Round 23: vs Port Adelaide (A, in Adelaide)
Round 24: vs Sydney (A)
Essendon:
Round 20: vs St Kilda (A)
Round 21: vs Fremantle (H)
Round 22: vs Gold Coast (H)
Round 23: vs Sydney (H)
Round 24: vs Brisbane (A)
The stats suggest an Essendon win ... but not the scoreboard
A quick look at the full-time stats:
Inside 50s: 60-53 Essendon
Clearances: 41-42 Adelaide
Centre Clearances 18-17 Adelaide
Contested possessions 147-132 Essendon
Marks inside 50: 13-9 Essendon
That centre clearance stat might be the key one. The Bombers led 13-9 at one point as they were tearing through the Adelaide defence and putting on score after score.
But at the end of the day, the Crows wrested the momentum back one last time, and got it done.
Big blow for the Bombers
What a tough loss for Essendon.
After a poor effort agains the Demons last week, they had to bounce back tonight. And after that eight-goal third term, you thought they would hang on, but the Crows had it when it counted.
We know the ladder is tight, the Bombers could well be outside the eight by the end of the weekend.
The task just got a lot harder for Brad Scott's men.
Key Event
FT: Adelaide Crows beat Essendon by two points
The Bombers have a chance, Jake Stringer runs to 50 and kicks, it bounces around and is rushed through.
The seconds tick away, the siren goes - and the Crows, unbelievably, come out on top!
The Bombers are devastated, the Crows players run to their hero Josh Rachele. What a game, what a win!
Nic Martin's shot is touched for a point
Nic Martin snaps from 35m, and a hand touches the ball ont he way through.
Three points, less than 30 seconds!
Adelaide hit the front!
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There's a minute left, it's at Adelaide's end of the ground.
The Bombers can't clear it, the Crows kick it to the hotspot, it;'s a chaos ball it falls for Josh Rachele, who snaps it over the top and it bounces through!
Rachele hugs a Crows fan in the crowd! Adelaide lead!
51 seconds left! Wow.
Tense stuff at Docklands
The ball is in the Crows forward 50, there are two minutes left.
Take a breath everyone.
Wow! A great defensive mark from Kyle Langford.
This is breathless stuff at Docklands.
Thilthorpe misses for the Crows
The Crows are finishing fast here!
They go forward, the ball falls to Riley Thilthorpe in the pocket, and he snaps one on his left, but it misses.
Two points!
The Crows get it to three points!
What a move!
The Crows get a stoppage, Ben keays bursts on to it and kicks an inside out high ball, it goes to a contest and bounces to Darcy Fogarty, who snaps as he is slung and kicks a goal!
Three points in it, three minutes left!
Nate Caddy, what were you thinking?
That was the Bombers moment to finish it, they got the ball forward, handballed over the top to Nate Caddy, and the you8ng player had the pace to outrun the defence.
It looked like he would run in and goal, buit he kicked a banana on the run and missed everything! Wow.
Five minutes to go!
Advantage Essendon, but don't count the Crows out!
Fogarty answers for the Crows
The visitors just won't go away.
They get the centre clearance, go forward and Darcy Fogarty swings a high, high ball that drifts forever before falling in.
Back to nine points!
Gresham kicks a vital goal for Essendon
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Time is starting to get sharp here, the Crows can't afford to give away any more goals.
And then they do just that!
The Bombers have Zach Merrett and others on the sidelines, but it doesn't matter - Essendon win a stoppage, and Jade Gresham runs through and kicks an inside out right-footer for his second!
Big miss for Bombers
That was a chance for Essendon, they got the ball to Kyle Langford who marked inside 50. It was a reasonable angle, but he missed the set shot.
It's nine points, and 10 minutes to go!
You'd think the Crows might run out of legs here, but who knows?
Adelaide close the gap!
Out of relatively nowhere, the Crows hit back!
The Bombers have had all the momentum, but Ben keays was taken high, and he went back and nailed a left-foot shot from the left side of 50.
That's his fifth! The Crows are back to nine points!
Essendon's Caldwell out of the game
Confirmation that Jye Caldwell is concussed and is out of the game. Archie Perkins is on ... and we will have to see what this means for Ben Keays and the Tribunal.
Essendon extends the lead
Zach Merrett has ended a period without majors by getting a free in and kicking a goal from 30 out in front.
The Bombers lead by 16! Thirteen minutes left on the clock.
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