Adelaide Crows coach Don Pyke was smiling after his side fell over the line against the Brisbane Lions, winning by five points in a gritty performance with two players, Tom Doedee and Lachlan Murphy, concussed during the third quarter.
In a frantic game, with both sides stretched to the limit, Hugh Greenwood was a match-winner for the Crows in the absence of captain Tex Walker.
“When we first recruited Hugh he came in as a forward,” Pyke said. “Through his time at the footy club weve been able to develop him into a guy whos capable of winning his own ball particularly around the stoppage, but we know that he can play forward.
Hugh Greenwood was praised by both coaches on Saturday night.
Photo: AAP
“He had seven scoring shots and kicked four – probably if hed kicked his fifth at the end, it would have made my last two minutes a bit easier.”
For Pyke, though, all that mattered was that his team had got the job done against a red-hot opponent, albeit one at the lower end of the ladder.
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“It was a good game of footy from the start, both teams came out with an intent to move the ball with some speed, and Brisbane probably jumped us a bit at the start,” he said.
“If youre a Brisbane supporter walking away, youre probably thinking, well, thats a glimpse into the future, and it looks pretty bright for them.
“From our viewpoint, we needed four points, and I was really pleased with the way the guys fought on, especially in the last quarter with two men down.
“We were able to hold on. It was a really pleasing win. We came up here needing to win, obviously, to keep the season going.”
The fatigue began to tell in the last quarter, as Brisbane came home with a wet sail against their undermanned opponents.
“You could see the guys coming off, they were blowing. It was a high-intensity game, it was fairly quick on the transition, and the way both sides were trying to move the ball was forcing a high level of running.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan admitted that Greenwood, who kicked three goals on debut against the Lions last year, had got under their guard.
“We did a lot of homework on Eddie [Betts] and [Josh] Jenkins and [Tom] Lynch, and they were serviceable but they didnt dominate the game.
“But hes a good player, that bloke. Well have to make sure we clamp him down next time. Hes good in the air and at ground level and slippery around the stoppages … We were unable to contain him.
Fagan agreed with Pyke about the speed and intensity of the contest. “That was a high-powered game tonight, that was finals-like, and we competed strongly in it.
“We just had a poor patch, I reckon, for about 10 minutes in the second quarter … They just took the game away from us a little bit there, and we were forever fighting to get back in it.
“But I look at it and I go, in 2016 Adelaide beat the Lions by 138 points. Last year they beat us by 80 points, and tonight they beat us by five points.
“Were starting to be able to compete against the big dogs. They had a lot to play for tonight. So did we, and well done to them for coming out with it, but [Im] proud of our blokes.”
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