Adelaide Crows strings two straight AFL victories after over a year

The Adelaide Crows have strung together two straight wins in the AFL by upsetting GWS by 12 points finally scoring victory after more than a year last week.

Whether it was the confidence from last Tuesday’s drought-breaking victory over Hawthorn or the benefits of a seven-day break, the last-placed Crows were good enough to beat the eighth-ranked Giants 8.11 (59) to 7.5 (47) at Adelaide Oval.

The last time the Adelaide Crows won two straight games was in June last year, with GWS one of the victims in that “streak” as well.

This year’s Giants are now in danger of falling out of the finals spots, squandering a chance to jump to seventh and put more space between themselves and the chasing pack after 10th-placed Melbourne’s capitulation against Fremantle on Monday night.

Last year’s grand finalists are now hanging on to eighth by 0.9 percentage alone, with the Western Bulldogs alongside them on 32 competition points and the Demons one game back on 28.

GWS has tough games against Melbourne and St Kilda to come, while the Bulldogs will enter their last two matches, against Hawthorn and Fremantle, as favourites.

The Crows dominated the opening quarter in their second win of the season, kicking 3.3 to 1.1 and recording a dozen inside the 50s to just three from the sluggish Giants.

The visitors were unable to keep tabs on the Adelaide Crows’ Crouch brothers — Matt had 10 disposals and Brad nine in the first term.

The Giants made inroads in the second stanza, with Finlayson kicking the only two goals for the term to leave his side just four points adrift at half-time.

Adelaide then seized momentum in the third term with a rapid-fire scoring burst, booting four goals in 13 minutes to create a 22-point break.

But the Giants replied with two quick majors interspersed by a soaring mark from Bobby Hill, who climbed onto the back of Adelaide’s O’Brien to complete a spectacular grab.

GWS trailed by 16 points at three-quarter-time but a remarkable left-foot snap from ex-Crow Jacobs got his new team within 10 points eight minutes into the final quarter — but it was the last goal in a tense finale.