Crows cut Giants down to size in AFL

The Giants have started 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 on Sunday 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.”

Earlier on Sunday, West Coast also made an emphatic start to the season when they beat new-look North Melbourne by 43 points at Etihad Stadium.

But the 21.10 (136) to 13.15 (93) win came at a cost – former Kangaroo Drew Petrie suffered a hand fracture in the first game for his new club.

The 20-plus goal hauls for Adelaide and West Coast continued the high scoring that was a feature of the round.

Of the seven winners before the late Sunday game between Fremantle and Geelong, six of them scored more than 100 points and Brisbane had 98.

As expected, the round will also set an attendance record, with 365,000 through the gates ahead of the Perth match.

The AFL’s single-round record is 371,212, set in round 15, 2013.

Essendon and Hawthorn attracted 78,294 fans to their MCG blockbuster on Saturday night, a record for home and away matches between the arch-rivals.

The Bombers had an emotional 25-point win, as the AFL welcomed back players who missed last year because of doping suspensions stemming from the Essendon supplements debacle.

Brisbane hung on to upset Gold Coast by two points and Melbourne beat St Kilda by 30 points – the Demons’ first win over the Saints since 2006.

St Kilda veteran Nick Riewoldt suffered a knee injury in the last quarter, but he dodged a bullet – it is bone bruising, not an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

Port Adelaide upset Sydney by 28 points, the first time the Power have won at the SCG in 11 years.

The Western Bulldogs opened their premiership defence on Friday night with a 14-point win over Collingwood, although veteran Dale Morris is sidelined for up to two months with a leg fracture.

Richmond’s upcoming free agent Dustin Martin had the performance of the round, racking up 33 disposals and kicking four goals as they beat Carlton by 43 points on Thursday night in the season opener.

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