Oskar Baker etched his name in Adelaide Oval folklore and upstaged Izak Rankine by matching the Crows superstar’s goal for the ages with a piece of magic of his own to hand the Western Bulldogs a heart-stopping win.
Rankine, well held for much of the night in his return from suspension, put Adelaide in front – after they had trailed by 25 points in the fourth quarter – with a brilliant goal from the scoreboard pocket, called to play on and running around Marcus Bontempelli.
Rankine’s brilliance came soon after Luke Pedlar’s go-ahead goal was denied after teammate Ben Keays was called for below-the-knees contact after diving headfirst into Michael Sellwood.
Then Baker, in the opposite south-western pocket, conjured a miracle of his own to somehow outmatch Rankine’s major, taking the ball from the hands of teammate Aaron Naughton and slotting through a stunner from the white paint.
The Crows’ nail-biting defeat was further marred by another hamstring injury to boom recruit Callum Ah Chee, who moments earlier conjured a magnificent spoil on Lachie Jaques to set up a Jordan Dawson goal and effectively launch Adelaide’s fightback.
He hobbled off clutching his right hamstring high after overstretching it in an attempt to reel in Bailey Williams.
The Crows had spent much of the evening chipping the ball around the back half without speed or purpose, the Bulldogs’ tacklers forcing – and feasting on – inevitable cough-ups.
Implausibly, Crows backmen Jordon Butts (10 marks), Nick Murray (eight) and Josh Worrell (eight) combined for as many marks (26) as the entire Bulldogs side at half-time.
Adelaide had to change things up, and they did. Their midfield, swallowed whole early, slowly matched the Dogs’ engine room, then went past them fleetingly.
The Bulldogs started powerfully, finished with class and were the better side for all but 20 minutes. They deserve to remain unbeaten.
The Crows, the authors of their own demise for the first half, showed what they were capable of when they decided to chance their arm, ultimately turning what looked to be a routine defeat into an instant Friday night classic.
FT: Adelaide Crows 13.10 (88) def by Western Bulldogs 14.10 (94)