Ricciuto celebrates milestone with big win

Adelaide 19.10 (124) def. Kangaroos   7.10 (52)

Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto had a night out in celebration of his 300th game with five goals while leading his side to a 72-point win over the Kangaroos at AAMI Stadium tonight.

The Crows withstood a challenge from the dogged Kangaroos at the start of the third term, when the visitors started playing some good football to perhaps make the locals a little nervous.

But after Brent Harvey kicked a running goal following an Andrew McLeod mistake in defence to bring the Roos to within 11 points, Adelaide piled on six straight goals to demoralise the Kangaroos.

First, Brett Burton got away from Shannon Watt to kick his only goal, then Ken McGregor, Matthew Bode and Ricciuto kicked truly.

McGregor kicked another when Daniel Wells tried to concede a behind, but he was deemed to have scooped the ball through and gave away a free kick in front of goal, before Scott Thompson’s gather and snapped goal gave the Crows an insurmountable 48-point lead.

Adelaide finished off the Roos with five goals to one in the final stanza, Andrew Swallow kicking the Roos’ only goal of the final term while the Crows hammered home the last four goals to start the party early.

Apart from Ricciuto’s five goals, McGregor booted four and Rhett Biglands two, while McLeod gathered 25 possessions and used the ball beautifully.

The Roos had few winners with Brent Harvey their only multiple goal kicker with two, while Shannon Grant had 34 touches and Wells 28 disposals. Brady Rawlings shutdown the dangerous Tyson Edwards and youngster Swallow tried hard.

Biglands got the Crows’ first major within a minute, and Ricciuto gave the crowd what they came to see with his first five minutes later from a booming set shot from a tight angle outside 50 metres to put the hosts 10 points up.

Nathan Thompson got the Kangaroos’ first goal, but Adelaide snagged the next two through McGregor and Ricciuto to head into quarter-time three goals in front.

The Roos opened the second term with a goal from an unlikely source; Daniel Pratt marked and kicked truly to reduce the margin to 12 points.

The style of game was really ugly as the visitors resorted to an extreme style of congestion to clog up the Crows’ run, with the only excitement coming from the tough contests to win the ball and the battle between McLeod and Wells, who played well off each other and acted as their respective sides’ quarter-back from the back half.

Adelaide kicked the next three goals to stretch the margin to 32 points, but goals to Grant and David Hale before half-time reduced the gap to 20 at the long break.

But despite the Roos showing some signs of life early in the third term with two goals, Adelaide booted seven of the third term’s nine goals to lead by 47 points at the final change, and the Crows went on with the demolition job with five goals to the Kangaroos’ one to round off a 12-goal win.

Next week sees Adelaide face its sternest test this season when they take on West Coast at Subiaco on Saturday evening, while the Kangaroos take on Geelong at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Sunday.

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