ADVERTISER.COM.AU MONDAY FEBRUARY 29 2016 SPORT 59 fall short in finish THINGS WE 5 LEARNED

1 IF Fremantle’s plan to recruit means can spend more time as a forward then he’s going to be even more dangerous than his season. He took five marks yesterday and kicked two goals in another ominous warning for rival clubs.

2 needs no warming up. Playing his first game of the season the star midfielder got straight to work and had IN THE THICK OF IT: Crow Rory Sloane handballs from a pack 19 disposals and a goal as while, above, wraps up Matthew Pavlich. he begins life without sidekick Patrick Pyke sees positives in Dangerfield. 3 is fighting performance looking like a terrific recruit already. Against REECE HOMFRAY it was a good, hard-fought Fremantle yesterday he game of footy which we want provided constant run ADELAIDE’S fighting quali- as an ideal prep for the lead-in along the wing and used ties against Fremantle when it to the season.” the footy with precision fell two goals behind late in the Defender was with 15 disposals and final term yesterday drew taken off at half-time after feel- crucially six inside-50s. praise from coach . ing ill but Adelaide otherwise Despite the two-point loss, made it through the game un- Pyke said he saw positives in scathed. With a 12-day break 4 the Crows’ performance includ- until its final NAB Challenge could find a home as a ing their ball movement which game against Gold Coast, Pyke forward. Used regularly often went direct through the hinted the Crows would go in as the sub last year and in middle of the ground. as near full-strength as poss- spurts through the The visitors’ performance ible as an audition for round midfield he looked also prompted Fremantle one against North . comfortable at the feet of coach Ross Lyon to declare Ad- Adelaide had its chances Josh Jenkins yesterday elaide the better team, despite yesterday but kicked a waste- and applied strong what the scoreboard suggested. ful 8.19 which Pyke hopes is forward pressure. “The way we finished the not a recurring theme. game, it would have been easy “At the moment we’ll call it when we got to two-and-a-bit an event, I don’t think it was a 5 BAD kicking is bad goals behind but our guys real- pattern,” he said. “It’s really football but coach Don ly fought it out and pushed for hard to win games of footy Pyke said yesterday’s 8.19 the win,” Pyke said. “And apart when you don’t get scoreboard was a one-off “event” from another point we might pressure on and I certainly rather than a worrying have snatched it at the end. thought in the second quarter pattern going into the “There were a lot of posi- we had opportunity and Crows’ final NAB Challenge tives from our viewpoint, some enough flow of the game to game against Gold Coast of our ball movement was what score more than we did.” on March 11. we’d been working on and As for using the corridor with some of the principles of team ball in hand, Pyke said it was not defence we’ve been focusing a strict instruction but rather - Compiled by REECE on, we saw some of those. encouragement to his players to HOMFRAY “And it was a good contest, use the middle if it is on.

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