GWS didn’t win the game but Phil Davis won the sportsmanship award for the weekend after immediately coming to the aid of opponent Eddie Betts in the Sydney side’s loss to Adelaide on Sunday.
Betts is no stranger to pulling off the impossible on the footy field and he tried to make a miracle play midway through the second term in Adelaide.
He leapt high above a pack at the top of the goal square in an effort to pull down a mark, but he didn’t stick the landing.
In fact, his whole routine was off. He certainly jumped high enough but he didn’t get anywhere near the Sherrin. He used Davis’s back to gain some extra height but the footy sailed straight past him as he misjudged his play.
Betts slid straight off Davis and plunged head first into the turf.
Despite the fact the ball was around his own goal and the Giants were in danger of conceding six points, Davis rushed to Betts to make sure he was OK as he lay on his back.
The Crows goalsneak was fine, but it didn’t lessen the significance of the Davis’s act of kindness.
CHECK OUT THE INCIDENT IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
Phil Davis checking on Eddie without hesitating
Class. #AFLCrowsGiants
— Tom Chadwick (@TomChadwickFox) March 26, 2017
Absolute class & care. Just shows what these boys are all about🤞🏽@phildavis_1@GWSGIANTShttps://t.co/fVXg81bje4#Family#AFLCrowsGiants
— Alexandra Saundry (@AlexSaundry) March 26, 2017
But the Giants didn’t win over many fans with their football, starting the AFL season they are supposed to dominate with a lame performance that wouldn’t have beaten anyone.
Commentator Wayne Carey was scathing of the premiership favourites after Adelaide, missing captain Taylor Walker, belted them by 56 points. After a bright start the Giants fell away badly and Adelaide mauled them 22.15 (147) to 14.7 (91) in hot conditions at Adelaide Oval.
“Every side in the AFL would have beaten the Giants, the way they’ve played today,” Carey said on Triple M.
Walker was a late withdrawal thanks to the hamstring injury that plagued him during the last few weeks.
The Crows suffered from a bad run of injuries during the pre-season, adding to the lustre of Sunday’s big win.
Giants coach Leon Cameron was damning in his post-game assessment, saying the Crows wanted it more. In particular, he said it was “absolutely disappointing” that they were exposed so badly at the contest.
“That’s been an area that over the past couple of years we’ve worked really hard on, priding ourselves on that,” he said.
“But as the game wore on they were just cleaner, made better decisions and probably just a little bit harder at times.”
Betts recovered to star for the Crows.Source:News Corp Australia
Rory Laird was busy and creative for the home side with 42 disposals while Matt Crouch (29 disposals), Rory Atkins (three goals) and Charlie Cameron (23 disposals and two goals) contributed strongly.
Betts kicked four goals for the Crows while key forward Josh Jenkins booted three majors, including a long-range bomb after the halftime siren.
GWS controlled the play early on, showing off their trademark running game as they moved the ball from defence to attack to lead at quarter-time. Tom Scully (24 possessions and two goals) and Josh Kelly (27 disposals) ran hard for the Giants while key forward Jeremy Cameron (four goals) made his mark on the scoreboard.
The Crows gained momentum and put the Giants to the sword in a game-breaking seven-goal third quarter in which they sliced through the GWS defence with relative ease.
It was a rough day for GWS recruit Tendai Mzungu who appeared to strain a hamstring in the first quarter, playing no further part and leaving the visitors a man down.
— with AAP
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