AFL PREVIEW ROUND 22 – ADELAIDE V NORTH MELBOURNE

ADELAIDE v NORTH MELBOURNE

ADELAIDE OVAL, 440PM SUN

Adelaide Crows 1-39 ($2.05)

North Melbourne +18.5 ($1.92)

FORM

ADELAIDE (WWLWL)

Crow’s skipper Taylor Walker will miss the next two matches after he was given a two week suspension for a tackle that knocked out the Giant’s Josh Kelly.

Despite their loss the Adelaide midfield/defence held up well against the GWS with Matt Crouch helping himself to 30 disposals and 4 rebound 50s alongside Brodie Smith who had 29 disposals and 6 rebound 50s. That transition from defence will be crucial in this match, as well as neutralising Ben Brown who scored 4 goals against the Bulldogs and is the joint leader of the Coleman Medal.

NORTH MELBOURNE (LLWWL)

There is a glimmer of hope left for the Kangaroos to play finals football but it’s the same remote chance you get when you eat from a street vendor in Bali and hope you don’t get food poisoning. It’s a fool’s hope.

What happened to Brad Scott’s team in the second half against the Bulldogs? Up by 28 points, North Melbourne choked big time and now must win both their remaining games, including next week against St Kilda.

STATS THAT MATTER

• The Kangaroos are ranked 13th in the AFL for tackles per game. They will need to outperform this ranking and apply the pressure early against the Crows at home.

• North Melbourne have a terrible record in South Australia. They haven’t won in Adelaide since 2011.

• Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs was very productive against the Giants with 55 hitouts and 13 disposals.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Kangaroos have their season to play for which you would hope would motivate them in the City of Churches. Although the Wolf is a bit worried because North Melbourne’s season was also on the line last week and they coughed up what was a very healthy lead against a Western Bulldogs team that has endured a tough year.

Despite the loss of their captain, Adelaide will be motivated to win their final match of the season at home. The Wolf thinks that despite losing to the Giants last week there were some very positive signs in their performance and if they can hold that form it should translate to a win at the Adelaide Oval.

HOW IT’S SHAPING UP

Adelaide Crows by 17

BEST BETS: North Melbourne +18.5 ($1.92), Adelaide Crows 1-39 ($2.05)