It's the Crows!
The Adelaide Crows became the first team to defend the AFL premiership since Hawthorn, back in 1988-89, by defeating North Melbourne at the MCG to the tune of 35 points.
It was an historic win for Adelaide in every sense. The Crows had never beaten North at the MCG until today and Andrew McLeod, the elusive and breathtaking midfielder/ goalkicker, picked up his second Norm Smith Medal in as many attempts.
Malcolm Blight now boasts two flags from as many seasons in his return to the coaching ranks, after a stint in the media following several unsuccessful assaults on the grand final at Geelong.
At half time, such dramatic achievements looked anything but likely. The Crows had been comprehensively outplayed by the Roos for the entire half and were only in touch on the scoreboard because of strangely inaccurate kicking by North.
In fact, North was so dominant in the second quarter that the game appeared over, however the Roos could manage only three goals and 10 behinds, giving them a half time lead of 24 points, when the lead could easily have been closer to 10 goals.
That gave the Crows a second half chance and boy, did they take it! From the moment the ball was bounced in the third quarter, the Crows were a different team and they ate up the four goal deficit before North could even manage a score. At three-quarter time, Adelaide led by two points but the promise of a nailbiter didn't eventuate, as a rattled North continued to fade and Darren Jarman and Andrew McLeod, the heroes of 1997, ran riot again.
In the end, 11 goals to 2 to the Crows in the second half confirmed a spectacular win. Victory stamps the Crows as the dominant side in the competition, without question. Which would have seemed remarkable a year and a week ago, when they appeared set for defeat by the Bulldogs in the 1997 Preliminary Final.
Fifty-three weeks later, Adelaide has twin cups in the trophy room.
How Good Was That?
The Adelaide Crows have ranked themselves among the all-time greats of Australian Rules football after storming to a remarkable 35- point win against North Melbourne in yesterdays AFL grand final
Sparked by another Norm Smith Medal winning performance by the gifted Andrew McLeod, the crows came back from a 24 point half time deficit to hold aloft the AFL Cup for the second straight year.
In emotional scenes as the final siren sounded, an animated Malcolm Blight embraced his players, including the jubilant but teary McLeod
For two years running, coach Blight somehow waved a magic spell to ignite the Crows to one of football's classic second half comebacks.
Adelaide looked out of the premiership race at half time. North, with superman skipper Wayne Carey shining, had dominated early possessions, but carelessly peppered the goals for a second quarter tally of 2.11 to take its score to 6.15.
Blight, who now retains a perfect record in his two year tenure at Adelaide's helm, swung the changes at half time. McLeod and Johnson were thrust into midfield to turn the tide.
McLeod, started at half forward and looked dangerous, but once swung into the centre, he became lethal.
He finished the game with 30 possessions, all effective, to join Hawthorn defender and current Geelong coach Gary Ayres as the only dual Norm Smith Medallist.
His uncanny ability to find space when there appeared to be none and pinpoint a team-mate under pressure were features of the game. Blight also swung defender Smart into the forward lines, where he kicked three second half goals.
There were many heroes in the victory. McLeod and Johnson gained control for the Crows in the 3rd term. And Jarman, left in the forward lines after the main break, finally had the better of Blakey, booting 5 goals to be the most potent forward on the ground.
Full back Hart was resolute all day, having Sholl benched despite the free flow of opportunities in the first half.
Ruckman Rehn, as he did so well in the final series last year, jumped into the centre square contests with such vigour that his smaller, running players got a clear look at the ball.
Caven, after withstanding a Carey barrage early, started to become a valuable running defender, and a key to the Crow's 2nd half revival. With Carey shut down, the Kangaroo's found it almost impossible to break into their forward line.
And of course, there was Blight, whose tag of Messiah only will be enhanced by yesterdays performance. All his positional moves after half time worked, after North had managed to control the tempo of play before the break. Such was the Crows dominance at the end they turned a slender 3 point lead at 3/4 time into a comfortable win. The Roos could not score a goal in the last quarter - kicking to the end where they booted 16 behinds in the games.
